Amber 12

When the alarm on my phone sounded on yet another Monday morning, I awoke with the same dread at the start of yet another week. Making it even harder to get out of bed on this morning was the naked body of Amber lying next to me, also beginning to stir at the sound of the alarm. We turned our heads to face one another and smiled a good morning. As I awoke I rolled out of bed and rushed to the bathroom. Locking the door behind me, I sat on the toilet and took care of my immediate needs. When I heard Amber try the door, I shouted, "Trust me; you don't want to be in here!"

With a laugh I heard Amber respond, "Well hurry up or I'm going to piss on your bed!"

I shouted back, "That's your bed too now!" as I finished and flushed. Spraying some air freshener, I hurriedly brushed my teeth, applied some deodorant and fixed my hair. Emerging back into the bedroom I apologized and told her the bathroom was all hers.

With a look of fake concern Amber noted, "Yeah, we're going to have to work this out in the new place."

I noticed that while I was in the bathroom, Amber had already made the bed and laid out her clothes. As she used the bathroom, I got dressed and went to the kitchen and started to make some coffee. Amber soon came into the kitchen, dressed and with her hair pulled back in her usual fashion for work. As we sat at my table sipping coffee and eating a banana, I asked, "So do you want me to email HR this morning? I've given it some thought and it should be ok."

Amber sighed and said, "Yeah, I hate those people. Do you mind?"

"No, not at all," I said. I then added, "Oh, and after work while you're getting your stuff, I've got a couple stops I need to make. I want to get some groceries and there's a couple other things I need to pick up."

Amber asked, "You sure you don't want me to go with you? I want to help pay for the groceries."

I shook my head and said, "No really, babe. It's ok; I'll get it this time. You worry about getting what you need and I'll meet you back here and make us dinner. You can go with me next time if you want. Any requests?"

With a smile she simply shook her head and said, "No... no, this is just so perfect though. Thank you."

I leaned over and kissed her goodbye. Then remembering, I grabbed the spare key off the top of the refrigerator. Handing it to Amber I said, "This is yours now."

Looking at the key in her hand, she smiled and kissed me again. Standing at the door I said, "Take your time; I'll see you at the office."

I couldn't help but smile the whole drive to the office. I pulled into the parking lot and, being the first person at the office that morning, unlocked the door and sat at my desk, waiting for my computer to start up. When it did, I checked my email. Finding nothing important, I opened a new message and began composing my email to HR. In it, I simply explained that Amber and I had been in a dating relationship for some time now and were preparing for the next stage in our relationship. I asked if anything needed to be done from a workplace standpoint and invited them to meet with the two of us should they have any questions.

As the rest of our coworkers came in and started their day, Amber eventually walked in. After setting her bag down at her desk, she walked to my cubicle and putting her hands on my shoulders, asked if I had sent the email. I told her yes and that I had copied her on it. She thanked me and the bent over the back of my chair and kissed me. I looked out of the corner of my eyes and saw that no fewer than two of our coworkers had seen what just happened. Seeing the look of concern on my face Amber whispered to me, "Fuck 'em."

I laughed as she returned to her cubicle and we went about our day. An hour or so later I saw a reply from HR. With a bit of trepidation, I opened it. As I began to read, I saw that Amber was copied but the email was addressed to me. I felt relieved to see a simple response, "Thank you for reaching out to check with us. Since your and Amber's job descriptions do not include any supervisory roles over one another, your relationship is not subject to any corporate oversight or accountability. Be advised that any future promotions or change in job description may have to take this relationship into account when determining geographical location of your employment but for now, no action is needed. Best of luck to you and let us know if any changes are needed to your personnel and tax paperwork."

"Ugh, I fucking hate corporate talk," I said under my breath. Closing the email and looking at Amber, I saw her roll her eyes as she finished reading the message. Then she whispered loud enough for me to hear, "As good as we could've hoped for."

The remainder of our day proceeded like all the rest. We worked and grabbed lunch together; we talked about work and sports. It felt good; despite all the advances in our relationship, the foundations hadn't changed. We were still best friends with plenty of shared interests.

