The Situationship

I had to get away from everything I had ever known to really find myself. So, I decided to study abroad in Dublin. Little did I know that one of the most impactful people of my young adult life would enter the picture because of this decision. I was going to do more than simply visit the home of my ancestors. I was going to broaden my horizons. But I did not know that yet. That realization would only come after.

So, as I flew away from the airport, leaving my parents and the home, I had always known behind, the weight of everything started to sink in. I was really going to leave. I would be on my own. While that promised freedom, it also alluded to the potential for pain.

The taxi from the airport pulled off the street littered with embassies and mansions. And I started to realize that I was going to be living in luxury for the next few months. As the car halted on the gravel, three people rushed out of the house toward me. I stepped out of the vehicle, and one short, stout woman greeted me, "My name is Nancy O'Connell, and I am the director of the campus. You must be Jack Callahan."

I shook hands while the other two, presumably employees on the campus, started to grab my bags out of the car. There was one guy immaculately dressed in a vest, tie, and suit pants. His hair was styled so that he had a slight spike to it, but nothing garish. The other person assisting me with my luggage was a girl in a beige summer dress. She had sandy blonde hair, pale blue eyes, dimples, and a cheery expression.

"That is Candace, and this is James," Nancy mentioned as she ushered me toward the entrance once I paid the driver.

Inside the home, it looked like any house of considerable stature, decadent. I saw a study, a computer room, a common area, and even a small room with a pew dedicated to worship. Nancy mentioned a kitchen and laundry room downstairs too. But my room was on the third floor.

As I opened the door to my abode for the next four months, I could see that I would have my own desk and bed, but I also noticed there were two other beds in the room. If only ten students were staying here, then I guess that meant only three of us were boys since no one was allowed to have a private room. Otherwise, I would have only been in a double, not a triple room.

Strangely, I was the only person in the room. That must have meant I was the first to arrive or my new roommates were doing something else. Then, a knock at the door broke me out of my protracted analysis.

Beyond the doorway stood Candace, a paradox of cute and stylish. My gaze traced her from head to toe, and it occurred to me that beneath the spacious dress lay an athletic form. Her arms and face appeared devoid of any fat, a testament to her physical prowess.

"Hey there, how ya doin'? I just wanted to introduce myself and see how you were gettin' settled. My name's Candace, and James and I are gonna be your RAs for the semester." Candace extended her hand.

I shook her hand, "Nice to meet you, Candace. And I was wondering where my roommates were. Surely, I am not the first one to get here?"

"You were actually the last one to get here out of ten. And another graduate student from the Italian campus took everyone to get phones and metro cards. I was actually gonna ask ya if ya wanted me to take ya to get 'em tomorrow mornin'."

I could hear Candace's accent clearly that time, despite only hearing it faintly when she first started to speak, "That would be great if you could help me with that. Also, hopefully, this is not intrusive, but I was wondering where you are from because of your accent?"

"I'm from Mystic, Connecticut. And I'll get ya bright and early tomorrow, then. Make sure to bring swim trunks. I'll let ya sleep now since ya might be jet-lagged, though."

"Thanks," I shut the door and almost immediately passed out on my twin-sized bed.

--------------------

The following morning, I awoke to see my two roommates passed out, but since it was only a couple of minutes until Candace was set to get me, I figured I had no time to scope them out. I rummaged through my luggage to get new clothes for the day, then hastily threw them on.

Candace was at the door when I opened it, "I see somebody beat me to the punch, c'mon, we should get goin'."

We tiptoed down the hall to avoid waking anyone up, but the creakiness of this old house made that difficult. Candace took me down to the basement and showed me the dining area and laundry room I had missed since I skipped the complete tour. While the laundry room was meek, with only two washers and dryers for ten people, the dining area was massive. There were two or three tables that could each seat ten easily. The only problem was that we had no stove or oven, which was apparently in an off-limits room. They apparently did not trust us to avoid burning the house down.

She brought me to a side door and handed me a key attached to a lanyard. "This is ya key to get into the house, don't lose it. And always use this side door instead of the big front door. That one's got all kinds of locks that are tricky."

