Rules For Being My Roommate Pt 04

****As always, all characters who engage in any sort of sexual activity are well over the age of 18, legal adults.****

It had been nearly three weeks since Neil had moved in and things... weren't great. I didn't really have a living room because it was full of suitcases. I could walk in the kitchen and tell exactly which cupboard he'd been in because the door was still open. There were cups and bowls in the sink every morning when I got up, evidence he hadn't cleaned up after eating breakfast.

And speaking of food, meals were becoming a source of frustration as well. It was impossible to get input from him when we decided on what to make or where to go for dinner. He was flexible, which was nice, but I was coming to dread hearing, "Whatever you want," or "I don't care."

The sex was good, of course. I mean this was pretty much hands-down the best sexual relationship I've ever had. No complaints in that department, but... sex is something that lasts for a couple of minutes or like half an hour at the most. And, it wasn't something that happened every day. The rest of the time was getting to be trying.

It all came to a head one day when he was off work. I got up and went to the bathroom... It was pretty disgusting. I took care of what I needed to. Didn't have much choice in that but I was NOT happy.

I came out to the living room where Neil was sitting on the couch, reading a book. He looked up and smiled at me, "Good morning Gorgeous."

No. I was not being flirty right now. "Neil, you are SERIOUSLY going to need to start keeping that bathroom clean. That is NOT what I want to walk into when I get up."

"Oh." He closed his book and seemed like he was trying to process that or figure out what he was supposed to do, "Where..."

"All the cleaning supplies are underneath the bathroom sink."

"Right... Ok." His eyes moved around for a moment, then he got up and headed past me down the hall.

I waited until he was out of sight before I took a deep breath and walked into the kitchen to make myself a cup of coffee. Neil came out a short while later. The bathroom was clean and his shoulders were drawn in, "I'm sorry, Aunt Stella."

I nodded, "Thank you for taking care of that."

He stood awkwardly, clearly unsure what to do with himself. I avoided the urge to shake my head at him, "Hey. I noticed you haven't done laundry since you've been here."

"Oh... yeah..." he looked over at his stuffed suitcase on the floor, "I guess I... should."

"Yes, Neil. You should."

"Right... Ok..." He stood there, blinking and trying to figure it out. I could see he wasn't going to.

I pointed to the key on its hook by the door. "Laundry room is downstairs to the right. That key unlocks it. Now, I have a video meeting in a few minutes. Why don't you go get your stuff done?"

He nodded slowly, looking a little overwhelmed. It took him a little bit, but he picked up his suitcase to gather the shirts he'd left on the back of the couch. Then, he left.

Alone again in the apartment, I sighed, took a large drink and got settled on my laptop at the kitchen table. I logged on about a minute before my client. We were a short time into discussing the site I'd built for him and the new features he'd decided had to be included. I was doing some absolute GRADE-A acting, keeping a smile on my face and the most perfectly pleasant voice while I assured him that "Actually, according to this agreement which you confirmed on this date, these are exactly the features I said I'd deliver. Now, if you'd like these extra features, I'd be HAPPY to add them and let you know the new price." I didn't even call him a liar OR an idiot, so really I was doing QUITE well.

The front door flew open, "Aunt Stella, how do you..."

I had to be very stern to make sure he immediately knew to be quiet, "NEIL, I am ON a call with a CLIENT." I was incredibly grateful I was sitting with my back against the wall and my laptop wasn't pointed at the doorway. Neil looked terrified and froze in place for a moment, then set his bag down and sat down on the couch.

My client was instantly annoyed, "Excuse me!? Am I interrupting something?"

"Absolutely not, Sir. You have my undivided attention."

"Oh good. I'd hate to be inconvenient for you."

Self-Important Jackass. "Of course you're not. Now, with regard to these features..."

It wasn't a very long call. The client ultimately voted to stick with our original agreement rather than adding more and I assured him the site would be active as soon as his payment cleared.

We hung up and I rubbed my eyes with my thumb and forefinger, "WHAT Neil?"

He'd barely moved. His voice was small to match his demeanor, "I'm... sorry."

"What do you NEED?"

"How do you use the laundry room?"

"Oh my GOD Neil. I am NOT your mother and I do NOT want to have to figure everything out for you." I could see the impact of my words the second they were out of my mouth. He was wounded.

