Summer Surprise Pt. 01

"Accounting?"

"I have a facility for numbers and I'll need something to pay the bills when his insurance money runs out."

"That's how you're going to pay your share of the rent?"

"Yeah. I have some educational benefits from being the wife of a deceased soldier and we had some insurance, but I can't live off it indefinitely."

"Why not live in the dorms?"

"I don't think I'd fit in. I'm a little older and a whole lot more mature. Having been married for over two years, I enjoy a little company but need more peace and quiet than a dorm offers."

"As long as you don't care if I'm a rug muncher and you can pay your share of the rent, it sounds like a good fit to me. Do you have any questions or issues you'd like to discuss?"

"Are you noisy? I'd like to be able to study."

"No more than the next person. I like the occasional party with my friends, but usually not more than once a month."

"How do we handle food?"

"We buy and eat our own."

"Bathroom time?"

"Each of the bedrooms has its own bath. We don't have to share."

"I'm satisfied. When can I move in?" Dianne asked.

"I have another interview scheduled, but I'm pretty sure you're a shoo-in. You'll be able to move in tomorrow if the other girl doesn't blow me out of the water. Give me your phone number and I'll give you a call either way."

Dianne gave Chloe her phone number and went off fairly satisfied she'd found a place to stay. Her beliefs proved well founded when Chloe called her with the good news a half hour later. She didn't even fully unpack her car at the motel she'd rented for the night. The next day found her moving her things into the apartment. Chloe helped her with some of the heavier items, the bed and mattress and a desk to study at. She was buying the books she needed for her first semester at the bookstore the following day.

Chloe was a good roommate. She wasn't loud, obnoxious, or rude, was funny, and pretty much left her alone unless she initiated conversation. Chloe was flamboyant, and had a number of friends she had over for sex, but they were quiet and never bothered her. Occasionally, she'd find one naked in the kitchen grabbing a snack, but mere nudity wasn't an issue for her. Apparently, Chloe told them she was off limits and no one hit on her. She welcomed being left alone. The pain of her husband's death was still a raw wound in her heart and she didn't want to be shedding sexual propositions from men or women.

There was one person who would sometimes visit Chloe, a young man with an ineffable sadness to him. He didn't seem to notice her when she was around and she gradually came to believe he was gay himself, if gay could be used to describe someone so doleful. He didn't seem to pay attention to any women except Chloe who he seemed to be close to.

Dianne asked Chloe about him one day after he'd left.

"Who's the young guy who just left?"

"My ex-boyfriend, Matt."

"You had a boyfriend?" Dianne asked, surprised because Chloe didn't seem even the slightest bit bisexual.

"Freshman year, before I realized guys and I didn't mix well. He came home once and found me making love to a girl. It ended the romantic relationship, but we've remained good friends."

"So he isn't a homosexual?"

"Hell no. Matt's as straight as they come."

"Why does he seem so unhappy all the time?"

"Long story and very sad."

"I'm done studying for the night. I could listen to a long story."

"It's got some twisted shit in it. Stuff you don't normally hear about. Can you listen without being too judgmental? I don't want you to think badly of him. It wasn't really his fault."

"I don't give you a hard time about the parade of girls you have in here, why should I think less of him?"

Chloe laughed. "Good point."

"I promise to listen with an open mind," Dianne said.

"Grab a drink and take a seat. This might take awhile."

Dianne made herself some tea and offered Chloe some. Chloe accepted the offer and started to tell the story.

"Once upon a time, a family lived in Tennessee, a mom with a daughter from a first marriage where the husband died. She marries a new man, and they have two more kids. While the eldest daughter was still in high school, her step-father started to molest her while mom was working in the evenings as a waitress. Finally, the daughter is graduating, and told her mom what step-dad was doing and asked her to make it stop. Mom didn't believe her, called her a liar and told her to leave.

"Eldest daughter leaves home, going to LA, where she runs into a pimp who turns her out as a prostitute as many runaways end up doing. She eventually leaves the pimp and goes to work for herself, primarily doing blow jobs for eager young college boys, essentially making a living on blow jobs alone.

"Meanwhile, the family ends up moving to Madison, Wisconsin and the boy starts college at La Crosse. The woman in LA decides she wants to see New York, ice skate at Rockefeller Center, see the Statue of Liberty, visit the Empire State Building, and all the rest New York has to offer. She begins to work her way to New York, campus by campus, blow job by blow job.

