Dana - a First

This is my first effort to try my hand at writing. I've been a member for a while and decided to post a story. I'd like to thank Blackrandi1958 for being so patient with me and providing helpful guidance and for the work she did editing. Kudo's and lots of them to her.

I've listed this as a first time story but it's not a first sex story. It's a first from the point of view that it's the first time between two people who become best friends and then lovers.

Like most here this is fiction and it's my world, it can be whatever I want it to be.

I've tried my best to be as grammatically correct and spell checked etc. but I'm sure I missed some.

Lastly constructive criticism is acceptable. Degrading comments will be deleted.

Dana: A First

Sitting at the El Paso airport after a short flight, my phone rang. Looking at the number, I didn't recognize it and it wasn't programmed into my phone. I almost didn't answer, but being out of town I figured I needed to see who it was. If it was a telemarketer, I could just hang up like I always do. When I answered, it was a woman looking for an apartment. I own several apartment complexes back home and I had a pretty good reputation for having some of the best in the area. They were fairly quiet and a good neighborhood, so they were somewhat in demand. I'd also gotten picky over the years of experience, and I could tell by talking to most people, listening to their tone of voice, how they came across, whether they would be a good tenant. I screened people, checked references and backgrounds and did credit checks so I could get a better quality of tenant. Consequently, my places are quiet, no loud parties, no police all hours of the day and night etc. etc.

She had a really nice tone of voice and spoke like she was above the norm for someone looking for a place to rent. She told me that she was recently separated and needed a place for her and her son, something secure and low noise with decent neighbors. Talking with her, she really made a good impression, and sounded like she would be someone who would take care of the apartment. I told her that I was out of town for a few days, but I'd call her when I got back and we could talk.

When I returned, I called her and we met at the apartments. Now, in my mind, first impressions are everything. When she stepped out of her car, I was really surprised: she was dressed nicely, her hair was cute with some red highlights and she had a cute face with little make-up. Now I was REALLY impressed. Between the conversations a few days before and now seeing her in person, I had to check to make sure I wasn't staring with my mouth open. She was a cutie, about 5'2", maybe 100 pounds soaking wet, had a nice figure, was dressed for business and seemed to have her act together. She introduced herself as Dana, we talked a bit and I showed her the apartment I had available. We also went over a few things that I knew had to be fixed and I gave her an application to fill out. I already had in my mind, based on conversation and then meeting her, she'd be a good tenant, as long as she had the means to take care of the rent. It worked out like I thought. I found out that I knew her ex (or soon to be ex, and he was a total jerk). He was a city councilman I'd crossed paths with, and I didn't care for him at all. When I got the application back, she had the means to take care of the rent and stuff, so she got the lease.

I started working on the things that needed fixing, coming up with some other stuff I hadn't noticed before and getting the few items done. She came by a day or two later.

"Paul," she asked, "would it be okay if I brought some of my things over? I'll put them in boxes so they are not in your way"

"Sure, Dana", I said, "If I'm here I'll help you get things unloaded"

The next day, I was cleaning the A/C unit when she came in.

"Good morning," I said.

"I just have a few boxes and loose clothes." Dana said. "I'll just put them here to the side."

Looking closer, she was dressed down: t-shirt and shorts with sneakers, and she looked like she'd been thru a wringer. I didn't say anything right away, but I went to her car and picked up one of the boxes.

"These are dishes and kitchen stuff?" I said. "I can put them on the counter in the kitchen"

"That'd be great," Dana said,

"The loose clothes on hangers I can put up in the closet," I said

"You really don't have to do all that, Paul," Dana said.

"I know, just looks like you could use some help. I'm at a break point anyway," I said.

With all her stuff unloaded and put up, I turned to her. "So how are things going today, Dana?" I asked.

She just turned and met me with a stare.

"What?" I asked. "I'm sorry, (holding my hands out) I'm not trying to interfere, I was just making conversation. Look, I'll just go finish what I was doing"

She didn't say anything, just continued picking up, looking around trying to gauge where she was going to put stuff. I went back to doing what I had been before.