As we journeyed down the picturesque streets of Ballsbridge, the most expensive street in all of Dublin, I was struck by just how tranquil my temporary home was. The train station was mere blocks from our home and looked like the stereotype I envisioned from every Brit-drama I had ever seen. It was small and unassuming, with an arched bridge that let you cross from one side to the other. The train was only a few minutes away after Candace helped me get my metro card from the machine.

"Before we go to get ya phone set up for international calls, ya mind if we stop at the beach?"

"Sure. What beach are we going to?"

"Sandycove, it's a bit smaller than the others but perfect for what I have planned. I like to take a dip in the ocean when it's frigid every mornin' 'cause of the health benefits."

"Interesting. What health benefits?"

"All kinds, from helpin' ya immune system to boostin' ya circulation, to even improvin' ya mood. It's the little things that add up, ya know."

The train screeched into the station. It looked more modern than what I was expecting, but my American preconception of Ireland was not great. My parents baked me some potatoes a few nights before my departure to expose me to what they thought the food would be like here. I guess they assumed everyone still lived on potatoes, which would have been laughable if I had not had to eat the bland dish that night.

We hopped on the train heading South. Once onboard, Candace grabbed us a booth since, unlike the trolly at home, this train had seating in groups of four facing each other rather than in groups of two facing the same direction. It was a subtle nod to how much more communal Ireland was than The United States.

I looked out the window to watch the landscape fly by as we exited the station, but Candace figured now was a good time to break the ice.

"So what made ya wanna come to Ireland?"

"I am Irish, but I guess I wanted to understand what that meant a bit better. So, since the school has a special program to come here, I figured I might as well utilize it. This study abroad deal was one of the reasons I chose to study at Holy Cross."

"I see. Well, when I was in ya shoes, I thought I was Irish too. But now I understand I'm Irish-American, which is a big difference. Y'll see that in time."

"Yeah, sure," I dismissed her. "So, I take it by your comment you went to Marygrove too?"

"For my undergrad. Now I'm at Trinity, where y'll be goin' for this semester."

"What do you study?"

"Public Health," Candace smiled warmly. "I know, big surprise, huh? Considerin' the excursion we're on."

"Well, that explains the shape you are in," I looked at her and blatantly checked her out from head to toe. This time, since she was in more form-fitting clothing, it was easy to see that she might not be muscular, but she was still trim. The plain tank top and boot-cut jeans still showed off a flattering figure.

"Whaddaya mean by that?"

"Just that you are hot. Feel free to take the compliment."

"Ya shouldn't comment on other people's bodies, but I guess ya are what, twenty? When I was yer age, I said some pretty stupid stuff too. Plus, ya brain won't be developed for at least four more years."

"And what do you mean by that?"

"I hate to say it, but you're being kind of immature. I mean, not to be sexist, but studies do show that guys' brains tend to develop a bit slower than women's, so maybe that's what's happening here."

"Wow," I feigned a chuckle. "You are being a bit blunt there for someone who hardly knows me."

"I think ya were being a bit presumptuous, assuming I wanted to hear what ya thought about me physically, but I digress. Let's just move past this."

"Fair enough. Sorry I called you hot," my voice was laced with sarcasm.

Candace's eyebrows narrowed in anger, "Listen, I'm not trying to be a hard-ass or anything, but maybe just try not to do it again, okay?"

"Okay, mom."

Candace gave up and stopped speaking to me for the remainder of the ride to the beach. Meanwhile, I watched the landscape change from Dublin suburbia to an inviting evergreen. One of the first things I noticed when my flight landed from Detroit was how short all the buildings were. There was no skyline, just urban sprawl for miles on end. It was a small-town feel in the big city, with nature in the corridor.

It was not too long until our stop when Candace signaled me to get up. I immediately saw the shore once we got off at the train station. I had never been so close to the ocean in my entire life, and the added wind was a surprise. The closer you were to shore, the windier it got.

As we made our way down through the small town to the area Candace usually did her morning dive, I saw a man with a bright red beard and yoga mat in his hand wave toward us.

Candace commanded me without so much as looking at me, "Just go wit' what I do next."

