Chapter 36: Paying the Rent

Lissa was almost disappointed when she awoke in the morning, alone in her own bed in her new apartment with no sign that anything had happened to her during the night. Meg lay sleeping across the room, the blanket pulled down so that she was completely exposed from the waist up. Without realizing it, Lissa found herself staring at the girl. She really did have a beautiful body. And her face was lovely too. Unlike most straight girls, Lissa had no problem looking at naked women and appreciating their physical qualities. Allison had cured her of any embarrassment she might feel.

She felt a pang of longing as she remembered with fondness those times with her stepmother when they sat in the hot tub together or swam together or sunbathed together. Lissa enjoyed being naked with the woman; it was a symbol of their closeness that they could be completely exposed to each other without judgment or jealousy. She especially liked it when they hugged like that, feeling no barrier between them. When she closed her eyes she could imagine the feel of Allison's lips on her cheek, a simple little sign of affection that reminded her that Allison loved her.

She shook her head, then laughed quietly to herself. She hadn't even been here a day yet, and she was already pining for home. She had to be strong, to put those thoughts out of her mind, or she wouldn't last the semester.

She got up, then collected her clothes for the day and headed into the bathroom to take a shower, making sure to lock the bathroom door. She wasn't entirely sure Meg wouldn't try to sneak in with her.

She laughed at that thought. It was amusing especially because it was so embarrassing. What would her Dad say if she ended up in a compromising situation like that with a lesbian? Of course, knowing what she did about him, she wasn't sure he wouldn't get excited about it.

The water felt nice and refreshing, and chased away all of those thoughts. She just stood under the water, letting it soothe her. She always did enjoy taking a shower; it was a time to relax without any cares, without any worries, and without any restrictive clothing to restrain her. She could let the tension go in all of her muscles and just bask in the warmth of the water running down her body.

After the shower, she dried herself off and dressed in a tee-shirt and jeans, a nice and comfortable attire for walking in. Today she planned to explore the campus so she wouldn't be lost when her classes started tomorrow. She opened the door, almost surprised not to see Meg standing there listening or peering through the keyhole.

She found Monique sitting at the table eating a bowl of cereal. Lissa poured herself a bowl and sat down to talk to her. She found Monique, like Meg, easy to talk to. Monique liked to joke around, though not as much as Meg. It made Lissa wonder about their fourth roommate. She asked about Alya, and Monique assured her that Alya was just as fun as the rest of them. Apparently the girl was gorgeous, but never took advantage of the fact. In fact, she preferred to study rather than chase boys. Monique had been her roommate for a year now, and not once had Alya gone out on a date. Monique jokingly said that that gave her a little hope of finding herself a boyfriend without having to worry about Alya stealing him away.

A few minutes later, Meg joined them, wearing a bathrobe but not bothering to close it, so that the entire front of her body was exposed. Lissa decided not to let that bother her; apparently Monique didn't seem to care, and Meg herself had warned her that she would be going around naked quite often, though Lissa hadn't really believed her at the time. Meg put a couple of slices of bread in the toaster, then sat down at the table with her roommates, joining in the conversation until the toast popped up.

The girls were pleasant enough that it was a shame to have to leave them, but Lissa really did want to have a look around the campus after all. She had printed a map off the Internet, and with that she headed up to the school.

Everything seemed so big compared to back home. Whereas her high school had been only one building, here there were dozens. Lissa wandered around, plotting out her route for the various days. Tuesdays and Thursdays were her light load; she started her first class, World History, at 10:00, and ended with Economics, which got out at 2:00. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays were a little heavier, and unfortunately she had two consecutive classes halfway across campus from each other. It would make for a brisk walk trying to make it to that second class on time, not that she was afraid of a little exercise.

She stopped by the library to familiarize herself with it, knowing that she would be spending a lot of time there. After exploring it to get a feel for its services, she decided to head back home. She still needed to stop by the campus bookstore to buy the books for her classes, but Allison had suggested she not do that until the first day of classes, as sometimes the "required" books turned out not to be required at all, and she might find a friend in one of her classes to study with who would be willing to split the cost of a single textbook with her.

When she arrived home, she found both Meg and Monique gone, so she went back to her room to retrieve a book she hadn't quite finished that summer and had brought along with her to read. She plopped down on the couch in the front room and opened it.

She had been reading for about half an hour when the door opened and a girl she had not yet met entered. Though she had never seen her before, she realized that this must be Alya.

Meg's and Monique's descriptions of her were spot on. She was quite stunning. The girl had long, straight, dark brown hair that fell most of the way to her waist. Her eyes, though not as large as Monique's, made up in color what they lacked in size. They were a deep, vivid turquoise hue that almost sparkled under her long lashes. She had a small, slightly upturned nose and pouty lips, both of which added a childlike quality to her face. It was not the face of a supermodel; in fact, Monique's face was the more glamorous of the two. But Alya had a much more down-to-earth, honest beauty that gave her a certain charm through simplicity rather than aloofness.

Her figure was not particularly full, but it was padded in all the right places. She had a slender waist and a flat stomach. She wore a tight tee-shirt that emphasized her figure, and a pair of form-hugging jeans.

Monique was right. Lissa had never planned to become a lesbian, but a girl as beautiful as Alya almost made her want to consider it.

"Hi," she said. "I'm Alya Barber." Her voice was a perfect match to her face and body. It had a soprano pitch with a soft, almost soothing quality to it and a friendly tone.

"Lissa Primdale. I'm your new roommate."

"Oh, of course. I forgot, Julie's not coming back, is she? So you said your name was Lissa?"

