Chapter 19

Shawna hung up after telling me she'd let me know. I immediately called Johnny Simpson, the realtor, and asked if he had time to act as my tour guide in the morning. When he said that he did, I mentioned some homes that I had seen. When I told him the neighborhood, he asked about what price range and size home I was looking for. I mentioned what I had seen in the magazine, and said that if they were in line with the appraisals, that we could work something out.

He was still nervous, so I gave him Craig's number. Craig created a conference call to the bank, so we could resolve any money concerns. Mr. Simpson told me that he'd pick me up at nine.

I hadn't had sex in a while, but the last thing I wanted to do was come crawling in late, before looking for a home. So, instead of sex, I went to bed after watching a movie on TV. In the morning, I did my workout and swam before meeting Johnny at nine. Shawna was in the lobby as well, so I knew that she was not in a happy mood. I gave her a hug and told her that I was sorry.

She said, "We both knew that it would be best to break up, but he was a nice guy and we got along well."

"I know, but it's always hard to let a relationship go."

She just nodded, and when Johnny came in, I introduced them. We looked at three houses. I liked the first one. First, the construction date was 1890. Second, it had six bedrooms, three and a half baths, with four floors over a basement. Last, it had a garden out back, a terrace off the master bedroom, and was across the street from Lincoln Park. I looked at two other houses just to remind myself how much I liked the first one. Johnny wanted me to look at more and Shawna agreed.

I asked, "Is there something wrong with the house I like? I may find one that I like more, but it's just a house. I like the area and the park. I think that there will be enough room for me with almost forty-two hundred square feet."

Johnny said, "This isn't a cheap house. I want to make sure that this is the one, before we make an offer."

"They're asking $550,000, so make an offer at $500,000. That's ten percent off. If they're willing to sell then we can close after a home inspection, appraisal and title search. I have cash and I'd like to close in three weeks. It doesn't look like they're living there. I can look at other houses if they decline my offer. Is that fair?"

"That's more than fair. I'll write up the offer while you have lunch and then you can sign the offer."

"Make sure the contract in my name, but transferable, so they don't think a deep pocket corporation is buying it, but just me. I can change it to the name of the company before closing."

"I'll do that."

Shawna and I went to lunch and then came back to sign the offer. I wanted to walk some, so we went over to the Smithsonian and walked around looking at American history. When we got back to the hotel, there was a message for me from Johnny. Shawna came up to my suite. I called Johnny, and he said they wanted to make a counter offer.

"Johnny, I've looked at three houses in one neighborhood and made a fair offer. If they don't want it, we can look at some more. I like the house, but it's just a house. If they want to sell it, they can let us know by tomorrow. Do you show houses on Sunday or do we need to look later in the week."

"I do like to have a day off, but you're serious about buying and not afraid to make a final decision, and I like that. So I'll take you around tomorrow, so we can see some others on the list if they don't change their mind."

They changed their mind and accepted the offer. Johnny knew all the people and had access to the house, so he took care of all of my requirements. I called Craig at home on Sunday to let him know about the offer and acceptance on the house. He said that I could just stop by the local Freedom Bank and get the check, when I needed it for closing.

I hadn't been out to the local Stop and Go truck stop, so I asked Shawna if she or Annie had a car. She said that Annie had one, but it was a big thing and hard to park in the city. I asked if she wanted to go for a ride and get some dinner. She called Annie, and she came to get us.

We drove twenty miles north on I-95 towards Baltimore to the closest Stop and Go truck stop. When I told Annie to pull in, she said, "I have half a tank, I don't need to stop."

"This is where we're eating. I'm in the trucking business, and this is a Truck Stop."

The girls liked the size and cleanliness of the place. We walked by the bank office, but this late on a Sunday, we found it closed. We went to Dani's and after they delivered the drinks, I ordered three chicken and waffle dinners. The girls looked at me and Shawna said, "I didn't want chicken and waffles."

"Me either," said Annie.

"Have either of you ever had chicken and waffles."

"No" was the reply from both girls.

"Then eat it. If you don't like it we can get you something else."

They didn't have menus anymore, so they just had their drinks and waited. When they delivered the food, it smelled good and they both tried it and liked it.

Annie said, "I'm going to have to work out tomorrow, but eating this food might just be worth it. Why did we drive all the way out here to get this?"

"I told you that I'd take you to my restaurant one day and I decided that I wanted to take Shawna too. You had a car, so this killed two or three birds with one stone."

"This is one of your places? I like it. It fits well with the rest of the complex and the food is good. Do we eat for free, since you own the place?"

"You eat free because I'm paying," I said.

"Britt, you paid last time."

Shawna laughed.

"What's so funny, you mooch?"

"Britt and I went shopping today for a place for Britt to live."

"I guess that the meal is a small price compared to his rent. Is out in the middle of nowhere?"

"Lincoln Park isn't in the middle of nowhere, Annie."

"How much is the rent in Lincoln Park? I didn't even look that close in."

"He bought a house on the park."

