One Summer

Admittedly, this is a convoluted story to say the least. It involves me, my girlfriend Shannon, who at twenty-three years old moved away from home for the first time, her longtime friend Laura, and Laura's friend and college roommate Claudine. It covers a summer that was so out of control that I needed a year to fully recuperate. The convoluted and chaotic tales start in March, when Shannon completed her undergraduate degree in southern California and moved to San Francisco three days later. She had lived at home and commuted to campus for her entire college experience, meaning she never really had an experience. To say she was busting at the seams by this point is an understatement. We had talked about moving in together, but she and I envisioned two different pathways there. We signed a one-year lease for a two-bedroom apartment in the Haight district with a plan that she would live there on her own from April though August, and I would move in at the start of September. That was when she would be starting her graduate program and I would be in town full time. I planned to stay over with her a few nights at a time over the summer, whenever I was in town for work.

I had a job in southern California that ran through the end of August, but I was also starting up a branch in northern California in late May. I was going to be double booked for three and half months, and would be splitting time between Los Angeles and Berkeley, working about sixty hours per week. For the last two weeks in March, before the apartment was available, Shannon stayed with Laura about an hour south of the city. Being around Laura brought out some of Shannon's bad habits, but it was good for her have girl time. Laura had kept a dollhouse they played with when they were kids, which brought Shannon great joy. Laura was Shannon's excuse to do girly things, or as she put it, 'things she could do with another girl'.

This next part will make you think I was clueless, which in retrospect I guess I was, but it seemed reasonable and a good plan at the time. My girlfriend suggested I get a summer sublet in Oakland and stay there when I was in town, rather than stay with her in the city. Her logic was that she wanted to truly experience living on her own for at least a couple months. On top of that, she would be helping Laura with some project and might not stay at our apartment often. She said that she would feel guilty if I was there and she was not home to be with me. My hopes to start spending some uninterrupted nights together on a semi regular basis starting in late May, would not come to fruition. I rented a tiny apartment in South Berkeley about a mile from campus, but the neighborhood made my girlfriend uneasy, so she would not be visiting often, or at all as time proved out. It was a cheap rental that I did through the company, but it was crazy to be paying for a place in San Francisco, but not living there so my girlfriend could experience living on her own, but rarely be there. Laura offered to pay half of the rent in exchange for Shannon's help with her project, which is ironic in that the project made it so Shannon rarely stayed at the apartment she needed help to pay for.

To compound things even more, my girlfriend informed me that Laura had a friend who needed our help.  It basically was a case of seven degrees of separation, but she was volunteering me nonetheless.  Laura's friend would be taking classes Monday through Thursday in Berkeley, having to commute from over an hour away.  In the midst of one of their conversations, it came up that I would have a place in Berkeley starting in May that I would only be using a couple nights a week.  My girlfriend, for whatever reason, informed the never-before-seen friend that they could stay there rent-free on Monday and Wednesday nights. My schedule was such that I was going to be in Berkeley Tuesday afternoon through Thursday afternoon, and in southern California the rest of the time. Shannon didn't think one night a week would be an issue. The lone positive was that I was welcome to stay in our San Francisco apartment any nights there was a double booking in Berkeley.

The Berkeley apartment was small, and I had planned to use it mainly as a business office.  It had a tiny bedroom that was less than eighty square feet and had no door.  It was cheap living, good for an occasional night and a place to keep a computer, printer, and video equipment.  It barely fit one futon, let alone two. It was going to be hard to fit two people in a business office/studio apartment hybrid. Once my girlfriend offered up housing, I'm not sure I had any choice but to agree.  My girlfriend was adamant about it.  I got very few details besides, "We're doing it."  I didn't even get a name at first. My girlfriend reminded me that she sweetened the pot by allowing me to stay at 'her' apartment some of those nights. But what she didn't account for was that it wasn't the apartment that mattered, it was spending the night with her. Because she had lived with her parents, we never got to spend an entire night together. We had been looking forward to the time when she had no curfew, and a few nights per month with her was tantalizing. But I learned over her first month with the apartment that it wasn't just some nights she stayed at Laura's place, it was every night, so we still weren't getting nights together.