"Right. Short for Melissa."

"Got it. It's so good to meet you." She came over and sat in the chair across from Lissa. "So have you met the others?"

"I met them last night."

Alya smiled. It was the kind of smile that broke hearts. "So what do you think of Meg?"

"Very entertaining," Lissa told her.

"Oh, she is definitely that! And what about your first night here? Spending the night in a room with a lesbian. Or ... I mean ... you're not a lesbian yourself, are you?"

Lissa laughed. "No, Meg hasn't conquered me yet. And fortunately Monique warned me about her."

"Oh, Meg's harmless. She won't go any further than you're willing to let her, although admittedly we sometimes have to band together to beat her off, but that's what roommates are for. Fortunately, she hasn't been trying as hard since she started going out with Sandy."

"Yes, I met Sandy yesterday too."

Alya's smile turned into one of amusement. "So what did you catch them doing?" she asked.

"What?"

"Sandy only comes over to ... well ... to ... spend time ... with Meg."

Now Lissa could see why Alya found it so amusing. "Actually, they were in the shower when I arrived."

Alya laughed. "That must have been awkward," she grinned.

"Not as awkward as it could have been. My dad and stepmom had only left a few minutes earlier when Meg and Sandy came out."

"Oh, that would have been the best! I'll bet your dad would have loved it, at least. Were they naked?"

"No, both my Dad and stepmom were fully dressed."

Alya laughed. "No, I meant Meg and Sandy."

"I know, I was just kidding. Actually, they were wearing towels."

"Oh, so you haven't seen Meg's tattoo yet then."

Lissa blushed. "Actually, I have. She was more than happy to show it off later when she was changing."

"Well, if you've met Meg, you've seen her naked, and you haven't run away screaming, then it sounds like you'll fit right in here."

"I hope so. I know this sounds like junior high talk, but I hope you and I can be friends."

"Since we're doing junior high talk then, I'll be your friend if you'll be mine."

"It's a deal!" said Lissa. "So since we're friends, why don't you tell me what you like to do around here? I made the mistake of asking Monique and Meg, and Meg was only happy to share with me her favorite activities."

"I'll bet!" Alya laughed. "I'd love to give you a few suggestions, but I'm afraid I'm not much help there. I'm sort of a bookworm. I know, college is supposed to be fun, but I guess I'm too much of a nerd."

"Why is it that all the self-proclaimed nerds that I know are completely opposite of the stereotype?"

"What do you mean?"

"My stepmom calls herself a nerd, and she's about the most gorgeous woman I've ever met. My brother calls himself a nerd, and he's actually quite a handsome guy. And you call yourself a nerd, and just look at you!"

"I'll take that as a compliment," grinned Alya.

"I suppose it was," Lissa laughed.

Monique had been right. Alya was every bit as charming as her other roommates. Lissa decided that she was going to like it here after all. Even after just sitting here with this girl for five minutes, she felt like they were old friends.

Some people were just like that, Lissa decided. Allison was the extreme example; everybody got along well with her. Jeff of course felt really comfortable to be around. And she felt an immediate affinity for Alya, perhaps even slightly more than Monique or Meg. Perhaps that was because Alya was a lot like Lissa. She had admitted a certain inexperience with romantic relationships, favoring the company of books to men. Both girls were intelligent and pretty yet unassuming. Lissa could tell she was going to get along very well with Alya.

Meg and Monique both arrived home just before lunch time. Upon seeing Alya they hugged her, and then they all started asking each other about their summer vacations.

"I just saw Mr. Bullard," Monique said at a lull in the conversation. "He said he's waiting for payment."

Alya and Meg giggled.

"What's so funny?" asked Lissa. "Isn't Mr. Bullard the landlord?"

"Exactly," said Alya. "It means it's time to draw straws."

"Oh yes. He mentioned that when I checked in."

All three of her roommates laughed at that.

"He would!" Alya giggled.

"So what is it, a kind of game?"

"Yes, it's a kind of game, but I don't think you'll want to play this first time. Not at least until you know the rules."

"Are they complicated?"

"Not particularly," answered Monique, "but we only play this game once a month."

"Why is that?"

"Because the winner can only earn the prize once a month, that's why."

"Oh, stop teasing her, girls," Meg said. "Tell her the truth. Maybe she'll want to play this first time after all."

Alya and Monique glanced at each other, as if unsure to continue.

"Do you want me to explain it?" asked Meg.

"Go ahead," said Monique.

"All right. Lissa, this is a game that the three of us came up with last year when Julie didn't have money to pay the rent. As it turns out, Mr. Bullard is happy to accept ... certain services ... in lieu of payment."

"What kind of services?"

"Blowjobs," said Alya bluntly.

"Yeah, very funny," Lissa commented.

"I'm serious, Lissa. Mr. Bullard likes getting blowjobs."

"You mean you're not joking?" she asked, astonished.

"It's the absolute truth."

"So we made a deal with him," Meg continued. "Each month, one of the girls pays him by sucking him off. Then he lets us have the apartment for the rest of the month free. Originally we were going to take turns, but for obvious reasons I didn't want to do it. Now, if the apartment manager was an extremely attractive woman, I might be tempted, but he's not. So because I wasn't willing to take my turn, we decide things differently around here. Each month, the girls draw straws. It's all voluntary; you won't be forced to do it if you don't want to. The girl with the shortest straw does the deed, and the rest of the girls pay half of their monthly rent to her as compensation. We get reduced rent, and whoever takes care of Mr. Bullard actually makes money on the deal. It works out great."