"Do you need a roommate, baby?"

"Get in line behind me, Annie, but he does have six bedrooms, so if he does decide to rent some out I hope that I can be first in line."

They both looked at me. I looked back at them. "Well?" finally came from Annie.

"I've never had a roommate before."

"What about college in the dorms?"

"Because of my age, I had a private room in the dorm. Then, I rented an apartment and stayed by myself. Personally, I like the private space, but had friends over all the time. I'm not sure. How would it work?"

Shawna said, "You've never had a roommate. That's crazy. No brothers or sisters?"

"I have two sisters, but they were both in college when my mom married their dad. We took a cruise together, but we had a suite and I had a room of my own. I've had friends spend the night, but never live with me."

"I can pay rent to cover the cost of food or whatever. I'd love it there. It's a great place."

"What about your roommates? Will they let you leave?" I asked.

"I'll give them a month's notice, and they'll be fine. There are always changes in this town."

"I don't want to have six bedrooms full of people. I'll take the floor with the master and if you each want a room, then we can figure something out."

"How much do you want for rent? We're both making around twenty-five thousand a year. We each pay around five hundred a month now plus utilities."

"Why don't you each put $400 a month into the coffee can. We can pay utilities and groceries out of that. At the end of the year, we can have a party if there's any left over. How does that sound?"

Shawna said, "I expect that groceries will be four hundred or so for us and utilities around another one fifty with the size of that place. If those numbers are right then there will be three grand for a party. That's going to end up being one hell of a party."

"Maybe we can have chicken and waffles catered in."

"Maybe, these things are good."

We made it back to the hotel, and after the valet took Annie's car, the girls followed me to the room. Annie walked in and said, "If I knew that you had a room like this, I wouldn't have felt so bad about eating out with you. You seem to have ended up doing OK, Britt."

"I'm not complaining. I have a new house and two beautiful roommates that like to walk around the house in the nude. Can you think of anything that should cause me to have a complaint?"

"Who said anything about walking around naked?" Annie asked.

Shawna said, "Britt is a dreamer. I may walk around naked, if he invites me to his room. There's even a terrace overlooking the park where we can get high."

"We may have to do that. What happens if one of you girls finds a guy? I don't want him moving in with us and I'm not sure how comfortable I'd be walking into the kitchen in the morning with a guy sipping coffee at the table. I guess my only rule would be no male overnight guests without asking me first. What other things do we need to figure out? Who has the responsibilities for cooking, cleaning, shopping, laundry and the like? Who does what or pays for what?"

Annie said, "The house sounds big. How much work will it be? I don't bring guys home very often unless we're dating. I want to live in closer, but also want to feel at home when I'm there."

"That's fair, Annie. I'm just not used to having any roommates, so I'm just asking. What if I bring a girl or multiple girls, home for the night or the weekend?"

Annie said, "Aren't you sure of yourself? I know it's your house, but it would be a double standard. What do you think, Shawna?"

"I was hoping that he would've chosen me as the one he brought home. I've seen Britt in action and even though I screamed someone else's name when I came, I know who got me there."

"What does that mean?" Annie asked

"It means that Britt is an excellent lover, and with him being so close it could be, let's say, convenient for us to get together from time to time."

"That doesn't seem fair that you two can get off whenever you want and I'm stuck out by myself."

"We need to slow down, now, and think about what our options are. Let me tell you a little bit about me, my views on life, and then we can talk. I've had two women in my life that I could have easily married, and been happy with for the rest of my life. Shawna met one in New York, and the other is in Orlando. I let them know ahead of time that I don't want to get married or have any type of committed relationship until I get my business paid off, because right now, I owe over fifty billion dollars.

"I'll not make a firm commitment, and won't ask for a firm commitment from any woman. I do not have girlfriends, and I'm nobody's boyfriend. It just so happens that I do have a couple of sex slaves, but they're both free to enjoy themselves unless I call them in to serve me. I guess if we decide to share this place, you should have the same rights to have people over and they can even spend the night or weekend if you give me notice. However, if the guy wants to move in with you and takes up residence here, that could become an issue. Having him around every weekend or even a few nights every week, would create a problem for me. Is that too much to ask?"

"Do you really have sex slaves?" Annie asked.

I just nodded.

Shawna said, "I'm not in a relationship right now, but I'm comfortable with those requests. If we want to spend the night with a guy, then we should make sure that his place is the first choice. Are you OK with that, Annie?"

"I guess so. If it gets serious then we can always move out. Do we want to put something in writing or just handshake on the deal?"

"I think a hug and kiss deal would be better, but, since you won't have a lease or rental agreement, I can kick you out whenever I want to anyway. Let's talk about decorating the place and what it is that we want to achieve. I do believe that I can take care of my room, unless you want to make some suggestions. I also want the kitchen upgraded, and I'd like the back garden done nicely as well. I don't watch much TV, but read a lot and listen to music, so that's important. It would also be very important to set up a home office to work, but we can put more than one desk in it if you'll need work space."