The Start of Something New Ch. 01

After 3 years, I found myself staring at my apartment as a single man. I don't know why it felt different, or why it looked different, but it did. I guess it had something to do with not having to worry about coming home and seeing her.

'Her' was my ex, Beth. We had met roughly 3 years ago and had, I thought, fallen in love with one another. Almost 3 months into our relationship, we had decided that she should move in with me so that we could spend more time together. Things had been great for the next two years, but towards the end of this year, things began to fall apart. We would suddenly argue and they'd last for days. It got to the point where we would break up, then calm down a few hours later and patch things up. This roller coaster went on for too long and, finally, we broke up for good.

Now, with her belongings out of the apartment, it felt different and barren. While I didn't miss her, I missed the feeling of someone else's presence. Still, it was great to be away from her and on my own for some time.

It only took a few weeks of this new, single - and slightly depressing - life for me to realize that I wanted someone back into my life. I dunno what it was; waking up alone, I think, was the number one thing. I detested the thought of going to sleep and waking up alone, not being able to curl up alongside someone special. Eh, I figured, sooner or later someone would come along. Until then, I planned to just wait it out.

*****

It was a Saturday, a little after noon, when I heard a knock on my door. A little surprised, since I wasn't expecting company, I paused my show - just started up Arrested Development again for the 1500th time - and got up to answer the door. When I opened it, my eyes fell upon the cutest girl I had seen in a long time.

"Hi," she said, a bright smile on her gorgeous face. She had short brown hair and was wearing black-framed glasses; on her, they seriously looked perfect. "My name's Jessie. I'm your new neighbor."

"Hi Jessie," I replied, giving her an awkward smile. "I'm Chris, pleasure to meet you."

I swung the door open wider and took a step away, unsure if I should invite her in or just talk right at my door. I guess she figured I had invited her in because, sure enough, she strode right in and looked around. "I just moved in," she began, making her way towards the couch in the living room, "from outta state." She plopped down on the couch and turned to me. I could feel a big smile on my face, which brought her to smile in return.

"Make yourself comfortable," I said, a hint of sarcasm and joke in my tone, which prompted her to laugh.

"Shit, sorry!" she quickly stood up but I shook my head.

"No, no, I'm teasing you. Please, sit down."

"You sure?" she asked.

"Definitely," I replied. "Care for something to drink? I got some juice and some water."

"What kinda juice?" she asked.

I walked to the fridge and opened it, peering inside to see the contents. I hadn't gone shopping, something I had planned to do later in the day, but was relieved to see I still had some various juices left. "There's this V8 Strawberry-Banana stuff that's pretty good," I said, "and then your usual suspects; orange, apple, cherry limeade."

"Ooooh, cherry limeade, please!" she answered. "What are we watching?" she added, which got me chuckling.

"Well, I was watching my favorite show, Arrested Development. Ever seen it?" I grabbed two glasses from the shelf and poured the juice into both. Mine only filled halfway before the contents of the container emptied, much to my disapproval. "Dammit," I cursed under my breath, before I capped the container and set it into the bucket for recycled. I walked to the living room and handed her the glass with the most juice. "Yours," I said.

"Why does mine have so much more than yours?" she asked.

"I ran out." I sat down and took a long drink. That limeade always hit the spot.

"Oh." She paused, then shrugged and took a sip. "Oh, to answer your question... Nope. I've never seen this show."

I gasped. Audibly. "How is this possible?" I blurted out, my nerd-dom on full display. "This show is, like, the Holy Grail of comedy!"

She chuckled, before sitting back into the couch and nodding to the television. "Then, play it."

I shook my head, set my glass down and grabbed my PlayStation 3 remote. "Nah, I can't from here. You won't understand. I'll have to start from the beginning. Then, you'll have a reason to come back and watch the rest of the series with me."

"Unless I hate it," she dryly remarked, which brought me to a pause. Immediately, her infectious laughter filled the room. "I'm teasing!" I couldn't help but smile; she was, without a doubt, one of the cooler people I've hung out with in... years.

Over the next few hours, we watched a few shows, laughing and generally getting to know one another. I found out that she, too, had recently severed ties with a significant other and realized she needed to get away. An aunt in San Diego (my old neighbor) was going to move, so she told Jessie she could move into the apartment. Her aunt was apparently loaded and was nice enough to help Jessie get a new job and would help pay for her expenses here, until she was on her own two feet. I told her about my recent breakup, about Beth, about my life; she was real easy to just open up to and connect with. For the first time in a long time, I had met someone that put me completely at ease and made me feel comfortable.

