Daily Free-Write October 8, 2020 (Patreon)

'Looking to Share a House With Another Chill Professional Dude

If anyone is interested in sharing a nice house close to the beaches for around $500 a month, hit me up...I'm looking for a roomie ASAP

Let me know what you d ofor work and hourse, and maybe send a selfie or instagram link... I'm a clean professional guy with a house full of nice furniture and basically everything else anyone needs including a home gym, backyard. I don't smoke so you too and stay healthy, exercise, not going out due to covid but party at home with your new roomie. I'm responsible and considerate of others, so you too... thanks!'

"$500 a month? Seriously, what's the catch?" Ryan looked at the gregslist ad over and over but could find no red flags. Just that the wording sounded a little more casual than other ads. But that could be a good thing. I decided to send a little message, taking a quick selfie in the process. Okay, maybe one more. Didn't want to try too hard. Just a casual selfie. 

Ten minutes later he finally got one he could use, and he sent it off with a message. 

'Hey, my name's Rob. I'm a stocker at the beachside SuperDuperMarket. My roomies both moved back in with famiy on short notice so I need to find a new place ASAP. I'm super chill and easy to live with, I can give references on request. Here's my pic. Hit me up if you want to meet up and talk about it.'

Rob kept his fingers crossed. He had nearly given up on finding an affordable place in any inhabited region of the state. Lucky enough, he didn't have to wait long.

Colt received a notification on his phone. It was probably the thirtieth one that day for his recent ad. 

"Oh great. Who am I gonna get this time? Hmm!" 

He smiled and rubbed his chin. The guy was pretty cute. Young guy, but not too young with a shy smile in just a casual shirt and Jeans. Didn't look like a stoner, or a frat boy. He looked at the background of the photo - clean place from what he could see. Nothing looked out of place - he had to have taken time to get the shot just right. He liked that. Yeah, this guy could be good. Then he spotted something in the background that made him smile. A little well-loved teddy bear was lying on the couch where someone would sit. It wasn't organized like the rest of the house. It looked like it had been just dropped there. Didn't he say he lived alone? Colt's grin grew wider. This was the one. He sent off his message and waited. Then he closed the ad. 

'Hey, got your message. The name's Colt. My phone's been blowing up since I put out this ad, but stil haven't filled the spot. I'm free for the next hour or two but then I'm slammed. Can you swing through? Here's the address.'

Rob got the notification only minutes after he sent it off. It sounded like that place wouldn't be available for long. He quickly sent off a message in the affirmative, and grabbed his keys. He took another look at his half-packed apartment as he reached for the front door. He hoped by this time tomorrow he would have a new place to call home. 

Rob whistled as he pulled up to the house. It was a fairly large two story not far from the beach, and the Greg's list pictures didn't do it justice.

"I wonder what this guy does for a living?" 

Well, he'd find out soon enough. He didn't really know if he was dressed appropriately. The language of the ad seemed casual, but the mention of the word professional seemed important. He needed to make a good impression. He checked his hair in the mirror, trying his best to smooth down a cowlick. 

"There we go." he said, before stepping out of the car. Of course it popped right back up making him look like a young kid more than a young professional, but he was none the wiser. 

A guy about his age answered the door in jeans and a backward cap, and Rob breathed a sigh of relief. At least he wouldn't be underdressed for this. Colt invited him inside and they sat down on a leather wraparound couch in the livingroom.  

"So, a stocker huh? Not exactly professional work, but it's cool, bro. You want something to drink?" 

"Oh, uh. Yeah, I guess it's not a career job, but I'm very professional in my attitude!" Rob said, suddenly feeling self-conscious. 

"Hey, don't sweat it man. You like apple juice? Let me get you an apple juice, bro." 

"T-thanks," called Rob, trying to keep his hands on his lap where they wouldn't fidget. He looked around while Rob disappeared around the corner. This was a really nice place. It was clean, the furniture was comfortable but very tasteful. Despite his casual dress and speech, everything about the place said Colt was anything but a young slacker. There wasn't even a TV in the room - just a large picture frame on the wall across from the couch. He felt like the place was almost too good for him, but he shook that thought out of his head as soon as he got it. 

"Don't think that way Rob. You're good enough. You can do this." He wished he had his bear with him right about then, and it was all he could do to keep from sucking his thumb to comfort himself. That always calmed him down when he got nervous, even if it was super embarrassing in front of strangers. 

"Hey, buddy, who you talkin' to?" 

"Wha?" said Rob, nearly jumping out of his skin. He blushed furiously. "Oh, no nothing. I was just... thinkin out loud. Sorry."  

"Hey, no need to apologize. You didn't do anything wrong. Here, man. Enjoy."

Colt set a juice box of apple juice in front of Rob. He had a bottle of beer for himself. Rob looked at the apple juice and then the beer. He knew which one he wanted more, but he accepted the juice out of politeness. 

They chatted a bit and Colt seemed like someone he could get along with. He was just like most of his straight guy friends. Laid back, liked to joke around, and darn handsome. He was involved with law, though what kind he didn't say what kind. He said he worked from home, and seemed a little put off that Rob didn't work from home as well. 