As May arrived and my northern California job was about to start, I finally found out from Shannon that my new roommate was named Claude, and that he lived with his boyfriend when he wasn't staying in Berkeley. My girlfriend was a close friend since childhood with two gay guys, so she had an inexplicably high interest in helping gay men. I couldn't blame her one hundred percent for this last minute information, as Laura had not been forthcoming about all of the details. It ends up the vagueness was on purpose, as Laura figured Shannon would not have signed off otherwise. I was uneasy about squeezing two futons into the tiny room, so close we were almost sharing a bed, but what was done was done and I'd be in the city when he was there anyway. I'll be honest that before I knew it was a gay man, I was more accepting of the situation, but sleeping so close to a gay man was making me uncomfortable. Seeing two futons close enough to be one bed was unnerving to me.

I moved all my work gear in during early May and the first signs of Claude appeared about the same time. He was a minimalist, having just a travel bag of clothes, plenty of textbooks, and a small magazine collection. We both were rarely there, so I somehow avoided Claude for our first few weeks. But during my first day in the building, I discovered a reason to like it there while simultaneously discovering a roommate issue I had not once contemplated. I crossed paths with a stunning half-Asian, half-Caucasian woman with amazing lips and perfect olive skin. She apparently lived in the building, because I kept encountering her. I tried to squelch my interest, but I found myself thinking about her often, especially during 'private' times. Things with Shannon not going as I had envisioned was my justification for letting the interest live on.

I passed the woman on our way in and out of the building, as we were both morning runners and café fans in the afternoon. I'd see her returning from a run on the dot at 7:05 as I was leaving for my run, although I have to admit my timing was on purpose. I'd also see her coming back from a café about 12:20, so I made it a point to be leaving the building around this same time. We kept accidentally running into each other the three days I was in town each week. We increased the time we talked and the degree of flirting when crossing paths to the point I started to question my moral compass. But with my living situation and having no idea when Claude might be there, I knew I couldn't do anything beyond flirting. It's not like I could woo her and then ask if we could go to her place. It was ironic that Laura's homosexual friend was the best thing that could have happened to me to avoid acting on an immoral heterosexual impulse.

Claude's schedule was somewhat predictable, and I had developed a routine to avoid being home when he was there. I'm pretty sure he did the same, because I never saw him in the morning and he somehow timed his showers for when I was out on my morning runs. By the time I got back from my run, he had cleared out. I'd take my shower and then clear out as well, working either in a café or on campus. I was hardly ever there, so it worked. I knew we'd eventually run into each other in the apartment, but we had fallen into routines that allowed easy co-existence. The only time we were both home, was when one of us was asleep. The makeshift partition he put up in the tiny space between our futons worked. Him being a morning person and me being a night owl was the perfect combo. When I got back after eleven, he was long since asleep. It was working out better than I figured it would. There was one time he was in the shower when I got home, but I sure wasn't going to be there when some naked gay guy exited the shower, so I left immediately and didn't return for over an hour hoping Claude had cleared out, which he had.

But finally we crossed paths, in our third week there. It was bound to happen. It was my fault, because I broke my routine. I came back around ten in the morning and tried to open the apartment door, but it was chained. It made too much noise to pretend it didn't happen, so I couldn't just leave. It was about time to meet Claude anyway. I peaked in and he was bent down adjusting his yoga mat before standing back up. Oh my God, I just got a full view of some dude's ass in tight spandex. He actually had a nice ass, but fuck me. I wonder if my girlfriend knew Claude was effeminate and thought I might mistake him for a girl and sleep with him. I wouldn't put anything past her and Laura, especially Laura.  I stepped back from my peeper's position before he could catch me. I felt like a pervert ogling that tight ass through a crack in the door. I was even more bothered that I contemplated looking again. What was wrong with me, checking out a guy's ass? I heard him walk to the door. He closed it to undo the chain while apologizing for bolting me out.  He opened the door and cried out, "You?  How'd you find me?"