"Around Halloween of last year, said boy is at a party where a woman is giving blow jobs to the boys at $20 a pop."

Dianne's eyes widened. She can see the ending now and it isn't pretty; an unvoiced 'Oh, no,' on her lips.

"Just before boy is going to get his bell rung, the woman calls a halt, having swallowed enough cum for the night. Boy convinces woman to have something to eat and drink somewhere with him, and if she feels like it afterward, give him the blow job for $20 he missed out on. Woman accepts his offer and since it's Halloween and they're both dressed in costumes, start calling themselves Frank N. Stein and Ella for Vampirella. They eat, he seems like a decent chap, they go to his place. He gets his blow job."

"It's his sister," Dianne said, eyes wide in horrible understanding. "My God! What a terrible thing to happen."

"Story isn't over yet and it gets worse, much worse."

"How much worse could it get?"

"It doesn't end with a simple blow job. They end up boinking like bunnies and quickly fall in love. The boy is handsome, smart, kind and nice. He woos her by taking her ice skating for the very first time, with me, so she can learn to skate before going to New York. He tells her that she can't be a prostitute forever and should instead go to school, even if she has to pay for it by giving blow jobs. Shortly thereafter, she decides to immediately give up her life of prostitution. The boy gives her six grand of his own money so she can support herself until she gets a real job.

"Despite their age differences, they agree to try to be together romantically. They tell each other their real names and tragically discover that they're estranged siblings who haven't seen one another for close to eleven years. Concerned for their other sibling they reach out and discover that dear old dad was about to start molesting his own daughter. Thankfully, that's nipped in the bud and mom and daughter have a rapprochement. Knowing they can't be together anymore the sister leaves after a couple close calls. The boy is bereft. Giving up his true love leaves him heartbroken. Granted it's not quite as bad as losing your husband, but I'd say it's pretty bad nonetheless."

"How awful," Dianne said. "I feel so sorry for them. No wonder he's down."

"Matt went into a deep depression and would barely leave his apartment. I finally convinced him to go out on a few dates, but that didn't go so well. Now he doesn't want to date anyone else and he's stuck down in the dumps."

"I can imagine."

"Actually, I think you'd be perfect for him, but I know you're dealing with your own loss and I didn't want to push you guys together until you're ready."

"Thank you. I appreciate that. I know it's been over a year, but I'm not ready yet."

"I understand perfectly. I'm not sure Matt's ready either, but at least he's not hiding in his apartment any longer."

"What a terrible tragedy," Dianne said. "I'm glad you told me."

Dianne kept to herself most of the time, studying, exercising, and hanging out in her room, but occasionally she'd catch a glimpse of Matt and find herself pondering the boy who fell in love with his sister.

******

Dianne was in her room studying when she heard a commotion at the front door. Several voices were raised in greeting like they hadn't seen each other for a while. Peeking out of her room, she saw Chloe at the front door welcoming three women into the apartment: a woman around her age, a much older woman, and a girl who appeared to be around eighteen. She wondered if this was Chloe's family. Chloe noticed Dianne watching from her bedroom door and invited her to come meet everyone.

"Dianne, this is Matt's family, his elder sister, Elaine, his mother, Georgina and his younger sister, Beth. Everyone, this is Dianne Rogers, my roommate."

So this was Matt's family, except for the evil father, Dianne thought. Taking a moment to study Elaine, she noted how gorgeous she was despite the air of sadness which surrounded her.

"Oh, you know Matt, too?" Georgina said.

"Not really," Dianne said. "I've seen him around some. He comes to visit Chloe sometimes. He seems like a nice guy, though." Except for the fact he could be the poster child for clinical depression, Dianne thought.

"So, why are you guys in town?" Chloe asked.

"I wanted to return the money Matt gave me," Elaine said. "The cash from fucktards life insurance policies are coming in and I don't need his money anymore. He wasn't at his room. I think he's in class. We can't just leave it outside his door, so we decided to drop it off here because we know you see him several times a week."

"It's been so long since we've seen you, Chloe," Georgina said. "Let's chat over some lunch. I can make everyone some sandwiches."

"Sure. I've never been one to turn down free labor. I even have food in the fridge since Dianne pays her share of the rent on time."

"Dianne, why don't you join us. It would be nice to get to know one of Chloe's friends. Beth, help me make the food."

