Room For One More

Hello All! I've decided going forward, I won't impart my intentions or thoughts on you before reading the story, so you can evaluate it for however you see it. Well... after this one anyway. I'll limit those elsewhere.

As for this piece, just a fair warning, it will spend a lot of time in the two main characters' heads while I flesh them out some more, to give understanding to who they are. After this, my intention is to limit that, and start to increase plot line, and moving the setting beyond their apartment. The next part does this a tiny bit, but will increase with time and plot. I've started mapping out the next few chapters, but need the time to write.

I hope you enjoy, and for those that read the first part in this series, with the title ending as "Chapter 1", I've replaced that with "Part 2" instead because I was mortified by the sloppy editing I apparently did on it. I've upped the ante on a few bits, but it's the same story, so by no means do you need to read it, if you read the original. I will delete the original once the revised version has had a chance for people to become aware of it.

Thanks for reading what comes out of my brain and "listening" to my rant!

Chapter 15

It was barely past sunrise when Natalie drug herself into the kitchen, mug in hand and her robe belted loosely at her waist. The apartment was dim and quiet, streaked with beams of sunlight from the rising sun as it filtered through slatted blinds. She stood still for a moment, letting the warmth of the cup rest in her palms, though she hadn't taken more than a sip. The coffee had gone lukewarm, but she couldn't find the motivation to reheat it.

Across the apartment, Lisa moved with her usual bounce, dragging a small rolling suitcase behind her, the phone wedged between shoulder and cheek as she hummed along to some distant, hold music. She looked like someone in the middle of a layover, not someone saying goodbye with her phone and her suitcase. Her voice was too chipper, with too much energy for this early in the morning for Natalie. She was always full of motion, always on. It didn't help that Natalie had barely slept.

A door creaked open down the hall, a moment after Lisa had knocked once and called through with mock urgency, "Get your butt out here and give your mother a goodbye kiss!"

Aiden appeared, barefoot and rumpled, with his sweatpants low on his hips and a faded college tee clinging to one shoulder where it had twisted in his sleep. He blinked against the light, rubbing at his face as he shuffled into the room, still half-asleep. The faint line of hair that traced down his abdomen caught Natalie's eye. It was only a smidge peeking out below the twisted t-shirt, dark, narrow, disappearing beneath the waistband of his sweats and she looked before she could stop herself.

Lisa clicked off her call and the never-ending hold music she was listening to and turned, brightening as she looked at her son. "Be good, okay? And don't give Nat a hard time. She's doing us both a favor."

Aiden muttered, "Yeah, I know. I won't," his voice was still thick with sleep.

Lisa stepped in and gave him a quick, familiar mom style kiss on the lips, ruffling a hand through his messy hair.

Aiden blinked, suddenly more awake than he'd been a second ago. Her mouth. On his.

There was no trace of it now, just the soft sheen of her usual lipstick, and the faint taste of mint toothpaste lingering where her lips had touched. But all he could think about was how that kiss might've tasted last night, lips still swollen from their activities, coated with Natalie's fluids.

No.This was his mom. He pushed the thought away, swallowing hard until he could force a small smile as Lisa turned to Natalie.

Natalie watched the exchange with a smile, but her stomach tightened. There was nothing unusual in the kiss, nothing off. And yet,sheremembered. The sound of Lisa's voice in the dark. The feel of her hand. The things she'd whispered that Natalie had let happen and she'd wanted.

It was a kiss goodbye, but her body remembered where those lips had been before they landed on her son.

Rolling her eyes at Natalie, with exaggerated exasperation, Lisa remained unaware of the thoughts around her. "You're a saint for this. Truly. One of these days I'll find a way to repay you."

Natalie smirked, still nursing her mug. "Maybe just don't send me any more college boys."

Lisa grinned. "No promises. With him here, there may be more around than you bargained for." She wheeled her suitcase toward the front door, then glanced back over her shoulder. "Take care of my little boy, okay?"

Aiden groaned. "Mom! Jesus. I'm twenty."

Lisa just smiled. "You'll always be my baby."

