My Ex-roommate

My Chinese Pen-pal

Opening the dirty white front door to my house, I stepped through it quickly. The cold winter air threatening to force its way in behind me. While taking off my gloves and beanie, I was greeted by the familiar smell of Chinese cooking. I walked through the dimly lit corridor, through the dark living room and stood in the doorway to the bright kitchen. Flora, was furiously chopping vegetables. In one practiced movement, she lifted the cutting board and scrapped it all into the pot of boiling water. "That smells nice" I said, breathing deeply to let the smell saturate my very being.

Flora looked up, her comically huge round glasses, placed at the tip of her thin nose. Her face twisted as she squinted looking over her glasses. With a dainty finger she pushed their bridge up into place. Her thick lenses magnifying her brown eye. "Hi Tom" she said, in her usual high pitch and overly friendly voice. She smiled as she said, "Thank you". I asked her about her day, and we talk for a short while before I made my excuse to leave to go to my room. She called out after me, "Tom" she paused, waiting for me to turn around. "My girlfriend arrives tonight. She will be here all week; I hope you don't mind."

I smiled cheekily, "I wouldn't mind so much if I had a plate of your cooking." I continued, "But thank you for letting me know. She's incredibly lucky to come home to such a good meal." She blushed and gracefully thanked me. I continued to my room. Flora, my house mate, is from China, her given name is Mei, I think she said it meant something like beautiful flower. I joked at the time that it was a very appropriate name and she had turned a shade of scarlet that I had never seen before and she ran off to her room probably embarrassed. She was very pretty; her short black hair framed her porcelain face perfectly. Whenever I saw her inside the house, she always wore an oversized thin silk dressing gown, with beautiful red roses on its black material. Her pale skin and small frame contrasting with the gown, giving her a certain elegance as she wondered gracefully around the kitchen.

Her girlfriend, also Chinese, was similar in body type, but not as attractive. She had big watery heavy-lidded eyes, that gave her the impression she was always very tired. Judging from what she told me of her life, she was probably right. Linda was a university student who worked part time. She rarely had a day off, and when she did, she drove down to our town to stay with Flora. Linda and Flora had been together for about 2 years. I could tell that they really enjoyed each other's company, bar the exceptional argument.

Unfortunately, our time living under the same house wouldn't last long. Due to viral circumstances Flora had to go back to China, and Linda had to stay in the country to complete her degree. Six Months passed and I hadn't heard a word from her. When one morning I received a letter from her. In the letter, she explains how her girlfriend and she had split up as their distance was too great and it was hard to keep in contact. However, she's done something stupid and her very traditional parents now suspect her of being a lesbian. She countered their argument with doing something even worse and showed them a picture of her and I that we'd taken. She's got the next plane out of china to come see me. She'll only be in the country for a month because she couldn't get a proper visa.

I finish reading the letter, this must be some sort of joke. I scrunched up the paper and threw it into the wastepaper basket. Why on earth would she send a letter? Wouldn't an email have been faster? Before I could process what had happened, there was a knock at the door. In no particular hurry, I went to open the door. To my surprise, I found a windswept Flora, her eyes red, indicating she'd been crying a lot. Confused and a bit embarrassed for her, I help her inside and grab her luggage. Seeing as she doesn't live here anymore, I show her up to my room. I notice that she didn't really speak much, other than repeatedly apologising and thanking me. I did my best to help her calm down and she does her best to explain the situation again. Linda isn't responding to her texts and calls, so she doesn't knows where Linda lives.

That night, I asked her to sleep in my bed while I slept on the couch downstairs. My room was quite small, and only had a single person bed. She protested saying that she would sleep on the couch, but I was firm about it. I definitely drew the short straw. I had difficulty falling asleep because it was so cold. After waking up for the nth time I saw that Flora was opening the door to the living room and sneaking through to the kitchen. The soft clatter of glass, the gurgle of pouring water and a soft sigh told me what I needed to know. It was probably boiling in my room and the heat was making her thirsty.

I rolled over and pulled the short quilt over my head to try hide the light. My feet instantly began to feel cold through my thick socks. Then, I felt a hand on the quilt covering my shoulders. I lowered the quilt just past my nose looking up at Flora's hidden face. The rim of her glasses reflecting the little light there was in the room. "Please Tom, come up stairs, I don't mind sharing the bed. You are going to get a cold like this."

Not wanting this horribly broken sleep to continue, I gave a curt nod and got up. I followed her up the steep staircase. Her ass a foot in front of me, level with my eyes. I knew she had hit the gym a lot when she was living here, but had it gotten bigger? I shook the thoughts out of my head. A sliver of light seeped through the gaps in my door. As she opened it, I felt the heat in the room. I moved to turn the heating down just a bit as she made her way to my bed. I turned round to see her taking off her red silk night gown. Underneath she was wearing a red silk chemise. The thin material pressing lightly against her thin body. I could see her stiffening nipples etch their shape into the material. The silk barely framed the shallow curves of her breasts. As she laid in bed, she took the side closest to the wall.

