House Hunters

(Author's note: partially based off an episode of House Hunters International in which the person looking for an apartment and her realtor were just a little too friendly. Hope you enjoy!)

[Mary 6:08 pm]: Sam!! Guess what?

[Sam 6:10 pm]: What?!

[Mary 6:15 pm]: So, you know how my boss had talked about a position in Berlin opening up soon?

[Sam 6:18 pm]: Yeah...what about it?

[Mary 6:20 pm]: They offered it to me today! I'm moving to Berlin in June!

[Sam 6:22 pm]: AHHHHH!!!! That's amazing!!!! Together again at last!!

[Mary 6:25 pm]: YAS!! You can even help me find a place to live.

[Sam 6:30 pm]: On. It.

When my college advisor had first mentioned a study abroad program in Germany to me, I wasn't so sure about it. I had never been out of the States before and, in fact, the three hours between my parents house and my dorm was the furthest I had ever lived away from my family. So, to spend an entire 10 months away on an entirely different continent was a little overwhelming. Add to it that I had only taken two beginning courses in German and had done it mostly on a whim to complete the language requirement and I was almost ready to decline immediately. Instead, I said, "I'll think about it."

That night, I went home and thought about it. Yes, it was big and scary, but it was also a great opportunity for me. Plus, hadn't I left my small hometown because I wanted to explore and push my limits. What better way to do that than to go live in a different country? The next day, I emailed my advisor, telling her that, despite my fears, I would apply for the program. To this day, I'm thankful I did because, without it, I wouldn't have met Sam.

Sam was another exchange student from the states and we were paired as roommates with three other girls in exchange student housing. While all five grew close over those 10 months, the connection between Sam and I grew much closer. Sam and I did practically everything together. We took the same classes, studied together, went to the same parties, and were travel buddies on weekends. When everyone else left for Christmas break, we spent time decorating the apartment and watching all the cheesy Christmas movies we could. We became inseparable friends. By the time we had to return to our separate colleges in different states, Sam had become my best friend who I could confide in no matter what. There were even a few times I could feel the tension between us, a spark that said that there could be something more there. It made sense. Sam was my type with her blonde curly hair and beautiful blue eyes. I could tell that she was into me too. Still, we never acted on it, remaining nothing more than just really good friends. It made sense at the time. We were only living in the same city for ten months. Afterwards, we'd be going back to our respective colleges across the country from each other.

Over the years, we made sure to keep in touch. We chatted almost constantly through either email, text, or online messaging. We visited each other a few times during college and when we got our first jobs and real money. But when she moved to Berlin to work at a real estate agency that focused on ex-patriates, the occasional trips stopped. Neither of us could afford the cross-Atlantic flights. It was also around that time that our careers took off and sucked away our free time, leaving us less time to chat. We still kept in touch and found little bits of time here and there on FaceTime, but it wasn't at the same intensity or frequency as before. I had come to really miss Sam.

So, when she was there to greet me at the airport a few weeks after I first messaged her my news, my heart almost exploded from the sheer joy of seeing her in person again. We took the next few days to sightsee and allow me to get settled and used to the time difference. We hit all the famous tourist spots as well as some of Sam's favorite less well-known places. Soon, we fell back into our old routines and began acting as if no time had passed between us. My heart began to fill with the warmth I had felt all those years ago having Sam as my roommate.

After a few days of sightseeing, the apartment hunting began. Sam had pulled a list of apartments available in the areas I wanted to live in that matched both my wishlist of amenities and budget. Each day, we'd visit anywhere between two and four, taking breaks for coffee or snacks in between to discuss the pros and cons of each. At first, I had been optimistic that I'd find something fairly easy since my budget was fairly high and my list of requirements wasn't that long. But with each day passing without finding anything suitable, my hope for a quick find began to diminish. If Sam hadn't been by my side, I don't know how I could have made it through it all.

On the sixth day of apartment hunting, I met Sam at a cafe early for some coffee before starting. I had woken up optimistic, as if today was going to bring something amazing despite the utter lack of success so far.

"Hey! You ready?" Sam said as she pulled me in for a hug. Today, she was wearing a white sweater, a pleated gold skirt reaching the top of her brown ankle boots.

"I think so," I said. Today I was going with a ribbed turtleneck dress and brown boots. "I don't know. I have this weird feeling that today is going to be a good one."

"Oh, yeah?" Sam replied with a sly grin. "Well, in that case, let's grab our coffee and head out!"

With that, we were off. We had four apartments on our list for the day. The first one was a complete bust. The landlords were asking too much for the little space they were offering. Since I'd be working from home some days, I needed space for a home office, but that place had none of it.

The next place, however, would turn out to be a game changer in more ways than one. As we entered, we were immediately hit with light from massive windows on the other side. The main space was massive and included the kitchen in one corner, a dining area complete with table and chairs in the other, and a living space enough to fit a massive sectional couch and TV stand. Looking out the windows, I could see a cute coffee shop across the street, definitely a plus for a caffeine junkie such as myself.

"Wow! This place is amazing!" I said as I walked through it. "And it's fully furnished?"

"Yep. And only a block from the U-Bahn station. You could be at your office within 20 minutes if you timed it right."

"Okay, so...what's the catch?"

"Well, it is slightly above your price range."

"Hm, well, with all of this and the location, it may be worth it," I say with a nod. Next, Sam led me to the bedroom to the right of the living space. It wasn't that big of a space, but it had a desk and, with some rearranging, could be a serviceable office. Next, we made our way to the main bedroom. It was an even bigger space, fitting a queen sized bed, two nightstands, a dresser, and a small makeup table while leaving ample room to move around.

As I stepped through the room, taking it all in and trying to imagine myself in the space, I extended my hand to the bed and pressed down, trying to get a sense of how soft the bed was. If I was going to be paying for the bed, it seemed like important information.

