We'd been hearing leaks about the coming lockdown for a few days before the governor formally declared the new state of affairs. Unlike COVID-19, the conspiracy nuts who thought it was all made up were less than single digits percentages. After all, this was San Francisco and we were good citizens damnit! We were going to do the thing and make it all okay. We had no idea how transformative an experience this was going to be for society or for us personally.
I was 36 years old and living in a 2 bedroom apartment in Cole Valley with my girlfriend, Raphael, and our friend Bianca, who'd just moved in. Bianca was single at the time which really simplified our equation. We didn't have to cram another person in, lose a roommate, or come up with complicated rules about whether or not she could go out on dates. We were lucky to be in an older Victorian building. They say the Victorians really knew how to use natural light and our building was evidence of that with high vaulted ceilings and tall windows reaching from knee height well above my head on every wall.
We were fit, in our 30s, and living our best lives. I'm six foot one with soft brown hair, an olive complexion, and broad shoulders. Raphael was a perfect five foot eight blonde with an hour glass figure, a gold nose stud, and blue eyes that could transfix a riled up cop. Our bodies were perfectly aligned for making out and fucking standing up. Bianca was a fitness buff standing five foot four with B cup tits and hips would draw eyes in a salsa competition no matter how modestly she was dressed.
Raphael and I had been in a hot and heavy 6 month relationship. We were both looking for someone to settle down and have kids with but hoped to have a couple of years of wildness together first. Bianca had been in a series of monogamous relationships over the years and was still figuring out what she was really looking for.
The lockdown was supposed to last for 3 weeks. We were asked not to go out unless absolutely necessary. The first week felt like a teenage overnight lock-in. We took turns making favorite meals, picking out movies, and got cozy. Week two was a drag and we were getting antsy to get out.
When the news came out at the end of week 2 that the lockdown was going to be extended to 6 weeks because people hadn't been following the rules and the virus was continuing to spread, our home went from feeling adventurous to downright gloomy. We needed to do a grocery run. We were allowed out but only if we ordered ahead. A store clerk would meet us with our order on the sidewalk in a socially distanced queue. We were ordered to cover our entire bodies except our eyes and the national guard was called in to help enforce the rules.
We put in our order and I volunteered to go out for the pickup. The mood outside was somber and quiet. Even though the rules were draconian, they didn't feel oppressive -- it was clear that the city was trudging through an unusual period of stoic camaraderie. We were going to redouble our efforts and make it through.
When I came back home with the bags of groceries and toiletries, the ladies had setup the space for reentry. I stepped into our tarped up entryway, set the loot down in a plastic bin, and Raphael undressed me. It was anything but sexy. My clothes went straight into a garbage bag where they'd sit for 5 days before we ran them through the laundry.
Raphael sealed up the bin while I scurried straight into the bathroom for a hot shower -- but now she was contaminated too. Her clothes came off straight away and joined mine in the garbage bag. She joined me in the shower while Bianca started rolling up our tarps and stowing everything away. Finally, she also undressed and joined us in the bathroom to wait her turn for the shower. Bianca didn't make a big deal out of it as she stepped through the bathroom door completely naked. Raphael and I slipped out of the shower into the now steam-filled bathroom, still dripping wet.
It wasn't a sexy scene -- it was just the most practical way for us to all stay healthy. Even so, our eyes couldn't help but stray to each other's bodies. It wasn't our first time naked together -- this was San Francisco. We'd all been to the co-ed spa together a bunch of times, but it took on a new intimacy in this crammed bathroom and locked down together for 2 weeks already. Even though Raphael and I had each other, our anxiety about the pandemic had taken over and deeply dampened our sex life. Bianca was completely stifled, even if her mind wasn't on her unmet physical needs.
