Tuckered Out

She leaned back against the small kitchen counter as Tucker looked around the small attached, in-law style apartment.

"This apartment was my grandparents place when my parents owned the house. It's small, it's not close to your campus, so I hope you're into peace and quiet, and commuting."

He glanced at her, his look lingered, scrutinizing every detail of her face he could before making his regard awkward. He turned back towards the sitting room. It wasn't much more than a den really. She noticed he had been studying the windows and started turning this way and that as if trying to get his bearings.

"Is something wrong?"

He looked surprised. "No, no nothing is wrong I was just wondering which way this window faces." His voice was strained and he swallowed hard. "I paint, and draw and I like a lot of window light." He gave her another long look. She realized then that the looks were what she took them for, appraisals.

Jennifer never had trouble catching or holding the attention of a guy, not since she was a teenager, and due to taking good care of herself she could still turn heads. She wasn't doing much to sell the place on him and let it speak for itself.

"A few of the house rules; you can use the yard, invite friends over if you want, but keep it down to a dull roar. I'd appreciate a heads-up if you're going to have more than one or two." She gave him a stern look. "The parking spot in front of the garage is mine if I'm not in it, parking for you would be off to the other side. If you find yourself coming in very late, or early, depending on your point of view, keep quiet. I don't mind music but I like my walls not to shake with it unless it's my own playlist. The connecting door leads to a laundry room off my kitchen, which is kept locked. If you need access to do laundry when I'm home just let me know. I would task any tenant with occasional assistance with the maintenance, maybe a hand raking the leaves in the fall, or a little shoveling, though I have a guy that plows the driveway, he doesn't get out of the truck so the walkway and the mailbox area are up to me. There's room in the garage if you have stuff that you need to store, like a bike or something like that."

Tuck liked it, he liked it a lot actually and she wasn't asking a fortune, which it could very well go for if she'd wanted to raise the price. He nodded and smiled. "I like it. I'm not noisy I prefer the quiet myself, which is why I want to live off campus for my last year.

She liked him already. "If you promise not to totally destroy the place I'll drop the deposit to two hundred. Small nails or picture hangers in the walls are okay. I did just have the place painted though being the artistic type you may not like the colors. If you want to paint it, I'll supply the paint and rollers, just nothing to crazy. I don't want to have to pay extra to cover up hot pink next summer."

Tuck let out a little laugh at that. "No I prefer neutral shades like this, they keep me from getting distracted."

"What are you studying?"

He nodded. "Architecture and design. I work as a designer for the hardware store in town selling remodels and home additions. I'll likely move closer to the city to intern after this year."

Jennifer's smile twisted a little as she bit the inside of her cheek. She knew the store he was referring to. Her parents had been some of the last independent business people in town when they retired a few years back. They finally succumbed to pressure from the big chain stores that were taking over. It was time. Her parents had run their grocery store for their entire lives and the town stood by them several times when super stores wanted to move in to compete. Eventually the right mix of money hungry business people got elected and they had let in the corporate stores. Her parents were set to retire and they stayed open long enough to sell out their valuable downtown property. They had left it all to her before they passed away a few years prior.

"Want a few minutes alone to look around?"

"No, I'd like to fill out the application." Tuck said with a smile.

"Okay. I like a guy that can make up his mind." She smiled as she went through the adjoining doorway and came back with the papers and a pen. Tuck filled them out on the kitchen counter while she watched. He pulled out his phone and tapped up something and filled in the spaces. He signed it at the bottom and handed it back to her.

"How many of these references are your buddies from school?" She took the papers and smiled as she looked them over.

"None actually. My folks, an old boss of mine and a friend of my dad. I used to do yard work and stuff for him when I was in high school."

"Ouch that's all you make over there? No wonder the school kids grumble about those giant warehouse store wages." She bit her lip as she ran down the application.