Beth gave her a dirty look, getting an equally dirty one back. "Fine, as long as we have time to talk after we eat. You're not the only one who hasn't seen Chloe in a while."

They both went into the kitchen.

"Are you Chloe's girlfriend?" Elaine asked. "It's hard to keep track, she goes through them so fast."

"Not likely, I'm strictly straight," Dianne said. " Besides, like you say, she tends to burn through girlfriends pretty fast. Best I not get on the merry-go-round or I might have to leave if she got sick of me."

"Are you dating anyone?"

"Nope. I was married for a couple years, but about fifteen months ago my husband was killed in action during an IED attack in Afghanistan. I'm still kinda mourning so I'm not ready to do the dating thing yet. I'm just focusing of getting a college degree right now."

"I'm sorry for your loss. That's tragic."

"Everyone has their story to tell, some of it good, some of it bad. At least it's not fresh anymore and the ache is starting to go away. The only thing I regret is that we spent so little time together, roughly a year out of the two we were married, because the rest of the time he was overseas."

"You're right. Everyone has stories," Elaine said.

Dianne didn't think it appropriate to talk about Elaine's story since she barely knew her. Perhaps Chloe wasn't supposed to say anything. It would be horrible if Georgina and Beth didn't know about what happened between her and Matt and she spilled the beans.

"Chloe said you're going to school in Madison. What are you studying?"

"Public Relations, you?"

"Accounting. I like numbers and I'm good at them. I need something to pay the bills when the insurance money runs out."

"More stable than being a theater major, right Chloe?"

"Are you kidding? I'm going to be a star; I'll make more money than both of you put together."

"You're certainly not lacking in confidence, that's for sure," Elaine laughed. "I swear, one of the worst things about going to school in Madison was giving you up as a roommate."

"Are you dating anyone?" Dianne asked.

"No. I've sworn off sex for the time being. Not sure I could find anyone nice anyway."

"Why not?"

"I used to be a prostitute. I figure no one decent would be interested once they found out. The rest would just want sex."

"Does your family know?"

"Oh, Mom and sis, yeah, they know. I don't keep many secrets from them."

"What was it like?"

"Prostitution? About what you'd expect. It doesn't leave you with warm, wonderful thoughts about the opposite sex. Far too many men wearing wedding rings hiring my services. Cheap bastards who don't want to pay. Some men who get rough or want more than they paid for. It was about as degrading as you'd expect."

"Why tell anyone? It's in your past."

"It's an awfully big secret to keep. I was a prostitute in Los Angeles for ten years. I mostly sucked a lot of cock, but occasionally I fucked for money, posed for nude photoshoots, and acted as an extra in porn movies. That's a lot of exposure and I'm certain some of that stuff is still floating around out there. Probably not a good idea to start a long-term relationship trying to keep that kind of shit a secret. I can't imagine it going well if a future hubby was perusing porn sites one day and came across a picture of me taking it in the ass or sucking some other guy's dick. Just the kind of girl someone wants as a wife and mother, right?"

"That's so sad."

"Tell me about it. I'm pretty much resigned to remaining single."

"That's bullshit," Chloe said. "There are more men like Matt in the world. You just haven't found one yet for the same reason Matt hasn't found a new girlfriend; neither one of you is looking."

"How is Matt doing now?" Elaine asked.

"It was touch and go for about six weeks. His grades slipped. He was brooding in his apartment, not doing anything. I finally went over there, stripped off my clothes and told him to fuck me. He was too much the gentleman to accept, but I finally broke through enough to drag him into real life again."

"I've seen you running around enough in the apartment to know how good you look; why didn't he fuck you?" Dianne asked.

"He said he didn't want a pity fuck from his gay ex-girlfriend. Gave him a boner though," Chloe laughed. "Men can't hide when they're interested."

"When was this?" Dianne asked

"About two weeks before you moved in. You've only seen the quasi-good Matt. You didn't see the totally depressed, woe is me, total dumpster fire, Matt."

"The Matt I've seen is the quasi-good Matt? I thought he was the dictionary definition of depression."

"You didn't see him before. The current Matt isn't the real Matt. The real Matt is the greatest guy in the world, the 'let me give you a massage,' Matt," Chloe said. "The current Matt is the okay, you don't have to drown me, Matt."

"Oh, the massages," Elaine said. "They were the fucking best weren't they? They made me want to melt."