She got under the oversized quilt that draped my single bed. I switched off the lights and got in besides her. Shoulder to shoulder, we barely fit on the bed. I yawned and thanked her. She began to talk about something, but I didn't listen. In typical fashion sleep had consumed me.

I woke up that night feeling a bit sore. Crammed right to the edge of my single bed, teetering on my side. I could hear Flora's soft breaths coming from behind me. I raise myself upright and reach for my phone. It was past nine O'clock. I'm going to be late for work. I scramble to get things ready. Head to the shower, in and out in record time. I walk back upstairs with my towel around my waist. I open the door and begin to change. Flora is still sleeping silently, she has a sleep mask covering her eyes. Good thing too because I didn't hesitate to drop my towel and give up the supreme comfort of changing with both hands free. In no time flat, I'm out the door.

I slump against the door, the cold wind blowing hard against my back. I fumble for my keys as my numb fingers feel like raw bloated sausages. I jiggle the key into the lock and stumble into the warm comfort that is the sweet interior of my house. A familiar smell caressed my olfactory organ. I walk through to the kitchen and Flora is dancing around the room in her red silk chemise. "Oh! Hi Tom, how are you? How was work? I hope you don't mind but I prepared some dinner for you. I hope you like it! I just wanted to say thank you for letting me stay here."

I replied, a bit in shock, "I should be thanking you; this smell delicious." Flora blushed. I continued "You don't have to cook for me... but I am not the best cook, so I appreciate what you've done."

Flora turned even redder and giggled a bit. "I know, it's the least I could do because you are allowing me to stay here for the month rent free. Besides, I don't have anything else to do in the meantime. Besides looking for a job that is... Hopefully I can find one before the end of the month otherwise I'll have to go back." I hesitated; did she say a month? Well at least I can get good food out of it. And hopefully someone can lend us a mattress or something like finding her own place for a while.

We talked over dinner, about her day, about my day her plans to for the next month. It turns out that after her taxi ride, she lost her card and has called her bank to try to get a new one, but it will take some time until her request gets approved. I jokingly let her know that she's ok to stay here if she cooks like this from time to time. Her face lit up at that.

After dinner I washed the plates and got ready for bed and was just watching things on my laptop while Flora went to have a shower. Before she left the house, she was known for taking long exaggerated showers that practically used all the hot water. She would always leave the bathroom steaming. She entered the room in a hurry, claiming that the rest of the house was so cold. I agreed, and said with a grimace, "I am not really looking forward to sleeping on the couch again". To my surprise, she just motioned to the bed. She needed to do a few things before going to bed but I could head on. So, I climbed into bed under the quilt.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Flora take something out of a bottle that looked like a huge pill. She turned off the lights and began working on her laptop. The light from her laptop casting an eerie glow on her face. I couldn't resist the pull of sleeps weight.

That night I had the strangest dream. Flora was lying on top of me, her head resting on my bare chest. I can feel her cool skin pressed against mine. She's mumbling, repeating the same thing over and over again. I feel my whole body stiffen as if turned to stone. Stuck there, trapped, I try to call out, only a wheezing escapes my lips. I feel Flora's cold clammy long fingers against my lips. One finger breaks between their parting, followed by another and then another. Her fingers brushing against my tongue, hinting softly at a salty, bitter taste. My eyes dart around the room looking for something to make sense of the situation, but nothing comes to mind. In fact, I don't even thing this is my room.

Suddenly, I feel an intense heat, not uncomfortable, just unusual. Followed by a wetness and then my erect penis plunges into her. She raises herself off my chest gently, her thin pale arms blocking what little light there was in the room. Her long slender torso gently curving and twisting like eels intertwined. She cranes her head back, as she sinks all the way down, bottoming out. Then she starts rocking her hips and a surge of great pleasure takes my conscious thought away.

I wake up the next morning slowly and groggily, like I had been drinking the previous day. Flora is sleeping softly next to me. I look to the opposite side of the room and see what seems to be the remnants of some incense candles. I slowly reach for my glass of water. As I raise it, I notice that its empty, and as I peer into it, I notice the slight hint of lipstick on the rim. I groan, slowly getting up out of bed, heading towards the kitchen to refill my glass with water. As I down glass after glass of water, I realise there is a dull ache in my groin. A sort of emptiness that I haven't felt before. When I go to touch them, I find that despite their lack of contents, they feel a bit heavier. A healthy scratch later, I decide to go back to bed and sleep.

The next few days were a bit awkward really. I could hardly look Flora in the eyes without feeling slightly embarrassed. I could hardly start a conversation without fumbling in the beginning. Once, she confronted me about it. She looked at me with her big round spectacles enlarging her already big eyes. Giving her the appearance that she was some lost puppy. I couldn't bring myself to tell her the truth, but I couldn't lie either. I just told her, that I had a weird dream that involved her, and I was embarrassed. She looked a bit shocked and tried to press for details. I couldn't oblige her. After a while, she asked if it was normal, and I said it is, but I don't normally dream that often. She seemed to relax a bit then. I tried to explain, that I didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable. She nodded and then joked about how serious I was being.