Candace took my hand in hers. As the man approached, she beamed, "Hey, Niall, great to see ya."

Niall had a look of pure infatuation written on his face, "Hi Candace, I was hopin' to run into ya. We've been missin' ya in yoga class."

Niall spoke with an accent, but it almost sounded like American English. I could not be sure of where he was from by his intonation alone, but if he was Irish, then the stereotypical accent did not align with the preconception back home.

Candace grabbed my bicep with both hands and hugged me, "Hopefully, I'll see ya real soon, but my boyfriend and I gotta go somewhere."

Niall looked like someone punched him in the gut after Candace spoke. My RA pulled me away from the scene of this quite brutal hit-and-run without so much as a goodbye.

"What was that----"

"Jus' wait 'til we get furtha away," Candace kept tugging on me to walk away.

We strutted away at a breakneck pace before Candace looked behind her to see if the coast was clear, "I hooked up with that guy, and all I wanted was a one-night stand, but he's looking for something more. I've been trying to avoid him, but I guess not well enough."

"Wow, Miss Prude had casual sex and is a heartbreaker," I cannot help but brag sardonically since Candace had been less than pleased with me on the train ride here.

Candace stopped in place, yanking me by the arm to a standstill. She looked me in the eye, "Look, I am no prude or anything, but you gotta back off a bit. I can't have you getting too cozy with me, or I'll end up getting sacked. I mean, I need this free housing badly. You do realize Dublin is like the tenth most expensive city in the world, right?"

"So your main problem with me calling you hot is that you are my RA?"

Candace refused to answer and just walked away without a single word uttered in response. After following her to the shore, we were basically the only people here at this time. And I noticed that the tide was low since there seemed to be stone steps going all the way down, but a much shorter metal ladder to get into the water on a different section of the beach.

Candace approached this makeshift shack by the stairway, "Hey, don't go checking me out while I'm changing, okay?"

I did not even acknowledge that with a response since I came in my swim trunks, fully prepared, while someone else obviously did not.

"Did you hear what I just said?"

"Yes, I heard you! I will just wait over here for you since I came in my gear."

Not long later, Candace greeted me in a flowery one-piece with her drawstring bag slung around her back. I had to admit she was a sight in that outfit. She might not be toned from weightlifting, but her body still showed plenty. And it was an all-natural kind of appeal. I tossed my shirt to the ground, and Candace left her bag next to my shirt, "ya ready to jump in?"

We both looked down at the water and saw it was only about a 7-foot drop to the water. It looked safe enough to jump in, but Candace still grabbed my hand and locked eyes with me before we got a running start and cannonballed as far away from the wall as possible.

As my feet hit the water, I felt a surge of frigid water course through my veins. Once fully submerged in the salt water, I could feel the sliminess of the sodium surrounding me. I began to tread water as I emerged above the surface at the same time as Candace.

"Pretty refreshing, huh?"

"Holy shit, it's cold. How long do you stay in here?"

"Only 'bout five minutes," Candace was already shaking.

"It looks like it is already getting to you."

"Mind your own business," Candace's eyes dared me to challenge her again.

I locked my eyes onto hers, unflinching, unwavering. As my gaze lingered, a change came over her, a paleness creeping into her skin that only accentuated the ethereal beauty of her pale blue eyes and sandy tresses, now transformed into platinum strands under the spell of her complexion. A sudden realization dawned on me - this woman was no mere mortal. She was a vision, a Hollywood starlet, a reincarnation of a young Jodie Foster or Helen Hunt.

But before I could bask any longer in her radiance, Candace disrupted my trance by swimming over to the steps. "Ya comin'?" she called out, breaking my daydream.

I followed her out of the icy waters, the chill in the air seeping into my bones. Candace leveled me with a skeptical gaze as I scrambled to throw my shirt back on. "Did ya not think to bring a towel?" she queried, her voice dripping with incredulity.

"No, I had no idea what we were coming here for."

Candace rolled her eyes, "Didn't ya think to bring a towel when I asked ya to wear swim trunks?"

"Clearly not," I was almost as cold as Candace had looked in the water.