He shook his head and turned away, disappearing towards his bedroom with a mumbled, "Whatever. I'm going back to sleep." Before the door closed, two more quick words came out. "Love you!"

As soon as his footsteps faded, Lisa stepped in close, drawing Natalie into a warm, unexpectedly tight hug. Natalie's breath caught, with a faint gasp of surprise, as Lisa's arms crushed her gently against her. Just as Natalie finally started to pull away, Lisa's hand slid lower, tracing the curve of her spine before settling firmly on her ass, holding her flush against her body.

Then, not giving Natalie a chance to react, Lisa leaned up and kissed her. It was a firm, direct press of lips, no opening, no tongues, just a firm kiss, accompanied by a teasing nip at Natalie's full bottom lip that sent a shiver through her.

"Thanks for last night," Lisa murmured in a low purr, and her face still pressed against Natalie's. She had a wide, genuine smile spreading across her features. Then, pulling back just enough to look in each other's eyes more easily, a wicked smirk played on her lips as she added, "Maybe one day you'll be sweet enough to introduce me to the guy that caused you to need to buy that toy."

Natalie flushed instantly, a small, flustered sound catching in her throat. "Mmm, I don't know if he's earned that yet," she murmured, not quite smiling or saying no either.

Lisa grinned, gave one last firm squeeze of Natalie's supple ass paired with a low, playful growl and then turned for the door. Her suitcase wheels clicked across the tile at the entry way to the apartment, as it trailed behind her.

The door closed shut behind her, and just like that, the apartment fell into silence again.

She set her mug down, Lisa's voice still echoing in her head,Take care of my little boy.

It had been an offhand comment, intended for teasing, but the words stuck.Her little boy.

Natalie almost smiled at the phrase, except... Aiden wasn't little.

But he was twenty. Still so young in her mind, still close enough to younger that Lisa said it without irony. And yet the woman he lived with now wasn't his mother's age. Not even close.

She pulled in a breath and told herself to let it go. Still, it felt strange having someone that age under her roof. The last time she'd lived with a guy in his twenties, she'd been in her twenties too. Back then it made sense, but now... now, it felt oddly out of place as well as unexpected. Lisa had implied there might be others, his friends, more noise. He was used to dorm life, which came with shared spaces and constant activity.

Aiden wasn't a teenager, but he also wasn't someone she would've imagined sharing a hallway with at this point in her life. College felt like another life altogether. She'd been married for part of it. Even then she was settled and focused on becoming someone else entirely. Filled with dreams of her career.

Now here she was, ten years later, divorced, rebuilding... and a twenty-year-old was about to start leaving dishes in her sink.

She let out a quiet breath and turned toward the sink. The wine glasses from the night before were still there, along with Lisa's scent lingering faintly in the bathroom. A pink hair tie sat forgotten on the bathroom counter. The bed was rumpled. Everything already seemed affected by the mother, and the son she left behind, in what has been her home alone for almost the last year.

She walked past Aiden's closed door on her way to the laundry room, paused, and considered knocking, but what would she say? Instead, she kept walking, remembering he said he was going back to bed. She opened her bedroom door and shut it quietly behind her.

This apartment had been her space. Her reset. Her quiet, post-divorce calm. And now? Now it came with a twenty-year-old living across the hall. Lisa's little boy living in her grown woman's life.

Chapter 16

Natalie got dressed, before leaving her room a couple hours later. She wore what she usually did when she didn't plan on leaving the apartment: a soft cropped tank and loose joggers slung low on her hips, with her hair tied up in a knot she'd probably re-do three times before noon. She was even wearing a bra which was something she hadn't bothered with on a day she didn't plan on leaving the house, in years. Not since early in her marriage.

The apartment had always been her refuge of quiet mornings, music, and her mess and no one else's. No one to notice when she walked around unshaven or let the laundry sit a little too long.

No one to notice if she didn't wear a bra.

But now there were going to be footsteps in the hallway outside her bedroom. A new towel on the rack. The sound of the second bedroom door in the mornings, and a bathroom schedule would clearly be needed.

It wasn't that this was all bad, just different and would take some adjusting.