"No kidding," Chloe said. "Receiving a massage from him almost makes me want to give up women. I mean, I love Matt like a brother, but I occasionally wish it could have been more. He's such a fucking sweetheart."

"I know," Elaine said, sadly. "The world's best."

"Too bad neither of us could give Matt what he needs," Chloe said, putting her hand on Elaine's shoulder and leaning her head in to touch Elaine's.

Elaine smiled wistfully. "Yes," she whispered.

Dianne thought she'd like to make the acquaintance of the real Matt. The one she'd encountered so far wasn't any prize, but the one they talked about sounded like someone she'd like to meet.

"You three ready to eat?" Georgina said. "Food's ready. I hope you like egg salad sandwiches and tuna salad over lettuce and cucumbers?"

"Any meal I don't have to make myself is the best meal in the world, Mrs. S.," Chloe said. "Color me hungry."

They spent the next hour and a half laughing and talking up a storm. Dianne had a wonderful time with all of them. Georgina and Beth were both nice people who were fun to be around, Elaine was sweet despite the air of sadness that clung to her, and Chloe was her usual bright, vivacious self. It left her wondering about the ghost in the room, the missing real Matt.

******

When Matt came to the apartment to pick up the money Elaine had left, Dianne tried to meet the so called real Matt. She didn't. He came across as disengaged, only asking Chloe how Elaine was doing and about his mom and Beth, but little else. Most of her attempts at conversation with him went nowhere. His responses to questions were monosyllabic or as brief as possible, offering only the bare minimum response. Nothing to carry on the conversation beyond the initial question. He seemed disinterested in getting to know her better and didn't ask her anything about herself. It was pretty much like carrying on a conversation with a door knob.

When he left, Dianne said, "I hoped to meet the real Matt. He's still not at home. I guess he didn't find me attractive."

"Nonsense. You've got everything in all the right places. It's no reflection on you at all. He's still too wrapped up in his own fantasy world to really notice anyone."

"The way you and Elaine talk about the old Matt makes it sound like he'd be an interesting guy to meet. I wish I could get to meet that version of Matt."

"What? You're ready to date again?"

"With the right guy, I'd maybe consider it. Nothing too serious to start."

"I think you'd be perfect for Matt. Serious, grown up, not some kind of party girl."

"Except he doesn't pay the slightest bit of attention to me."

"He isn't paying attention to anyone right now, so that's nothing against you. What you need is some kind of hook to get him to really look at you."

"Like what? Do what you did? Strip off all my clothes and ask him to fuck me?"

"No way. That would probably turn him off. I got away with it because I was a friend. Matt's a rescuer. He needs a damsel in distress. He didn't intend to fall in love with Elaine, he was just trying to rescue her from a life of prostitution. The love came out of that, hers and his."

"So pretend to be a prostitute?"

"Fuck no. Totally unbelievable. Nothing about you screams 'Prostitute, I'll fuck you for money.' We need something different, something believable and closer to the truth. The best acting comes from the truth of who you are. Grieving widow. That should do it."

"I could probably pull that off. When and where? I mean, he's seen me a couple times and I haven't been exactly crying up a storm."

"Too true. We need some kind of special date to make it significant to you. When did you get married?"

"November, 2014."

"November is too far away. When did you meet?"

"Memorial Day, same year."

"Perfect! Memorial Day is coming up. I bought Matt a day trip on a Mississippi riverboat on Memorial Day. Anything to get him out of his apartment. You need to get on the same boat and then do something that screams distress, without actually screaming help, in which case a bunch of other people might leap in to try and save you. It's completely perfect. It makes total sense you'd be distraught on the anniversary of such an important day in your relationship."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. I can't figure out everything. Sometimes you have improvise, ad-lib, play it by ear. You know, see what opportunity presents itself. Just remember - damsel in distress. Here's the details for the cruise."

Chloe gave Dianne the brochure she'd purchased the cruise from.

"Book yourself on the same cruise."

Dianne looked at the brochure for a rear paddle wheeler river cruise. It was scheduled to leave the berthing spot on the Mississippi River at La Crosse at 10 am and travel down to Prairie du Chen where it would reverse course for the return trip back up the river. It included two meals, lunch and dinner. It was fairly expensive, but doable. Even if it didn't work as a key to unlocking Matt's funk, it would still be fun. She'd never done anything like it before. She booked herself on the cruise.