Three Ps in a Pod

College housing had a radical transformation thanks in part to changing attitudes and also as a result of financial viability in an effort to remain relevant. For one particular company sanctioned by the University to provide cheap and affordable student housing Prairie View Living Community charged per bedroom instead of the entire unit and in each "pod" there were 4 individual bedrooms, with 2 bedrooms each sharing a bathroom- making up a "suite"- and every pod had two suites which shared a common dining and living room area. So, 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a shared kitchen and living room, and endless possibilities was the promise of the Prairie View Living Community.

When Peter Marshall was asked to become a roommate of his life long friend Paula Langston and her roommate Paige Simpson, their pod had 2 vacancies and therefore their rent was higher. Rent per tennant when all four bedrooms where rented was $250 a month. For each vacancy in a bedroom, the complex tacked an extra $50 a month per person onto their rent. Paula and Paige were paying $350 but when Pete moved in, they would each pay $300 a month.

The system was not perfect, but the nice thing about it was that every person signed their own lease and students could move in or out and not leave the remaining roommates with the full $1000 a month rent. The downfall was that the business manager could assign anyone they wanted to your pod if you just requested a roommate, thus the incentive for finding your own if you weren't willing to take a risk of getting assigned some random stranger and you wanted lower rent.

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Paula and Paige met at Freshman Orientation before they even started college their freshman year. They became immediate friends and became roommates and ended up in the Prairie View Living Community along with two graduating seniors. The seniors moved on, and Paula and Paige tried to find 2 roommates to help with rent but only succeeded in finding Peter.

Paula was tall and fit at 5' 10", maybe 120 pounds. Blonde hair with a brown tint, big brown doe eyes. Her favorite pastime was in-line skating. Tall, blonde, tanned skin, nice C cups, extremely fit, the stereotypical "California Girl" despite never having been to Cali. When she wore her skin tight skating clothes she had a cameltoe she couldn't hide, but that wasn't even the first thing you noticed as she skated by turning heads. She liked ice skating also but she was a much better sight to see in the summer than bundled up for ice skating in the winter.

Paige was built somewhat differently but arguably was even more stunning. Shorter at 5'5" in heels, she was petite, true blonde with blue eyes- a Scandinavian beauty but also very athletic. Paige had been a football cheerleader last year, and while the short skirts were great in August and September when the temperature was in the 80s, by October and November when it was rainy and in the 30s, the Midwestern weather had broken her spirit and she didn't plan on that lifestyle this year. Paige was studying to be a music teacher and had met Peter a few times in their teaching education classes. They knew who the other was but didn't know each other that well, but both were glad that was about to change.

Peter stood a solid 185 pounds at 6 feet tall. Short, military style haircut, muscular but not beefy. Just a strong guy with green eyes who was pleasant to look at. Pete liked baseball and outdoorsy stuff. If he wasn't playing baseball you probably could find him hiking out to a secret fishing spot.

Peter and Paula had been neighbors and friends since the 3rd grade. They went to their Senior Prom together as friends, but Paula just never could seem to date her neighbor even though he was the only boy she ever really loved. Maybe he was too familiar to be attracted to, but in his freshman year of college when they were in ROTC together he had filled out and she had begun to think she had missed her chance.

Paula was Pete's dream girl, but she was unattainable. But she was always there for him still. When Peter's brother was killed in Iraq last year, it was Paula's shoulder he had cried on, and she had cried on his shoulder equally. On paper, they were perfect for each other.

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A week before classes started, all of the ROTC cadets that the with signed contracts were on campus for a Mini-Camp where uniforms were issued and more paperwork was filled out. The cadets spent Tuesday on the rifle range for weapons qualifying and Tuesday night was spent out in the boonies doing night tactical maneuvers, and of course lots of physical fitness every other free moment. A week before school started was the perfect time to let the cadets know who was in charge.

On Wednesday, while back on campus, Paula came up lame while running and had to drop out of their team run. Peter, as her "battle buddy", dropped out along with her and took care of her. Luckily they were only a couple of blocks from home.

Captain Daniel Wood, class advisor and Assistant Professor of Military Science came back to assist Paula and see why Pete had dropped out of the team run.