Only when I noticed the sun had begun to set did I notice the time. "Oh shit," I groaned, standing up and stretching. I didn't even realize we were watching some comedy flick, but the time caught me off-guard. Jessie, too, stood up and followed suit with stretching.

"What's up?" she asked. She caught sight of the time and let out a gasp. "Holy crap, have we really been sitting here for this long?"

"Yeah, no shit," I replied. "I mean, not that I didn't enjoy it." I turned to her and smiled; she, too, had a smile on her face. "But, I'm out of groceries and I ain't got nothing to cook tonight for dinner."

Jessie reached out and placed a hand on my shoulder. "You're in luck!" she exclaimed.

"Oh?" I asked, curious. Was she going to invite me over for dinner?"

"Yep! Because, neither do I." There was a slight pause, then we both started laughing. "I actually needed to go shopping, too."

"Well, let's go then?" I figured I'd ask; either she'll say yes or no, right?

"Ok," she said, smiling and giving me a slight nod.

"Cool, I'll drive us. Is there somewhere particular you had in mind?"

She shook her head. "I don't know of many places around here. Wherever you shop, I'll go."

We took off in my car down to the local grocery store. It didn't take too long for both of us to fill up our carts with food and whatnot. When we got back to the apartment building, I helped her put her stuff inside her apartment, then took mine in. Before we parted ways, I invited her over for dinner, to which she declined.

"How about, you come here for dinner instead?" she asked. "It's only fair, right?"

I thought about it, then nodded. "I guess so. I'll text you in an hour?"

"Ok," she replied. "Wait, you don't have my number. What kinda scam you runnin here, boy?"

We both laughed at her joke; her sense of humor was right up my alley. "Sorry, sorry. I forgot." I gave her my number, which she put in and called me. I picked up my phone and showed it to her.

"You going to get that?" she asked. I hit 'Talk' on my phone.

"Hey," I said into the receiver.

"It'll be four ninety-five for the first minute, then two fifty every minute thereafter. If you accept the charges, press 1." I pressed 1, grinning at her the entire time. She never lost her smile as she continued on, saying, "You have selected-- Ok, ok, I'm sorry. I need to shower and cook. Anything you're allergic to?"

I shut my phone off and slid it into my pocket, while she had slipped hers into her coat pocket. "Nah, not really. Just bad food, I imagine." She chuckled.

"Well, I'll just text you when it's ready. See you inna few, Chris!" We gave each other a quick hug before disappearing into one another's apartments. Over the next hour, I put my groceries away, then went and took a shower. I got changed into some dark blue jeans (skinny jeans, no less) with a plain black shirt, a grey sweater and grey shoes. By the time I was fully dressed, I got a text from Jessie.

-Hey! Food's ready. BRING YOURSELF OVER OR ELSE!- I found myself smiling at the text and quickly replied back.

-Bringing an iguana. Named Eugene. He's hungry.- I didn't know an iguana; in fact, I hated reptiles. But I was always adding random things to my texts, so I figured why not? I left my apartment, locking the door behind me and going over to hers. I knocked on the door and waited for her to open it.

When she opened the door, I found myself staring at her openly. She, too, had changed; though she was in a relaxed, casual outfit, she looked simply amazing. Like me, she had gone with blue jeans that hugged her legs and hips perfectly. She had tossed on a spaghetti-strap top that showed off her breasts; I don't know sizes all that well but they were amazing. Nothing too big or gross, and they weren't too small. I stepped inside and smiled at her, then turned my attention to her apartment. Aside from a few belongings, the place was devoid of that 'home' sense. She walked towards a small table and my eyes fell onto her perfect ass. I could already feel the blood rushing to my dick and I did my best to push those thoughts away. The last thing I needed was an erection in these jeans; they did little to hide when I was sporting major wood.

I followed her to the table and took a seat. She brought two plates over and set them down; one in front of me and one on her placemat. She had cooked up some steak, mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables that were steamed. The scent hung in the air and brought my mouth to a water. "I bought some wine," she said, "in case you drink it?" Normally, I didn't drink, but for her, I'd make an exception.

