Apartment For Three

Chapter 3

The next morning, the sun came through the windows in the most peaceful way. I got out of bed and clothed my nude body. After taking the curlers out of my hair, I finally opened my door and exited my room.

I stepped over to the next door, where the bathroom was. As I turned the knob, it opened from the inside. With a gasp, I jumped at the sight of Paul exited the bathroom without any clothing on. The only thing covering his manhood was a towel wrapped around his waist.

"Morning, Adele." Paul smiled, enjoying my shock. "I decided to hop in the shower first thing. The early bird gets the first worm, am I right?"

"You didn't bring your clothes with you to the bathroom?" I crossed my arms with a risen brow. It took everything in me not to even attempt to look down at his manhood. It didn't help that I could see his backside poking out from the towel he held up around his waist. D

"Oh no, I never do that. You know, I read somewhere that after you moisturize you should stay in the nude for a while after. Keeps the moisture in." Paul stepped out of the bathroom, one muscular hand on his hip and the other gripping his towel. "I hope you don't mind."

"I don't." I said with pouted lips. "After all, we're just roommates, aren't we?"

"That's the spirit." Marlon said as he walked over in only his boxer shorts. Once again, my eyes darted in the opposite direction, only to land on Paul's torso that still had water droplets rolling down each detail.

"Now why have you not have on clothes?" I asked with a little annoyance in my voice.

"This is how I walk around my home." Marlon shrugged. He had a certain entitlement to him, but it was never offensive. His charisma smoothed over all of his strange tendencies.

"But you're not living alone anymore, you're with us." I pointed out as he walked over to us.

"Hey, we're only roommates, right?" Marlon grinned. Those were my words. He allowed his hand to rest on the wall behind me. His bicep stretched right beside my temple. "Besides, I didn't live alone before."

"Oh?" I tilted my head, my eyes falling to Marlon's strong hand that adjusted his waistband. He noticed my stare, grinning at his victory as he stood up straight and removed his hand from the wall.

"He was just telling me this morning he had an older lady taking care of him." Paul chuckled. "I said 'what do you know? Our own personal gigolo'..."

Slowly my eyes moved from Paul over to Marlon. Between my legs I felt a pulse, a direct reaction to all that was happening. Still, I didn't allow my arousal to show. On the exterior, I was unbothered.

"We won't need any of those services here, anywho." I stepped closer to Marlon, closing the space between us. My eyes peered up at him, there was barely any space between our bodies. But I broke the tension on my own terms. I headed toward the door, knowing both of them were watching as I did. "Well I should be going."

"Going?" Paul cleared his throat, he was clutching onto that towel a bit further from his body now. "To where?"

I looked at the front door, then I looked back to Paul. "Out there..."

"Smart aleck." Marlon mumbled under his breath toward Paul. Then, he spoke up. "Well, who will cook breakfast?" Marlon asked he stood tall, his arms flexing as they crossed over his chest.

There he was again, trying to dominate everything. It hadn't even been a full twenty-four hours, and yet I felt I had Marlon all figured out. With an exhale. I slowly walked back over to them with a sway to my hips.

My eyes peered up at Paul, then they slowly looked up at Marlon. "You really thought me living here would guarantee I'd be cooking for you?"

"Well that's what a woman does..." A smile spread across his face as he stood with his arms crossed.

I blinked slowly.

"Well, what this woman does is write future best-selling novels. Not make bacon and eggs." I clarified. "Do we understand each other?"

"Crystal clear." Paul mumbled with a mischievous smirk on his face.

"Fantastic." I smiled, then I turned around. Before heading for the door, I looked over my shoulder. "And Paul, why don't you get some clothing? Your manhood is practically showing."

With that, I walked over to the front door. With my hand pressed against the wall, I bent over and slipped on my heels. Then I shrugged on my jacket. When I took my purse off of the coat hanger, I looked toward the boys to see they were both frozen in place. Both of their eyes were set on me. With a chuckle, I headed out the door.

Somewhere on the other side of Manhattan, I sat in an editor's office. He who held my future in his hands looked over my heart and soul. Then he placed the pile of papers down, rubbing his red nose.

"I don't know." He answered. I gave out a disappointed sigh. "It's too risky. A colored female who is a college student and a spinster?"

"It's based off of me, you see? To show that we exist. We're educated, sophisticated... and we're going to find success in so many ways." I gushed, but the editor wasn't moved.

"But who can relate to it? How many people would be able to relate to this story?" He asked. "And most of all, you suggest miscegenation inside of it."

"But this is our reality." I told him. "Our world is changing, this is the life real women are living."

"Some real women are living. What about every other colored woman whose husband would hate her reading such things?" My editor challenged me. I frowned, because I knew he had a point. "Concentrate on the negro experience, even concentrate on the education. But including others in this is too risky."

I tried to hold back tears in my eyes. "Alright, then. I'm sure there's some changes I can make to it."

"It'll be great if you do. Then maybe we can talk." He suggested, but before he could finish his sentence I was standing up from my seat.

"Of course." I quickly said as I reached for my work. "I'll fix it. Make it less... radical."

"Adele, I believe in you. I know you can do this." The editor reassured me as he handed me the stack of papers.

"Right." I exhaled. Then with my work pressed against my heart, I exited the building.