Paying the rent

Thump…...Thump…..Thump….Thump … By now I know what to expect when the rhythm of the bed slamming against the wall upstairs begins to quicken. “Oh Fuck” the man’s deep voice rises in excitement easily filling the whole house, “Oh Fuck … Oh Fuck … Oh Fuck …”

Alison says his name is ‘Richard’ but to me he is ‘Dick’ and Dick’s lack of vocabular is just one of the many things that annoys me about him. “Oh Fuucckk … FUCK … FUUCKK YES!!” At least the banging will be over now. Sure enough, the banging from above stops, and about five minutes later I hear the clunking of his Timberlands as he climbs down the outside steps from the second floor.

The exterior staircase was a recent addition to the 90 years ago two-story colonial. I decided to rent the rooms in my house after my wife, Fran, was killed by a drunk and the emptiness in the house became oppressive. The steps were one of the fire code requirements and more importantly allow my tenants and their guests to come and go as they pleased without walking through the house. It was just as well that I don't have to see Dick’s smug face as he sauntered away. My contempt for the man has more to do with how callously he treats Alison, than the fact that he was actually having sex with the beautiful doe-eyed blonde. Tonight’s visit lasted a total of 20 minutes, and that was about average for him.

On most nights Alison will join me for a cup of tea, watching CNN quietly with her legs tucked up under her as she nibbles on a pastry or slice of fresh bread. We don’t talk much, but I'm pretty sure the young tenant appreciates the ‘homey’ atmosphere in my house compared to sharing an apartment with other students her age or living in the university dorms. From experience however, I know not to expect Alison for the rest of the evening. On the nights that Dick visits she keeps to herself; It is just as well. One of the reasons I agreed to lease the upstairs suite to the earnest coed was the look of innocence that the young woman wore without trying. To see her ‘just fucked face’ would spoil the image of angelic sweetness I am used to.

I certainly did not take Alison Miller on as a tenant because of her pristine credit history, once again the first of the month has come and gone and the little slot by my desk where she is supposed to drop off her rent is still empty. I'm not really surprised, with the flair up of Covid-19 this fall, the Outback where she works is closed and without a job it seems unlikely that she’ll be able to scrape together the $500 that was already due two days ago.

Luckily, I don't really need the extra money. After teaching for twenty-six years, I took an early buy-out on my pension, that money combined with my wife's life insurance and the settlement money from my wife's accident leaves me comfortable if not exactly wealthy. The drunk's insurance company had seemed decidedly relieved when I agreed to a settlement offer with only a minimal amount of fuss. My lawyer told me at the time that I could have easily doubled the amount if I had put up a fight, but I am a man of simple tastes, and without Fran to spend it with, having all the money in the world seems pointless. On the other hand, I do believe strongly that no one in this world should get a free ride, so I'm going to have make sure Alison knows I still need the money.

With a sigh I pull out my computer and scan my email, it is a game I play with myself each time I log on, pretending that I am doing something real instead of scanning the web for porn. Over the years I've found I prefer story-sites like literotica and CHYOA and still pictures to the videos or webcams that fill the ad space of the screen. Give me a well-written story or a picture with enough detail in the background for me to work with, and my imagination can fill in the rest in a much more appealing way than the inane dialog that most porno comes up with.

Lately I've been reading stories of older men hooking up with much younger partners and my image searches have more and more been for innocent-looking blondes. I guess I don't need a degree in psychology to figure out why. I never even considered having sex with last year's tenant (although she was roughly the same age and objectively just as attractive) but there is something about Alison that makes me wish I were thirty years younger so I could sweep her off her feet.

I look at the empty rent slot once again and can't help thinking about ways we could work that out...