Chapter One
“Hi, I saw your ad.”
She
was all smooth bare legs, tight shorts, and a cute Asian fringe cut.
Nick
couldn’t but help stare, but he guessed she had to be used to that.
He
said, “Yeah, come on in,” and stood aside, her scent making him think of
tropical fruit as she passed. He watched the undulating movement of her round
ass and she glanced back and flashed him a pearly-white smile.
“I’m
Lucy,” she said.
“Nick,”
he said. “Drink, before I show you around?”
“Let’s
take a look first. If I like what I see, we can talk. Okay?”
“Fine with me. Upstairs then. Ladies first.”
“If
you were a gentleman,” she grinned, “you would go first.”
He
was not a gentleman and he enjoyed the view as he followed her up the stairs.
“Bathroom
here,” he said when they reached the top floor. “My bedroom over there, box
room at the end of the landing, and,” he swung open the adjacent door, “here’s
where you will be sleeping.”
“Maybe,”
she corrected.
Nick
had already convinced himself that she wouldn’t take it, but he felt giddy just
watching her. She wasn’t tall, but her figure was beautifully proportioned,
with jutting breasts, a wasp-waist which flared out into broad hips, an ample
behind, and shapely thighs and calves. She stood in the center of the room and
turned full circle on her four-inch heels.
“It’s
nice,” she said. “Can I see your room?”
That
took him by surprise, but he found himself opening the door and she peeked
inside.
“You
should make your bed,” she said.
“I’m a lousy housekeeper.”
“The
bathroom’s a mess too.”
“If
you move in, I promise to keep it clean.”
“I’m
glad you’ve got a tub. I love to soak.”
Nick
tried to visualize her soaking as they went down to the kitchen.
“Coke? Or something stronger?” he asked.
“Diet,
if you’ve got it.”
He
opened the back door to let in the warm, early summer breeze. They sat at the
kitchen table and she brushed back her hair with slender fingers.
“So
what do you do?” she asked, wrinkling her stubby little nose.
“I’m
a carpenter. I work for a company that restores old buildings.”
“Sounds pretty cool. Do you own this house? The real
estate’s outrageous around here.”
“I
inherited it, but I’m not rich. That’s why I placed the ad.”
“I
can’t afford a lot,” she said.
He
had already decided that he would let her stay for free if she wanted, but he
said, “Well, if you’re interested, I’m sure we can work something out.”
She
thought about that, then said, “I’ve got a friend who
might want to double up.”
“Boyfriend?”
“Would
that be a problem?”
“It
might.”
“I’m
kidding. I have a classmate, but we’re in a dorm and it’s pretty crowded. I’ll
talk to her if you like.”
“So
you’re at college?”
“Yeah,
MassArt,” she said dismissively. “So look, I’d like
to move in here if the price is right. I can go to one-fifty.”
“Done.”
“Well,”
she blinked, “that was easy. Do you have any house rules?”
“Let
me think about that,” Nick said. “I don’t smoke, but I don’t have any problem
with it.”
“Neither
do I. Smoke, I mean. I play music when I work.”
“I
like music. Do you have any dark habits?”
“Do
you?”
“I
sleepwalk.”
“Maybe
I’m making a mistake.”
“Don’t
worry, I’m tame, and your door locks from the inside.”
All
this time Nick was covertly checking out her smooth legs, and the swell of her
impressive bust, and noting the way she appraised him with her dark oval eyes
and the way she tugged at her hair. He was also thinking all of this was kind
of freaky because this sort of thing - a hot girl moving into his house -
doesn’t normally happen to a guy like him.
“How
about a beer?” he asked.
“Okay,
just one.”
He
got a couple of Heinekens from the refrigerator and they moved to the living
room, sharing the couch. Nick learned that she was twenty years old and from
New York, where she had been living with her father.
“He’s
Japanese, my mom’s ethnic Korean. Zainichi. I don’t see her anymore.”
She
didn’t elaborate, so Nick said, “Well, I must say it’s a lovely mixture.”
“Long story. They came from Kobe. I was born here, but I can
speak Japanese thanks to my dad.”
She
was studying illustration and animation, but her special passion was Japanese
manga art. She worked mostly in acrylics and woodcuts but enjoyed the
simplicity of pencil sketching.
“My
main influence is Tezuka, of course.”
“Of course.”
“But
I’ve recently been studying the works of the Year 24 Group.”
“Well,
I guess you should.”
“Sorry.
I’ll show you some of my stuff later if you want.”
“I’d
like that.”
She
practiced Tantric yoga and Vipassana meditation,
during which she’d once had an out-of-body experience.
She rode a mountain bike to college. She was reading Haruki
Murakami, Yukio Mishima, Truman Capote, Don DeLillo and Raymond Carver and she was studying the
photography of Nobuyoshi Araki. She was currently listening to Kumi Koda, The Gazette, Lady Ga Ga, Jessie J, Bad Meets Evil,
and Rihanna, but also Mozart, Bach and Beethoven.
She
kicked off her shoes and sat cross-legged on the couch. Nick fetched two more
beers and turned on the lights.
“Thanks.”
As
she took her beer, Nick noticed a series of thin scars on the inside of her
wrist. She saw him look but offered no explanation.
She
said she believed it was possible to influence the world around you with your
thoughts. “We all come from the same source energy and our thoughts have energy
frequencies. So you have to be aware of what you’re thinking, because you’re
actually shaping the universe through your own consciousness.”
“Really?”
“Haven’t
you ever wondered at the miracle of how everything is inter-connected? Every
time you take a simple breath, you are actually exchanging gasses with our
planet.”
She
said she was not interested in politics and had no real religious beliefs
although she wore a gold Buddha amulet around her neck.
“It
was a gift,” she yawned, and lay back on the couch, stretching her bare legs
over his. Nick stayed motionless while she slept, marveling at the rise and
fall of her breasts, her plump, parted lips, the delicate arches of her feet.
She had a small butterfly tattooed on the inside of one ankle.
When
she woke, she looked momentarily confused, and when she felt his legs under her
calves, she swung upright and rubbed her eyes with the backs of her hands.
“How
long was I out?” she asked.
“Half an hour.”
“I
should go.”
“It’s
dark out. You can stay if you like.”
She
stepped into her shoes and fastened the straps. “I have morning classes.”
Nick
opened the front door and she turned to face him. He could feel her warm
breath, slightly sweet from the beer.
“I’ll
call you,” she said. “I’m sorry I took up so much of your time.”
“I
enjoyed the company.”
She
looked up at him, eyes probing, and then without warning, kissed him on the
cheek and went down the steps.
He stood in the doorway
watching her go, and when she reached the corner she turned and waved and then
she was out of sight. Nick stayed where he was for a while, still feeling the
warmth of her lips upon his cheek. Eventually he went inside, got undressed and
laid on the couch. Inhaling the sweet aroma of her hair on the cushion, he
slowly masturbated himself to sleep.