Chapter 5

When Bob came home, I asked him to go out and get a beer with me. So we got to Jax Liquors. We went in and passed through the back door into the semi-hidden lounge area. After sitting, we ordered two Jack and Cokes.

I started, “How are you doing, Bob? Is something going on? The girls are flustered about something.”

He said, “Sam and I are not working out. It’s taken two live-in girlfriends to figure out that I’m not ready for a full-time permanent relationship. To add to my problems, I was offered an Assistant manager position. The bad part is that it’s in Lake City.”

I said, “Hell, that’s great news, isn’t it?”

He said, “I’ll leave you in a lurch with the bills, and then there’s Sam. I feel guilty about her and me. I kinda snatched her away when she arrived. There’s no pussy like new pussy. Sadly, we have no magic between her and me. It may be hurting her if I take off on her.

(Surprise me, he’d noticed she was unhappy.)

I said, “As far as Sam goes, I brought her down here. Let me take responsibility for Sam until she gets back on her feet. As far as the roommate thing goes, we’re army buddies. I didn’t really need a roommate to help me pay the rent. Maybe one of the girls might decide to get a job. I wouldn’t worry about that shit too much, Bob. You need to accept that job immediately and not lose the opportunity.”

He said, “Um, I already did. When you asked me out for a beer, I planned to tell you about the job. I’ve been at the muffler shop for less than a year and am getting moved up already. The other guys are all good at doing the day-to-day tasks. None of them ever held any responsibility. Most can’t spell the word ‘supervisor,’ let alone do it. My army time helped me there.

I said, “So, when do you transfer?”

He said, “That’s the really uncomfortable part. I start there next Monday. I need to pack up and go quickly. I need to find a place to stay and get the lay of the land long before Monday. I’m thinking of leaving first thing in the morning.”

I said, “I guess this should be our last drink together. You don’t want to be hung over.”

He said, “Ya, who knew you could survive without a quart of Jack Daniels every couple of days.”

I said, “We are growing up, Bob. Good thing, drinking too much kills you in many ways.”

We returned to the house, and he took Sam into his room to talk with her. I didn’t hear any crying. I took Wendy into our room and told her Bob was leaving in the morning. His company offered him a job in Lake City. Wendy was glad he was going.

In many ways, Bob’s negativity had been weighing mentally on all of us. We didn’t make love before she went to sleep. I just held her for a while.

I thought Bob got the job only because they needed a manager there immediately. Bob only has to put his suitcase and stereo in his Corona and drive the approximately 100 miles.

I took my book and went to the living room. I had not eaten, so I made a ham sandwich with lettuce and tomato. I took that and a tea into the living room and settled in for the evening. Working nights was really starting to become a drag.

After I was there a while, I took a well-needed pee break, and Sam came out and sat near me. It was really early. I wondered if she had slept any.

“Bill, can we talk a little? I’m worried about my role here. Bob lured me away from you. I know I was supposed to come here and be your temporary girlfriend, but you didn’t seem all that interested in me.”

I said, “That impression’s really my fault. I fell for Wendy hard within a few days of her arrival, but she traveled down here to see if Bob was her match. I didn’t want to interfere. As it turned out, he wasn’t her match. They didn’t click. As for you being here, don’t worry your pretty little head about it. I brought you down here, and I’ll take care of you.”

She said, “I can’t do that. You belong to Wendy now. I see you two are an item. I have no use here as a third wheel. She kicks ass at housework and cooking. I’m merely an ornament here.”

I asked, “A pretty ornament. How old are you, anyway?”

She said, “Eighteen. Why?”

I said, “Can I show you something in the bathroom?”

She said, “Ohhhkkaayy.”

I said, “It’s a good thing. If I wanted to make a pass, I already would have.”

She said, “I know. You’re always a straight shooter.”

I took her into the bathroom.

I said, “Stand in front of the mirror. Tell me, what do you see?”

She looked at me inquiringly and said, “My face?”

I said, “I see an exquisite face. You could use your good looks to make a decent living?”

She said, “How and doing what?”

I said, “Let’s go back to the living room, and I’ll tell you there.”

I said, “If you put on a business skirt and a white blouse, you will look just like a fashion model. Maybe Wendy’s Avon lady could come over and tell you how to use makeup to look professional. I know nothing about that stuff. Dolled up a bit, I bet you could land a job as a receptionist within a week. Wendy and I will help you. What do you think?”

She said, “I’ll think about it. If I did that, what would I be around here?”

I said, “Our friend and roommate. Only a roommate. No hanky-panky required between you and me. I pay Wendy’s way because she’s my babe now and takes care of me full-time. You could chip in on the expenses and be our roommate if you wanted. Say, $35 a month for rent and stuff, and throw in a few bucks on grocery day. How does that sound?”

She said, “That sounds very reasonable. So, I could get a car and change my bedroom to how I want it to be?”

I said, “All of that and more.”