As she was about to leave, she stopped, came over and said, "Paul, look I'm sorry. It's just a really bad day. My ex is being an ass, giving me a hard time. I haven't told him where I'm moving, so please don't say anything to anyone."

Not a problem," I replied. "I understand. I've been there, done that and got the t-shirt. BUT, if he does find out, I do want you to tell him that I don't want any trouble here. If he comes over and starts an argument or anything, you need to tell him I'll have him put in jail for disturbing the peace.

Thinking a second. I said, "Look, if you need to talk, I'll listen; I can even multitask, work and listen at the same time..."

That got a smile and a little laugh. "Okay, I'll see you later," she said.

"I was at least happy I got her to smile," I thought to myself.

I went back to the list I'd made of things that I wanted to make sure worked before I let someone move in. I also did some cleaning. It must have been two or three days later that I was fixing a closet door and checking the bathroom fixtures. I had the A/C running hard, I had the temp down to about 65 and was pleased that it was all running like I wanted for the most part.

The door opened and Dana walked in with an armload of boxes. When I looked up, all I could see was her legs and the top of her head. She put the boxes down and I saw she had on a pair of shorts and cute little top with her hair pulled back, but, WOW, did she have nice legs, and I think my eyes bugged out. I had to do a jaw check to make sure my mouth wasn't wide open, but I got caught.

"What are you looking at?? She asked.

"I guess I..." I was stuttering, and she smiled. I finally had to fess up.

"Well, I was looking at those beautiful legs," I said

Looking down at herself, she said, "Yeah right."

"'Yeah right' is right," I said. "Sorry, but I just had to say that," I said with a grin.

Smiling, she went outside, brought in some kitchen stuff and I stopped to help her unload her car again.

I have some friends to help move furniture, beds and tables the next day, and hopefully that would be all of it, she said.

"I'll be around in morning if you need an extra hand," I said.

"That would be great; I'm sure glad I decided on this apartment. I don't think anyone else would help like you do," she said.

"Well, it's not like I'm going out of my way. If I'm here, I'm not going to let someone struggle," I said.

"I just really appreciate all that you have done so far," she said.

"I have a personal policy regarding these apartments," I said. "I won't lease one to someone that I wouldn't live in myself. Plus, if you get it in good shape you're more likely to take good care of it".

"That's interesting," she said. "I never really thought about that, but it makes sense. Well, I need to apologize again for being so short with you the other day. I was just stressed over all the BS. I'm not usually that way.

"Not a problem," I replied. "As I said, been there before so I can imagine what you are going through."

We talked a bit more, she opened up a bit about what had happened. She'd had enough with her ex and just basically walked out. Several things had happened that made her suspect things, it became a trust issue and then some lies came out and so forth. We must have talked (or she talked) for about an hour or so. As we talked, I could see she was calming a bit and despite what she told me, she seemed to be relaxing. I just listened for the most part and didn't try to say anything much, just letting her vent.

"Well," I told her, "I have to leave and take care of some other things.

"Thanks for listening," she said. "I apologize for dumping all my troubles on you."

"Like I said before," I replied, "I'm glad to just listen if you needed to get stuff off your chest, and I don't talk outside about things people tell me. Just call me or text me and if I can I'll be there, I'll at least get there when I can"

I had no intention of anything further happening, having been thru the divorce routine, knowing the bull-crap lawyers play and that ex's play and the rumor mill of the street, so if I could be her sounding board then no big deal, she'd be better if she had someone to talk to.

The next morning, I passed by the complex (like I usually do) and saw a rental truck backed up to her apartment. I stopped to see if they had enough help to move the heavy stuff.

"Hey guys," I said. "Looks like an extra hand would help?"

The three guys trying to get the dresser up the stairs looked relieved. "Sure could use the extra hand," one guy replied. "This is heavier than it looks!"

Dana was inside and looked around the corner. "Oh, wow," she said. "Guys, this is my landlord, Paul." We got the last of the heavy pieces in for her and got the other pieces of her bed and things.