"Sir, I think it's my hamstring," Paula winced. "I hurt here," and rubbed the back of her upper leg. "I cannot move it without a huge pain," she stated through clenched teeth of pain.

"Cadet Langston, wait here and I will get my car and take you home," Captain Wood said. "Cadet Marshall, catch up with the rest of the platoon."

Pete thought CPT Wood was an idiot. He was the type of officer who got good people like Pete's brother killed. And if CPT Wood were to be promoted once again, he would gladly have business cards and a plaque emblazoned with "MAJOR WOOD". If for some miraculous reason he wete to be promoted from major, he might turn it down because "Lieutenant Colonel Wood" wasn't as cool as "Major Wood".

"Cap'n", Pete said, intentionally refusing to call him "sir" and dropping the P and T from his rank, making him sound like "Cap'n Crunch" or something was Pete's effort at silent insolence. Even though there was nothing legally wrong with calling him by his rank, using someone's rank was what you usually called one who was inferior to you. So Pete said, "Cap'n, we live about a block away and I can get her home, then come back and rejoin the platoon if that's okay."

"Cadet, are you challenging my order?"

"Oh, no sir," Pete said in a not-sincere tone, but yet again, not overtly disespectful. "But she is my Battle Buddy and I can get her home and she can ice her muscles and then I can take her to the doctor later if need be. We don't have a car here,

but I can have her home before you can get back, sir, and you don't think we should leave her here alone, do you, sir, while you get your car? Right?"

CPT Wood didn't even realize he was being mocked, and said, "Here is what we will do. You stay here or move her if she feels up to it, and I will run back, get my Red Corvette, and come find you and give her a ride if she needs it. Understood?"

"Yes sir!" Pete said.

"Good. Captain Wood out!"

What an idiot. He didn't even know he was being mocked, he also had to brag about his Red Corvette, and what the hell kind of ambulance was a Corvette anyway?

CPT Wood ran off, and Pete said to Paula, "Let's move before that dumbass gets back."

"Oh, but Cadet Marshall, I want to ride in his Red Corvette ambulance! Puh-leeeeeeease?"

Pete helped Paula home, and while she undressed he found an icepack and ran some hot bathwater for her. Then he took off and beat CPT Wood and his "ambulance" back to the dismissal formation.

Pete got home about an hour later, and when he came in, he heard crying coming from Paula's bathroom. Knocking on the door, he asked what was wrong.

"I hurt, and I spilled my icepack, and the bathwater is cold. And now my back is tight and I hurt so bad that I cannot even get to the drain or faucet to drain the cold and run more hot," she complained.

"Would you like me to..."

"Yes, please, I am naked in the tub, but I need your help."

"Okay, coming in, and I promise I will not try to look," Pete said.

"Whatever," she said. "That's the least of my concerns."

He knocked again, opened the door and walked in. Even in her current state of anguish, she was gorgeous. Oh how he wished he could have seen her this way under better circumstances! She was a perfect physical specimen, and he couldn't ignore that her pubic hair was trimmed into a tiny landing strip and it waved and floated in the bathwater. Her breasts were perky, big, and the cold water had her nipples fully erect. All of this lead to him being fully erect also.

Pete drained the water, grabbed a towel and picked her up like she weighed nothing. He scooped her into his arms and carried her to her bedroom and placed her on her bed. She told him where to find the clothes she wanted and he helped her get dressed. She did her bra, but he had to help her with her panties and shorts. He noticed her lack of tan around her privates was pretty small, and her pink lips glistened- probably from the bath, but maybe not he hoped.

"What can I do for you, Paula?"

"Will you...help...will you massage my leg? Please? Maybe my lower back, too?"

He wasn't going to touch her THERE, unfortunately, but he was going to touch her bare upper legs and inner legs and lower back. He would not need to do anything to her pubic hair or pussy so he probably wouldn't get lucky.

Damn. Too bad.

That didn't help her muscles enough, but did get them both fired up sexually. She called for and he took her to a doctor's appointment where she was prescribed some powerful muscle relaxers. Just as she was going off into her own little world before sleepytime, she said, "Pete, you saw my pussy- do I get to see your cock?" When she said "pussy" she whispered it, while everything else was a drunken slur.

"Paula, when you wake up, ask me again," he said.

"I know you werrrrre eggs-shy-ted when you saw my...my, my pussy...earlier. Weren't you."