Tuck took another long look at her which was easier without her looking back at him. He guessed she was probably in her late thirties or early forties. She had a pretty face with only a few little lines around her eyes which were a soft moss green color. Her hair was dark brown, but the even tone led him to believe it wasn't her natural color. She had a slight bulge to her arm as she lifted the papers to read them. She was medium height probably five foot six he guessed, and had a nice figure. One he would like to get on canvas if he could. She pursed her lips and bit at the lower one. They were full and pink highlighting an easy smile. The corner of her mouth twitched as she caught him staring.

She was concerned that between the rent, gas and groceries he'd be flat broke the entire time, she said that if the references checked out she would waive the deposit and drop the rent another fifty if as an addendum to the lease he promised to cover any damages caused by him or guests. He agreed instantly.

He started moving in the next weekend. She watched the college boys go up and down the ramp of the truck enjoying the view. A large easel and stool came out of the back and Tuck directed his friends where to set them, warning them not to lean anything against the walls.

It was still late summer, so after they had left with the truck Jennifer could hear Tuck finding homes for his things.

Tuck was looking at the cupboards in the kitchen for where he was going to put the hand-me-down dishes his mother had sent him with. He had to stop her from emptying her entire kitchen and just took the mismatched stuff. She had sent him a full set of new pots and pans which he was washing and setting aside. There was a surprisingly loud knock over his shoulder which startled him. He realized it was the door between his apartment and Jennifer's laundry room. He looked at the door realizing there was no lock on his side, just a key hole. He pulled open the door. Jennifer stood on the other side with a large pizza box in her hands.

"House warming pizza is always a good idea considering the likelihood that you have no groceries yet." He stepped aside and let her into the kitchen where the table was piled with boxes and cleaning supplies. "Hmm this isn't going to work, come on." She turned and went back through the door.

Tuck dried his hands and walked through the door and saw the laundry room first hand. He walked a few more paces and turned the corner into a large eat in kitchen all done in natural hardwood with granite counters. She set the pizza box on the kitchen table. He must have looked lost when she turned because she laughed.

"It's okay come on in and have a seat. I don't feel like doing dishes, less so after seeing the mountain you've just done, so it's paper plates for us. What do you want to drink? I've got a couple chick-beers, an open bottle of wine, diet Coke."

He swallowed hard and walked carefully around the counter to where she was and sat down. "Um Coke is fine. What's a chick-beer?"

"You know, low carb, low calorie, low taste." She laughed and handed him a can and opened up the beer and took a swallow. "Dig in. I hope you're not a vegetarian, I went with pepperoni not being sure what you're favorite was."

"Thanks."

He was a little shy around her and she thought it was cute.

"So I saw the sitting stool your buddy brought it in. You do portraits?"

He nodded. "I have a few times." He said between bites. "I got the stool cheap from a senior that was leaving it behind."

"How many nude coeds have been perched on that thing?" One of the benefits of being past your thirties was that you had little care what others thought of you. Which made Jennifer a little more brazen than she was already known to be.

Tucker paled and stopped chewing, his eyes going wide as his cheeks went bright red.

"Don't you need some of that blood elsewhere to keep you alive?" She pointed at his face.

He began chewing again and looked down at the grease stains on the paper plate. For a long moment Jen nearly let him off the hook but she was curious now. He chased his pizza with a long swig from his Coke and looked up.

"Two, since I've owned it anyway." He looked like he was facing a firing squad as the blood drained from his face.

"Really? What sweet flattery does it take to get a girl to strip down for you? Do tell, and relax you look like you're about to choke to death. This place has the best pizza in town."

"One was a drawing assignment for class. One of the students from an art class that I was in sat for me. The other was a friend of hers, I did a charcoal drawing of her one afternoon."

"You must get so much tail." Her brazen statement turned him silent and he turned red again. "Sorry that was kind of personal." She had the kindness to look sorry. "What else do you like to paint?"

"Scenery, I've done a few still lifes. I tried my sister's cat from a picture but I had trouble with the face."

