The sunlight fell across the hardwood floor through the large west-facing window. Dee loved this time of day. Her cat lay snoozing next to her as they both warmed themselves in the late afternoon sun. Her skin gleamed gold as she stretched luxuriously, cat-like herself. She was lying on her back, breasts spilling over the top of her tight sports bra. She smiled down at them enjoying the way they rose and fell with each breath. She adjusted the scarf wrapped around her hair before she kneeled, turned and bent into child's pose, shins pressing into her yoga mat as she felt her back begin to relax.
After a few moments she began to squirm, the tag of the new leggings she wore scratching her lower back. She glanced at the window behind her. The house she'd inherited from her beloved aunt had many glorious windows, filling the house with light even in the middle of winter. A high wall of hedges around the property's perimeter also surrounded it. Rumor among the neighborhood kids was that this was to block her aunt's witch sacrifices from eyes on the street, but Dee knew it was because her aunt was an eccentric who liked to garden topless in the privacy of her own yard. Dee smiled, taking a leaf out of her aunt's book, and squirmed on her back out of the yoga pants and returned to child's pose, stomach and back relaxing deeper without constriction.
Eyes closed, Dee stretched, moving slowly into downward facing dog, rolling her heels up and down, feeling the sun warm her round ass cheeks and the curves of her thighs as she stretched deeper and deeper. Finally, letting her head hang down; she opened her eyes which then flew open in shock. A man was standing, one hand resting against the not yet pressed doorbell, mouth open as he took in her gorgeous curves.
Making eye contact, he swiftly turned away and began hurrying down the lane back to the street.
"Shit!" Dee exclaimed, waking the cat that meowed crankily at her, "Shit, shit, shit!"
She'd completely forgotten that the renter was coming to look at the house today. Though she loved the house, her teaching job did not allow her to live in the house alone, significant repairs were needed before winter came and she simply would not be able to afford them without a renter. Few people wanted to live out in the country and this man was one of very few who'd replied to her ad.
Throwing caution to the wind, Dee yanked open the front door, slamming it shut behind her, and ran down the lane after the man, still in her sports bra and thong.
"Wait!" she called to his retreating back, "I am so sorry. I completely forgot."
He turned, and she was able to take in for the first time how handsome he was. His jaw was so square she thought she might cut her fingers if she reached out and touched it, as she was sorely tempted to. His skin was smooth where it peaked out from the unbuttoned neck and the wrists of his long-sleeve Henley. As she took in his piercing eyes, she thought back to her short glimpse of his juicy ass in the jeans. She straightened her spine automatically.
"Jude, right?" she panted slightly, rather from the unexpected run or from his unexpected good looks she wasn't sure. "Your name is Jude."
He nodded slightly, his expression revealing nothing of his emotions.
"I am so sorry about that back there, it completely slipped my mind that today was the day you were coming to see the place. It really is a lovely house. Please come look at it, I am so sorry about that." Then she added in response to his raised eyebrow and small smile, "And also now. I absolutely will be a clothed roommate. Just please come see the house."
He laughed a throaty laugh that made her even more aware of the way her skin prickled when he looked at her, his face breaking into a smile.
"I understand," he said in a deep voice. "We all do the same when we are alone. I just didn't want you to think I was being inappropriate. I would love to see the house."
Smiling, he walked beside her, as they turned up the path towards the house, careful to avoid another glimpse of her cheeks bouncing as they walked. She found herself wishing he would peek.
She pushed the door to the house open and the cat emerged from the sparsely furnished living room, meowing hello as she wound her way, first through Dee's ankles and then Jude's.
"Oh, you must be something special," Dee quipped. "She doesn't usually take to strangers. Hold on here a moment."
She hurried into the living room where her leggings lay discarded, making sure to let her ass bounce as much as possible as she did so. She bent over to grab the leggings, exposing the slightly damp fabric of her thong stretched over her pussy.
"What am I doing?" Dee thought to herself as she quickly pulled the yoga pants back on. "You want this man to come live here. The contractor is still waiting for a deposit. You can't just fuck him because he is handsome, this is business."
Feeling she'd properly admonished herself she turned just as Jude strode into the room. The sun hit his skin, making him glow like a saint. She felt her breath catch slightly as she saw the slight curve of his stomach and the thick muscles move under his shirt as he turned to survey the room.
"It is a gorgeous house," he said as he turned.
"Just you wait," Dee said, "you haven't seen anything yet."
She took him on a long tour of the house, taking her time and showing him every quirk. She was pleased by how he smiled when she pointed out the detail of lemons carved into the stair railing, and the assortment of vintage toilets filled with beautiful purple and pink flowers in the darkening sun room. Her aunt had passed about six months ago, peacefully in her sleep. Dee still missed her terribly every day and it made her feel better to know that this potential renter appreciated the work her aunt put into making this place her own.
"And this would be your room!" Dee said, opening the door to the second bedroom, arms wide, twirling in the center of the room. "It gets great light this time of day and somehow manages to be just the right temperature every season."
She finished her spin as Jude walked into the room. He had been smiling behind her back at her spin in a way that made her blush slightly. He stepped into the late afternoon sunlight and could've been sculpted from bronze.
Looking around the warm room and then into her eyes, "I would love to live here, if you'd have me." Dee smiled.
***************
Moving Jude in was stressful. Dee helped Jude move his boxes from the street across the lawn into the house and up the long wooden staircase with the lemons carved into the banister. As they moved in box after box of books and then two boxes of clothes, he told her he'd just been hired as an adjunct professor in African-American Literature at the university in the nearby city. They discussed books, each trip getting progressively more out of breath as they trekked with the heavy boxes up the steep stairs.
Finally, only his mattress remained - Jude explained he'd been staying in a furnished home before and would be buying bookshelves and a bed frame in the coming weeks. Together they grasped each side of the awkward shape and carried it from the U-Haul up the stairs. Finally, Dee's arm muscles screaming, they dumped the mattress unceremoniously on the floor of the bedroom. Dee bent double, catching her breath with her hands on her knees. In spite of her exhaustion she was aware of her heaving breasts under the thin fabric of her tank top and hoped that the sweat running across scalp would not escape her curls to drip down her face. In spite of her firm scolding of herself in her vanity mirror this morning, she had not been able to resist putting on makeup for Jude's move in.
Straightening - resisting the urge to wipe her face in case it smeared her eyeliner - she saw Jude's tight stomach as he lifted his shirt to wipe his sweating face. He must be planking while he read all those books, Dee thought. His taunt stomach tapered into a V, pointing towards what must be under his cloth shorts. As Jude's shirt dropped back, hiding the view, Dee jerked her eyes up, blushing again, suddenly aware that her nipples had hardened against her bralett and were almost certainly showing through that same thin tank top. Jude look at her hard, tongue pink against his lips for a moment before he bit his bottom lip. Dee felt her breath catch in her chest. Then Jude's face cracked into a smile, breaking the tension in the room. He thanked her for her help and then turned to begin unpacking, leaving Dee disappointed and chiding herself.