Friends With Benefits

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 1
“What do you mean I can’t move in?” Brandi screamed into her cell phone. “He rented the apartment to his cousin? But I already gave you a deposit! I already gave my notice—I have to be out of my apartment!” Brandi paced the floor. Are you serious?
“I can’t believe this!” She wiped the tears with the back of her hand. “Yes….yes, I can meet you tomorrow. Just text me where to meet you and what time I should be there. I know you’re sorry. It’s not your fault... Thanks. Bye.”
Brandi pressed the end button on her cell phone. How could this be happening right now? A sharp pain shot through her left temple. She flopped down on her couch and closed her eyes. This definitely called for a glass of wine. Brandi dragged her feet into the kitchen. She poured a glass of her favorite wine, Moscato. She filled the wine glass to the brim and quickly gulped it down. She poured another glass full. She turned to put the bottle back into the fridge. She paused for a few seconds. She kicked the fridge closed with her foot, walked into the living room with the wine bottle in one hand and her glass in the other.
She sat down on the couch, indian style. She sipped on her wine as she reflected on how she got to this point. She had moved to New York from Atlanta, Georgia, five years ago, with the hopes of starting a brand new life. She was born and raised in Georgia and just wanted a change of scenery. New York did not live up to her expectations of living life in luxury. She found herself working at a job that she loved but she could definitely use a salary boost. She’d been living on her own for the past five years, which was an accomplishment in itself in New York City, but at what cost? She had no savings, high rent, and a major need to get away from the city.
A month and a half ago, Brandi decided not to resign her lease. She made up her mind that she was tired of living just to pay rent. She wanted to start saving for a house and to be able to travel more with her girlfriends. She had not been on a girl’s trip, or any trip for that matter, since moving to New York.
On top of letting her apartment go, Brandi also let her fourteen month relationship with Jason go. It had been about a month since she ended things with him. It was very dramatic and she definitely put in more than she got out. Sometimes you just got fed up with being taken advantage of and Brandi had reached her breaking point. She made a vow to herself to take a year off from dating. She was done with men…for now.
Brandi was determined to take back control of her life; focus on her needs for once. She was twenty-seven, beautiful, educated, and deserving of living the best life possible. Her first step toward that goal was releasing things that she felt were holding her back: an overpriced apartment and a one-sided, dead-end relationship, hence the reason she was now single and looking for a roommate situation. In two weeks Brandi had to be out of her apartment. There was only one problem….she had no idea where she was going to go.
~oOo~
Neal walked through the door a little after one in the morning. Being the CEO of one of the top architectural firms in New York City had its perks but it also kept him on the road more than at home. Normally when he returned home from his business trips, Yoanna was there to greet him. She would give him a massage, a nice glass of wine and some sweet love making, welcoming him home. This time, the only thing that greeted Neal was the humidity that filled the room. Neal left his suitcase by the front door, walked over to the thermostat and turned on the central air to get some much needed circulation going. He grabbed a Heineken out the fridge, popped the top with the mini bottle opener on his key chain, kicked off his black Stacy Adams, and sank comfortably on his leather, brown sofa he’d purchased recently from Jennifer Convertibles.
“Home sweet home.” He raised his beer in the air, toasting an imaginary friend. He took a long swig. The beer cooled off his body as he gulped it down. It had been awhile since Neal had been alone in his apartment, but it did give him time to reflect on his life. He was thirty-four, successful, single by choice, and up until three months ago, he had a live-in lover named Yoanna.  Gosh he missed her!
Yoanna and Neal met a year ago on Craigslist. He responded to her ad looking for a room to rent. Neal was browsing the ads in hopes of finding a girl that would be interested in a friend with benefits type of situation in exchange for housing. Neal only wanted casual sex but he required exclusivity. He wasn’t the type to sleep around and expected the same. He lived in a two bedroom condo, in Trump Place, one of the most sought after addresses in Manhattan. Although Neal wanted a no strings attached relationship, he also wanted the girlfriend experience (GFE). To guarantee GFE, without the actual commitment and title ‘girlfriend’, Neal thought it would be best if he offered a room in his home.

With this arrangement came specific rules: they must be exclusive, there must be no feelings involved, no commitment, and no dates. Strictly sex. These rules were not made to be broken; they were made to keep Neal safe. Well his heart safe anyway.
