The day was getting late with the sun just starting to set on a long day, and Emma just wanted to collapse on her couch. She trudged up the steps to her apartment. Three floors of rooms as rundown as the outside. The stairway smelled like piss, as it did every Friday from their drunk neighbours. Emma wanted to move somewhere nicer, but even with two incomes, it was an impossible dream.
At the door, apartment A34, Emma shoved her key in, but it refused to turn. She groaned and shook the handle while turning the keys until it finally unlocked. The building's manager said he'd get it fixed months ago, but never did.
Emma was greeted with loud voices from the television, and her boyfriend shouting at it as she slammed the door behind her. He was so occupied with the football match that he didn't seem to notice her. An open bag of chips was lying on the couch next to him with crumbs all over. Another thing for her to clean up later.
"I'm home." She muttered.
Brad continued shouting at the television. Judging by his tone, his team was losing. Sometimes she wondered why she continued to live with him. She loved him back in college. They were both a little nerdy and... well, they weren't particularly good at making friends. During their four years there, Brad was the only one who made an effort to talk to her.
But once they graduated, he changed. The fun, nerdy boy she loved suddenly tossed out the hobbies they shared. He said his work friends thought it was dumb, and he wanted to fit in better. Which Emma would've been fine with, but it felt like he also tossed out his passion in life. He became so obsessed with keeping up with appearances that it started affecting his temper.
Emma was too tired to deal with him right now. She kicked her shoes off and, with a sigh of relief, unhooked her bra. A benefit of wearing a short-sleeved shirt was that it was easy to take her bra off without taking the shirt off.
"Oh hey!" Brad finally seemed to notice her. "I didn't hear you come in."
"Yeah, just got here," she tried to hide her frustration. "I'm gonna go soak in the bath for a bit. My back's killing me."
Emma didn't like the way he eyed her chest on her way to the bedroom. It's not that she didn't enjoy sex, it was just okay. What he lacked in size, he used to make up in other ways. A bit of foreplay went a long way, but he also wasn't afraid to use his hands or tongue. But like everything else after college, his work friends convinced him to change. They said a real man could please women with penetration alone.
In their tiny bedroom, Emma grabbed her set of pajamas so she could slip into them after her bath. But her relaxation would have to wait. Brad walked in behind her with his shirt off. Despite all his talk about needing to be 'manly', he was fairly lanky.
"You know what we should do before your little 'relaxation time'?" He said in a way that probably sounded sexy in his head. "A little romp in bed."
"Not tonight, I have a headache." Emma didn't even have to lie about that.
"Ah, come on. I've been a bit horny today, and then you came in with your tits out? That's a little unfair, isn't it?"
Emma sat on the edge of the bed and started unbuttoning her shirt. She didn't want to, but she didn't have the energy to argue over it. "Okay, okay."
Brad hurriedly unbuckled his pants and pulled them off along with his boxers. A small dick popped up, unaware of its inadequacies. Emma didn't know how little he was since he claimed he was average. But to her, she guessed he was around three inches,
maybe
three and a half if she was generous. It pointed up at her as she slipped off her pants and panties. Revealing smooth legs and a perfectly trimmed pussy.
"Sexy as always." He whistled. "How'd I get so lucky."
Emma smiled awkwardly, trying not to piss him off. Her body was something she maintained to feel good about herself rather than for his pleasure. But she shrugged it off and laid back. At least that relieved some of the pain.
Brad climbed between her legs and unceremoniously slipped his dick in her. He wasn't so small that she couldn't feel it, Emma's ass was just too thick that he couldn't put it in all the way. After a few dry humps, he applied a generous amount of lube.
Then, he propped himself up on his hands and started humping fast and shallow. He would've cum fairly soon, but managed to last a bit longer since his dick kept slipping out. Emma closed her eyes and tried to remember back to their college days. His grinning face covered in splotches of paint after spending all afternoon painting minifigures. The way he'd be so excited to show them off to her. Late nights playing games, laughing together. Emma could still feel that little kindle of love deep down for him. It almost made her wet to remember those moments, but then he blew his little load.
"Phew, that felt good." He sighed happily. "We should do that more often."
Emma nodded, feeling a bit more disappointed than before. She collected her things and went to fill the tub. Brad cracked open the door as she waited and peeked his head in. "I forgot to tell you; I told the boys we'd meet them tomorrow night."
"Tomorrow?" she asked, having a harder time hiding her annoyance. "But it's the weekend and I just want to relax and catch up with some online friends."
"Come on, Em. You had a nice relaxing weekend last week." He grumbled. "I promise we won't be there that long. We'll have a few drinks, a few laughs, and then come back. Okay?"
Emma was fuming. Last weekend he had 'the boys' over practically the whole weekend. She didn't trust her voice, so she nodded.
***
Emma was tempted to throw on whatever she had lying around, preferably an oversized hoodie and pajama pants, but she wasn't that petty. She ended up picking out proper clothes. Not that she had many options. The outfit she picked out was her favourite - a light blue skirt that went down to her mid-thigh and a black top that showed off a hint of cleavage.
The top was tighter across the chest than she remembered, but it
had
been a few years since she last wore it. Wearing it now brought her back to her past self. And how she wished to go back to those days. Emma shook her head and grabbed the final piece to complete her outfit. A black wristband that had a quote from her favourite book.
In the mirror, Emma pulled her hair back into a low ponytail. Nothing special. She used to dye her hair a variety of fun colours. Shades of blues and purples, but now she kept it her natural chestnut brown.
"You ready yet?" Brad asked impatiently from the front door. "We're going to be late."
"All right, I'm coming." Another look over in the mirror, and she was ready to go. Brad's jaw practically hit the floor when he saw her. He looked her up and down with surprise.
"In that?" He asked incredulously. "Not that I'm complaining, but we're just going to the bar."
Emma raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? The bar?"
"Well, yeah." He scoffed. "The big game's tonight. So, the boys and I thought we'd go to the bar and share some drinks while we watched."
Emma felt like an idiot. Of course they wouldn't be going anywhere nice. They were broke. Not that Brad would even take her somewhere nice if they had the money.
"It'd take too long to change, so I guess I'll just go like this anyway." She grumbled.
The two of them left, having to slam the door a couple of times before it would lock. Brad went on and on about the game the other night. How the referee made terrible calls, the chances of his team making it to the playoffs.
Emma just nodded absently, giving an occasional "Oh?" or "Mhmm." He'd never elaborate what any of it meant and would be a bit condescending any time she asked questions. As he continued, she wondered what her online friends were up to on Strife until they reached the bar.
A large neon sign in the front window had the name "Inari's" written in cyan and magenta. It was a retro-themed bar in a slightly nicer area of the city. Muffled voices of drunken conversations carried into the streets.
Those voices became louder, yet just as unclear, when they went inside. Most people there were in groups laughing together, though a few were slouched over at the bar. Expressions of bitterness or sorrow in their eyes. One of them, however, was a tall woman sitting alone. At that moment, the woman glanced at her.
"Braaaad!" Someone drunk called out nearby.
In the corner of the room was a booth with four men wearing button-up shirts and ties that were loosened after a long day. The way they looked at her made her skin crawl. Emma could practically feel their eyes undressing her. Even though Brad had mentioned everyone coming were already in relationships.
