Too Close for Comfort

Kelly straightened her shirt, swiped on some lip gloss, and ran out the door, book bag in tow. She was running a little late for her meeting with her thesis advisor, and she really hated to be late. Still, she knew he would understand. Jake - Professor Aron - had been her mentor, really more her friend, for eight years now. When they'd met, she was a lowly freshman and he'd been a teacher's assistant, halfway through getting his PhD. She'd hit on him, believing all TAs were in it only for the T and A, thinking of letting loose now that she was in college. He'd stayed aloof for a long time, finally warming up to her, but eventually she found out he was dating someone seriously.

She'd played the field for a few years, slept with plenty of other young men, and when Jake had finally broken up with his girlfriend, Kelly was in a relationship with Mark, her current boyfriend of four years. She and Jake had lost touch after her graduation, exchanging only the occasional e-mail. She told herself she was way over her silly little crush, but deep down she knew it wasn't true. When she'd decided to return to school for her MA, she was surprised to find that Jake had taken a position with her alma mater. Although she was no longer studying in his field, she'd automatically asked him to be one of her thesis advisors, and he had agreed.

Mark hadn't really liked the amount of time she'd been spending with Jake, but she chalked it up to being serious about her thesis work. Jake, for his part, had been amazingly generous with his time, going over each step of the process with her, and occasionally letting her buy him dinner.

Tonight was one such night. She expected to be home late, and had endured Mark's grumbling in the morning about it. She'd probably hear it from him again that night. Oh well, he could get over it.

She stepped into the cafe and saw Jake, already set up at a table with a stack of papers in front of him. As she crossed the floor, she studied him. He'd grown a short light-brown beard since she'd known him, and she really thought it suited him. His blue eyes were much lighter than you'd think, and right now they were scanning a paper from behind a pair of glasses. He was wearing his usual outfit: slim jeans, loafers, corduroy jacket and tie. Hip professor chic, she guessed. He was pretty young for a professor - just barely 30, only six years older than she was.

She slid into the booth across from him, bumping his ankle with her foot.

"Hey, Jake. Sorry I'm late," Kelly said.

"No problem. Had this whole stack of papers to grade, anyway. How's it going?"

"Good, I guess. Feel like I'm stuck on the statistics again. They don't say what I think they should say, so I'm trying to find a way to explain it, and I'm coming up empty."

"Hmmkay, let's take a look at what you've got there."

An hour of chatting, furious note-taking, and french-fry-eating later, Kelly had a better handle on her statistical problem. She leaned back, stretching her arms overhead.

"So, what else is going on with you? Any hot coeds hit on you lately?" she asked cheekily.

"Oh man, you wouldn't believe it!" he said, adding with a wry smile, "But, none of them are as cute as you were."

Kelly shifted as she felt a strange jolt of jealousy. She considered herself pretty cute, but wasn't there something special about nubile barely-legals? She frowned down at the table, prompting Jake to touch the back of her hand lightly.

"Hey, come on. I value my job way too much to boink a couple of silly little girls, even if I wanted to. Plus, I'd have to give them better grades if I did. That's how that works, right?" He grinned, and Kelly had to smile back.

"No, seriously, what else is going on with you? We always talk too much about me," she replied.

"Not much, I'm afraid. I'm moving into a hotel for a while this weekend, that's about it."

"What? Why?"

"Well, my apartment lease is up, but the place I was getting ready to move into, the woman who was renting it out reneged on the deal when her adult son got kicked out of his housing, so... truthfully I've been really wanting to get out of this apartment for a while, so, I'm just going to be laying low at a hotel until I find another place. Hopefully it won't take too long."

"Geez, aren't hotels really expensive?"

He shrugged. "It's no thrill, but I don't really have another option. I don't have any family or friends in the area with a room for rent, and I'd rather not sleep on a couch for any longer than I have to."

Kelly was quiet for a minute. She and Mark had a second room that they kept as a guest room because his mother was, ugh, unfortunately a pretty frequent visitor. Why she couldn't stay in a hotel room, Kelly didn't know, but Mark hated to turn out family. He would be pretty pissed if she offered it up without asking him first. But what the hell, it was her apartment anyway - HE had moved in with HER. Screw it.

"Why don't you come stay with us? We have a guest room."

