This is my official entry for the
Literotica Summer Lovin' Story Contest 2024
. For this story, I've drawn inspiration from the time I spent in Northern Wisconsin & the Upper Peninsula of Michigan during the summer months when I was growing up. Writing this was like taking a trip down memory lane and I consider this to be my favorite story that I've written thus far.
Of course, that said, all participants in this story are 18 years or older
Alexandra
******
College graduation is a memorable time for anyone lucky enough to experience it. For many, it is a chance to reflect on how far one has come as well as the final hurrah for any young adult before they enter the workforce. For people like Jared Wright, it meant he finally no longer had to deal with city life.
Originally from Southern Indiana, he came from a town that was "blink-and-you'll-miss-it" small. It's a town where the livestock outnumber the humans 1000-to-1. Like many kids growing up in the more rural part of America's Heartland, he wanted to experience life in the big city. This what drove him to attend DePaul University in Chicago, where he would spend the next 4 years majoring in marketing and communications.
However, life in Chicago had worn out its welcome by the time he was in the final semester of his senior year. Rather than find work with a Chicago-based company like so many DePaul graduates, Jared decided to look elsewhere. He wasn't too privy on moving back home to the Hoosier State so he turned his attention North.
A month before graduation, he scored an interview with a firm, called Borealis Marketing, located in Pine Harbor, Wisconsin, which was situated on the southern shore of Lake Superior. Rather than do a virtual interview, Josh decided instead to make the nearly 7 hour drive from Chicago early one Friday morning, all the way up to Northern Wisconsin. In his mind, if he were to indeed get the job, he wanted to check out what could potentially be his new home.
Pine Harbor was a modestly sized city, with a population of around 8,000 people and only an hour and a half away from the nearest major city, Duluth. When Jared first pulled into town, he immediately fell in love with it. The views of the endless expanse that is Lake Superior, the charming main street that went straight through downtown and the small businesses that he found as he drove on through.
For the interview, Jared had worn a black and gray argyle sweater over a white shirt and black tie, with gray slacks & black dress shoes. Completing the look was his signature "Buddy Holly" glasses over his green eyes. He styled his normally messy brown hair into a neat side part and his outfit complimented his runners figure perfectly.
The marketing firm was located in repurposed brick building that had once been used as a warehouse in years past. Yet he found it's rustic appearance to be quite charming. Sitting down for the interview, he felt at ease with the owner, Janice, as well as a couple of other senior partners. They made it very clear that they aren't a high powered firm like those in Chicago or on the West Coast and dealt more with local and regional business, but they took pride in their work and were looking to expand their reach in due time.
Jared, however, didn't seem to care. To him, Pine Harbor was a breath of fresh air compared to Chicago and could definitely see himself living here. It also helped that Janice and her partners were very impressed with what Jared brought to the table, especially in regards to his freelance work as a graphic designer.
Immediately after the interview, Jared made his way back down to Chicago and by the time he arrived at his dorm room, he was beat. As he lay in bed that night, he thought about the views of Lake Superior and how nice Pine Harbor was. He had his fingers crossed and hoped that that the interview had gone well.
"If it means not having to head back to Indiana, I'll be a happy man." He said to himself as he fell asleep
******
For the next few days, Jared spent most of his time studying and attending classes. Even though graduation was a month away, there was no excuse to slack off now. He had even applied for a couple of other marketing positions within the Chicagoland area, albeit begrudgingly.
Then Thursday afternoon, nearly a week after he had traveled for his interview, he had a missed call on his phone while he was attending a lecture. When he listened to the message, it was from Janice. His heart skipped a beat and immediately called back.
"Good afternoon, Borealis Marketing this is Janice."
"Hey Janice, Jared here just returning your call." He was grinning but also nervous.
"Jared! Thank you so much for you calling me back. I figured you were in class so I left you a message. Do you have a minute?"
He sat down on the bench outside of the hall. "Yeah, I do!"
"Well, after carefully reviewing your application and credentials, we would like to extend the offer of employment to you! Would you still be interested?"
Jared heart nearly jumped out of his chest. He could hardly believe it! "Yes! Of course, I'd be interested!