It was not the gay man I was expecting to see; it was an attractive half-Asian, half-Caucasian woman with amazing lips and perfect olive skin. The woman I had been obsessing over was standing there in her spandex shorts and matching black sports bra. Apparently Claudine had been expecting me to be a balding, older man who often hired male escorts. We both took a second to inventory our pool of information about the other person we were supposedly living with and try to rationalize how we were so off target. I had a hard time speaking and sort of stared for a moment. She had the athletic body type I loved, something I kind of assumed she had after watching her running, but now I knew for sure.  There were no secrets with her outfit. She was tiny chested, had remarkable abs, and had essentially no fat on her upper body.  She was tone and really sexy in her workout gear. She had flawless, golden brown skin that was amazingly smooth. I finally got my composure after staring for too long at her midriff and thighs.

I answered, "No, I live here.  This is my apartment."

"What? You mean you're the guy on the other mattress?"

I looked at her and said, "Claude I assume?"

"Yeah, it's short for Claudine.  Tim?"

"Yeah, it's long for Ti."

She seemed exuberant. "Oh my God, this is too wild.  You're my mystery roommate?  You're my running buddy I never run with. The guy I have been stalking and hoping to get to know lives with me. Oh my God, the guy I have been thinking about sleeping with actually sleeps with me?" She suddenly looked embarrassed and said, "I didn't mean how that sounded. I say dumb things sometimes and that sounded funny in my head."

I laughed and said, "No problem at all. It's really funny, and sums it up perfectly. Not that I should say this, but I can't believe I never noticed who I was sleeping with."

"Is that a problem you run into often... not knowing who you ended up sleeping with?"

I smirked, "Isn't that a guy thing?"

"Well I'm glad you have a sense of humor."

It was wonderful news that she had been interested in me too, although I felt from our conversations in the stairwell that it was mutual. I answered, "You have to laugh at this whole thing.  You're my gay male roommate Claude that my girlfriend insisted I let move in so she can see how I handle being around a guy with cock lust." For the two weeks we had been hitting on each other, ashamed of our lust and desire to be unfaithful. Even funnier is that the awkward living situation that kept both of us from trying to hook up, was one that would now make it nearly impossible to not hook up. I still can't figure how we avoided each other in the apartment this entire time, but at least our showering schedules made sense now.

Claudine laughed and said, "Fucking Laura.  She loves doing this stuff.  I was told you were some bald, likely gay man who sometimes brought home prostitutes."

"You're a gay man.  That's all I know. No details."

"My chest seems like a man's, but take a closer look down there, and you'll find that I am a woman."

That comment caught me off guard. But fuck me for immediately lowering my gaze to her groin when she said it. She made beach volleyball players seem overdressed. There was no bulge, and her skimpy, tight bottoms made it clear there was no room for anything to be dangling there. Her comment about her body was brazen, but I wanted to be a little cautious in my replies. I thought about making an inappropriate comment that nothing could be hiding down there, but knew I should refrain. "I'll just have to take your word for it."

She pondered for a moment as we closed the door and then walked into the living room. She let out, "So I found your magazines."

"You what?"

"I found your magazines that you must have accidentally flung under my bed. Or maybe I took your bed."

"I don't have any magazines. And I don't think there were assigned beds here at Camp Surprise." I smiled in my head, thinking I'd love for her to climb into the wrong bed.

"They were under my bed when I moved in, so I assumed it belonged to my bald, gay roommate. It was easier to move the magazines back than trades beds at that point."

She walked with me into our room. She folded up the partition, and then reached under my futon to pull out three male nudey magazines. I laughed for a moment and then in unison with her said, "Fucking Laura."

She said, " Laura must have been laughing so hard when she left it for one of us to find. It's the perfect prop for her prank." She then looked at the partition and said, "This room is too small to have an obstacle like this." She folded it and moved it to the corner, against the wall.

I agreed from a practical standpoint as it made it impossible to maneuver in the tiny space. But inside I was ecstatic at the idea of being able to see her. I contemplated the magazines for a minute, and knew that it was my girlfriend who had set up the room, not Laura. "I think it was actually my girlfriend who left those magazines for you. She thinks you're a gay man. It must have been a welcoming gift for you."

"Ah, so that's why she signed off on you sharing a room, and let's face it, practically a bed with me. She doesn't know I'm a woman?"

"I didn't know until a couple minutes ago, so I doubt she does. I doubt Laura told her."