"No, I don't know, I wouldn't want to put you guys out."

"You won't be! Actually, you'd be really doing me a favor, because my boyfriend's mother couldn't come visit while you're there, and, well, I really... we don't like each other."

"Then why does she stay with you?"

"Don't ask me, I have no idea. If it were just me, I'd tell her to go to a hotel, but Mark is... well, it's family, and I guess there's a thing about it being family. I don't know."

"Uhhh, okay. Well, shouldn't you check with Mark first?"

"No, he'll be fine with it. Come on, think about it. Kitchen privileges, you'd have your own bathroom, access to our big-screen TV, and I would promise not to abuse your proximity too much by talking about my paper constantly," she said with a grin.

"Wellllll... okay. You'd have to let me pay you guys rent, though."

"No way! That room just goes totally empty most of the time anyway."

"At least let me pay you a little bit for utilities and stuff."

"Okay, that seems fair."

"Well, great! I guess I'll see you this weekend, then? I've got some packing to do, so I should really head out now."

-----

Truth be told, Mark was so not okay with it.

"What the hell, Kelly? You just offered this guy our spare room without even talking to me about it?"

"He's not just some guy, he's my friend and advisor, and he was in a tough spot."

"You could have at least called me."

"It'll only be for a little while. Come on, I'll make it up to you," she said with a suggestive smile.

"Forget it, I'm not in the mood."

"Fine," she snapped, stalking into the bedroom alone. She was so tired of putting up with his pouting. Sure, she probably should have talked to him first, but he'd sprung his mom visiting on her so many times she couldn't count. Maybe he wouldn't do it again after this.

-----

On Saturday, Kelly was prancing about her house, cleaning and straightening things up while dancing to music blaring from her computer speakers. She was wearing her usual lounging outfit: stretchy boy short underpants, a thin tank top, socks. If anyone else saw her, they would probably think she dressed that way for her boyfriend, but the truth was that she liked catching glimpses of herself in the mirror as she moved around the house. She especially liked the way the panties looked on her round, curved ass, and the way they covered enough that she could almost leave the house in them. Admittedly, she had been known to go out and check the mail in this exact outfit. It was so comfy she sometimes forgot she was even wearing so little.

She was spinning around to the music when she caught sight in movement outside the living room window. Peering over at it, she noticed Jake on the front porch, looking studiously at the front door, and raising his arm to knock on it.

Oh geez, he must have been watching her dance around. So embarrassing.

She turned the music down and heard the end of his knock. She went to open it, enjoying the way Jake's eyebrows lifted as he took in the sight of her in the flesh.

"Hi, glad to see you didn't change your mind!"

"I, uh, yeah. Um, I hope I'm not interrupting anything," he stammered.

"No, I was just cleaning the house a little bit. Hey, can I help you bring any bags up or anything?"

"Um, um, dressed like that?"

"Oh, this? This is the way I always dress at home - that's not a problem, right?"

"Hell no, cheap rent and eye candy? Best deal I ever made," he said, finally recovering enough to tease her back.

"Hah!" she said, squealing in laughter. "Good, good. Let's get you settled."

Kelly went down and grabbed one of his suitcases, lugging it back up the porch steps and upstairs to the spare room. She bent over to set it next to the bed, feeling her panties stretch over her ass, and secretly hoping that Jake was watching. She straightened and turned, holding out her arm.

"So, this is it!" The queen bed was low, piled with fluffy pillows and a bright yellow spread. A matching chest of drawers and desk in blond wood were also in the room, along with a nightstand with lamp, and bookshelf, half-filled with trashy novels. "Sorry for the crappy reading material - Mark's mom loves that shit. The good books are all in the office."

"No, it's great," he said. "Well, I'll take your word on those books sucking, but this is, well, it'll be perfect."

"Okay, good. Well, um, I guess I'll let you unpack. Bathroom is down the hall, kitchen and office are downstairs. Shout if you need anything."

"Will do. Thanks."

-----

Later that night, Jake was reclining on the bed, finally having finished putting away all his stuff. Dinner had been a little tense. It was only the second or third time that he had been in the same room with Mark, who was making it pretty clear that he was unhappy with the situation. He hated to see Kelly having to try to put a happy face on and deal with her boyfriend, who was being, let's be honest, kind of a dick.