When we returned from lunch, there were definitely more eyes on us from our coworkers. Clearly, Amber's kiss was becoming the leading topic of office gossip. We played it off as if nothing happened. As the end of the day rolled around, I finished my work and got ready to leave. I stopped by Amber's desk and told her that I was going to go run those errands and asked if she had any requests for dinner. She just smiled and said, "No, really, I'm just thankful for you doing this."

I smiled back and thought to myself, 'You have no idea.' With a wink I said, "Ok, babe, I'll see you at home."

This made her beam with a large smile and I tuned to grab my things. Leaving the office and getting in my car, I considered what I was about to do and felt nervous but at peace. Yes, I needed to stop at the grocery store but I had a much more important stop first. Pulling into a shopping center, I stopped in front of a jewelry store. I was greeted by a friendly woman who asked what I wanted to look at. She smiled when I said "Diamond rings," probably anticipating a nice commission more than the feigned excitement for me she displayed.

Looking at the selection was overwhelming and I had no idea about Amber's personal taste. After what seemed an eternity, I settled on a traditional design. A solitary one karat diamond on a gold band. I made a guess at her size and was reassured that they would happily resize or exchange it if needed. The saleswoman offered me a drink as she finished the paperwork but I declined; my head was already spinning at not only the incredible step in life I was taking but the ridiculously large number coming up on the receipt. After putting it on my card, and getting well-wishes from the salespeople, I walked back to my car and quickly opened the trunk and stuffed the bag under the flap of the spare tire well, my go to hiding spot.

When I got back behind the wheel, I started laughing for no reason. Did the guy who showed up to the airport for a business trip a few months ago have any idea this would be his life so soon? To be honest, if you had asked him he would've said 'no' but secretly would've wanted nothing more than that. After a quick stop at the grocery store to grab some things for the week's dinners, I loaded the bags into the back seat and drove back to my apartment.

When I got back, Amber was already at the apartment, having stopped at her house first and loaded up mainly on toiletries and clothes. I pulled into my spot as she was just carrying in the last tote of clothes. She met me back at the car and asked if there was anything she could help with. Looking in my back window, she smiled as she saw a bouquet of flowers that I had picked up for her. I opened the back door and handed them to her. Feeling a little deflated I said, "Sorry I couldn't surprise you with them. I wanted you to have something special on your first night coming home to 'our' place. And uh, sorry they're just from the grocery store."

She cut off my apology with a kiss and said, "Shut up. I love them." Then with a completely unexpected tear forming I her eye, she looked at them and said, "Do you know this is the first time anyone has ever bought me flowers?"

I kissed her and said, "It won't be the last." We then shared the work of carrying the grocery bags in and placed them on the counter. Amber asked if I had anything that needed to be gotten from the trunk and said, "Nope! That's it."

She locked the car for me as I began to put away the groceries. With that out of the way, I looked at the stack of totes sitting inside the front door. I asked what all she had brought and she responded, "Mainly clothes. But I brought my toiletries and some other things."

Teasing her I asked, "Other things, huh? ...anything good?"

With a sly smile she replied, "I guess you'll just have to wait and see."

We agreed that while I started dinner, she would start moving her things into the bedroom and bathroom. I told her that the bottom drawer in the bathroom was already empty and everything else could just find a place on the vanity. I also told her that her nightstand was already pretty empty. I told her to feel free to just throw anything in there on the bed and I'd find a place for it later.

I got to work in the kitchen as she made multiple trips from the front door, carrying totes back to the bedroom. As she carried the last box she asked, "Hey, do you mind if I get showered and changed before dinner?"

I looked back at her and said, "No, of course not. Go ahead. When I'm done here, I want to get cleaned up too so I'll just go in after you."

As I finished preparing our barbecue chicken breasts and got ready to put them in the oven, I heard Amber in the shower. My mind immediately was filled with all the memories of us in there together. I then remembered all the times I had pleasured myself while imagining what the scene taking place in that shower right now would look like. Now that I knew exactly what it looked like, I still found that it excited me.

A few minutes later Amber came around the corner, stuffed some trash in the kitchen garbage can and said, "It's all yours."