"I've got to get to the shop." I said. "I've got a guy waiting for me"

"Thank you again," Dana said. "I really appreciate all you have done"

"No problem," I said. "Glad I got here when I did, they were having a hard time"

I left, went to my office and had several things going on. That afternoon, she called and told me the A/C wasn't cooling like it should, so I told her I'd be there around 5:30 to check it.

When I got there and knocked, she opened the door and I could see she was crying. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"Don't worry about it," she replied and took off in a jog up the stairs.

I shrugged and said to myself, "Oookay... let's see what is happening with the A/C."

I was a bit aggravated because the unit had been running for the time I'd been in there and been putting out okay. Luckily, I found it was a simple fix: only having to change the batteries in the thermostat and it got going again.

I called to her upstairs, "I got it fixed, come and let me show you what you have to check"

"I'll be down in a sec," she called.

Looking around, she'd been busy. Most of the furniture was in place and she had a couple of pictures hung, nothing elaborate, but starting to look homey. I heard her coming down the stairs, I turned and saw she'd tried to fix her makeup and her eyes were still red...

"I've found a couple of things that need to be fixed" she said. "The lights on the ceiling fan won't go off unless I turn the switch off at the wall, I can't leave the fan on with the lights off, and the toilet won't stop running"

"Let's go look at it," I said. "Probably the pull chain is hung up on the light, and the chain on the flapper may be hung up." Going up, sure enough, easy fix for both.

"Boy, you sure know how to do the handyman stuff," she said.

"When you own these things, you learn quickly," I replied, laughing. "I'm just glad it wasn't more involved."

"Oh, I almost forgot," she said. "Is it okay if I run the cable for the TV along the wall and tack it to the baseboard?"

"Sure," I replied. "That's what most do anyway; there's a small cable piece the installer's use that hold the cable along the wall with a tack. Shouldn't be a problem. So what else is going on?"

"Humph," she replied. "Too much."

I could tell she was upset and looked like she was close to the end of her rope.

I looked at her eyes and knew she wanted to vent. "I'm here; I've got a little time if you'd like to tell me what happened," I said.

It came out that her ex found out where she had moved, came over and tried to start something. It happened to be when she had the cable people there setting up her TV and internet. He had started in on her, she told him to leave and when he did, he turned to the cable installer and told him that if he did a good job, she'd give him a tip, that she gave the best blow job around and he ought to take advantage of it. I was blown away when she told me that. I'd been mad at my ex (more than once) and never even thought about saying something even close to that.

She began to cry again, and impulsively, I reached out, pulled her into a hug and just held her while she cried.

"It's okay gal." I said. "Just let it out, I won't tell a soul."

Several other things came out as she calmed down.

"I'm so sorry," she said. "I don't want to have you think I'm some nut case, or that I can't handle things myself, I'm pretty independent."

"Look, I told you before and I'll tell you again, if something like that happens and you need to talk, call me, text me or if I'm here, just come find me and we can talk as long as you need," I said.

"I'm okay," she said, "but I'll call you if it's all right to do that."

I got my tools together, got to the door and stopped, turned and she was right behind me. I put my bag down, pulled her into another hug and kissed her forehead

"Not all guys are assholes," I said. "I've known him for a while; he was a jerk asshole before, and what he did just proves he still is."

She kind of pulled back, surprised, and I told her, "Well, you looked like you could use a hug."

"If you'd thought fast enough," I said, "you should have told him the cable guy probably has a bigger dick than you anyway. Maybe you could give him a nickname, "needle dick"."

Breaking out in a laugh, she told me, "I don't know about the cable guy, but most guys around would probably have a bigger dick than him."

We laughed together, I turned to leave and told her, "I made you laugh twice now when you were down, that's a better sign."

As I left, she smiled and gave me a hand squeeze.

I was working on other apartments over the next few weeks and would see her and talk for a bit. One day when I was working in the next apartment, she came over to tell me there was a leak on the sink, so I went in to check on it.

As I was lying on the kitchen floor under the sink, she came in. "I found the problem," I said. "Could you help me by holding this tool on the basket so I can tighten the drain, please?"

"I don't know if I can hold it," she said. "I'm not very strong with my hands."

