Chapter 8 - Roommates
Charlotte called to thank me the day after I sent her flowers. She'd already talked to Taylor and knew the emerging plans for the enlarged apartment and living together. She was highly excited about the whole idea of our threesome, and in the call eagerly promised that she'd be the best roommate and lover ever. I told her that I'd hold her to that promise.
Later that day, Taylor and I moved a few of her clothes and possessions to my apartment from hers, and my place became her 'official' address. I contacted Jay Stark, my landlord and a college friend, and told him that we wanted the adjacent furnished unit. He told us that we could move in in two weeks and earlier depending on when it got vacated. I gave him the requisite checks for first and last month's rent and damage deposit, and we had a new and enlarged apartment -- or would in two weeks.
Taylor also was beyond excited about moving in with me. She had been sexually excited around the clock since our new and more robust relationship started. I'd seen horny before, and she was near the top end of the scale. Even the night that I brought dinner to her apartment after she told me that she loved me, she maneuvered the two of to her bed immediately after we ate. We spent the next three hours redefining what sex meant. I was surprised at her enthusiasm for everything sexual. I never thought that she had this streak in her.
Taylor also enticed me to make love to her the next morning before we dressed and went to work. The looks she gave me at work left me certain that if we were any place other than at our jobs, that we'd be fucking again -- maybe even in the middle of Copley Square. I could almost smell her constant arousal, and told her so. That worried her and she ran off to the ladies room to see if she'd been leaking her excitement. She had.
Charlotte called that evening. She had landed a job interview on Friday based on her online job search. The post was at Fidelity Investments in downtown Boston, about a fifteen-minute walk from our office. They were one of the largest employers in the city, too. She flew in on Thursday night for Friday interviews. She told Taylor that she wanted to stay for the weekend. I explained to her on the phone the best way to get from Logan Airport to my (our!) apartment.
Wednesday night, Taylor made me save some of my passion for her sister the next evening. I chuckled and explained the facts about male physiology to her. She did ask a good question, "Well, what would make you recover faster and last longer?"
I couldn't answer either of those questions, except to recall ads for various male enhancements that were all expensive rip-offs, just like the ones that promised to double your cock size in six weeks. If our threesome did get off the ground, I would need some help and extra stamina.
For no apparent reason, I thought of a threesome as inherent unstable. In the short-term, they were a lot of fun, but longer-term, I wasn't so sure. I guess time would tell with the three of us. I was certainly eager to try.
Charlotte arrived at the apartment at six o'clock, an hour after her plane landed. I think she wanted to jump right into bed with me -- and possibly Taylor, but instead I turned us around and we headed to a Japanese noodle house for dinner.
As we walked to dinner, Charlotte told us about the job she was interviewing for at Fidelity. The empty post was the director of IT product management, and the job paid $150,000. I did a double take upon hearing the salary and started to rethink my job at NIS -- Northeast Investigative Services. Charlotte told us about what she knew about the job and how it built on her prior experience with two companies in Rochester.
Towards the end of dinner, I said, "I need to raise some important issues about our threesome and living together."
Taylor and Charlotte both turned to me and hung on every word.
"I like you two, but I'm worried. I want 'us' to be a success in every way possible. I'm going to be struggling with my own behavior and changing to being dedicated to only ... two ... women that I live with. That's easy to say, but I've never been tied down or even in a committed relationship or any kind before. Even having Taylor living with me these few days has been different and new for me.
"The next issue concerns you both. I'm worried about the fact there are two of you, and from that jealousy will arise with me the cause. I know you both brush that aside, but that's too easy. So, here are some thoughts for you -- little scenarios to think about and talk about between you and me.
"You come home from work and your sister and I are in bed fucking; how do you feel? For whatever reason, I've made love to your sister six nights in a row, how do you feel? I forget your birthday but remember the day that Taylor and I made love for the first time; how do you feel Charlotte? You have to work late or travel leaving two of us alone at home, and you know that we'll be romantic and sexual; how do you feel?
"I could go on thinking up little situations that would seem to inspire some level of jealousy or even rage, but you get the idea. We need to talk about these situations, your potential feelings, and how we can work around them when they're negative in any way."
Taylor nodded. "You're right. We've sort of raced into this threesome -- such as it is today -- with rose colored glasses on. Charlotte?"
"I agree with Taylor. She's had little experience with men -- or sex for that matter, except with you, and while I've had some recent experience, not all of it was good. I might be suspicious and doubtful about intentions, and that may include Taylor's even though she's my sister."
I spoke, "As a starting point, I think we have to agree to be intensely honest with each other. We can't say that something is 'fine' when we're seething with anger inside. Let's allow ourselves the freedom to say, 'Can we discuss this later; I'm not ready,' but let's put a twenty-four-hour window on the follow-up. Also, remember that anything that you're feeling is legitimate -- they're your feelings. Nobody can say that you shouldn't 'feel' that way because you do. We need to talk about that."
Charlotte said, "I like that. Even saying that is putting the other person or persons on notice that not all is well about some aspect of their behavior. Yes, all the reading that I've done has said that we need really superior communication skills to make this work."
Taylor said, "We need some ground rules and boundaries for each of us. What activities are on and off the table, and what are our expectations for each other. Even if we were just a couple, we should talk about those.
I nodded. "Just so you know, I am going to treat the next year or so like ... going steady or an engagement to both of you. The purpose of an engagement is to get really close to each other and to see whether you can stand them the rest of your life. Over time, we'll need to be sharing our expectations, hopes, dreams, and fantasies. My feeling is that there shouldn't be any judgments about those. Since they come from inside our heads, they're fine just as they are. We just need to voice them and then see whether we're on the same journey with the others.
"Also, I freely admit that I am not an expert at reading your needs unless they are blatant and openly stated. I would like to relinquish to the two of you any requirement that I 'balance' things between you in some way. I don't want to be weighing every move I make as to whether it is equitable. You tell me, rather than me acting and getting it wrong."
