Fooling Around Read Online Free Page A
Author: Noelle Adams
family, and her mother’s social circle had been small.
Julie tried to picture herself getting up, cleaning the house, arranging for the funeral, burying her mother. And then what? She couldn’t even imagine a life for herself now. The last six years had been spent devoted to her parents. With them gone, she had nothing left.
No job, no PhD, no husband, no apartment, no commitments. Just three boring online classes to teach, made up mostly of students trying to jump through another hoop to get their degrees.
She couldn’t summon up enough motivation to even get out of the chair.
She kept staring at a pair of socks, which she’d taken off last night and never put into her laundry basket. Her mother always liked the house to be kept neat. She should really pick up those socks.
When her phone rang, she assumed it was Marie, but instead it was Ned, the nice guy she’d gone out with several times a few years ago, before she’d become too emotionally drained for a social life.
She blinked at the phone for a few seconds before she finally picked up the call. “Hi, Ned.”
“Julie. I heard the news. I’m so sorry about your mother.”
“Thank you,” she said. She wondered who he’d heard it from, and then she realized that Marie had probably been on the phone for the last two hours, seeking sympathy from everyone she knew.
“How are you doing?”
“I’m fine,” Julie said. Those socks were still bugging her. She needed to do something about them. “It’s hard, of course, and I’m exhausted. But overall I’m doing okay. We’ve been expecting it for a while now.”
“Yes. That makes sense. Is there anything I can do?”
“No. No. I think I have everything under control.”
“Okay. Well, I won’t keep you. Just let me know if there’s any way I can help. And after a while, when you’re feeling better, maybe I can take you out. I’m sure you could use a break.”
“Sure,” she said, surprised by the offer. Was he still interested in her, after so long? She couldn’t imagine why. “That would be nice. Thank you.”
After she hung up, she wondered about Ned for a minute, until she let him slip from her mind. He was a decent enough guy, and it was nice that someone found her attractive, but she’d never been very excited about him.
The socks were driving her crazy, so she managed to heave herself to her feet, go pick them up, and carry them into her room. After dropping them in her laundry basket, she stared around at the small room. There was a twin bed covered with a worn quilt and a cheap dresser and nightstand. A small TV rested on the dresser, and a lamp that always flickered on and off on the nightstand. It was a dull, ugly room, having been inexpensively redone as a guest room after she’d gone to college. When she’d first moved back home, she hadn’t expected to be staying long, so she hadn’t done anything to make it prettier or more comfortable. And later, when she realized she’d be here for the long haul, it just hadn’t seemed worth the effort.
Before she’d moved in with her parents, she’d been living in on-campus housing while she did her graduate work, because it was cheap and convenient. This room wasn’t any better than a dorm room. She wondered vaguely what it would feel like to have a place of her own.
At the moment, she couldn’t even imagine.
She opened the top drawer of her dresser and looked in at the collection of colorful, sexy lingerie. She’d been buying it for several years now, her one indulgence. She had lacy bras and matching panties and quite a few lovely gowns and chemises. Even though she knew it was silly, she’d kept buying pretty lingerie with any extra money she earned that didn’t have to go toward the household bills.
No one else saw it anymore. Just her. But it made her feel like she had a little bit of fun in her life, something to make her feel beautiful—even though she was the only one who knew.
She reached out to stroke the
Julie tried to picture herself getting up, cleaning the house, arranging for the funeral, burying her mother. And then what? She couldn’t even imagine a life for herself now. The last six years had been spent devoted to her parents. With them gone, she had nothing left.
No job, no PhD, no husband, no apartment, no commitments. Just three boring online classes to teach, made up mostly of students trying to jump through another hoop to get their degrees.
She couldn’t summon up enough motivation to even get out of the chair.
She kept staring at a pair of socks, which she’d taken off last night and never put into her laundry basket. Her mother always liked the house to be kept neat. She should really pick up those socks.
When her phone rang, she assumed it was Marie, but instead it was Ned, the nice guy she’d gone out with several times a few years ago, before she’d become too emotionally drained for a social life.
She blinked at the phone for a few seconds before she finally picked up the call. “Hi, Ned.”
“Julie. I heard the news. I’m so sorry about your mother.”
“Thank you,” she said. She wondered who he’d heard it from, and then she realized that Marie had probably been on the phone for the last two hours, seeking sympathy from everyone she knew.
“How are you doing?”
“I’m fine,” Julie said. Those socks were still bugging her. She needed to do something about them. “It’s hard, of course, and I’m exhausted. But overall I’m doing okay. We’ve been expecting it for a while now.”
“Yes. That makes sense. Is there anything I can do?”
“No. No. I think I have everything under control.”
“Okay. Well, I won’t keep you. Just let me know if there’s any way I can help. And after a while, when you’re feeling better, maybe I can take you out. I’m sure you could use a break.”
“Sure,” she said, surprised by the offer. Was he still interested in her, after so long? She couldn’t imagine why. “That would be nice. Thank you.”
After she hung up, she wondered about Ned for a minute, until she let him slip from her mind. He was a decent enough guy, and it was nice that someone found her attractive, but she’d never been very excited about him.
The socks were driving her crazy, so she managed to heave herself to her feet, go pick them up, and carry them into her room. After dropping them in her laundry basket, she stared around at the small room. There was a twin bed covered with a worn quilt and a cheap dresser and nightstand. A small TV rested on the dresser, and a lamp that always flickered on and off on the nightstand. It was a dull, ugly room, having been inexpensively redone as a guest room after she’d gone to college. When she’d first moved back home, she hadn’t expected to be staying long, so she hadn’t done anything to make it prettier or more comfortable. And later, when she realized she’d be here for the long haul, it just hadn’t seemed worth the effort.
Before she’d moved in with her parents, she’d been living in on-campus housing while she did her graduate work, because it was cheap and convenient. This room wasn’t any better than a dorm room. She wondered vaguely what it would feel like to have a place of her own.
At the moment, she couldn’t even imagine.
She opened the top drawer of her dresser and looked in at the collection of colorful, sexy lingerie. She’d been buying it for several years now, her one indulgence. She had lacy bras and matching panties and quite a few lovely gowns and chemises. Even though she knew it was silly, she’d kept buying pretty lingerie with any extra money she earned that didn’t have to go toward the household bills.
No one else saw it anymore. Just her. But it made her feel like she had a little bit of fun in her life, something to make her feel beautiful—even though she was the only one who knew.
She reached out to stroke the