Jennifer nodded and changed subject. She insisted he take the rest of the pizza and a couple drinks from her refrigerator and said she'd be doing some grocery shopping in the morning if he wanted her to pick anything up. Tuck said he was set and he'd probably bump into her there in the morning.

A few days had gone by and Tuck had been putting things right in the little sitting room, which he had basically made his studio. Besides his computer desk and chair the room consisted of his easel, the side table for his supplies and the chair which was currently pushed back into the corner. He looked out the window, at the end of the patio area stood Jennifer on a colorful mat. She was posing in what at first sight seemed an awkward position. He had since revised his opinion and decided her body was phenomenal, it didn't matter her age. He watched her and she changed poses putting her hands over her head palms together, she bent her knees slightly and her body stopped in some form of human check mark. He took his phone and snapped a picture of her as best as he could as she moved into another pose. He took several shots of her as she performed her yoga routine. She leaned forward and bent over, her ass in the air and he felt himself get hard. He took one last photo and backed away from the window. He had to get into the city to get his books for school which started the following week and decided he'd take a shower before leaving.

"This can't be happening." He mumbled to himself as he stroked his soapy cock as quickly as he could. "I'm not sure the break on the rent and free internet was compensation for walking around with a hard-on for the rest of the year." He erupted with an audible groan and didn't stop ejaculating for a surprising amount of time. When he recovered he finished his shower and got dressed and drove into town without looking back. He got an idea in his head and went to the computer lab in the art building at school and printed two of the images he'd taken of Jennifer. When he got home he pinned a fresh sheet of paper to his easel and clipped the image to the corner for reference and began to draw. He took his time but gave his due diligence to every curve, every line of her taught form as he penciled it out.

Jen saw Tuck getting out of his car as she watered one of the flower beds in the front yard.

"Tucker! It's cheat day. If you don't have any plans I was going to throw burgers on the grill if you'd care to join me."

He walked towards her and admired her choice of outfits, a pair of tight fleece shorts and tank top. "That would be awesome."

"If the bugs are bad we'll just take them inside."

"I'm going to do some laundry real quick before dinner. Is that okay?" He asked.

She thought for a moment and nodded. "Should be. I don't think I left anything in the dryer. Go in through the house and unlock the door so you can get started."

He did that and gathered together his laundry and started it. He went back to his studio and worked on his drawing retouching spots he wasn't happy with and highlighting spots he'd missed. He looked at the photo for a long moment and realized that there were few women he knew that wouldn't kill for a body like that, much less to still look like that at her age which he'd since re-assessed. He had left the doorway to the laundry room open and couldn't hear the washer any longer and went and put his clothes into the dryer and came back. He penciled in the color of the tank top, fading it with his fingertip to get the color he was looking for, interrupted by the buzzer from the dryer. He washed his hands and got his laundry and went back into his apartment and began folding it. He picked up a shirt and stuck to it with static was a pair of red satin panties which caused him to freeze in place. He thought the dryer had been empty but obviously it wasn't completely. He peeled them off his shirt and put the rest of the clothes away. He sat on the edge of the bed letting them slip between his fingers. They had a lace edge and belatedly he notice it was a thong as the back was a simple satin strip. He swallowed hard and thought that he could probably just pop back in and toss them back in the dryer. There was a sharp rap on the door.

"Hey I was going to start the grill in about half an hour so dinner in an hour or so. Okay?"

He shoved the panties under his leg as fast as he could. "Um yea that's great! I'm just going to hit the shower real quick and come over after."

"Alright, the door's unlocked. Come on over when you're ready."

His panic made his pulse pound in his ears and he thought he was hallucinating how she sounded when she said that the door was unlocked with a steamy voice. The discovery of the panties had set him off, her voice and his overactive hormones did him in. If he didn't go take a shower and take care of his erection he wouldn't be able to hide it during dinner.