"Oh wow! The bed feels amazing! Just the right amount of soft yet firm." I said. "Sam, come over here and feel it."

Sam followed suit and pressed her hand into the bed, "You're right, it so is."

It had been a long few days of house hunting. In total, Sam and I had looked at close to twenty apartments all over Berlin in the last week. Before that, we had trekked all over the city sightseeing. As I felt the bed, I could feel the collective ache and tension from all of it in my body. Lying in this bed, even for a moment, felt so enticing.

"You know, the bed does feel soft, but there's only one way to truly test it," I said, cocking my eyebrow.

"Oh yeah? What's that?" Sam replied with a curious expression.

I took Sam's hand in mine and stood us at the foot of the bed facing away, the bed against the back of our legs. I looked at her and smiled. Looking into her face, I could tell that she had caught on to my idea.

"Okay. One, two, three!" I exclaimed and, with a small jump, Sam and I fell back onto the bed, letting the softness of the comforter and mattress envelop us. Immediately, I felt the tension in my muscles that had built up over the past week melt away.

I looked over at Sam and let out a sigh. She looked at me, smiled, and said, "You were right. This bed is really comfortable."

I smiled back and said, "I know. I may take the place just for the bed alone," the last few words coming out in a contended groan.

We laid there for a few moments in silence and stared at the ceiling. It seemed like neither of us wanted to get up.

I turned my head to look at Sam. "You know, Sam, I wanted to thank you for everything these past weeks. I don't know if I could have done this, moving to a new city and finding a place to live without your help."

She turned her head to look at me, her blue eyes meeting my hazel ones. I felt her reach her hand over and take mine, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Of course, Mary, anything for you. I know we hadn't seen each other in a long time, but you still mean a lot to me."

I could feel the heat in my cheeks rise at her words. I felt the same way. It had been years since we had been in the same space as each other, but over the last two weeks, we had fallen back into our same routine, our same patterns of interaction. The past two weeks, I felt like I had a long lost friend back. A friend that, if circumstances had allowed, could have been so much more.

After another moment of searching Sam's expression, the tension between us heavy, I leaned in and kissed her softly. I let my lips linger on hers for a moment before slowly pulling back. Before I could say anything, Sam turned on her side and leaned in to return the kiss. I turned on my side and brought my hand to the back of her head, my fingers moving through her blonde hair as I held her head in place. Our kissing went from soft and tentative to passionate as I felt my need for Sam grow more and more with each moment. My tongue parted her lips and found hers, dancing with it.

"Are you...is this okay?" I asked between a break in our kisses, breathing heavy. Our foreheads were touching and my eyes were searching hers, hoping for the answer I had wanted to hear for years.

"Yes...yes, I am." she breathlessly replied before immediately continuing our kissing. I could feel her hand on the small of my back as it pulled me to lay partially on her as she turned onto her back. I came to straddle her right leg as my left rested between her legs. I moved my hand from the back of her head to underneath the hem of her sweater, feeling the soft skin of her waist and stomach. Slowly, my hand continued up her stomach, stopping at her left breast. I could feel her nipple through her bra as I brushed the knuckle of my thumb against it over and over, causing a moan to escape her mouth as we continued making out. I could feel Sam's leg moving under me, trying to find the friction she (and I) so desperately needed.

"I think it's time we lose some clothes," I said before moving to the side and sitting up on my knees. I reached down to the hem of my dress and pulled it over my head. I could feel one earring catch in the dress and I had to take a moment to fix it before my ear got ripped off. Finally, I had the dress over my head and tossed it to the side. It was soon joined by my bra and panties. Meanwhile, Sam had discarded her sweater, skirt, bra, and panties, tossing them near mine. I took a moment to admire Sam's gorgeous curvy body and her plump breasts. She was magnificent. I could tell by the look in and movement of her eyes that she was doing the same to me. She raised a hand and, with a single finger, beckoned me, saying in a sultry tone, "Come here." Fuck it was sexy.

"Yes ma'am," I replied as I returned to her, straddling her leg as we laid back down on the bed. I used my left hand to steady myself as I leaned in to resume our kissing. My right hand moved to her waist. Her hands went to my back and slid down, fingers tracing lines from my shoulder blades down to my ass. It only took a moment of deep passionate kissing and moving my body for us to find friction. I moaned into her mouth as I felt pressure from her leg on my center and her moans soon followed as she found the same on hers. I rocked back and forth on her as we kissed, her grip on my ass aiding me. My lips left hers as I kissed her jaw, then down to her neck, kissing and flicking the band of muscles on the side of her neck. Her groans grew louder, my kisses grew hungrier, as we continued to rock against each other. I slowly moved my hand from her hip to her center, parting her lips and finding her clit. I applied soft pressure, rubbing circles on it with two fingers.

"Oh Mary, I'm so close," I could hear Sam groan out. Truth be told, so was I. The taste and feel of this woman was almost too much for me to bear.

In a matter of moments, it happened. Sam came first, her body tensing and then shaking as her orgasm hit her. It wasn't long until my own orgasm overtook me. I could feel every muscle in my body tense, then began to quiver as I came undone and wave after wave of pleasure rolled over me.

As we came down, my mouth went back to Sam's and we continued to kiss for a few moments before I eventually rolled over onto my back on the bed.

Breathing heavily, I turned my head to look at Sam and said, "Well, I guess I have to get this place now."

Sam turned to look at me, her expression a mix of post-sex contentment and mischievousness. "Mmm, I think so. It seems perfect for you."

I smirked. "You mean perfect for us," I said dreamily as I leaned in to kiss her deeply. "Wanna call the landlord and let him know?"

She smiled and replied, "Certainly."