She was sipping her second cup of coffee at the kitchen island when Aiden stumbled in, still shaking off sleep. He was barefoot, hair tousled, and wearing a worn T-shirt that appeared as though he must've just thrown it on for the sake of coming out, as it was different than he was wearing earlier. He didn't say anything, just rubbed at his face, yawned, and reached for the cereal like he'd lived here for months.

Natalie watched as he shook out the box into a bowl, followed by clink of the spoon as he tossed it in. The fridge door swinging open and shut as he got some milk.

He sat nearby at the table, scrolling on his phone while he ate, one knee pulled up loosely under the chair. They didn't speak. The silence had an awkward feel for her, in her own home. She knew it was just two people figuring out how to share the same space, but it was a new dynamic. She figured he was probably scrolling through his social media, the way most twenty-year-olds did first thing in the morning. He still looked tired as he sat there.

She wondered if this was just how he was in the mornings, quiet, half-present, eyes on his phone like a drug he needed to fully wake up. Or maybe it was the new space, in new home, with new routines. Then again, maybe he just hadn't slept well.

She didn't know him well enough to tell yet.

That thought struck her more than it should have. He was living in her apartment now, eating in her kitchen, showering in her bathroom, and she still didn't know if he was the kind of person who needed three alarms or just didn't sleep much.

Was this version of him the baseline? Or just a placeholder while he adjusted? She glanced down into her coffee, swirling what was left at the bottom. It was strange having someone in such close proximity but knowing so little about them in the quiet moments. Her husband was the only person outside of family she'd lived with before and they clearly knew each other before living together.

Across from her, Aiden was still scrolling through his phone, but he wasn't really looking at anything. His thumb just kept moving. Every so often, he'd look up like he might say something. But he never did.

He didn't know what he was supposed to say, especially not after last night. He hadn't meant to listen. At least not at first.

It was just muffled sounds through the wall, low and indistinct, that was all. But then he heard more. The creak of the bed, a sharp gasp, then came their voices, followed by their moans. That was when it hit him. His mom wasn't justsleepingin her bed. There was more to their relationship that he never knew. Hell, he never knew his mom liked girls.

He had sat in bed staring at the ceiling, then the wall, completely still, not breathing.

He hadn't known about them. Aboutthat.

How long had it been going on? Was it something that was new? Had it been going on before Natalie's divorce? Were they in a relationship he didn't know about?

He didn't have answers and before last night he didn't even have the questions. Now he couldn't get the sounds out of his head. Natalie's moans. Lisa's name. Breathless words that still echoed,please, don't stop... right there, just like that...

And then there was him. By the end of the night, he had his hand on himself, working faster than he wanted to admit, turned on by the fact that it was real. Not porn or a fantasy, but his mom and the woman that had already and unknowingly provided material for the spank bank for years, in the next room, completely unaware of him.

It had been wrong and he knew it, but it was also the hardest he'd ever cum in his life. Now he was here, sitting across from her, trying not to let any of that show.

Natalie looked calm. She was focused on her coffee like it was just another morning. No sign that she knew he'd heard anything. But he knew things about her now and that changed everything. Because now he lived with her.

She wasn't just Mom's friend anymore; the pretty one who used to intimidate him when he was younger. Or who always seemed to busy, to even notice him. Now, she wasn't even married.

Now she was Natalie who moaned like that. The one who madeMommoan. The one he shared a hallway with. A kitchen. A bathroom.

And no matter how normal she looked across the counter now, he couldn't unhear what he'd heard. Or forget what it felt like lying in the dark, hand on his cock, listening tothatNatalie just a few feet away.

Natalie took another sip of her coffee, then set the mug down gently.

"Did you sleep okay?" she asked, looking over and breaking the ice. "I know the first night in a new place can be... weird."

Aiden looked up, surprised she'd spoken. "Yeah. I mean, kind of." He scratched the back of one of his arms. There was no itch, just a nervous response as he tried to ease into the conversation. "Took me a while to fall asleep. Still getting used to the bed."

She nodded. "Makes sense. If there's anything you need, or if you can't find something, just let me know. I tried to make room, but the storage situation in that bathroom is kind of a joke."

