Jennifer Edwards is at work, at The Times, counting down the minutes till she can go home. Her boss isn't too strict about that, but he generally didn't like his employees to leave before 4. So, she looked at want ads trying to pass the time.
She was in the market for a temporary apartment. She was only going to have to rent a room for 3 months while her place was remodeled. The landlord promised her it would be as quick as possible, but wouldn't take less than 3 months.
'Roommate wanted. Upper east side, 3 bedroom 2 bath. $800/mo plus utilities. Serious inquiries only-non smokers preferred. Please call 929.414.6763 Ask for Kristin".
Jennifer picked up the phone and dialed the number.
"Hello?"
"Hi, May I please speak to Kristin?"
"This is she".
"Hi. My name is Jennifer Edwards. I'm calling about the ad you placed for a roommate?"
"Yes?"
"When can I come by and meet you and look at the room?"
"Anytime you'd like. I'll be home till 9 tonight and tomorrow, I'll be available from 5 p.m. on".
"How about I come by in an hour or so?"
"Perfect. Go Uptown to the Upper East side. It's in the Westbridge, tower 2. We are on the 5th floor, 5A".
"Perfect, I will see you in about an hour".
She hung up the phone and began to gather her things. She only had about 30 minutes till she could clock out, and she wanted to walk right out when she did.
It was a nice spring day, with plenty of sunshine. She dug her sunglasses out of her purse and put them on her head.
Her boss had just purchased one of those fancy water stations, so she went and filled her water bottle.
She walked out the door right on time and took a taxi to the Westbridge.
She got there about 10 minutes early, and knocked on the door.
A cute brunette with long flowy hair answered the door.
"Hi, Kristin? I'm Jennifer".
"Hi! Come on in".
Jennifer stepped inside and looked around. The apartment was amazing.
"Ok, so I have a 3 bedroom, 2 bath apartment. I use one of the bedrooms as an office. You will get the bigger bedroom-I like the other better because the closet is bigger. Plus, I like the bathroom with the shower stall, your bathroom has a soaking tub. Your bedroom has a terrace, and there is another terrace off the living room".
"Wonderful".
She showed her the bedroom and Jennifer instantly fell in love with it.
The closet was huge, and there was a step for her bed to go on. The closet was big, and more than enough for Jennifer's things.
"So the rent is $800 a month, plus utilities. Utilities are typically $100/month or so, you would pay ½ that. We can split the grocery bill. And we get 2 spots per apartment-5A1 and 5A2".
"I'll take it."
She wrote Kristin a check for all three months, and Kristin handed her a key.
"How soon can you move in?"
"This weekend".
"Great. Now, I should tell you I'm a nurse and sometimes I travel for work. Starting next Monday, I will be going to Chicago for a month, maybe two for work. So, you will be here alone. I hope that's not a problem".
"No problem at all. I live alone as it is".
"Great. My boyfriend works in town sometimes, so when he's here, I'll be here on those weekends. So, you'll only be alone throughout the week".
"Great".
Jennifer signed the lease agreement and then headed home to pack.
She stopped and picked up Chinese food for dinner and called the local moving store and ordered a pallet of boxes.
She decided to rent a storage unit to put her couch and dining room table and dishes in, along with the other things she wasn't going to use while she was at Kristin's.
She packed up the essentials and began to gather her clothes together.
By 10 p.m., she was absolutely exhausted.
***The next day***
Jennifer worked on her latest article all morning and then stopped to get lunch.
She usually ate lunch with Olivia Watkins, who also worked at the Times.
"Want to get sushi for lunch today?"
"Yes, that sounds amazing".
They headed to Rigachi's, and got a table.
She told her all about the new apartment over lunch.
"That sounds amazing. What's the view like?"
"Gorgeous. And there's a terrace off the living room."
"Wonderful! So you'll be able to bring your hammock chair from your dad?"
"Yes, I will".
After a nice lunch, they headed back to the office.
She got back to work on her article and worked steadily till 3, and then clocked out. If anyone asked, she was going to do in-person research on her article.
She headed home and packed another load of things to take to Kristin's.
She loaded up her car and was able to cram two loads into the backseat.
She pulled up and found her spot and began to unload. It took her a few trips to get it all inside.
She was bringing the last of the load when she heard a "Hey, let me help you with that".
She turned around and found herself staring into the deepest blue eyes she had ever seen.
"Thanks".
"Where are you headed?"
"5A".
"Oh? Me too. My girlfriend lives there".
"Oh, you must be Kristin's boyfriend. I'm Jennifer, her new roommate".
"Hi, I'm Jonathan. Nice to meet you".
"Likewise."
He opened the door for her and carried her stuff inside.
Kristin had left a note that she would be home in a couple hours.
"Make yourself at home, I guess. I'm going to start unpacking".
She turned around in the doorway of her bedroom.
"Thanks again for your help".
"Anytime".
He sat down on the couch and turned on the tv. Jennifer got busy hanging up clothes and putting away shoes. After a couple hours, she was ready to go back and get another load.
She came out and found Jonathan asleep on the couch.
'He is so handsome and so adorable when he sleeps'.
She grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch and covered him with it. She quietly grabbed her purse and keys and headed to the door.
The phone rang just as she got to the door, so she grabbed it and answered it and took it to the kitchen.
"Hello?"
"Hey, it's Kristin. Is Jonathan there?"
