Chapter 2

The sun was just going down when she arrived at Eve’s apartment building in Orlando, Florida. It was such a long trip, and she was exhausted. Grabbing one of her suitcases from the back seat, she was greeted by the doorman who smiled as he held the door open for her to enter. She hadn’t realized Eve lived in such a fancy place; it was a place she herself would never be able to afford on her own. She got in the elevator and pushed the button for the fourth floor. Finding the right apartment, she knocked and waited for Eve to answer. But she was in for a surprise when a gorgeous blond man, naked from the waist up, answered.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I must have the wrong apartment.”

“Who are you looking for, sweetheart?” he asked, checking her from head to toe.

She cleared her throat as she turned her head to avoid looking at his muscular chest. “Eve Pierce.” Then she saw him being pushed out of the way, and Eve appeared.

“Rosalee, come on in,” she said, grabbing her arm and pulling her inside. “Excuse Rory, he knew you were coming and was just messing with you.” After introducing them, she gave him a light tap on the shoulder. “Put on a shirt and go down to Rosalee’s car and bring up the rest of her luggage.”

He went and stood in front of her, smiling. “Give it to me.”

“What?” she asked, feeling nervous when he got so close to her.

Again he smiled. “Your car keys. I’ll need them to get into your car, and you’ll have to tell me which one is yours.”

“Oh,” she said, handing him the keys that were still in her hand.

“Let me show you to your room first, and then I’ll give you a tour of the place,” Eve said, taking the case from Rosalee’s hand. “Don’t mind him, he just likes to tease people, but he’s harmless.”

When they got to the bedroom, and she stepped in, her jaw dropped. It was such a beautiful room with a small balcony overlooking a great view of the city. “This is so amazing, and I love it.”

“I’m sorry it doesn’t have its own bathroom like mine, but there is another full bathroom that you can use. You have plenty of closets. I’m so glad you are here, and we are going to have so much fun.”

Rosalee turned to look at her. “I know I will, but can I ask you a personal question?”

“We’re best friends, so of course, you can ask me anything.”

“Does Rory also live here?”

“I was going to tell you about that. He doesn’t exactly live here. He has his own place that he shares with a couple of other men, but he does spend most of his nights here. Four, sometimes five nights a week. Will that be a problem? But when I am away on a photoshoot, he’ll stay at his own place.”

“No, it’s not a problem.” What else could she say? It was, after all, Eve’s apartment, and since she was only paying a portion of the rent, she didn’t feel she could object.

“My ears were burning, were you ladies talking about me?” Rory asked as he set the suitcases down.

Eve winked at him. “Yes, I was telling Rosalee what a huge cock you have,” she said, giggling when she saw how red her friend’s face turned.

Rory smiled. “Don’t forget to mention what a great lover I am. I’m going to bed so that you two can talk.” He gave Eve a kiss on the cheek. “If I’m asleep when you come to bed, just ride my pogo stick, and I’ll wake up.”

When he was gone, she noticed how red in the face Rosalee still was, and she snickered. “Pay no attention to him. Let me show you around the apartment.”

She was amazed at how big the place was; it had a large living room, the kitchen was also huge, and there was a small dining room off to the side. There was even another room with exercise equipment that Eve said she needed to keep in shape for her modeling career. “I’m going to love it here, and I can’t wait to cook in that kitchen.”

“Well, just remember that I have to watch what I eat and am on a strict diet.”

Rosalee shook her head. “You’re gorgeous, so why would you have to be on a diet?”

“Because of my job, no one will hire a chunky model.” She looked Rosalee over from head to toe. “You are naturally slender and never seem to gain an ounce. Whereas I, who can just look at food, will gain weight, so I have to watch what I eat all the time.”

After the tour of the place, they sat down and had a glass of white wine, though Eve watered hers down. They ended up talking until the wee hours of the morning. So of course, they both slept in until later that afternoon.

Rosalee woke feeling like she had slept on a cloud; the bed was so soft and comfortable. Feeling hungry, she slipped out of bed and put on her robe and headed to the kitchen. She could smell the aroma of fresh coffee brewing and found Rory pouring himself a cup of coffee.

He turned when he heard her footsteps. “Good morning, Rosalee. I’ve just made coffee, would you like a cup?”

“Yes, please.”

“Eve should be up soon, and I’m on my way out,” he said as he poured her a cup and handed it to her. “I guess I’ll probably see you later. Have a good day, or I guess I should say afternoon.” He finished his coffee and left.

When he left, she started making toast, taking sips of her coffee in between. With a slice of toast in her hand, she checked out to see what was all in the fridge and cupboards. There really wasn’t a whole lot except for plenty of fruits and vegetables and some lean meat. Well, she would go shopping and buy some more groceries. She was just finishing her last slice of toast when Eve came in and went right to the coffee and poured herself a cup.

She didn’t acknowledge Rosalee until she took the first sip, then she turned and smiled. “I hope you slept well.”

“Yes, it was the best night’s sleep I’ve had in a long time. Can I make you some breakfast?”