"Yeah, go ahead and pour us some," I said. It was a red wine that smelled extremely pleasant. After pouring in both of our glasses, she sat down and took her glass in her hand and lifted it.

"Whatever shall we toast to?" she said in a mock regal tone. I grabbed mine and brought it close to hers.

"To us?" I asked, then realized how forward that sounded. "I mean, to us having a good night." That didn't sound any better, but she gave me a grin.

"To us," she said, then clinked our glasses together. I took a sip of the wine and let the contents sit on my tongue before swallowing.

"This is great," I said. "Thank you so much for cooking me dinner. I don't remember the last time I've had someone actually cook me dinner that wasn't making minimum wage."

She giggled at my joke and, for a few minutes, we ate in silence. Out of nowhere, she quit eating and said, "Chris, can I ask you something?" I nodded, my mouth stuffed with delicious food. "Are you having a good time tonight?"

I grabbed my napkin and wiped at my mouth, chewing quick so I could speak without coming off like a glutton. When I finally could, I replied, "Of course I am. Why, am I not making you feel that way?"

She shook her head. "No, it's not that. I just," she paused, then let out a groan.

"Don't worry about it," I responded, reaching over the table to give her hand a quick squeeze. "I've not had this much fun in awhile." I smiled to reassure her, which seemed to do the trick. Immediately, she lightened up and, for the rest of the meal, was her jovial self that I had gotten to know throughout the day.

When the meal was done, I took our dishes to the sink and set them inside. Jessie, meanwhile, refilled our wine glasses; at this time, it was our 3rd glass. I was a lightweight and could feel a buzz going on, and it felt like she was the same way, with how her cheeks had reddened. We moved to her couch and sat down.

"Thanks again for the meal, Jessie. It was amazing."

She began to blush as she replied, "Thanks, Chris. It's been awhile since I've had a carefree night like this." She took another sip of her wine, then set the glass down. "I can't believe we spent all that time in your living room! I had errands to do today and I pretty much blew them off."

"I'm sorry," I apologized. I wasn't really sorry; I, too, had errands to run, but I had enjoyed her company so much so, that those errands completely left my mind.

"No, don't be. I didn't mean it like that, it's just..." She paused, then took another sip of her wine. "With the ex, we just fought so much at the end, that I forgot what it's like to just sit around with someone and just lose track of time."

"I know exactly what you mean," I said. I set my now-empty wine glass down. "My ex and I, it was so bad at the end, too. So I thank you for just having a fun day." She set her glass down, as well, and we leaned in close. I wrapped my arms around her and gave her a hug, and she did the same. Unlike before, this wasn't quick; it seemed like neither of us wanted to let the other go. Eventually, I regretably slipped my arms away from her and pulled back, smiling from ear to ear. She, too, had a wide smile on her face. Our eyes locked and I couldn't pull my gaze from her. Everything told me to kiss her; to lean in and press my lips against hers, take her in my arms. I sighed, finally peeling my gaze away. "Jessie, I better go," I whispered, afraid I would ruin this budding relationship.

"Okay," she whispered, though her voice was heavy. I stood up and stretched, though she remained seated. I leaned down and kissed her on the cheek, which made her look up at me as I leaned away to stand upright again. Once more, she was smiling and, I could see in her eyes, the happiness and joy that she must've been feeling. "Do you think we could do this again?" she asked.

"I have nothing planned tomorrow," I said, as she stood up and we both made our way to her door.

"Neither do I," she replied, opening the door and letting me out. I stepped outside and she followed, though not too far; she leaned against her doorway and smiled at me as I walked towards my apartment. I walked with a sideways gait; my eyes were on her, smiling, while my body moved to my door. When I reached my apartment, I patted my pockets, then felt my jaw drop.

"Goddammit!" I cursed, putting my face into my hands.

"What's wro--ooooooh, you locked yourself out, huh?" I turned to her and nodded, bummed out.

"I thought I had tossed them into my coat pocket, too. Ugh."

"Well, if you can't get in, you could always crash here," she offered. I knelt down and lifted the small plant that I kept nearby for the spare key I had hidden in case of emergencies, such as this. I picked it up and turned to her, smiling. She, however, had lost her smile. "Oh, you have a spare," she deadpanned.

I don't know why I did was I did next, but I don't think I had any control of myself. I set the plant down and stood up, shoving the key into my pocket. "What spare?" I asked, making my way back to her.