Again, I sighed. Several phrases came to my mind, "I didn't mean that," or "I'm sorry that I'm frustrated," or... the words that came out didn't make anything better. "Can you be... NOT here for a while?"

I saw the muscles in his jaw tense several times. Then, he whispered, "Yeah. I'll go."

I wanted to stop him, at least part of me did. That part was screaming that I needed to keep him from going and tell him everything was fine... but I couldn't. I let Neil walk out the door, and I almost immediately felt sick to my stomach.

*****

I had a few more meetings that day, and got some other general work done, and then... it was early afternoon and I found myself staring at the door, wishing it would open and he'd be there. By the evening time, I had moved well past any irritation or annoyance. My mind was now working on an important question. Why did I invite Neil to move in with me? Was I just taking pity on him because things were so bad with his mom? I really didn't like the implications of THAT, but... It also didn't ring true when I considered it. Maybe the timing had been because of Sherri. I probably wouldn't have moved so quickly otherwise, but... No, that wasn't WHY I'd asked him to move in. I really had thought that I'd be happy to see him every day, go to bed beside him and have dinner together... I wanted to do LIFE with Neil.

So... was that already gone? Had I already grown tired of him? Was I just on some sex-high and I'd wildly overestimated how happy we'd be together? I mean, that really didn't seem like me, but...

I made a cup of soup for dinner. At least partly, I expected he'd be home and we'd get some more substantial food. He didn't. I sat down to watch television, but I don't even remember what was on. My mind was so far away, it didn't sink in at all.

At some point, I realized something that gave me a great deal of clarity. It was something really obvious and it was something quite simple but it was something I'd been ignoring this whole time. Well, maybe not ignoring, but not giving it the significance I ought to have.

Neil... was young.

It was easy to forget that sometimes. He could carry himself like such a... well, a man. And, yeah, he could fuck like a genuine professional, but he wasn't. He was new to this... (Adulthood I mean, not sex. Again, no complaints in that arena.) He was still learning what it meant to be an adult, and he definitely hadn't had a good example up until now.

With this in mind, my thoughts turned to planning, problem-solving and strategizing. How could I help with these things that were bothering me? How did I need to act differently, support him better, make this transition easier for both of us?

I looked at my phone. It was nearly 1:00 in the morning and Neil still hadn't come home. I called him. He was coughing, clearing his throat when he first answered, "Hey Aunt Stella."

"Neil? Sweetheart, where are you?"

"I'm parked at a... um truck stop by the highway."

"WHAT? Why are you there?"

"Well... I... ummm...." I could sense he didn't want to answer me.

"You can tell me the truth."

"I... knew you didn't want me at your place, so I was gonna sleep in the car. I figured if I was at the apartment or the park or something then someone might call the police on me. Here, I figured I'd be fine and then I could pay to take a shower in the morning."

I closed my eyes and placed a hand on my chest, "Oh Honey! I never meant for... Come home, Sweetheart. Please come home."

"You're not... still mad at me?"

"No, Sweetheart. No no no no no no no. I'm not mad at all. I just want you to come home, Ok?"

"Yeah... Ok... I'll be there in... I guess about twenty minutes."

"Good... Good. Neil, will you stay on the phone with me while you drive?"

"I... yeah. Sure if you want. Just a sec." I heard some noises that I assumed meant he was adjusting his seat, then the car ignition. "I'm here," he said when the car was on its way.

"What did you do today?"

"I spent most of it at the library."

I smiled at that, "What did you read?"

He laughed, a little embarrassed, "Peter Pan."

"What made you pick that?"

"Honestly, I was thinking about growing up and what it would be like to be young forever."

"What did you come up with?"

"That I think it would get old being a boy forever. I mean, I think you'd get tired of it and it wouldn't be all that great after a while."

"I imagine you're right about that. You know, I was thinking about growing up today, too."

"Yeah? What were you thinking about?"

"Mostly that I've forgotten how hard it can be sometimes."

"What was hard for you about growing up?"

"Good question. I think... I think it was how much people expected me to have planned out. What do you want to be when you grow up? Where are you going to go for college? What are you gonna study and major in? What you going to DO with your life? I DON'T KNOW! Why do I have to have it all planned out already? I know where I am now, can't I just see what happens next?"

"Hmmm... I'm sorry that was hard for you, Aunt Stella."