Neal hadn’t always been this emotionally detached; he made the mistake of trusting his heart to a girl once who crushed it so bad that he swore off relationships. Five years ago, Neal’s ex, Tori, cheated on him. They were living together in Atlanta, Neal left to visit his dad in New York, to discuss him coming to work for his architectural firm. Tori decided to stay in Atlanta because she was a little under the weather. Neal felt bad for leaving Tori alone while she was sick so he decided to go home a day early to surprise her.
Neal walked into their home, it was dimly lit with candles; soft music and a sweet vanilla aroma filled the air. He placed his bag near the front door, kicked off his shoes, and walked into the living room where the stereo played. He expected to find Tori lying on the couch asleep, instead there were two wine glasses half empty sitting on the coffee table. What the hell?
Soft giggles echoed through the air. Neal walked towards the bedroom. Clothes and shoes left a trail down the hallway. The giggles turned into heavy panting the closer he got to the door. He pushed open the cracked door. Two bodies were entangled on his king sized bed, illuminated by the moonlight coming through the blinds. Neal froze, his voice caught in his throat. Tori? The man positioned himself in between Tori’s legs, and she wrapped them around his waist, the same way she’d done to Neal countless times. With every moan Neal’s body tensed.
Neal walked over to the bed, fists clinched; jaw tightening with every step.
“Oh shit!” The man’s words collided with Neal’s knuckles. His teeth scraped across Neal’s skin as he hit him in the mouth; knocking him over to his side.
“Neal! Oh my god!” Tori scrambled to get up from under the two men.
Neal got on top of the naked man, jabbing him in the face. With every blow, he could hear Tori in the background calling for him to stop.
“Neal—stop, please! Neal!” Tori struggled to get Neal off her lover.
Neal pushed Tori away. “Get off me!” Tori fell backwards, landing flat on her butt.
“Tori…” Neal jumped off the bed to go to Tori’s side. He lifted her up. She trembled in his arms. Neal had never hit Tori and to know that he had physically hurt her brought him out of his fiery trance. She stood still, naked, glistening from perspiration. Neal had never lost his temper in front of her. She cried as she looked back and forth, from him to her lover who was lying in a fetal position on the bed holding his nose.
Neal’s knuckles, on his right hand, were covered in blood. He flexed his hand a few times, wincing at the pain. He hadn’t been in a physical fight since his junior year in high school.
“Neal, I am so sorry…” Tori moved closer to him and placed her hand on his chest. Neal’s eyes immediately followed her hand to his chest; the sight of the engagement ring that he had given her six months prior, pushed the jagger deeper into his heart. He looked at her tear stained face. Her eyes were filled with fear. He looked over at the half beaten man groaning in the bed that he and Tori had shared together for the past three years.

“You two have five minutes to get your shit and get the fuck out of my house.” He looked down at his swollen hand then walked out the room.
That was the last time Neal ever spoke to or seen Tori. She didn’t even bother to come back to the apartment to get the rest of her stuff that she couldn’t grab in those few minutes. Neal donated all her belongings to charity, packed up his apartment and a month later, moved to New York to work for his dad’s company. Ever since then Neal vowed to never let a woman get close enough to ever hurt him again. So far, he’s succeeded by only having “friends with benefits” type of relationships. Both parties know from the jump what type of relationship it is and they are mutually satisfied.  Besides, you can’t break a heart if you never have it.

Chapter 2
Brandi woke up with a slight headache the next day.
“I guess I’m paying the price for those three glasses of Moscato I gulped down last night.” She slowly got out of bed, drank a few sips of water from the glass on her night stand, and sat down at her computer desk. Brandi was finally ready to make some moves. The pep talk from her mom, and the few glasses of wine, gave her the push she needed to stop feeling sorry for herself. No need to cry over spilled milk, as her grandmother would say.
The best course of action was to give Craigslist another shot. She would take a different approach this time; instead of responding to ads looking for a roommate she would post an ad in the “Rooms Wanted” section.
She set up a free account on Craigslist and began to compose her ad:
Hi There,
Professional female, seeking to rent a room in a 2 bedroom apt, move in date—NOW!
“Wait…I don’t want to sound too desperate. Okay, let’s start over.”
Hi There,
Professional female, seeking to rent a room in a 2 bedroom apt, move in date by the first of the month. I am open to location but it has to be extremely close to Manhattan since I work in the city. I am open to male or female.
