[Author's Note: This is the final part of "Down to Earth", folks. Thanks for your support, and on with the show!]
*
The next few days developed a rhythm of their own, as the denizens of the apartment found their way into a routine that worked out for them.
The day would begin with Granny coming back in the morning, right around sunrise. Telly would be getting ready around then, and the two would chit-chat until he left for work, at which point Granny would nap on the couch.
Sometime around eight Jason would awaken. On the kitchen counter he would find a bunch of cash, of various denominations, in the $500 to $1000 range. He'd pocket it, and begin making breakfast.
Pearl would come out when she smelled whatever Jason was cooking, and then wake up Granny so that she could eat with them.
During breakfast Pearl would tease Jason, and do her best to push Granny's buttons. Granny would rebuff Pearl, reiterating, and often re-reiterating, the "no-sex" rule, warning them of the dire consequences. Jason often played referee.
When the food was gone, Granny would retire to the bedroom for a proper sleep. Pearl would grab a stick of butter as an after-breakfast snack and hit the couch, where she'd spend the rest of the morning and afternoon playing video games and streaming movies.
Jason would clean up in the kitchen, and take care of other mundane household duties. When he was sure that Granny was asleep, and he'd retire to the bedroom to get in a couple of hours of much-needed practice.
Around five in the afternoon Granny would wake up, shower, and get ready for work. Telly would be come back not long after, change out of his button-down work clothes and get into nerd gear for a night of gaming with his friends.
The four of them would have some time to catch up and banter before Telly took off, with Granny hitching a ride to her work with him. To Jason's frustration, neither would say where that was, and eventually he gave up trying to get it out of them.
Then it would be Pearl and Jason for the rest of the night. Often they'd go out for a walk. Since it was just the two of them, they'd hit up one of the ubiquitous local food trucks for dinner.
Pearl found this delightful, since there was a wide variety of new foods to be sampled. There were a lot of taco trucks offering Mexican food, but there were occasional Chinese and Thai places. Once they came across a truck that sold soul food. That was a big hit with Pearl. She got a barbecued turkey leg and chowed down on it like a Viking, making a big greasy mess of herself while they strolled around the neighborhood.
Once back home, they'd settle in on the couch and watch some TV. Jason would pick something, and Pearl would curl up with him. Jason tried to keep it platonic ("dire consequences" and all that), but they always ended up touching each other.
Jason would rub Pearl's feet, which she didn't think she'd like at first, until she found out she really did. Or, laying her head in his lap, Jason would play with her hair while Pearl peppered him with questions about the idioms of human culture presented on the screen. Often it was simply him tracing his hands along her body, indulging in the feeling of being close to her. But not in an overtly sexual way.
No, the overtly sexual happened after. Pearl would stretch, making sure that Jason took the sight of her in as she tested the limits of her new wardrobe.
Jason knew exactly what she was doing, but he didn't care. After an evening, hell a whole day, of Pearl's teasing, of her taking every opportunity available to remind Jason of the abundant pleasures she was willing to provide for him, he had a powerful, rock-hard erection that he couldn't hold back. Pearl loved it.
She'd stroke his cock through his jeans, and say "You should put me to bed."
Jason, willing to tease right back, would say, "Should I put you down easy, or hard?"
"Easy," Pearl would say, "then hard. Then easy, and then really, really hard."
They'd take their time undressing each other, with no small amount of edging each other to distraction, as if it was a contest to see which one of them could make the other blow their cool. Pearl would always lose, and end up telling Jason some new filthy thing that she was putting in her "box".
Eventually, Pearl would will herself to sleep. Jason would take a sleeping pill, and then hit the electronic skins with the headphones on until he, too, was ready for sleep.
And when he slept, he dreamed of Kristin. Kristin who, in his dreams at least, grew ever more insistent, boldly giving herself to him, but only to a point. The dreams always stopped short of the release that he longed for. Even in dreams, Jason was still cursed.
Nonetheless, Jason enjoyed a level of freedom he'd never known before. Before all this, the day-to-day grind had been a hassle. Work, Kristin, practicing, both solo and with the band: they'd all been vying for his immediate attention all the time, and he'd felt like he wasn't giving any of them his all.
Now, with everything pared down as it was, he could concentrate. Sure, he felt awful about the situation with Kristin, and he knew he'd have to settle things with her sooner or later. And his "condition", as he'd come to call it, was a constant concern, never too far from the surface. But he was grateful for the chance, maybe the first time in his adult life, to truly focus. And, despite everything else, that felt pretty good.
* * *
One Day Earlier
By the time Thursday rolled around, life was almost normal. Jason still had his "condition", but he seemed to have it mostly under control. He'd simply gotten used to living life aroused and semi-erect all the time.
As for the ladies, it was hard to think of the animosity that had existed between them less than a week ago. Granny came through with the cash daily, and seemed a lot less anxious about life in general. Pearl couldn't help being unabashedly sexual, but was less aggro, and more playful, about it.
Telly had been absent more than usual, though. He'd been out gaming every night this week. So Jason was surprised when he came back to the apartment around three that afternoon.
Jason was finally getting around to fixing the holes in the walls from Granny and Pearl's battle. He'd been at it for a couple of hours, with a tub of spackle and a putty knife, scanning the walls for rents, seeming to always find more.
Pearl was playing video games on the couch with her awkward one-armed setup. Engrossed as she was in her game, she still managed to mutter a clipped "Sorry" each time she heard Jason curse under his breath at some newly-discovered bit of damage.
When Telly rolled in, he looked like he'd been in a fight. He was sweaty and kind of exhausted-looking, and had a noticeable abrasion across his forehead. His clothes, normally rumpled, somehow managed to be even moreso.
"Huh," Jason remarked, "what was the line you used on me before? 'Rode hard and put away wet?'"
Telly winced and said, "Truth hurts, among other things." He tossed his bag carelessly onto the floor and slumped into the couch with a groan.
"You're home early," Jason said. "Anything wrong?"
"Nah," Telly said. Then he twitched. "Maybe some internal bruising. I took the day off to go out with Lillian."
"Oh really?" Jason said. "Like a date?"
"Kinda sorta," Telly said. "She's a boffer. We went boffing."
Jason raised an eyebrow. "Either you've suddenly developed a penchant for 80's slang, or I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Boffer swordfighting," Telly explained. "It's a re-enactment thing where they fight like knights. But like, for real. They've got this armor and padded swords."
"Doesn't sound so bad," Jason said.
"
You
spend an afternoon getting whacked in the head with fifty pounds of padded wooden sword, and then get back to me," Telly said. He groaned again. "She really rolled my sushi out there."
Jason laughed. "Not your usual thing," he said.
Telly nodded. "I'm more into the die rolling and the rumble shock," he said. "Lillian prefers to get physical. She's pretty good, too. She was going easy on me, but I watched her take down some pretty big guys. It was kinda hot."
"Sounds like you really like this gal?" Jason said.
"Yeah, even if she can kick my ass," Telly said.
"That's because women are natural warriors," Pearl said, without taking her eyes off the game. "I suppose you belong to her now?"
"Not how it works," Telly said, "but that brings me to a much scarier topic. Jason, can I ask you a favor?"
"What's that?" Jason said.
"Well, in the afterglow of battle, I opened my big mouth and invited Lillian over tomorrow. For dinner and chillax time."
"First off," Jason said, "don't ever say 'chillax' again. Second, awesome! Me and Pearl can let you have the place for a while."
"Not so fast," Telly said. "I'm kinda hoping to, you know, impress her. And you're pretty good at cooking stuff..."
Jason cocked an eyebrow. "You want me to cook for you?" he said.