"You're sweet. I'm sorry that things have been hard on you too lately. I really am."

There was a pause, then, "I'll get through it."

"I know you will. I have every confidence in you, Neil. How's the road this late?"

"Wide open. It's just me out here."

"I always like driving at night, having the road all to myself."

"Peaceful."

We continued to talk as he drove on. I asked him what he'd eaten that day, and what things he saw beside the road. I did have things I planned to say to him, but I wanted him to be here for that. Partially, I kept him on the phone to be sure he stayed awake. I wasn't totally sure how well he'd do driving while drowsy. Really though, I just wanted to be as connected to him as I could be. I felt awful for the distance I'd allowed between us, and I intended to make up for it in any way that I could.

I felt my heart do a flip when he said he was downstairs. I hung up the phone, saying how I couldn't wait to see him. The SECOND he opened the door, I threw my arms around him. It might have been the tightest I'd ever hugged anyone. When we finally parted, I could see there was a wariness in his expression.

"I don't want to keep you from sleeping, but do you think you could be up for talking with me a while longer? There's some things I'd like to say."

He nodded, "I'm awake." He got some water from the kitchen and sat down with me on the couch.

"Neil, I... I haven' been very fair to you. When we got together, both on the ship and here, we talked about the rules, what we expected. Then, I asked you to move in and we didn't talk about expectations at all. I've been acting annoyed with you for not doing the things you'd never been told about."

"Cleaning more."

I sighed, "That's not what I... well yes, that's what I was annoyed by. But... Look, it's not fair of me to expect you to know how to take care of everything if we haven't talked it through. There's a lot for you to figure out lately and I don't want to treat you badly because you're still learning."

"I don't want to annoy you, Stella. I want to make you happy."

I held onto his hand, "You do make me happy, Neil. I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true." I thought for a moment, "Do you know the term Honeymoon Phase?"

"When people get married?"

"Yes, but it can also mean when a couple gets together. At first, everything's all glowing and happy... sex all the time and they're alone, just the two of them. Then, after a while, the Honeymoon Phase is over and real life catches up to them. Bills and jobs and housework. It starts to be less glamorous and that's when the couple needs to decide if they're in it for the long haul or just after the happy parts. They have to decide if the relationship is worth the hard work."

He was slowly nodding, trying to absorb all that I was telling him.

"Sweetheart, I don't want to be in a Honeymoon Phase with you. I want this to be real, because I really care about you. I want to be all in this, for the long haul. That means we're not just gonna be happy all the time. Sometimes we're gonna have to work at this, and it isn't always gonna be easy."

"I want it to be real too. I know relationships take work and I want to do that with you."

"Ok... So let's agree on some rules."

"I'm listening."

"First... This is YOUR home. Even when we get annoyed at each other, you don't have to go anywhere. We can give each other space without leaving the apartment."

That made him smile, "Deal."

"Good. Next rule. I'm not allowed to get mad at you for asking me how to do something."

He laughed a bit, "Thank you for that one."

"Rule number the third one. Actually, I guess this goes along with the first one. The bed belongs to both of us. I never liked the whole 'never go to bed angry' thing. I think when you're really upset with someone, sleep's one of the best things for it."

He bobbed his head from side to side, "Sure."

"So eve if we're mad at each other, we still get to share the bed. We can sleep beside each other without being affectionate."

"I like that rule."

"That's all I've got, for right now at least. How about you?"

He considered that, "If there's something you want me to do, or do better, tell me about it and I'll try my best."

"You got it."

We were quiet for a bit, but I could see we'd said all the things we needed to. I could also see how tired he was. "Let's go to bed, Sweetheart." As if on cue, he yawned, mouth open huge. Minutes later, we were naked in bed, holding hands beneath the covers. Neil was asleep in moments. I was incredibly grateful he wasn't sleeping in his car anymore, and grateful for the feel of his skin against mine.

*****

It was rare that I was awake before Neil. My eyes fluttered open and I had a wicked thought. I reached under the covers to confirm his cock was hard. The feel of it against my hand made me giddy. I pulled back the covers to take a good look at him. And then it was in my mouth.

