My sister lives on the East Coast, and shares an apartment with another girl. She had flown to Europe for business, and called me to ask if I would drive from western Pennsylvania where I live, and stay at her place. It seemed that her roomie was nervous about the pandemic, and wanted to catch a flight out, and go stay with her boyfriend. Sis needed to someone to watch her dog, her roomie was antsy and wanted to leave, it was a crisis, so I stepped up and agreed to help her out. I had time off coming, so with that arranged, I threw two suitcases in the trunk of my Toyota, and set out on the five hour plus drive east. I had never met her roommate, so I was a bit curious to do so. At the same time, my curiosity was tempered by the knowledge that she had a BF. Traffic was light, to my surprise, and no cops were around either. Even so, I kept the radar on as I drove a little faster than I would have otherwise.
It was after dark when I pulled into the garage under her apartment building. I decided to leave my stuff in the car, and go up to her apartment so the roomie could get going. After I knocked, the door opened, and I saw a very attractive Asian girl. She stood around 5' 4", slender, with long black hair parted to one side. She reminded me of a younger Michelle Yeoh.
"Tommie?" she asked, looking at me from behind the door.
"Uh yeah, that's me, although I really prefer Tom. My sister still calls me Tommie." I shrugged, wondering if she would let me in. She made a slight smile, and opened the door.
"Okay, I'll call you Tom. Beth let me see a picture of you, so I'd know it was you."
"Cool, was I still in diapers?" I cracked. She looked at me, confused, then burst out laughing. She's really pretty, I thought.
"No, no, you were all grown up. Here, let me get you the key, and I'll show you where the dog food is." She gave me a quick tour. Sis's little terrier was glad to see me, looking a little older and fatter than last time. I made a mental note to get her some exercise.
"All right, that's that. I'm going to get myself to the airport. Thanks for helping out, I really appreciate it, and I know Beth does too." With that, she swept out the apartment. An hour later, I received a text from my sister, that her flight was cancelled, due to the virus outbreak. She was hoping things would settle out in a couple of days, did I mind staying? I had anticipated this, having listened to news reports for the past few days. There was a lot of panic in both the US and Europe, and had made arrangements at work so I could work from my laptop. I told her it was fine, and she sent me her thanks, along with a promise to take me out to eat when she returned.
It was after midnight, when a noise woke me up. A light was on out in the apartment, and I could hear banging around. I jumped up and ran to the door to see May, the roomie, taking off her coat. She looked startled when she saw me.
"Hey, what's up?" I asked. She shook her head, her black hair falling over her face.
"My flight was cancelled." she said, brushing back her hair. "I waited around trying to get another, but they were all cancelled. And get this, they don't know when they'll reschedule. It's crazy." She stared at me, then her expression changed.
"Uh, maybe you should get some clothes on?" I was suddenly, and painfully, aware that I was standing there in boxer shorts. She had her arms folded, and giving me a funny look.
"Yeah, I'll be right back," I stammered, rushing back into my room, were I threw on a t-shirt and sweat pants.
"Much better." she said with a smile and an approving nod. I helped her carry her bags back to her room, and made some tea. We sat and talked about what was happening. She had sent a text to her boyfriend, but had not received a response.
"It's kinda odd, you know. I texted him to ask if I could come stay him him, and got back a one word answer. So, you know, I assumed he was busy, whatever. Today I sent a text to tell him I was going to the airport, and another that my flight was cancelled. I hope he's not mad." My radar was telling me that something was really wrong here, but I didn't know her well enough to say anything. She was a very smart and funny person, in addition to being very pretty. She had changed into a t-shirt and flannel pants, and apparently had on no bra, because I was getting glimpses of nipples poking against her shirt. It was difficult, I was attracted to her, but she already had a boyfriend. I tried, unsuccessfully, not to look. She didn't seem to notice.