"I guess we don't have time for me to change. Let's head back to the house before ya get too cold."

We jogged back to the station and hopped on the first train back to Ballsbridge. The AC on the train hardly helped on the way back. The summer heat in Ireland, or lack thereof, was not what I was accustomed to back home. And while there had been high global warming-related temperatures, those had all subsided before my plane landed. Now, Ireland was in its typical temperate season drawl.

We shivered a bit the whole way home. While we were in no mortal danger, there was plenty of discomfort. Candace shared her towel with me, but it was not able to absorb the moisture of two people. We were so soaked we could not even sit down on the ride home without leaving a puddle in our stead.

The second the train pulled into the station, we were off to the races and made it home faster than a lightning bolt. We busted through the door, and Candace brought me into the dining area. She pointed to a door at the edge of the space, "That's the only shower in this house with hot water."

"Then how do you want to do this? You or I first?:

"How about we share it? There's only enough hot water for one of us anyway."

"Really? What about the others living here?"

"They should all be out with James. Get in there before I change my mind."

I did not need to be asked twice. I started stripping down to my birthday suit, and Candace did the same as we stumbled into a bathroom the size of a janitor's closet. There was barely any room for our clothes, let alone for us to get in the shower, but Candace was adamant. We got under the nozzle, and the spray was like bathing in ambrosia. The heat that had been robbed from my body returned. I was no longer focusing on my body convulsing, which freed me to check out Candace.

While Candace was the closest to the downpour, I could see that most of the water splashing on her was rebounding from my chest down to her meek frame. Yet, this instinctively made her stare up at me with these doe eyes pleading for me to take advantage of my luck. I inspected her from head to toe and saw that the form I had caught sight of on the beach was even more glorious bare.

Clothing did not do a woman like Candace any favors. While she did not have the definition of the girls at the gym or prancing around on social media, she was All-American. She was the girl next door with a brain to boot. And before I knew it, the images in my mind spread to my body.

Candace glared down, "You are actually kinda big."

"What happened to 'keep it professional'?"

"We are way past that. Just try to keep your mouth shut."

My RA's hand rubbed my erect cock from tip to balls, deliberating over every inch.

"Ya know, there is another study on semen?"

"Oh really? I know how big you are on studies."

"They say it's a natural anti-depressant."

"Do they now?"

"I am not gonna argue with the experts. How about you?" I gestured in response to her, "So, are ya clean?"

"Clean?"

"Do ya have any STDs or STIs I should know about?"

I paused, embarrassed by this next admission, "I am a virgin, actually."

"Well, Jack, how would you like to get your first blowjob then?"

I just nodded as Candace sank to her knees before me. Her hands gave me a few enthusiastic pumps causing me to writhe in her hand. After she licked me from taint to tip, I felt a shiver of pleasure run through my core. This was what sex was like, and I loved it.

Candace wrapped her lips around my bell end, making eye contact with me as she did it. My heart skipped a beat as I pictured myself fucking that gorgeous face, but I refrained from being aggressive. Something told me from our earlier conversations that Candace was not going to dig me being anything other than a passenger in this experience. So I stood there and enjoyed as her tongue flicked my tip, her lips sucked me tight, and her mouth bobbed up then down.

I would have liked to say I lasted awhile, but since this was my first sexual interaction before even kissing, I had no such fortune. I was blowing globs into her mouth a minute after she got her face eye level with my private parts.

Candace stood up and opened her mouth to show my spunk on her tongue. Then, like a patient taking their medication, she opened her mouth to show me she had swallowed. She shut the water off after that and got out of the shower. We grabbed towels off the racks to dry off, this time never suffering from the frigid water.

"By the way, ya might want to let a girl know before ya cum next time," Candace grabbed her things and was out the door, buck naked.

I threw on my damp shirt and collected my stuff off the floor when I heard her call out, "Get dressed and be ready in ten. We are gonna get ya that phone."

Candace seemed dead set on ignoring our minor transgression from here on out. While I would have liked to continue a relationship like this, I knew this was not someone who would put their future in jeopardy for a hookup. Niall proved that more than anyone.