"Yes, I was my dear, but touching you and fingering you now, and showing you how hard my cock is would be unfair and would be taking advantage of the situation," he said. "I want to make love to you, but I want you to want it, and not be a result of your medication."

The next thing out of her mouth came out in the form of a snore. Chances are she wouldn't remember a bit of that conversation.

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By late Thursday Paula was off her muscle relaxers but still laid up. Pete rubbed her legs and back and this time it was impossible to hide his arousal. He was still in his gray PT shorts and his hard dick left a precum wet spot on the gray fabric. And his cock made a rather large tent.

"Pete, are you excited touching me?" Paula asked- half tease, half interested in his response.

"Okay, like George Washington, I cannot tell a lie. Paula, I have wanted you for years. I had hopes that at prom...when we went together...and my hand touched your bare shoulder when we danced..."

"Yes, I remember. I could feel this," as she reached out and touched his hardness through his shorts," rubbing against me then. I wanted it, but was determined to wait until...the time was right," Paula responded. Her breathing was becoming as excited as Pete's breathing had become.

"Have you? Ever? Or are you," Pete quietly asked.

"I have, but obviously not with the one boy I have always..."

Paula didn't finish because Pete went in for a hard kiss. Paula kissed back and said, "Oh, Pete, fuck me, love me or do whatever, but I need to have you inside me!"

No foreplay this time because they had suffered through years of foreplay. Paula raised her hips and Pete pulled down her shorts and panties, and Pete quickly removed his shorts. Pete's dick and Paula's pussy were both on display and almost immediately their midsections connected skin to skin, and Pete grabbed Paula's legs behind her knees, folding her up and drove deep and hard and quickly into his one desire.

"Oh, Pete!" Paula almost screamed. Pete thought it was because she was so caught up in the moment like he was, but it was because her leg still hurt. Pete thrust and pounded into Paula, and when he got close, he warned her he was gonna cum.

"Pull out! Pull out, Pete!" Paula begged. His first spurt was left inside her but the next several ended up coating her landing strip like a white, creamy snowstorm.

Pete was excited to have finally moved beyond "friend" with Paula, but the look on Paula's face said something else.

Regret. And pain.

"Paula, are you okay?" Pete asked.

"You were rough with my sore leg is all," she told him. "Will you help me up and to the bathroom, please?" she asked.

Pete helped her up and she went into her bathroom, locked the door, sat down and through the pain of her leg, cried into her hands.

Several hours later they discussed what had happened. Pete was sorry about hurting her leg, and suggested if they did it again, she should be on top. Paula said she had some things to think through first.

Tomorrow their other roommate Paige was going to move in, and the situation would not get any easier.

Maybe asking a man to move in with two women was not such a good idea to save $50 a month in rent.

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"I'm glad you decided to join our pod, Pete. '3 Pees on a Pod'. Maybe I should write a song about it," Paige joyfully chirped. "Are you still taking teacher classes, or did you just decide to worry about math and nerdstuff, Pete?"

"I have a couple this semester still," he said. "What do you have?" he asked.

They discussed their schedules and were both happy to find they had 3 of the same classes together. "Mmm, wanna be my study buddy, Pete?" Paige asked.

"Maybe, depends what you have in mind..."

They decided to go downstairs to the ground floor which had a restaurant and bar. As they talked, Pete noticed Paige kept "accidentally" rubbing her foot on his leg, and not accidentally rubbing his arm. If he was going to get nowhere with Paula, maybe Fate wanted him with Paige? After his less than romantic fuck session with Paula, she had kept her distance

from him.

As they talked, Paige couldn't help but think about how beautiful their babies would be...

Paula was stretching on the floor when Paige and Pete came back from lunch. Paula was hurt yet relieved to not be included in lunch. She wasn't sure what she wanted with Pete. She wanted him to make sweet, romantic love to her and flood her baby factory, get pregnant and marry him, and yet she wanted him to move out of their pod because things were complicated and now she was afraid he would monopolize Paige's time. And Paige would steal his time, also. For someone who was good at being a leader, she was indecisive and unsure or her feelings right now. And seeing the gorgeous Paige and handsome Pete getting along confused the jealous Paula...