"Excellent. Since you mentioned that graduation at DePaul isn't the until the weekend before Memorial Day, would you be able to start on June 3rd?"
Jared again smiled. "Absolutely. I'm just grateful for the opportunity, plus Pine Harbor is absolutely gorgeous! It was love for first sight for me when I drove in!"
"You'll quickly find out there is no other place like this on earth. I'm originally from Los Angeles and when I moved here 15 years ago, I knew that I had come home. Speaking of, do you need help with living arrangements at all?"
Jared's smile almost immediately vanished. He was so caught up with getting the job that he never once considered that he would need a roof over his head. "Oh.........no, I didn't even think about that if I'm totally honest."
Janice laughed "Ah youth! Don't worry Jared. A family friend of mine owns a duplex and the previous tenant moved out about a month ago. If you want, I can put him in touch with you if you'd be interested?"
"For sure! Besides, I've got a nest egg saved up from all the freelance work I've done, so worse case scenario, I can use it for an apartment." He laughed.
-
Later that day, the owner of the property, Lance Sorensen, called up Jared and gave him a virtual tour via Facetime of the upper duplex. It had a small kitchen with all of the necessities, a bathroom with a shower, a living room and a modestly sized bedroom with a full size bed. After sleeping on a twin sized bed for nearly 4 years, Jared was more than happy that the bed would be bigger than what he was used to.
Jared, of course, was more than happy with the arrangements in general so he decided to bring up payment.
"Excellent Lance, did you want me to send you the money now for a down payment on the security deposit?"
Lance looked back at him over the phone. He was an older gentleman with a gray beard and a Green Bay Packers trucker cap and spoke with a thick "Wis-Cahn-Sin" Accent.
"Down Payment? Security Deposit? What the hell are you talking about?" He laughed.
"Oh I just figured that since I'll be renting this place from you, that you'd want some money upfront for incidentals and stuff." Jared was a bit puzzled at his demeanor.
"Jared, this ain't Chicago. Just pay the first's month rent when you get here. I'm not going to make you pay for some pointless bullshit like that. Things are already tough enough in the world as is." Lance smiled at him.
"Wow, that's really nice of you Lance. I wasn't expecting that." Jared was almost at a loss of words.
Lance shook his head and pursed his lips together. "Don't mention it. Besides, I've been friends with Janice since she and her husband moved here. We look out for one another here, after all. That and she'd kick my ass if I tried to pull a fast one on ya!"
******
Four weeks later, Jared walked across the stage at Wintrust Arena to receive his degrees in Marketing and Communications, with his parents and younger brother in attendance. While they were sad that Jared wasn't going to be returning home back to Southern Indiana, they were at least happy that he had found a job and one the he seemed happy with.
48 hours later, Jared was pulling his Maroon Honda CR-V, which was full of his belongings, into the driveway of Lance's modestly sized duplex with red vinyl siding and red trimming. It was located about a mile outside of town and offered an unobstructed view of the endless blue expanse of Lake Superior. Lance was there to greet him as well as help him move his stuff up to the upper duplex.
After having Lance help him unpack, Jared joined him in his kitchen downstairs. Lance produced two bottles of beer that had a cow jumping over the state of Wisconsin.
"Mmmm, this is some good tasting beer. Nothing like the stuff I drank in college!" Jared took another sip from the bottle.
Lance chuckled "Oh ya, Spotted Cow is the beer of choice for any good 'Sconnie. Nothing like the swill the kids nowadays like to drink.
"Heh, no kidding. This is the first beer I've ever had that actually makes me want another instead of making me regret my life choices." Jared smiled
As they drank, Jared handed over an envelope containing $700 for the rent. Still he had his reservations & still thought he wasn't paying him enough to live there.
"We don't charge people an arm and a leg for a place to live like they do in the city. Trust me, what you pay me is more than enough to cover utilities and the like!" Lance explained.
Jared was still taken aback by how casual and laid back Lance seemed. "Fair enough. It's just that I'm so used to things being so pricey and people not being nice. Maybe Chicago rubbed off on me a bit too much for my own liking."
Lance put a hand on his shoulder. "Big city life will do that to you, but don't worry. We look out for our own here. You need anything just let me know, alright?"
"I'll keep that in mind, thanks Lance!."
-