She stopped to think for a minute. I looked at her. God, she is pretty when she’s not strung out by shit. She’s wearing a camisole most women would die for. It’s somewhere between light yellow and tan in color. It’s thick enough it somewhat hides the dark color of her nipples. I had seen her nipples once before when she had one of Bob’s t-shirts on. He favors short sleeve t-shirts.

The camisole only has strings holding it up. There is a diagonal dart from each nipple area down and back to each side. The top of the seam draws your eyes right to her nipple area. The dart ends precisely where the nipple would be, and the cloth points out. It makes her look like she has permanently hard nipples.

She’s wearing skimpy bikini panties again; they are not cotton but somewhat silky. Just thin enough to see some dark bush. If it wasn’t for her pussy hair, it could be very obscene.

She said, “Will you help me change my license to Florida and get a car?”

I said, “As long as you pay me back for the car. Do you have any credit?”

She said, “Not really. How do you get credit?”

I said, “Well, I bought a 300-dollar Seiko watch at a jewelry store in Hawaii on credit. They really screw you on the price, but they give you store credit, which starts you building your credit. I did that in Hawaii. Later after moving here, I bought a gold ring at another place to increase my credit. I was in the army, so getting credit was easy. When I bought this house, I made a large down payment and used the VA to guarantee the loan. That built my credit up more.”

She said, “I couldn’t afford the down payment for a used lady’s Timex watch.”

I said, “If you want me to, I will cosign for your car. I’ll help with the down payment too.

She said, “Do you want another ice tea? I want one.”

I said, “Sure, and I handed her my glass.”

She bent over to take my plate back to the kitchen. I knew she was showing me her pointy titties when she slowly bent down for my plate and stood back up again. I do eventually catch on. She has small ones, but they are feminine enough that you want to look at them. They behave differently than large tits. Her tits quiver just a teeny bit at the tips when she moves. There is no wobbling. The nipples themselves are tiny.

She went into the kitchen. Because there was no light in there, the open fridge light showcased her body. Her thin, light-colored panties seemed to disappear in the low light. Her ass and long legs were outlined and clear enough to be seen in all their glory. She’s sensational. I stared at her legs and ass as long as she paused there, which was a while. She’s almost unhealthily beautiful. Almost too pretty for my book.

She used some convoluted methods to fill each glass slowly. She filled them one glass at a time, so she had to turn back and forth to the counter several times. She dragged this out on purpose.

I noticed her pointy tits barely tremble as she came back. Her sharp nipple tips are dancing a tiny tune, so I think this may be intended for me.

She walked back slowly and looked at my distended boxers, and smiled. She handed me my tea and said, “You DO find me attractive, Bill. I thought you disliked me.”

I said, “No, you’re almost unbearably pretty. I’m a little cautious until I get to know somebody new. You were also very out of sorts and tired when you arrived. Then that stinker, Bob, just whisked you away. I never had a chance to get to know you. I assumed you liked Bob. Wendy and I became self-absorbed by then with our own affair.”

She said, “Bob!”

I said, “Bob.”

She said, “But you let him steal me.”

I said, “Samantha, I think I’ve already fallen in love with Wendy. I’m unsure how she and I will end up, but she’s always on my mind.”

She said, “I moved to the empty bedroom. I’m feeling better about things, calmer, maybe. Can I get a hug before I go back to bed and try to sleep?”

I stood up and said, “Sure.”

She came to me and put her arms around me. I embraced her right back. She held me a minute with my apparent interest pressed firmly to her soft center. She looked me straight in my eyes, pressed her warm, soft lips to mine, and held them to me seemingly forever.

She brushed my cheek with her lips and walked away, her hips going to and fro. My cheek was damp. Oh, my goodness. My stomach felt strange. I think two women is risky territory.

I sat back down to read, but that wasn’t happening. I went into the fridge and found some potato salad. I put some on my previous plate and added salt and pepper. Yummy.

At 6 am, Bob was awake. He was ready to go with a suitcase and a suit bag. The suit bag carried his dress uniforms. We were told at discharge not to get rid of our uniforms in case we were called back up in a time of war.

I plan to keep mine for a bit longer. What are they going to do? Make you buy new ones? It was a way to give you one last bird finger.

We said our goodbyes and I told him to drop in any time. I knew he had nothing here and was running from entanglement with both women. He would not be back.

Bob and I stayed in touch. He lived two hours away, so we got together once in a great while. I think I was his only friend ever. Bob never married. He was set in his ways. As soon as a woman used the M word, he was like a puff of smoke. A couple of years later, after moving to Lake City, his baby sister moved in with him to take care of his household stuff. She had two school-age kids and needed help.

Bob continued to smoke and drink too much over the years. In his mid 40’s, he had a couple of heart attacks. He refused to stop smoking. The booze just added to that. By 50, he had died. Being so rock-headed killed him in the end. His sister Shawna called to tell me. Poor Bob didn’t even have a funeral. Shawna was a tiny little doll baby of a woman. She couldn’t weigh 90 pounds and was 4’ 8” tall. Her face was elfin looking. She had become a romance story writer and made a decent living at it.