"Lunch was great! Pete and I brought you something. Now we are going to find our classrooms," Paige said excitedly. He thinks he's a better piano player than me and when we go to Music Hall, I intend to show him how WRONG he is!"

"Be careful, Paige. My mom taught him lessons for years, and he is pretty good. She said he was 'the offspring of Liberace and Elton John' or something. You should see his wardrobe sometime," Paula joked.

Pete threw a pillow at her and said, "I think she also said you were Roseanne Barr. The FAT Roseanne," and ducked as the pillow came back at him.

"Shut up! She never said that!" Paula laughed.

"Don't worry, I never agreed with her. You weren't that funny. You were more Amy Schumer," Pete teased back. Neither one could stand her.

"Oooh, you ASS! If I could run, I'd chase you down and best your ass like I did in 6th grade. Remember? I used to steal your lunch money," she teased.

"Oh, yeah, right," he said.

Turning directly to Paige, she said, "Don't worry, it wasn't 6th grade, IT WAS LAST YEAR! And I took his tuition money. He's not even enrolled here this year, and I have the 'Beat Pete' scholarship once again!"

Paige momentarily was worried that she was trying to steal Paula's boyfriend and didn't want to do that, but remembered there was "nothing there" between them.

Supposedly. But obviously there was something there. These two had a long history and relationship.

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After the first 4 days of class, Paige and Pete were walking home together and passed Music Hall, and Paige invited Pete inside to show off his skills.

"So, Sir Elton, tickle the ivories for me," Paige teased when they were in one of the piano practice rooms in Music Hall on campus.

Pete sat down, and as he did he made a big show of fluffing out his pretend tuxedo tails, then he cracked his fingers, and started to play the first few notes of "Bohemian Rhapsody".

"Ooh, very nice. But doesn't do anything for your mancard," she said.

"Okay, here is one of my favorites," he said. And with no music in front of him, playing by memory and ear, he started playing a song that Paige recognized but couldn't quite put her finger on.

"I know just how to whisper, and I know just how to lie," he sang

"'Making Love Out of Nothing at All' by Air Supply!" Paige excitedly guessed. "My mom likes that song...for some reason."

"No, actually, it is the demo played by Jim Steinman, the song writer. Air Supply added guitars and drums, but took away the left hand part so it was in a higher octave for their singer." As he explained this, he played the right hand only higher octave notes.

Paige subconsciously started licking her lips. This guy, Pete, was getting her all worked up, and he could sense it.

"If you are unfamiliar with this version, then you don't know the bonus verse." Pete started banging the keys and went through a few bars and then got to the bonus verse that most people didn't know about even though it appears on the demo version. This verse was Pete's favorite.

"I can make your money double, or I can make you lose your shirt,"

Both were thinking about more than shirts coming off just then.

"I can make the old wounds start to heal, or I can make the new ones hurt." Pete continued, his heart racing. He played harder and with more passion than he ever had before, and as he played, Paige was melting.

Yep, she was going to take him into her bed. Or his, she didn't care. She was not a slut, but when you knew, you just knew. And there was no way she was going pass up the opportunity to fuck this guy. She hoped it didn't ruin any friendships, but she had to take that risk.

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As they walked home, Paige kept bumping into Pete so he grabbed her around the shoulder and eventually they held hands. As they walked back home, they saw a flyer for a "Welcome Back" celebration at the student union. Karaoke, a comedian, a hypnotist, free gifts, prizes and food.

"Oh, we need to go, Pete! Wanna be my date?" As she said "date" she blushed and Pete's heart skipped a beat.

"Sure, let's go home, I want to change clothes and check on Paula. Pick you up at 5?" he said.

As the mention of Paula, she felt a twinge of jealousy, but quickly got over it when he seemed excited about going with her her.

"Sure, second door on the left. Directly accross from yours," she teased.

Paula was flattered at their invite to join them but said she had made other plans. Honestly, she just didn't feel too well. First, the pulled muscle, now this. Like so many things in life, it all comes down to luck and timing. As luck would have it, it was time for Paula to have cramps and her period. The only good thing to come out of her sex with Pete is that he didn't get her pregnant.

Or was not carrying Pete's baby just one more stroke of bad luck for Paula? She didn't know but knew she wanted to figure it out before Paige did.