She paused, then grinned as it dawned on her what I meant. I walked right up to her, wrapping my arms around her lower back. Maybe it was the wine, maybe it was something else; I leaned in and pressed my lips against hers, kissing her softly. Her hands went to my face as she returned the kiss, our bodies pressed together as we embraced at the doorway. When I pulled away, she took my hand and led me inside. I shut the door behind us and locked it.

"I dunno what came over me," I whispered, feeling a bit silly and forward, but confident at the same time. I had conflicting emotions, however; as attracted as I was to her, I didn't think I wanted to have sex tonight. I just had to have a taste of her, to see if she was what I wanted.

"It's ok," she whispered back, a bright smile plastered on her face. "I would've slapped you if I wasn't waiting for you to do that since I stepped foot into your apartment."

I quietly chuckled. "My, oh my, I had no idea," I said, speaking softly, low. I took her hand in mine and rubbed the back with my thumb. "If I had only known..." I let the words hang in the air.

She led me towards the couch, where I sat down. She sat on my lap, straddling me, taking my face in her hands once again and kissing me. This time, there was passion and lust behind her actions; her hands left my face and slid across my chest and shoulders. I wasn't one of those super-ripped dudes - quite the contrary, I was pretty slender. I reached down and grabbed the bottom of my shirt and undershirt, pulled them both off and tossed them aside. I had clean-shaved my chest and stomach (and a few other places) the night before and, thankfully, there was no real stubble. My hands went to her waist, where I slid them under her shirt and caressed her soft flesh.

She broke the kiss, whispering, "Are we moving too fast?" Her hands were moving to her shirt, which she lifted and threw aside. My eyes moved to her chest, where she still wore a black lacy bra. Her skin, which was slightly pale, though very smooth, turned me on to no end. I responded to her question by leaning forward and kissing her at the top of her cleavage, which brought a soft moan from her lips.

"I think we are," I said, looking up to her, "but if it's not going to be a brief fling, I'm ok with this." By this time, my dick has been aching for release from the confines of my jeans. Her crotch was pressed right up against my manhood and I knew she could feel it.

"I hope it's not a fling," she replied. I pulled her close and kissed her passionately, wild. Her hands went to the back of her bra, which she unclasped and let fall from her body. Her nipples were hard and stood out from her body, a not-too-dark shade of pink that complimented her breasts perfectly. My hands slid down to my pants, undoing my belt, while I kicked off my shoes. She got the idea of what I was doing and stood up, backing away from me. I took this time to reach down and remove my shoes and socks, tossing them aside. She, in turn, had pulled her jeans down (at some point, she had removed her shoes, or maybe she had never worn any, I don't remember) and was wearing just a lacy pair of black panties. I could see her shaven pussy and it was all I wanted. I stood and pulled my jeans down and off, my erection tenting my boxers. I knelt down before her, kissing her stomach, but she stepped back.

"Not tonight," she whispered, pulling me to my feet. "I need you inside of me, right now," she added. Her hands went to my boxers and, quickly, she pulled them down. My cock sprung out, aching for attention. Her eyes fell onto my member; her tongue ran over her lips. I returned the favor and slipped her panties off of her. I could smell her sex, hot and eager, waiting to be filled. She wrapped her arms around me and we kissed, my cock pushing against her stomach. She moaned into my mouth. My hands went to her ass and I squeezed the soft flesh, caressing her skin while our tongues played with one another. She broke the kiss, only to take my hand and lead me to her room.

Once we got inside, she climbed onto her bed and I followed right behind her. She lay on her back and I crawled on top of her. Her legs parted, exposing her glistening wet sex. As much as I wanted to marvel at her pussy, to eat her out, I knew she wanted one thing. I gripped the base of my cock and positioned it into her hole. In one thrust, I buried myself to the hilt into her pussy, which brought her to a loud moan.

Her pussy was tight from the lack of attention it had been receiving, but it was so wet. Her legs wrapped around my lower back and I began to thrust in and out of her. I couldn't pull out too far, but my angle allowed for me to push in deep inside of her. Her hands went to my back, digging her nails into my flesh. I pressed my lips against hers, kissing her while she moaned and muttered incoherently. I felt her tense up and she arched her back, her mouth agape in a silent scream. After a few seconds, she gasped and looked to me. I took this time to slow down my movements; I stayed buried inside of her, but moved my hips in a small circle.