"Yeah, he's here. But he's asleep on the couch".
"Can you tell him I'm running late? I'll be home in about 3 hours or so. And tell him I'll make it up to him".
"Sure".
"Are you getting moved in ok?"
"For the most part. 2 loads down, one to go".
"Great. Well, I guess I'll see you tonight".
"See you then".
Jennifer hung up and left Jonathan a quick note to tell him what Kristin said.
She headed back to her apartment and loaded up the last load.
She went and knocked on the door of her neighbors across the hall.
Ben and Evan had lived there as long as she could remember and were always so very nice to her. She and Ben had gone on a few dates recently.
Ben opened the door.
"Hi sweetheart. Everything ok?"
"Yeah, I was just wondering if you could help me carry my mattress and box springs to my car and tie it to my roof? I'm moving out for the reno, and I don't want to hire a moving company".
"I'll do better than that. We can load it on to my truck".
"Oh wonderful. I'll buy dinner and pay for gas".
"Not necessary".
He pulled her into a warm hug, and just held her for a few minutes.
"I've missed you".
"I missed you too".
He gave her a quick kiss and then went and woke up Evan.
"Wake up dude, we are helping Jennifer".
"Ok".
They carried her mattress and box springs to his truck with ease, and then Ben helped her take apart the bed frame.
Evan carried the rest of her boxes out of the apartment to her car. About an hour later, they were all ready to follow Jennifer to the new apartment.
They pulled up and she parked in 5A1 and told them to park in 5A2.
"As soon as we get your truck unloaded, you have to move it to the visitor's spots because I don't know when my roommate will be home. And there's someone asleep on the couch, so we need to be quiet".
She unlocked the door and they went inside, and Jennifer saw that Jonathan was no longer on the couch.
"Oh, I guess he went to the bedroom."
They carried in her bed frame and got it all set up for her while she carried in some boxes.
"This is a nice place".
"Yeah, I was lucky to find it so quickly".
"Much better than our place".
"What's so wrong with your place?"
"Well, there's this absolutely gorgeous redhead that used to live across the hall but now she's moving out".
He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her neck.
"Only for 3 months, while they do the reno. Then I'll be back".
"Going to be the longest three months without you right across the hall".
"I'm only a phone call away".
The boys got her bed set up in no time, on the step.
They carried in the rest of her boxes and then Evan drove Ben's truck back to their apartment and Ben stayed to help Jennifer.
"So how did you find this place?"
"I was looking in the want ads and there it was. I called and made an appointment and fell in love with it".
She got her books organized on the shelf, while Ben got her TV set up and cable box working.
After about an hour, they were all done in the bedroom and Jennifer started on the bathroom.
Ben helped her put up the shower curtain, and then she got her makeup drawer set up.
"Well, I think I'm going to take a bath and then go to bed. I cannot thank you enough for helping me".
She stepped forward and hugged him for several moments.
"My pleasure. How about dinner this weekend? You could wear that black strapless thing you have, and we could go to La Cochette?"
"I'd like that".
He tenderly framed her face with his hands and kissed her nice and slow.
In one swift motion, he picked her up and carried her to the bed.
"I want you, baby. Like I've never wanted anyone before".
His lips captured hers in a passionate kiss and before she knew it, they were both naked and laying on the bed.
For the next 20 minutes, Ben and Jennifer had the most unstimulating, non-mind blowing, non-exciting sex in the history of the universe. At least from Jennifer's point of view. Ben thought it was wonderful.
"That's the best first time I've ever had".
"Great".
Jennifer couldn't get away from him fast enough.
Finally after 10 minutes or so of cuddling, she reminded him she wanted to take a shower and go to bed.
"Yeah, I better go".
He called Evan to come get him and Jennifer walked him to the door.
"Thanks again for your help".
"I'll call you tomorrow about dinner".
He kissed her again and then left.
Jennifer locked the door, and went straight to the bathroom and scrubbed herself raw, almost.
She got out and put on a nightgown, and then headed to bed.
***The next day***
Jennifer woke up and got ready for work, and headed to the kitchen to make some coffee.
She had just gotten a mug out when she heard a door open. Assuming it was Kristin, she called out a cheery "Good morning".
Silence.
"I'll be home around 5, and should be completely moved in by the weekend".
Silence.
She turned and saw Jonathan standing there in his boxer briefs. He was just staring at her.
"Oh I'm sorry, I thought you were Kristin".
"No, she left for work already".
"I see."
"Jennifer-"
"Yes?"
"The coffee. You're spilling it".
She looked and then turned and saw where she had filled the cup to the brim and then kept filling it. Coffee was all over the counter, and headed for the floor.
"Ahhh. Ugh. Thanks. I'm such a klutz".
She grabbed a paper towel and began to sop it up, and then wiped down the counter with a damp cloth.
She grabbed another mug and poured some in to lessen her mug.
"Want some coffee?"
"Sure, thank you".
She handed him the second mug and then poured the rest of the pot into his mug for him.
"Thank you".
"Anytime".
She quickly doctored her coffee and then grabbed her purse and keys and work bag.
"Well, bye".
"Bye Jennifer, have a nice day".
"Thanks, you too".
She headed out and thought about how handsome he was all the way to work.
Meanwhile, in the apartment, Jonathan couldn't stop thinking about Jennifer.
He loved Kristin, but he knew that he had never and could never look at Kristin the same way he found himself looking at Jennifer.