Page 27 of Not My Problem

She opened her mouth and I knew what she was going to say, so I held up my hand.

“You’ve already been more than generous,” I said. “My need for more clothes is not your problem. I’ll figure it out.”

For all that Gretchen seemed like a tough person she had a squishy inside. She was a caretaker at heart, but I couldn’t be on equal terms with her in this relationship if I let her take care of me like some lost lamb. If this was to work long-term – and I was already thinking about long-term with her – I needed to maintain my independence.

I did however accept a ride from her since today’s training was at the agency’s main office. A lady from Human Resources was waiting for me in the lobby when I got there and I saw her give us a curious look when Gretchen said goodbye to me.

“You and Gretchen know each other?” Melissa asked after she introduced herself.

“Yes, she’s friends with my grandmother and my temporary roommate.”

I had a feeling she suspected there was more to it than that, but she didn’t ask and I didn’t volunteer. I understood that if Gretchen and I were in a relationship we’d have to report that to HR, but right now everything was too new. I wasn’t sure if this was a relationship or a situationship and until we hammered all that out, there was no sense in making any official proclamations.

The first three hours of my day were mind-numbingly boring. Melissa did her best to make the information engaging, but no one could make a review of personnel rules and timesheet instructions that exciting. Once she was finished with that part of my training, she took me to IT where they taught me how to log in to access my email and something called Teams where we could do online meetings and send messages to staff members.

My boss Julia came to meet me after that, taking me to lunch at a nearby deli while we talked about her expectations for her staff. Then I spent the rest of the day with Rochelle from the QA department reviewing policies.

By the time I was done I was exhausted. I met Gretchen in the lobby promptly at five, glad to be done with all the boring stuff.

“How was your first day?” she asked.

I looked around to make sure we were alone before whispering, “Fucking boring. My god, there’s a policy and procedure for everything.”

Gretchen laughed. “Wait until tomorrow when you do the online trainings on HIPAA, sexual harassment, and blood borne pathogens, that’s where the real fun starts.”

Gretchen

Itook Zoe out to dinner to celebrate her first day of work. Since she hadn’t explored the city yet I decided to show her a little of Seattle by taking her somewhere new. We headed downtown and I took the scenic route, driving past the Space Needle and other local landmarks before parking near the waterfront. We wandered through Pike Place Market, and I showed her the original Starbucks, the guys who throw fish, and the chewing gum wall.

I found out that she liked seafood, so we walked a few blocks to have dinner at a place that had great food but not exorbitantly expensive. It turned out that Zoe’s seafood experience was mostly fried shrimp and Filet of Fish sandwiches at McDonald’s, so I ordered us one of those giant fisherman’s platters to share, along with two cups of clam chowder. There was a little bit of everything on the platter, giving her a chance to try several things.

“Okay this crab is really good,” she said, snatching another piece from the platter.

I marveled at how much lighter she seemed with each day that passed. Her body language was more open and she smiled more often. Was this how she normally was, or was Seattle good for her? I had no idea. I resolved to get to know her better. After all, we were temporary roommates – and temporary lovers.

“What was your favorite cartoon as a kid?” I asked.

She gave me a strange look but answered, “I always liked the superhero cartoons, whichever ones were on, Superman, Batman, that kind of thing. How about you?”

“My mom got me into these old Looney Tunes cartoons,” I said. “Bugs Bunny especially. I used to watch those whenever I could. Still do, when I can find them. What did you want to be when you grew up?”

“A firefighter.” She paused. “Are we doing twenty questions or something?”

“Trying to get to know you better,” I replied. “The way you do on a date.”

She looked around, then back at me. “Oh. Yeah, I guess this technically is a date. Okay, what did you want to be when you grow up?”

We continued tossing questions back and forth as we ate, some more ridiculous than others. It was kind of corny, but a fun way to pass the time.

“Okay one last one before we head home,” I said, looking around to make sure we were alone. “Favorite sexual position?”

“Hmm, well for myself I love to hump a leg, or anything with a lot of friction, but the thing I enjoy the most is when someone sits on my face. How about you?”

I felt my face turn red. I couldn’t say why I was embarrassed when I was the one who asked the question.

“I like it when there’s more than one thing going on, like if a person’s using a toy in one area and fingers or tongue in another area. Being overwhelmed with sensation really helps me relax.”

Zoe leaned forward and dropped her voice low. “So if I tied you to the bed and fucked you with a dildo while teasing your clit, you’d like that?”