Checking that I still had plenty of time before dinner would be ready, I went to the bedroom, grabbed some clean clothes and then went into the bathroom where I closed the door, relieved myself and then got into the shower. As I stood under the hot water, letting it wash away the tension from my day, I saw the door open. Amber walked in and sat down on the closed lid of the toilet. I looked her way and she said, "Don't mind me, I just wanted to enjoy the best view in your apartment."

With a laugh, I finished washing and she handed me a towel to dry off. As I stepped from the shower she stood and smiled, gave me a little kiss and returned to the bedroom. After getting dried off and dressed in my shorts and t-shirt, I walked through the bedroom where I saw her in a pair of long pajama pants and a loose sweatshirt, tucking things away, making a place of her own. As I walked by, I playfully rubbed her ass and said, "I'm going to go finish up dinner."

She smiled and said, "Thanks, honey." As I got to the kitchen I heard her holler from the bedroom, "You said I could take this nightstand right?"

I hollered back, "Yeah, I don't think there's anything in there. It's all yours."

There was just a few minutes left on the chicken so I steamed some broccoli and heated some potato wedges in the toaster oven. As I watched the stove, waiting for the last few minutes of the timer, I sensed Amber standing behind me. I turned around to see her leaning against the wall, with her hands behind her back and an amused look on her face as if she was stifling a laugh.

With a confused look, I was about to speak when she said, "Drawers were empty huh?" and she brought her hands from behind her back. In one hand was a tube of lube. In the other was a flesh-colored silicone sleeve, which she held by the end and let it flop demonstrably as she talked.

I immediately felt my face go beet red and burning hot. I turned and put my head down on the kitchen counter. I was mortified. I managed to croak out the words, "Umm yeah, so about that..."

Amber finally let herself laugh. She came up behind me and gave me a hug and said, "Honey, I'm just teasing you. It's fine. I mean hell, what did you think I brought from my bedroom that I needed to put in the bottom drawer anyways?"

I looked up and could only laugh at this point. Still holding the sleeve in her hand, she said, "I've never seen one of these though. You're going to have to show me how it works some day."

Embarrassed again, I said, "Honestly, I had completely forgotten about that. I got it a while ago to try it but never really liked it. It's a fucking mess to clean!"

Flopping it back and forth in her hand and inspecting it she asked, "So you just slip it over and go to town?"

I laughed and said, "I mean you can..."

Sensing there was more Amber said, "Or..."

I shyly grinned and said, "Or, you have a couple pillows that you pile up, stick it in between and... well then you go to town."

With a look of impressed excitement, Amber was just about to say something else when I was mercifully saved by the ringing of the kitchen timer. I turned to take dinner out of the oven as Amber walked back into the bedroom. From there I heard her holler out, "I'm just going to add this to the rest of the stuff in this drawer."

Amber set the table and got us some water as I put the food on the plates and carried them to the table. This time, she chose the chair next to me and asked, "Is it ok if this is my spot from now on?"

I leaned over and kissed her, "Of course."

As we ate, we discussed our day, the bullshit of dealing with HR, and the knowing looks from our coworkers. When that topic came up Amber said, "Sorry, I decided to just rip the Band-aid off with that one. Let them talk. This might be fun."

I smiled and repeating her phrase from at the time I said, "Fuck 'em."

We laughed and finished our dinner. When we were done, Amber stood and before clearing our plates gave me a long kiss and said, "Thank you again for cooking. It makes me feel so special and everything you make is delicious. I love you so much."

We cleaned up after dinner, loaded the dishwasher and then sat on the couch together. As we sat there I said, "I'm sorry my place is so small. I know you're used to your house."

Looking around Amber said, "Not really. Honestly we have basically the same living area. I just have an extra room that I use as an office but I don't even do that. It just has my computer, which I use for paying bills and..."

She suddenly caught herself and didn't finish her sentence. Sensing there was something more I gave her an expectant look as I waited. It was now Amber's turn to blush and she said, "Yeah, I use it for paying bills. Well, paying bills and watching porn."

I laughed and asked, "You watch porn??"

Now with a look of shocked disappointment at my naivety, she asked, "Why wouldn't I? You should know by know that I get horny too. Sometimes I need a little help."

I grinned and leaning in closer asked, "Yeah?...so what do you watch?"