After that, things went back to normal, although I did apologise a few more times. A two weeks passed, and I was having a lot of weird dreams. I blamed them on all the heavy food Flora was cooking for dinner. I was a couple of beers into a Friday night, Flora was sitting at the desk and I was on my bed feeling sleepier by the minute. I looked at the clock, it wasn't unusually late. I got ready for bed, and told flora that I am off to bed, but she can stay awake, as I didn't mind. Still focusing on the screen, with a dainty finger she pushed her glasses up into place, turned to look at me and smiled. I took that as an OK. As I lay in bed, I could hear the wind blowing outside. My head touched the pillow and I instantly passed out.

It's the dead of night, a brilliant blue moon is low in the sky threatening to crash into the horizon. Flora is standing on a hill silhouetted by the light of the moon. Her dress billowing in the wind behind her. I am naked, standing far away from her. Somewhat confused, I cautiously walk towards her, the soft touch of the cold black soil giving way under the weight of my bare feet. The occasional rustle of leaves on trees and soft cracking of twigs underfoot breaking the soundless night. As I walk, I realise that I am not getting closer, a sense of foreboding washes over me. I call out to Flora, my throat, parched from disuse breaks the false confidence I tried to put into my voice. Her head, turns violently round, my eyes somehow connect to her piercing unblinking stare. In an instant, she appears just in front of me. Before I can react, I can feel her breath on my neck, and smell her sweet, honeyed scent.

I step back unsteadily and fall back against a tree. Flora, in a single movement, grabs both my wrists in either hand, forcing them up above my head. I close my eyes as I wince. Since she is shorter than I am she gets up close to compensate for her height. I can feel her small breasts pressing against my chest. Her wet vagina is pressing onto my leg. She hisses next to my ear, as the once honeyed scent turns into the heavy rancid smell of rust. I peer through my closed eyelids, scared of what I'll find. I gasp as I taken in Flora's features. Her face is covered in short red and white fur. Her pupils are elongate, her mouth now filled with sharp teeth. I wince as I feel her nails digging into my wrists. With strength I did not know she possessed, she guides me to the ground.

Straddled on the cold ground, she leans in and starts to kiss my neck, I can feel her soft lips gently touching my skin. Then something unnaturally long and wet licks my neck. I shiver at the unexpected touch. We make eye contact, and with her animalistic mouth, she smiles showing her sharpened teeth. Then she raises her bottom slightly and then so easily inserts my dick into her. We gasp together as she starts bouncing slowly at first. As she is gyrating her hips, I can feel myself get lost in the sensual mess that is my mind. Then we orgasm together, during the afterglow, she lays on my chest, her head resting just off my shoulder. She kisses my neck one last time before biting down and drawing blood.

I wake with a start, its three in the morning, the wind is howling, and I can hear the tree outside my window swinging wildly. I turn to the side, I can see Flora's outline and hear that she is sleeping quietly. I slowly reach for my neck. I can't feel anything. I sigh and try to go back to sleep. The next morning, Flora seems to be really happy. She's bounding around the house putting things away, packing things up. I asked her why she is so happy. She looks at me with a huge smile on her face. She is going to her girlfriends for the rest of the month as they have made up. I feel welling sense of sadness wash over me. I smiley bitterly and tell her that's great. By the end of the day, Flora is already packed and, on her way out. I could see the taxi's gleaming black metal reflecting in the weak winter sun. I hugged her tightly and I felt her put her arms around me too. "Have a safe trip and let me know when you arrive." She nodded and thanked me again. Having said all that there was to be said, she clasped my face with both her hands and kissed me on the lips. Then she grabbed her suitcase and rushed to the taxi. Although I was sad that she was leaving, I am glad to have my own bed back.

The End

Just like that the month came and went like in almost a flash and Flora sends me a message telling me the outcome of her meeting with Linda. She was in mixed emotions that she was leaving. She managed to convince her girlfriend to come back to china with her after she finished her studies. Thus, my life continued without Flora in my life. Coming home to an empty-ish house, without some great cooking waiting for me at home. I did find that I had much better sleep though. Perhaps two people sleeping in one bed was that great an idea.

A year later, Flora sends me an email. She explains that Linda has finally moved to China and they now live together in their own apartment. She has told her parents that we've broken up as the distance was too great and I wouldn't move to China. Which they seemed to be grateful for, however they are truly angry at how I could treat such a wonderful girl so badly. At this I was very confused. She attached 12 photos to the email. Each photo named a different month, starting with a month after she left. In each picture she is just posing, smiling away look happy. A couple are with her parents, as they embrace in a tight hug. Linda is in the fifth picture; she has her arm around Flora's shoulder. Her free hand is interlocked with Flora's around her waist, and they seem to be in their new place. I casually look through the rest. The eighth picture is a portrait of Flora. Flora is wearing a red silk shawl with white roses trailing along the bottom. She is heavily pregnant with her hands clasped underneath her belly as if to support it. She is looking down smiling at it. The next few pictures are of her and her growing belly, and then the last two are Linda, Flora and her family and the child. The child looks very much like me. My jaw fits the floor, when did we have sex? How is this possible? I read the email again, she never mentions the pregnancy. At the end of the email, there is a postscript.

"Thank you for the parting gift. Perhaps you could give one to Linda sometime soon."