"Are you going to tell her?"

That was a good question. "I hadn't thought about it, but I probably should. But we hardly ever see each other and rarely talk on the phone, so it will be a while." I had impure reasons for not wanting to tell her, but didn't want Claudine to know that.

"Probably best. I think she might be a little upset. I've barely moved in, and I'm not ready to have to move out. I take it the partition was also her gift to us, but now she'll prefer we put up an actual wall."

"Probably her gift. It matches the style of furniture she likes. By the way, even if I tell her, you will not have to move out. You are here for the summer. I want you to stay here." I may have said the last line with too much enthusiasm in my voice.

"I'm glad you want me here. I like having you here too. I still think a cooling off period is a good idea." She smiled and then continued, "Is she going to be mad at you when she finds out?"

"She'll be mad at Laura mostly, but I'll get plenty of her ire too. I'm sure I'll be in trouble when she finally finds out you're a gorgeous woman. She'll prod me for all sorts of dirt and details. She might even be mad at you too, but not for sleeping with me. She'll be more upset that you're not actually a gay man she can pal around town with."

"Wait, if I just heard you right, you basically just said you're going to sleep with me."

I sighed, "Oh no, I don't mean sleeping together, but sleeping so close to one another."

"Exactly, that's what I meant. What did you mean? Are you saying we should sleep in separate rooms?"

"No, we can both sleep in here."

"So, you do want to sleep with me?"

She was egging me on to say it, so I caved, "You're right, I do want to sleep with you."

"You mean 'keep sleeping with me' or "sleep with me'?"

I smiled and said, "I surrender, you can interpret it however you like. You can tell me which meaning one night."

"Interesting... I guess we'll see then how we mean it. So about the misinformation campaign about us being gay men, I think we need to get some payback. Let's have some fun at Laura's expense. Let's let them think we haven't met yet. Let's see how far Laura pushes this."

I excitedly said, "I'm in."

"So, did she specifically tell you I was a gay man?"

"Sort of. She said you were Claude and that you lived with your boyfriend in Palo Alto. She left puzzle pieces that my girlfriend and I solved incorrectly, exactly as she was hoping we'd do."

"To her credit, if she didn't tell your girlfriend that, then I would never have been here and we never would have met and slept together." She winked and then continued, "It's funny that we met, but had no idea we met. It would have been interesting if we figured it out in the middle of the night instead of the front door."

I laughed and replied, "That would have been an even bigger shock to figure it out while we were in bed."

She smirked and answered, "I don't know if you would have been able to tell, because I'd probably have more clothes on than this." She again drew attention to her workout bra and tight shorts, subtly turning and modeling them as she said it. "I'm guessing you'd have less clothes on than you do now."

"Maybe. I'm more homophobic that I like to admit, so I might have been wearing my Amish bed wardrobe."

"So you're not a boxers and t-shirt guy?"

"I am actually, just not the few nights when I stayed here."

"You should tell your girlfriend about the chastity suit you wear to bed when you sleep here. That should calm her nerves."

We kept talking for a while and had some laughs about the situation.  We ultimately forgave Laura for putting those descriptions out there so that our significant others would not be jealous. In fact, we were grateful, as it allowed our housing situation to happen. It wasn't long before we speculated that Laura might have done it hoping we'd end up sleeping together.  She liked screwing with people, and Claudine had been her victim before.

As fortuitous timing would have it, I was going to be seeing Laura that night during dinner with my girlfriend. Claudine reminded me that we set a running date for the morning, made when we were horny and considering infidelity. She nodded when I explained that I'd be back early to run with her. Claudine said she would be seeing Laura on Friday, so she could follow up on whatever I told her tonight.  We agreed to tell her that we hadn't met yet and see what she'd let slip.  Claudine had to get to her class, which gave me an excuse to walk her to class and back to the apartment after class. Our conversation was wonderful, and picked up right where we left off. We found we had a lot in common. I had to take a quick shower before heading to my girlfriend's house.  I figured that I should explain to Claudine that I would be leaving the door slightly open to let the steam vent out, given the absence of bathroom ventilation in these old buildings.  I did not want to risk sending the wrong message the first time she was there while I was showering.