She playfully slapped my shoulder and said, "No fair! You already got your question; you still have to answer your own question, "Do you watch porn?"

I looked at her with a put-on disappointed expression and said, "I'm a guy; of course I do."

It was Amber's turn to lean in and ask, "Ok, then what's your favorite kind?"

I felt myself slightly blush as I said, "Well, I guess I have two. I really like watching girls masturbating. And then I like lesbians. I just don't want to see some guy with a massive dong, making me feel bad about myself."

Looking concerned, Amber wrapped her arms around me, kissed me and said, "You're everything I need. Anyways, I've always figured God only has so many resource points to spend on every person. Those guys with massive cocks are definitely dumb as rocks." Then teasing me she said, "Good thing you're smart... but not too smart. I'd say he made a good compromise when he made you."

I laughed out a playful, "Fuck you," and then we both laughed hysterically. As our laughing died down I said, "Hey, don't think you're going to avoid the question. Now it's your turn to answer."

Amber got up and started to walk back to the bathroom and said, "Hang on, give me a sec. She came out brushing her teeth and nonchalantly said, "Yeah, it's lesbian porn for me too," before disappearing back into the bathroom.

'What the fuck,' I thought to myself. I got up and turned off the lights and joined Amber in the bathroom to brush my own teeth and prepare for bed. As we stood looking at ourselves in the mirror she could see a million questions running through my mind. As I searched for the words to my first question, Amber sat down on the toilet and said, "Hey, do you mind giving me a minute?"

Walking out of the door I said, "Sure, but you're not getting around explaining this!" I heard her laugh as I closed it behind me. I crawled into bed and waited for her. When she finished, she went back into the kitchen before returning and sitting on the bed cross legged and smiling at me.

Looking content she said, "This is perfect. We'll start looking for a house soon but for now, this is all I need."

I smiled and kissed her. She could see I was still waiting for an explanation and said, "Oh, lesbian porn?"

My face said it all as I waited for her to continue. She chuckled and said, "We'll get to that. But first, hey, do you mind if I get a wastebasket for the bathroom?"

Confused by the dramatic shift in topics I said in almost an annoyed tone, "Sure, why would I care?"

Then, sensing a bit of embarrassment from Amber I said, "Oh shit, honey, I'm sorry. Clearly I've never lived with a woman before. Is everything ok?"

She chuckled and said, "Yeah, of course, I'm just a little disappointed. I wanted to make our first week living together special and then there's this. I'm really sorry."

I was completely out of my element in this conversation but wanted to make her feel better and understand so I said, "Amber, I couldn't care less. I'm serious. Look, we woke up this morning, got ready for work together, and came home to the same place. I made you dinner while you moved some of your stuff in. We ate, then we sat and talked, got ready for bed and here we are just hanging out in bed talking. Plus, baby, really, as amazing as our weekends together have been, you and I both know we can't keep that pace up. Twice a day? Hell, we can't keep up once a day. Look, you and I will have plenty of sex; I promise you that. But we're also going to have plenty of just quiet nights together and as long as we're together, what more could I ask for?"

With a grin but a disappointed tone Amber said, "Well, I can think of something more I could ask for right now... but you're right. I've got to think of it like sleeping naked. Sure, it would feel good every night for a while but I never want it to lose that special feeling." With a smile she said, "Thank you, you always seem to know what to say to make me feel better."

I sat up and sitting cross legged like her simply asked, "Hey, look, I don't know how any of this works. I'm sorry; what should I know?"

I was surprised that Amber didn't seem embarrassed and said, "Well, as you know it happens once a month. I've gotta change my... 'supplies' throughout the day so it would just help if I had somewhere discrete to put it in the bathroom."

I said, "Yeah, I knew that much but how long does it last, how bad is it, what can and can't you do?"

Amber shrugged and said, "Ehh, it lasts about five days but really, the first two are the worst. I sometimes feel crampy but it really doesn't affect me that much. I absolutely can't do anything down there those first couple days though; it would be an absolute disaster. Then it gets significantly better. If I have a tampon in on those days, I bet we could still feel each other up. Some people have sex on those days, I'm just not sure I'm ready for that. But yeah, we'll figure it out."