Chapter 1: Eric's View
Sweat poured down Eric's brow as he put down the heavy, brown, cardboard box in one of the empty rooms. Well, at least they had been empty up until a couple of hours ago. Now the small apartment was rapidly filling up with many similar boxes as they completed the move. Eric swept away the perspiration from his face and began walking back to the truck to get another box.
It would have helped if it had been slightly cooler or windier that day. The temperature was unbearably hot. Eric, however, considered himself lucky. After living in a cold-weather city for so long, it was finally time to live somewhere warmer. Besides, though the new apartment was located in the thick of urban development, the beach was only a couple of hours away by car.
His thoughts were interrupted as he passed Karen, who was also carrying a box a little too large for her small, petite frame. Eric's wife had always been a trooper, and she didn't complain (too much) about shouldering some weight. To Eric's delight, her exertions were responsible for a nice sheen of sweat that outlined her smooth skin, which was mostly left uncovered by a pair of short cut-off jean shorts and a white tank top. Her straight, brunette hair was wrapped in a ponytail, the same way she wore it to the gym that she liked to frequent. Karen definitely kept herself in good shape, and Eric could not help but to turn and stare at her shapely ass and legs as he passed her. He couldn't help thinking how much of a knockout she was. Sure, they were married, but their wedding had only been two years ago so the fire in their relationship was still very much present.
Despite the enticing view of Karen with little clothing, he did wish that the apartment would have had air conditioning. In fact, he wished that they could have moved into a better neighborhood as well. Their last apartment had been a nice 3-bedroom located in an upscale part of town. This one had two small bedrooms, and was a part of a relatively crummy apartment complex in a rather run-down neighborhood. Sure, this new city was more expensive than the last so the rent wasn't comparable, but that was not the only reason for their downgrade.
Eric and some old friends from college had finally decided to launch their own boutique consulting firm. At 32 years old, this was a risky venture for Eric, but he had a very good academic and work background, as did his colleagues, and none of them had any kids. This was the time to take risks. Karen, being the trooper that she was and only 27 years old, had gladly decided to support him in this new phase of their lives.
As Eric was bringing in the last few boxes, he heard a commotion in the back patio. The condominium had a common patio in the back with some tables and chairs for the residents to use, as well as a playground next to the patio. Eric looked out from the small balcony of their apartment and saw four black guys in the playground, but they definitely weren't using it to play. Three of them were sitting around smoking what appeared to be weed while one of them was doing pullups on the horizontal bar which held up a pair of swings. They were all wearing basketball shorts and were shirtless (which was understandable because of the sweltering heat), revealing very muscular physiques, and were wearing du-rags that covered their heads from the unforgiving sun. A nearby speaker was blasting rap music.
Eric thought to himself that he should have known that a cheaper apartment would mean he might have neighbors like these. He had simply figured the place would have been filled with old people on welfare, single moms or the like. Eric was the furthest thing from racist so he didn't really mind who they were, just what they were doing. Certainly, he didn't want to live in a place which drug dealers frequented (Eric didn't realize he had just assumed that because they were doing drugs they were drug dealers) or somewhere where loud noises and music would deprive him of sleep (which he would surely need in order to work properly). Eric worried more about Karen's reaction.
Karen was a girl who had always enjoyed the comforts of suburban life. A small private school, small college and a conservative family meant she had always lived in relative seclusion to the urban environment Eric and Karen would be immersed in now. This also meant that Karen had not grown up with many black guys in her school or in a place in which blacks and whites mixed much. Nor did rap music blast through her former neighborhoods as it did here. Eric knew Karen was not racist, but he could easily imagine the shocked look in her face if one of her friends were to start dating a black guy. They were all as prim and proper as she was.
Just then, Karen came out to the balcony to see what the fuss was about. As Eric had thought, she was not pleased with what she saw. "What's all this noise? Are those thugs doing drugs right there in broad daylight!? Wow, I really hope these aren't are neighbors!" she complained, perhaps a little too loud.
"They might be." Eric shrugged. He didn't like the idea much either. "But even if they are we just have to suck this up for a few months. Once our firm is up and running, we can make an upgrade to a better place, just like we talked about." Another drop of sweat began running down his forehead due to the summer heat and humidity, "Perhaps the next one will have a functioning AC unit. We're going to have to make do with some fans for now."
Karen nodded in agreement, but a smile quickly crept into her face, "Yeah, well at least the two of us being all sweaty and dirty from moving and unpacking these boxes will make for a perfect excuse to use this!" she said as she pulled out a bath bomb. "I say you and I inaugurate this apartment tonight, and we can start with some 'us' time in the bathtub! What do you think?" Karen exclaimed, acting very perky and flirty.
This was why Eric loved Karen. She was always creative, playful and, despite her conservative upbringing, she loved sex. She wasn't a freak or into a lot of experimentation (she wasn't even big on porn or sex toys), but he had to hand it to her that she definitely enjoyed the sex they had and wasn't shy about proposing it herself. Eric's thoughts were interrupted by some whistles and shouts coming from the playground.
Eric turned and realized that the four black guys had caught sight of Karen. Apparently, they were pleased with what they saw. "Wow! Look at that fine piece of work!" one cried out.
"Quiet, Julius!" chided the one who seemed to be sitting a bit higher up than the rest of his friends "Are you our new neighbor? Why don't you come down and say hi?" His outstretched arms were huge and riddled with tattoos. Judging by how the others reacted to him, Eric assumed that this one must be the leader of their little gang. "I'm Jason. What's your name, girl?"
Karen's face showed how appalled and disgusted she was. She quickly turned and went inside. Eric followed her, not wanting to reduce himself to their level by telling them off.
"Hey, baby. Don't worry about them. Let's not let their stupid banter ruin our first day in our new life." Eric said once inside. He hugged her, "How about we try out that bath bomb of yours?" This slowly brought a smile to Karen's face as she looked up at him.
Chapter 2: Karen's View
Karen got up from their bed and walked naked to the bathroom, swaying her sexy ass. She turned on the bathroom light and noticed how well that just-got-fucked look suited her. Sex with Eric had always been great and that night had been no exception. Due to their hectic schedules, though, it had become a less frequent occurrence as of late. Perhaps moving to a warmer climate would help fix that, Karen thought to herself.
