Chapter 1
Ron knew he had to find somewhere to live but by the time he arrived in Alaine he was exhausted and he did not have the energy to go looking around for something he could afford. He couldn’t really afford a hotel either though, but he knew he didn’t have much of a choice if he wanted to stay here. He had heard good things about the town, and most importantly there had been a few job openings in the paper. Having to move around a lot, his resume was pathetic and he always had to start at the bottom, but he didn’t mind too much. Maybe Alaine was the town he would finally settle down in permanently.
Looking around as he stood in the town square, he sighed at the knowledge that he didn’t have a choice but to find somewhere to rent because he really couldn’t afford a hotel room for even a night as long as he didn’t have a job. That knowledge alone spurred him on as he started to walk in the hope of seeing a sign that indicated something for rent, but he wasn’t having much luck as the only places he saw were out of his price range. He knew he should have called around for a place to live before coming, but he had panicked when his girlfriend had found out about him and he had packed up his belongings and left town.
Just as he was about to give up and go find a cheap motel, he saw a small sign in a window of what looked like a normal home. It said there was a room for rent, but based on the size of the home he had no idea what they would ask for it. He doubted he could afford it but he knew he had to ask and he walked up to the front door, ringing the bell, before he could change his mind. As soon as the door opened and an incredibly good looking man stood in front of him, he felt his heart drop into his stomach. He had mostly dated women but he wasn’t blind that this man was beautiful. Tall and muscular, hair down to his shoulders and a genuinely nice smile. He immediately noticed the hazel eyes and slightly red lips and instantly forgot why he was there.
“Can I help you?” the man finally asked.
“Sorry, yes. I saw you had a sign that you are renting out a room?”
“We are. My girlfriend and I have been living in this big house by ourselves and could use the extra income as well as the company. Do you want to see the room?”
“How much is it a month? I’m on a bit of a budget and don’t want to waste your time.”
“A hundred a month. You’ll have a private bathroom, but we share the kitchen and living areas. Would you like to see it?”
“Absolutely,” Ron said, knowing he would accept it even if it was the size of a shoebox. A hundred a month was a third of what he had been paying on rent for several years and he would soon have enough saved that he could take the time to look for a halfway decent home. “I’m sorry, my name is Ron.”
“Oh how rude of me. David. This is Julie. Our room will be on the opposite end of that hall, this one would be yours. You are welcome to have guests but discuss it first if at all possible.”
“I doubt I will have any but thank you. This room is nice,” Ron said as he looked around his room. It wasn’t huge by any means but it was large enough that it had a queen sized bed, dresser and night stands. There was a built in closet and as he looked through the bathroom door he noticed a simple bathroom with shower, toilet and sink. “This is perfect. When would I be able to start renting?”
“Whenever you’d like. Since it’s almost the first of the month we won’t charge you for the next week if you move in now and just start on the next month, if that works for you?”
“Thank you, that would be amazing. I left my luggage in a locker at the bus station so I just need to go get it.”
“A locker? That’s not a lot of belongings.”
“I’ve moved a lot over the years and just kept downsizing. If you don’t mind I’ll be back in about thirty minutes?”
“I’ll come with you and help you get your things, and we can have a key made for you,” David said, giving Ron a concerned look.
Ron didn’t know that David was worried about his few belongings and how easily he had accepted the room without seeing the rest of the house. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days and didn’t stay anywhere long. It sounded too familiar for his liking and a glance at Julie indicated she had thought the same thing. Ron clearly needed some people in his life as well as a place to sleep and David almost felt bad charging him rent.
“Sounds good. Thank you so much,” Ron said, smiling for the first time. “I’ll need to get some groceries while I’m out.”
“Oh no, that’s included,” Julie said quickly, seeing an opening. “I love to cook and since I’m doing it anyway might as well cook for three. Anything you want outside of the regular three meals you can get yourself, as well as whatever you like to drink. For now, it is late so why don’t you get your things and then tomorrow we’ll show you where everything is in town?”
“That would be great. I can’t thank you enough.”
As they walked to the bus station, David kept glancing at Ron who looked like he was barely holding himself upright. He wanted to order the man back to the house and into bed but knew he couldn’t do that, so instead he remained silent.
Ron in the meantime was wondering how he had gotten so lucky. David and Julie seemed genuinely nice and it was like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Nothing ever went this easy in his life and he had no doubt something would go wrong soon, but for now he counted his blessings.
“How old are you?” David asked.
“Twenty five. You?”
“Thirty. Julie is twenty eight. What do you do for a living?”
“Anything to pay the bills honestly. Right now I need to look for a job.”
“Do you have savings?”
“I’ll pay rent, don’t worry,” Ron replied quickly, thinking David thought he would be a bum and not pay.
“That was not why I asked. It would do you well not to jump to conclusions around us. If you didn’t have savings, I would offer to hold rent until you got a job, at which point you could pay what you owed. I don’t know what kind of people you’ve encountered in your life, but I’d like to get the benefit of the doubt. Now, which locker is yours?”
Ron almost cringed at the mild scolding, not wanting to anger his new landlord so quickly, and walked towards the locker with his belongings. When he pulled out the duffel bag, David looked at him in concern. “That’s it? Your entire life is in that bag?”
“It is. Where do we go to get keys made?” Ron asked to get the attention off him and his bag.
“Right over here. It looks like you need someone to get you to stay in one place long enough to accumulate more. Let me carry that bag,” David said, taking the bag while completely ignoring Ron’s complaints. He simply slung it over his shoulder and walked into the store to get a copy of the key made while Ron walked after him, shocked at David’s easy going ways.
It didn’t take them long to get back home, a new key now in Ron’s pocket, and the smells of food came their way from the kitchen. “Ron, I made you some dinner. If you came on the bus I’m sure you’d like some.”
“You didn’t have to do that Julie.”
“It was my pleasure. Do you need the laundry room? I can show you where it is?”
“I’ll deal with that tomorrow, thank you. I think I just want sleep.”
“Eat first, then sleep. If you leave your clothes downstairs I’ll at least throw the first load in for you, save you some time,” Julie said easily as she put a plate on the table. Seeing David eying it she put a second, smaller, plate on the table as well and pointed. “Eat you hungry beast.”
Once Ron had gone to bed, leaving his clothes behind despite his many protests, Julie quickly took it to the laundry room with David right behind her. “That boy needs someone to look after him. Look at these clothes, they won’t last him all that much longer. What does he do for a living?”
“Nothing right now, he’s looking for a job. He said he does whatever work he can get. Something isn’t right but he gets very defensive very easily so we need to take it easy and not ask too many questions,” David said calmly. “I’ll make some inquires for a halfway decent job for him. He looks like a hard worker, at least once he’s had some sleep. I wonder where he came from but I think we’ll find out over time.”
“You’re going to hate me for saying it, but he’s kind of cute,” Julie said as she closed the washer and turned around.
“I thought the same and I don’t usually fall for guys. When I opened the door he clearly looked me over before realizing that he was checking out a guy. I could see all his thoughts right there on his face. It could be exactly what we’ve been missing.”
“A threesome?”
“Or at least someone else to flirt with, even if nothing happens.”
“I’m fairly certain if I flirted with someone else you’d drag me to our bedroom to show me who I belong to,” Julie said with a chuckle as they made their way back to the living room.
“Exactly right. We haven’t had heated sex like that in a while, you know that.”
“True. What do we have recorded that we can watch?” Julie asked, clearly ending the conversation there. They both knew it wasn’t fair to Ron, but at the same time it could end up working well for all of them.