"I won't take much," I told her. "Just a little bit holding it and I think it'll work"

She got over the sink and was straddling me while I tightened the basket nut. "There we go," I said. "I think that may work."

I slid out a little to get up, and as I looked up to get out of the cabinet, she was still standing over me. I could see all the way up her shorts she was wearing. I guess the surprise made me jump, and needless to say, I hit my head on the cabinet and just lay there for a minute to recover.

She jumped back and squatted down next to me. "Are you okay?" she asked,

"Uhh, yeah, I think so." I said. "I just got distracted by the view."

She was looking at me funny, so I told her. "I have to tell you, with you standing over me like that I could see all the way up your shorts and... I'm sorry, but well... I got a free shot," I said laughing.

Giggling, she took my hand, helped me out and got some ice to put on my head.

"Come sit down and let me look at that," she said, still grinning.

"That grin on your face," I said, "makes me think you did that on purpose."

I sat on her couch for a while, letting her check on my head. "I've got to go; if it leaks again to call me," I said.

Grinning, she said, "Okay, and I'll make sure I don't have these shorts on!"

Over the next few weeks, it became almost a comedy of errors: everything seemed to be breaking or having issues, the hot water heater, the bathroom drain, nothing major, just minor things. Each time we'd talk a bit while I was doing the repairs, and we got closer and I'd tell her little tidbits about what I'd do or how I'd do things. I told her how I'd reply to some of the lawyer bullshit and shut down the play between the lawyers. I'd gone over to work in another apartment and she was home, so I just stopped in to see how she was doing. She was hard at some cleaning, getting her apartment like she wanted it. I'd found that she was a bit OCD with keeping things straight.

"Would you like some coffee?" she asked.

"Sure, if you have time. I don't want to stop what you were doing, I just wanted to make sure everything was okay," I said.

"Everything is fine so far, have a seat on the couch, and I'll make us some," she said. "How do you like it?"

"Straight black," I replied.

She brought two cups, sat down on the couch next to me and just sighed...

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Oh, just the same crap," she said. "Arguments, back and forth over who has what, stuff like that."

As she was going on about what was happening and what a night mare her ex was giving her, she began to tear up a bit. I just touched her arm and told her it would be okay. I reached out and took her coffee and put it on the table. She began to cry. Holding her hand, I rubbed her back and shoulders to try to calm her. She leaned against me and we must have sat there for about 20 minutes before she quieted down, I took her chin in my hand, pulled her up to look at me, kissed her forehead and told her, "It will work itself out; lots of times these lawyers like to play their clients against each other. They like to file motions and other 'rules,' and all it does is create issues. Sometimes you have to put your foot down and tell them quit the bullshit, move forward and stop arguing."

"You're so sweet," she said. "You always seem to know when to show up here and know what to say or do."

"Well, I'm not sure about the when and what. I just stopped to make sure you weren't having any more issues, since it seems everything started to go wrong after you moved in. The rest is just chance," I said.

She turned more toward me, and then reached behind my head and pulled me into a kiss. I pulled back a bit, not really expecting it, and realized how nice her lips felt on mine. Until that moment, all I'd done was give her a chaste hug or simple kiss her on the forehead or cheek, not really trying to convey anything else. The look on my face made her pause.

"I'm sorry, Paul," she said. "I shouldn't have kissed you like that. I just really appreciate all you have done, way above what anyone else would have done."

"That's okay," I said. "I didn't expect that at all, although it was very nice. Just surprised me a bit"

I sat there thinking for a minute. It had been a long time since I'd been kissed like that. I reached out and ran my fingers over her cheek and along her jaw, just admiring her. She appeared to be really relaxed. I took her face in my hands and gently kissed her. When I pulled back, she had her eyes closed, seeming to be dreaming. When she opened her eyes, I could see it had been a long time since she had been kissed like that (not that I'm a great kisser or anything). She looked up at me and smiled, turned around and lay across my lap. I took her in my arms and kissed her again, holding her close, as she just melted into my arms, relaxing, snuggling. I ran my hands through her hair, enjoying being close and feeling the softness of her skin. I could feel the warmth building between us.