He soaped up quickly and began remembering how her ass and legs looked when he came into the house. He had only lived there for three weeks or so but his constant state of arousal was becoming a problem. He was practically obsessed with the drawing he was making, always finding a tweak or adjustment that needed to be made, sometimes from memory, others from the image pinned up above. He imagined her wearing the red panties and nothing else and didn't last long after that. He finished his shower, dried and dressed before going over to the main house. He brought the panties and tossed them back into the dryer as if he'd never seen or had possession of them.

Tuck called out from the kitchen and heard Jennifer call to him through the sliding door. "Grab us a couple of beers." He did as told and went out onto the patio and she was dancing barefoot in front of the grill to the music coming through a small portable speaker on the table. She looked hot, her shoulder length dark hair pulled back in a pony tail. She took a beer and twisted the cap off and raised it in salute. He opened his and it began foaming over the top and down the back of his hand as he leaned forward and began drinking quickly.

"You young guys have no control, you just erupt all over the place with the least bit of contact."

"I'm not sure that's a problem I'm likely to have right now." He mumbled.

"Really? Had a nice shower did you?" Her grin was bright as day. She flipped the burgers with a loud sizzle and a puff of smoke. She had plates with rolls, cheese the works on the table. The bugs were getting worse as the sun went down.

"Okay inside it is then." Jen announced as they shooed the pests away from their faces. She flipped the buns on the grill and finished off building the burgers before they adjourned to the kitchen. The table had some papers and mail on it so she went to the breakfast bar and climbed onto a stool and directed him to the other. Jennifer made a loud moan as she bit into hers. "I'm going to have another beer, cheat day rules, I'm allowed." She hopped down and grabbed another pair of bottles and opened them both herself to keep Tuck from pouring his all over the place again. "If you're gentle with it, you can make it last longer. It's all in the wrist."

There it was, that sexy voice again. He swallowed hard and took a long pull from the bottle. She mounted the stool again and crossed her legs nudging his calf in the process. She just rubbed the spot with her instep absently as she reached across the counter for a bag of chips. "Grilled extra lean beef, no bacon, extra cheese, there's the cheating part, and baked chips. I need to get better at cheating than this."

"I don't know what else you eat but you look fantastic." He said and suddenly began to redden. Her instep rested on his leg, she didn't remove it and suddenly he felt her hand on his thigh just below the hem of his shorts. He turned carefully to look at her and she was smiling.

"Thanks for noticing." He took a quick breath feeling like he dodged a bullet.

"Something else I noticed is that there's no Mister Mason, and you never seem to go to work. How do you afford this place on what little I'm paying you in rent?"

She smiled. "You're not from here so you wouldn't know that the grocery store we go to is built on the site of my parents grocery store. It was the last hold out family business in town. The biggest one in the city for decades. Once they decided to retire the town council finally let the big guys in." She gave him the basic run down, but no figures.

"Wow, and if it's not too personal, how in the hell have you not been snapped up by some lucky guy?"

"I was, but it didn't last, neither happily, nor ever after. Luckily that happened before my parents passed so I didn't have to split my inheritance with him." She giggled and took the last bite of her burger and rolled her eyes back in her head. She reached over and set her hand back on his thigh.

"I was trimming the grass along the back of the house earlier and when I looked up, I didn't intend to peek in the window mind you, but there I was plain as day getting into my Anjaneyasana pose and beneath the photo, me in what, pencil or charcoal?" Her expression had gone serious.

Tucker tensed as if to flee and she felt him move and clamped down on his thigh.

"You do lovely work, but you should really ask a person if they would like to pose before you sneak pictures of them behind their back. It's not fair, and it's an invasion of their privacy." Her voice was calm, but to Tucker's ears there was an unspoken threat.

Tucker looked like he wasn't going to keep hold of his burger as the blood drained from his face. She could see the wheels spinning as he tried to come up with something to say to cover his ass.

"Listen, I know you've been watching." She lightened the grip on his leg but didn't let go. "I kind of enjoy it to tell the truth. You know you get to a certain age and you wonder if you've still got it, and nothing says you've still got it like a college kid who spends half his time jerking off in the shower while he's daydreaming about fucking you."