Rent: $700 MAX with utilities included
Close to train stations, walking should be 15min or less, the neighborhood has to be safe, clean, close to all necessities like laundry, grocery, shopping, etc.
Little bit about me: single, caseworker for an adoption agency, no kids, no pets, drama & drug free….social drinker, non-smoker, down to earth, social, love hanging out with friends and exploring the city; an overall great person to know and to live with.
“Hmmm, what else should I add…oh yeah.”
The apt MUST BE CLEAN & ROACHES/PEST/RODENT FREE!!!
“This is New York; you definitely got to add that about the roaches and the rats!”
Bottom-line, I’m looking for a HOME…somewhere I can feel comfortable, at ease, peaceful, and not like I’m just RENTING A ROOM.
Look forward to hearing from you,
Thanks
“Hmmm….that sounds okay. Depending on what responses I get I can always edit it.”
Brandi proceeded with the next steps and published her ad. She was tempted to sit in front of the computer, refreshing the page every five seconds to see what type of responses she got but going to the UPS store a few blocks from her apartment to get a few boxes would be more productive. She had to be out of her apartment in two weeks, whether someone responded to her ad or not.
~oOo~
While running on the treadmill, in the exercise room in his building, Neal logged onto Craigslist to check out the “Rooms Wanted” section on his iPhone. The first ad he saw was:
Professional Female Seeking Room For Rent In 2bdrm Apt, NYC
He clicked on the ad, and slowly read over the contents:
“Single…check. Caseworker for an adoption agency…hmmm, she’s caring, which means she would care for my needs…check. No kids…cool. No pets…cool. Non-smoker…check. Drug and drama free….check and check. Down to earth…awesome. Well, it looks like I may have a good prospect here!”
Neal hopped off the treadmill, hit the ‘reply to ad’ button, and sent his potential new lover a brief message to see if she would be interested in his arrangement. After he hit the send button, he dashed upstairs to await her response.
~oOo~
Brandi’s text message alert went off. She opened the message, it was from Evelyn:
Hey Brandi. I’m on my way 2 ur area, can u meet me in 30min?
Sure
, Brandi texted back as she entered the UPS store. There were three people standing in line ahead of her. She grabbed a large roll of bubble wrap, two rolls of tape, and six large boxes. Thank goodness her apartment was close by, since she had to carry all that stuff on her own. That was one thing she missed about having a man around; no one was there to do the heavy lifting.
“Welcome to UPS, did you find everything you needed?”
“Yes, thank you.” Brandi smiled as she watched the tall, baby faced guy ring up her products. He couldn’t be no older than nineteen. Brandi watched him moisten his lips as he put her bubble wrap and tape into a plastic bag. His biceps strained the fabric of his brown, polo shirt. Greg, was printed on the top left corner. A few strands of hair on his chest peeked out the top of his shirt. She wasn’t a big fan of hairy chests but he was a cutie. Sexy even.
“Anything else ma’am?”
Yea, you in my bed.
“Umm, no that’s all. Thanks.” Brandi grabbed her bag and boxes, a gentleman coming in held the door opened for her as she left the store.
Brandi laughed as she walked down the street, back to her apartment. What was she doing, being so turned on by that young boy? Well, it had been a month since she had had sex. She was no stranger to taking care of herself in that department, but sometimes, your fingers just weren’t good enough to satisfy those cravings, especially when the cravings were as strong as hers were.
Brandi had ten minutes before she had to meet Evelyn at the train station to get back her deposit for the room she was no longer going to rent. She quickly dropped off her bags and boxes and ran back down the four flights of stairs.
“Whew, that’s my workout for today!” Just as she rounded the corner, she got a text from Evelyn stating that she would be standing in front of the Chase bank. Brandi rolled her eyes. Bitch.
Evelyn watched Brandi as she approached. Brandi counted backwards from ten, taking short, deep breaths, a technique she did when she wanted to calm down.
“Hi, Brandi.” Evelyn looked at Brandi apologetically.
“Evelyn,” Brandi replied dryly.
Evelyn handed Brandi the white Chase bank envelope. Brandi didn’t bother counting the money; she just put it in her purse and turned away.
“Brandi, I’m sorry. I hope you find something,” Evelyn yelled after her.
“Thanks,” Brandi called over her shoulder. Bitch.