Eve gave her a warm smile. “That’s very sweet of you but no. I usually just have some fruit and vegetables. I know I probably don’t have a lot here that you like so please feel free to get whatever you want and don’t worry about me. I have my fruit for breakfast and for lunch, I will have a salad, for supper half a chicken breast with vegetables.”

“How do you survive on so little?”

“I’m used to it and if I try to eat anything more than that it only makes me feel sick. I’m not home a lot so you will probably be on your own for dinner. To be honest, even when I’m home I never cook for myself or for Rory so we usually just order in.”

Rosalee nodded. “I understand and I’m okay with that. I’m just so grateful to be here and for you to let me live in such a beautiful place.”

Eve was chewing on a carrot stick when her eyes lit up with excitement. “You and I are going shopping and get you some clothes for you to wear to your new job.”

“Are you sure? I mean, I know how busy you are and I don’t expect you to go with me.”

“Are you kidding me? Of course, I want to go with you, and it gives me an excuse to get some new things myself. Now go get ready and we’ll go.”

When they got to the store, she was a little hesitant to go inside because it was one of those high-end women’s clothing stores. She took a look at some of the prices and was shocked.

“Rosalee, is something wrong?”

She bit down lightly on her bottom lip. “Eve, these clothes are really beautiful but they are way out of my price range.”

“Oh God Rosalee, I wasn’t thinking, I’m so sorry. I know this great little dress shop a couple of blocks away that has some really gorgeous outfits. Let’s go check it out.” She felt terrible for bringing her friend here. She herself could afford these prices and forgot that her friend didn’t have as much money as she did.

When they went to the other store, Rosalee felt a whole lot better when she saw the prices were considerably lower. After spending over two hours in the store, she came out with several outfits and a couple of dresses that were suitable to wear to a nightclub or party. She also bought some heels and lingerie. She had spent much more than she had planned on doing but she also knew that she needed these clothes for her job.

Later that night, Rory was there and he made dinner for the three of them, chicken and salad. Rosalee insisted that she do the washing up since he made dinner. Then after watching a movie together, she decided to go to bed and leave the other two alone. There was a tiny part of her that did feel a little uncomfortable having Rory there, but it was something she was going to have to get used to.

Sometimes through the night, she was awakened by the sounds of someone screaming. She sat up in bed, her heart was pounding hard inside her chest. But then she realized it was Eve and that she and Rory were having sex. She covered her ears with her hands trying to drown out the sound of their moans. She couldn’t believe how loud they were and it seemed to go on forever before they stopped and all was quiet.

The next morning when she got up, Rory was on his way out.

“I hope we didn’t keep you awake last night,” he said when he saw how she was avoiding looking at him.

“No, not at all,” she replied as she headed towards the kitchen. She could hear him following her as she went over to the coffee machine and poured herself a cup of coffee.

“I’m sure you heard us and I’m sorry if we were too loud. But Eve is a very passionate woman and we get carried away at times.”

Rosalee finally looked at him. “What the two of you do behind closed doors is none of my business. Eve is my friend and I hope you don’t hurt her.”

“Now what makes you think I would hurt her?”

“Nothing, I’m just saying I don’t want you to hurt her.” She still wasn’t sure what to think of Rory, he seemed nice enough but there were things about him that bothered her. But then again she had just met him so she would give him the benefit of the doubt.

He moved closer to her. “I know I can be a bit of a flirt but I can promise you one thing, and that is I have no intentions of hurting her. Well, I’m off to work so I’ll probably see you later.”

Once he was gone, she sat down to drink her coffee. Where she came from was a small town and people there were more discreet in their relationships. Here the men and women were more open in their sexuality. Like Rory had no shame about walking around with nothing but a towel around his waist as he came out from the shower. She looked up when Eve entered the kitchen and grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down across from her.

“You heard us last night, didn’t you?”

“Hmm, yeah, I did.”

“I’m sorry, we’re just not used to having someone else in the apartment. We’ll try to keep the noise down from now on. I have to go away on a photoshoot for a couple of days, but when I get back, I’m going to take you to a nightclub so that you can have some fun before you start your new job.”

“I’m not much of a drinker.”

“You don’t have to drink if you don’t want to, but you could still have fun. You did say you wanted to have some fun and were open to new and exciting experiences. It’s time you got over your shyness and lived a little. You don’t have to worry about Rory being here while I’m gone; he’s going to be staying at his apartment.”

She didn’t want to say anything to Eve, but she was relieved to find out that she wouldn’t be alone in the apartment with him. For the next two days, she enjoyed having the place to herself. She went shopping for groceries, ordered pizza for herself, and just relaxed in front of the TV. She also went over the list of what her duties would be working for her new boss. It was basically the same as she did back home; the only difference was she would be doing some traveling. It was her dream job, and she couldn’t wait to get started. Yes, she was a little nervous, but also she was confident that she could do the job with no trouble whatsoever. It would take time to get used to new people and live so far away from home. The only regret she had was the way things were left between her and her father. All she could do was hope that one day he would talk to her again and let her come visit him.