Oh well, he reflected. It was her choice to be with him, and he was probably a perfectly nice guy most of the time. Jake pulled on a pair of pajama pants, flicked the light off, and rolled over, trying to get used to this new place. He'd always hated falling asleep in strange beds as a kid, and he guessed he'd never really gotten over it. Still, at least this strange bed was a comfortable one.

He was just drifting off to sleep, when an angry voice and steps on the stairs brought him back to alertness.

"Hush, come on, do you want Jake to hear you?" Kelly was asking.

"I don't care if he does! Maybe it would be good for him to know that your boyfriend is pissed off that you answered the door in just your panties today! Besides, his light is off; he's probably asleep already."

"Hey, these cover more of me than a bathing suit does! I always wear this stuff, you know that."

"That's not the point! The point is, they're your panties. It's not right."

Jake rolled onto his back and thought, oh man, her panties. When he saw her through the living room window, he thought for sure she was going to put on pants before she answered the door, but nope. They clung to the curve of her ass just right, ending at the very tops of her slim thighs. He had thought she probably wasn't wearing a bra underneath her tank top, and the socks really did nothing to make the outfit less sexy. The only bad thing was that it was going to drive him crazy to live here with her if that's the way she always dressed.

There was a short silence as they passed his door, and then they went into their own bedroom. They must have left the door ajar, though, because he could still hear them pretty well.

"Come on, baby, you're the only person who gets to see me in only the panties, though."

"Fuck yeah, come over here, Kel."

To Jake's considerable astonishment, the air was soon filled with soft sighs and moans, punctuated with manly grunts. Those two were definitely fucking, and it was a little bit awkward.

"Oh, oh, oh, yes!" moaned Kelly, and Jake had his hard cock in his hand almost before he realized what he was doing. Fuck, it felt so wrong, squeezing his dick to the sound of someone else's sex. It wasn't so different from porn, he rationalized to himself. The main difference was that, well, he actually wanted to have sex with Kelly.

The grunting got louder, and with a final "Fuck yeah!" Mark fell silent.

"Jesus, again?" came Kelly's voice. Jake heard muffled voices now, and then the bedroom door shut firmly, footsteps echoing down the hallway. He knew it was stupid, but he couldn't seem to help himself. He padded toward the door, pushing it open soundlessly and peeking around the corner and down the stairs. A soft light was on, and he stepped toward it, slowly, quietly.

Sprawled on the overstuffed couch was a very naked Kelly, eyes squeezed shut, hand busy between her legs. Jake's cock, which had started to soften, hardened again so quickly it was almost painful. He was about halfway down the stairs, and crouched down there where it was still shadowy. He knew he shouldn't watch, but he couldn't help it. She was so sexy. Her blonde hair spread out around her face, her petite body curved in all the most delicious places - stomach, ass, hips, thighs.

He looked down to her pussy again. It looked totally shaved. He started stroking himself again, slowly.

Kelly groped with one hand toward the coffee table and grabbed the hairbrush that was lying there. It was the kind with the ribbed rubber grip, and Jake watched with heated anticipation as she slowly pushed it into her pussy with a low moan. She bent her legs at the knee, spreading them wider.

She fucked herself with the hairbrush, fingers still rubbing her clit, and Jake stroked his cock inside his pajama pants. Kelly started moaning softly, and she opened her eyes. Jake froze, but she didn't seem to notice him. She turned her head away from him, and he breathed out softly. Then he realized that her head was resting on his corduroy jacket where he had tossed it that afternoon. She started pistoning the hairbrush faster into herself.

Jake felt his balls drawing up and he was getting closer to an orgasm as he watched Kelly. Then she stiffened, crying out, "Jake, yes, fuck me!" Surprised and flattered, he felt a bolt of pleasure as he shot jets of cum into his pants. He squeezed the length of his cock slowly, shuddering a little as he caught his breath. He saw Kelly focusing on the task of extracting the sticky, slippery hairbrush from her pussy, and he backed slowly up the stairs and into his room.

He felt a little guilty as he changed into fresh pajama pants, but not enough to stop the huge grin from spreading over his face. He would probably never get a chance like that again, but it was nice while it had lasted.