Was I being a hypocrite since I'd told him so explicitly he was not allowed to wake me up for sex? Yes. I was absolutely being a hypocrite. Did I care? Ummm... mostly I just wanted to suck his cock. This was a pretty rare opportunity after all. So, I was licking him, feeling the wonderful texture of him against my tongue, sucking his balls in and out of my mouth. I was lost, delightedly so. My man really does have such a beautiful cock.

He was pulsing and throbbing. I heard a low moan and I wondered what he was dreaming about while his body felt my lips. I went up and down his shaft, flicking my tongue along the bottom of his cock head, where I knew he was the most sensitive. More sleepy moans.

Then, I opened my mouth to envelope his purple, swollen head... and I felt his hand suddenly on the back of my head, pushing me down. Evidently, not as asleep as I'd thought he was. My throat let out a gagging sound and I bobbed my head up and down on his cock. He started to thrust his hips up toward me. He was rightly fucking my mouth now and it was awesome.

Neil was moaning harder, grabbing my head, thrusting his hips and then, he cried out loud. My mouth was filled with his load, which I swallowed with a few thirsty gulps. I let go when he was done throbbing and licked his shaft once more to give him a good show.

Then, I laid my head down on his strong thigh, "Good morning, Handsome."

"Hi," he breathed. "You feel incredible."

I giggled and watched him rub his face, acclimating himself to the day, "That is the absolute best way to wake up."

"Good." I pushed myself up out of our bed, "Since you're awake. We have some things to do today."

"What things are we doing?"

"First, we're gonna use the laundromat downstairs and get you some clean clothes. Then, we're gonna go to a furniture store to get something to put them in."

"Furniture store?"

"This is your home, Neil. You're not going to live out of suitcases. We'll get you a dresser, a laundry basket and see if there's anything else you need... What?"

He had this... expression on his face. It was a smile, but it was kinda... dazed? Actually, it was pretty like his face the first time I'd sucked his cock come to think of it. That day on the ship still in the Florida port seemed both like yesterday and like ages ago.

He pulled me into him, holding me by the waist as his happy face was close to mine, "You are... really really thoughtful. Means a lot to me."

I kissed his lips, though only briefly. "You're welcome, Handsome. Get some clothes on."

In the interest of being fair, I had actually forgotten how complicated our laundromat was when you haven't used it before. It was just the washer and dryer. You had to dispense a card from the machine on the wall and then use a different machine to load it with money using a credit card. I would have felt worse about snapping at him for not figuring it out, but we'd moved past that. Once he had the money card, he did know how to use the washing machine so there wasn't really that much I had to explain to him. His clothes were loaded in; the machine was churning and vibrating.

I placed both of my hands on his chest and pushed him back against the machine. Then, I slid one hand down into his shorts. I squeezed him and felt him slowly growing hard for me once again. His eyes darted to the laundry room door, "Someone could come in."

I licked my lips, "You want me to stop?"

He shook his head, "Please don't." I leaned in a little so I could run my tongue along his bare neck, "What was that? It's hard to hear you over all these laundry machines."

He clenched his jaw, "Please. Don't stop."

"Hmmm... Still a little hard to hear you. Tell me what it is you want."

"I want... I want you to stroke my cock."

I squeezed him hard, "Yeah?"

"Oooh. I... I want you to stroke my cock until I come for you. Right here in your hand."

"Oh yes. I like that. Your cock is so hard for me."

"That's because you turn me on so much."

I pumped him underneath his shorts, watching as he braced himself against the shaking machine. He threw his head back and moaned as I felt the hot liquid in my hand.

At that exact moment, we heard a loud buzzing sound. It was one of the dryers finishing its cycle, but the timing was as if it perfectly announced his orgasm. We both burst out in laughter. I pulled my hand away, pleased to see a large, dark wet spot on the front of his shorts.

The door opened a moment later and a small woman with a headscarf came in. She seemed to be quite deliberately avoiding eye contact with us as she hurriedly emptied the dryer into her basket. When she left the laundry room, we laughed even harder.

The rest of laundry was uneventful. Finished the washing, then the dryer. Used the tabletop to fold clothes and loaded them into my collapsible basket. Back in the apartment, we got a tape measure for the wall in the living room perpendicular to both the television and the couch. The living room wasn't the ideal place for his clothes. In fact, I expected the room was going to feel pretty cramped and cluttered, but he needed someplace and I did not have any room to spare in my closet. Some of my DVD shelves would be covered, but we'd make it work.