"Well, we might be able to work around that. How are you at keeping up with your share of things around the house - laundry, dishes, that kind of thing?"

"Oh, I'm a neat freak. Your house will look like this all the time if you live with me. It's one thing my roommates really liked about me." 

"Sorry to hear they bailed on you like that."

"Yeah, me too. But hey, more for you, right? Uh. I m-mean..." Rob stammered. "Sorry, that didn't come out right."

Colt had to suppress a grin. What a cutie, this boy was.  

"Hey man, no need to apologize. It was cute. Let's just finish up these questions and I can show you around?"

Rob just nodded, blushing harder. He should have been used to being called things like 'cute' and 'sweetie' by now, but it still made him feel about two feet tall.

"You don't smoke? Good. And you look like you keep pretty fit. I could really use a workout buddy, if you're down. You'd try it out? Hey, that's all I ask. And last but not least, how often do you have people over, or go visit other people? Never? Really? So you just hang out with your roommates, you don't go to any parties or anything? Just when your roommates brought you along, huh? That's fine by me. It's safer that way anyway, and I always bring the party. We can just party at home, if you end up living here, that is."

"Gosh, I hope so," said Rob. "I could really use a stable living situation with someone I can depend on to have the rent every month. Uh, speaking of which. Is there a reason the rent is so low? You must own the place or something, huh?"

"Yeah, that's right," Colt replied. "Got pretty lucky with my career early on and was able to get this house cheap when the housing market tanked. I put a lot of work into it. It'd just help me out to rent a room. Plus it'd be nice to have someone to hang with again. Sucks being cooped up by yourself. Well, I'm sure you know what I mean."

Rob knew exactly what Colt meant. They toured the house, and it was even better than he expected. The gym was well stocked - really more equipment than one person should ever need, but it was Colt's house, he supposed. All the rooms looked nice - even the bathrooms looked like they had been plucked out of a high end catalog. By the time they got to what would be Rob's room, everything seemed covered except one door that was closed. When Rob asked about it Colt said not to worry about that room, that was just for his personal projects. 

The guest room that Rob would rent looked like it was plucked out of the kids section - or perhaps a young teen, which surprised him.

"Oh, this was my geek-out room. I have my comics, cartoon nostalgia stuff, that kind of thing in here. The bed set is just a bit of fun to make it all match, but you can totally change it however you like if I end up picking you as my roommate. 

Rob nodded. It made sense. Although he had to admit it looked pretty darn cool as it was. There was kind of a mashup of dino, space, and BattleMon themes going on. 

"Oh my gosh, is that a Meow Meow plush? Dude!" 

"Hehe, yeah. I've got a mousechu hiding around here somewhere too. I could geek-out on BattleMon all day but I gotta cut this short, bud. The next person will show up pretty soon to look at the house. That's pretty much everything, so I guess I'll let you go and I'll let you know what I decide?" 

"Oh man, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get carried away! Thanks for the tour man, you seem like a chill dude that would be fun to hang out with. I'd sure like to be the one you pick, but even if not, we should keep in touch." 

Colt smiled and shook his head. 

"Hey man, thanks. I'm not gonna lie, you're definitely in the to five! I'd hand you the paperwork now, but we don't really have time to go over it together."

"Dude, give me the paperwork. I'll sign right now." 

"Haha, I'm flattered that you trust me but I'm sure you want to read it and..."

"For $500 a month, and living with a super chill room mate like you? I don't even have to read it."

Colt laughed and shook his head.

"Alright man,  I like your style. You go for what you want. Okay, the other people are gonna be really disappointed but oh well. Let's get it taken care of."

Colt put in a fake call to the people who were supposedly scheduled to come later that day, and then presented Colt with several papers for Rob to sign and initial, which his did as quickly as possible.

"Oh, one last thing," said Colt, as he looked over the completed documentation. "About that teddy bear in the picture. What's his name?" 

"Oh dude, no, no. Totally not mine. It's just an old bear one of my roommates left. I'll get rid of him before I move in."

"Don't. I think it's cute you still carry your bear around the house."

"Aw geez," said Rob, pulling up his shirt to hide his face. "Was it that obvious?"

"I'm gonna tell you this once and only once, kid. If we're going to be roommates, I don't want us to have any secrets, okay? Just be yourself. And if you try to hide your teddy in your room, you're gonna be in big trouble!" 

The way Colt said this with just a hint of authority in his voice made Rob chub up a little in his pants. If only Colt knew what that did to him! Mercifully, he was seen off before his chubby could go full mast and embarrass them both. He drove home, practically glowing. He had done it. He had gotten the place.

Colt was also over the moon as he looked over the contract that Rob had signed. His instincts were spot on and he had snared the cutie hook line and sinker. He adjusted himself in his pants. Gosh he loved it when Rob got all blushy and squirmy. If only he know what that did to him. He went up to check that everything was ready in Rob's real bedroom. He'd be moving in there when the time was right. Colt was practically glowing. He had done it. He had gotten his boy.