-----

The next two weeks were a strain on both Jake and Kelly. Kelly and Mark constantly sniped at each other over little things, Mark still enormously pissed off that his girlfriend was prancing about in her underwear in front of another man all the time, and knowing he couldn't even yell at her about it, because the other man was in the house with them. Kelly thought Mark was being unreasonable, but at the same time, had to admit that walking around half-dressed in front of her houseguest was turning her on more than she had thought possible.

Jake, for his part, was trying to act like a gentleman at all times. He snuck glances at Kelly's backside from time to time - who wouldn't? - but tried to be subtle. He stayed away from any conversation that could be construed as flirting, and even kept to his room most of the time he was at home. True to her word, Kelly wasn't constantly after him for help with her thesis, so he was able to have quite a lot of private time to work on his other students' papers... and masturbate. He couldn't remember the last time he had masturbated so much - on average, twice a day now - perhaps not since he was in high school. It was torture to be so close to Kelly and not be able to touch her, but he buried himself in work, and searches for a new apartment.

One afternoon Kelly returned from classes early. She dumped her bag on the sofa, kicked off her sneakers, and pulled her pants off. Already in a better mood, she went upstairs to toss her pants in the hamper, and passed by the guest bathroom. She heard the shower running, and nudged the door open a little, wondering if she'd be able to catch a glimpse of Jake. Their shower doors were glass, and they would probably be fogged up, but even a little peek would be pretty enticing.

It was a total invasion of his privacy, she knew, but he would never know, and it was all in innocent curiosity, right? What she saw when she looked through the crack in the door was definitely not innocent, however.

The shower door had been left partially open, no doubt on accident, and Jake was leaning against the back wall of the shower. His eyes were squeezed shut, and his arm was pumping furiously between his legs, where his cock was slicked up with soap. If he was making any noise, Kelly couldn't hear it over the shower, but her eyes widened as she watched him. He looked tense, his muscles bunching up in his arms. All at once he blew out a long breath and she watched him shoot streams of cum, his hips jerking a little with each spurt.

She backed away from the door, swallowing hard. Her panties were drenched.

-----

Jake caught his breath, feeling his heartbeat slowing back down after his orgasm. He had been picturing Kelly on her knees blowing him, and now he shook his head at himself and reached for the shampoo.

At last, he shut the water off and grabbed for a towel, running it over his hair and the rest of his body. He wrapped it around his waist and stepped into the hallway. He took only two steps, and then stopped short, noticing what was going on in his room.

Kelly was kneeling on his bed, one of the pillows stuffed between her knees. The wet patch on her panties flashed him over and over as she rocked her hips against the pillow. Jake was astonished. Hadn't she heard the shower turn off? He was mesmerized by their movement, the way the folds of her panties were tucked up inside her. Her hips were pumping erratically now, and Jake thought she must be cumming. He ducked back into the bathroom and turned the faucet on.

He looked into the mirror, saw a very surprised Jake looking back, with a tent in his towel. He adjusted his cock to a more comfortable position and heard footsteps outside the door.

"Hi Jake, didn't know you were home!" came the sprightly voice of Kelly.

"Uh yeah, just got out of the shower actually," he replied.

"Um, um, well, good!" Kelly lingered a moment longer outside the door, and then, apparently having nothing further to say, walked away. Jake waited until he thought she was gone, and then left the bathroom.

In his bedroom, he shut the door behind him and then glanced at the bed. The coverlet looked a little rumpled. Had she taken the pillow with her, or left it? Feeling like a pervert for doing it, he looked at them for clues. The pillow on the left was creased, and when he picked it up, he could feel that one side was a little damp. His cock twitched in his towel, and he released it, feeling it pulsate.

His face reddened as he lifted the pillow to his nose, breathing in and smelling her. He thought of how she had looked, pleasuring himself on this very pillow. Even though he had jerked off fewer than twenty minutes earlier, here he was, sitting naked on the bed, doing it again. He felt like a guilty kid, but she'd left it here for him. Maybe even wanted him to find it. The thought was too much for him, and he grunted softly as he released his load.

-----

"Kelly, my mom's coming to visit this weekend," Mark said, glaring across the dinner table at her.

"Where's she going to stay?" she asked, with a sweet smile.