That earned the faintest smile from him. "No, it's fine. I just shoved my stuff under the sink for now. I didn't want to, like, take over your drawers or anything."

"You wouldn't be taking over," she said lightly. "You live here now. I made sure to give you some space in there."

The words slipped out easily, but even she noticed the way it all landed. Hearing it aloud shifted something by acknowledging the arrangement. That this wasn't just temporary couch surfing. He was living here now.

Aiden nodded slowly. "Still feels kind of surreal."

"Yeah," she said, chuckling softly. "For me too."

Seconds passed before she leaned her elbow on the counter and tilted her head. "Do you need anything today? Groceries, laundry detergent, anything like that?"

He shook his head. "I think I'm good. I brought most of my stuff. Mom stocked me up before she left." His lips twitched slightly. "She also made me take two boxes of protein bars I didn't ask for."

Natalie smiled. "That sounds about right. She was always big on those as a quick snack."

The exchange settled something in the air. The silence didn't feel loaded anymore. Joking about his mom brought a sense of something familiar. For the first time since he'd walked into the kitchen, Aiden didn't feel like he was tiptoeing.

He sat more upright in his stool and let himself look at her, really look at her, without the soundtrack of last night playing on loop in his head. It helped. The talking helped.

Aiden sat quietly, with one hand still wrapped loosely around his cereal bowl, the other resting on the table, having finally forgotten the phone where it sat on the counter. His posture had loosened too, but his attention stayed on her as Natalie gave him a glance, then looked back into her mug.

"You know," she said, with a smile, "Lisa told me something funny the other day."

"Oh yeah?" he asked, looking up.

"She said you used to get all quiet when I was around. Back when I'd come over to your guys' house. Said you were intimidated by me, or something."

Aiden gave a short, awkward laugh and looked back at his phone, avoiding eye contact. "I mean... I was young. I didn't really know you," he tried to play it off.

Natalie smiled. "Well, I hope you're not still intimidated. If we're going to be living together, we've got to figure this out. So if you need anything, if something's off, whatever, don't hesitate to speak up."

"Right," he said. "Same goes for me, though. If I'm bothering you, or throwing off your routine or anything... just say so."

She looked at him, then gave a slow nod. "I will, but you're not. It'll be an adjustment, sure, but it doesn't have to be a bad one."

The quiet that followed wasn't tense this time. It was actually kind of comfortable, neutral at a minimum.

They went through the rest of the morning without much conversation, but something had definitely shifted, bringing more calm and a little less second-guessing.

Chapter 17

Aiden finished rearranging the last of his clothes and a few random electronics, finding a practical way to use the space. All in all, it was more than he had in the dorm, so he wasn't mad about any of it. He asked where she kept extra towels, and she pointed to the linen closet, telling him to ignore the top shelf unless he wanted to knock over a basket of tampons. He'd shot it a furtive look causing her to roll her eyes and tell himwelcome to living with a woman with only one bathroom.

Around lunchtime, Natalie offered him the leftovers from a roasted chicken she'd made before his arrival. He reheated some and joined her at the small dining table, both of them half-leaning into their meals, casually talking between bites.

It was easy, in a way she hadn't expected, and the company during meals was surprisingly welcome. She told him about the neighbor who vacuumed every night at ten. He told her about the professor who only wore cargo shorts and once held a three-hour lecture with barbecue sauce on his shirt. The kind of small talk that didn't mean much, but still built something between them.

It wasn't bad having someone around. She hadn't realized how quiet her life had become until there was someone else in it, laughing under his breath, filling the sink with a second coffee mug, leaving the bathroom mirror slightly fogged from a too-hot shower. It brought back memories of married life when marriage was still good.

Still, there were awkward moments too. Like brushing past each other in the hallway when neither of them seemed sure who should move first. Or realizing she could hear the bass from his music. Walking into the kitchen after a workout, only to remember she wasn't alone halfway through tugging off her sports bra under her tank top.

He'd looked up that time and immediately looked away as his cheeks turned pink. He pretended to check the stove, even though it was off and she'd turned her back, hiding the blush crossing her face. They didn't talk about it, but it made her smile for some random reason at the awkwardness surfacing once more.