Isolated Together

"Okay," she whispered.

"I'm going to hang up. I want you to take a deep breath and count to twenty. Wipe your eyes and wash your face. They need to see you're okay. I'm going to Facetime you in a minute."

"Okay," Hank blinked and tried to calm her breathing.

Shannon hung up. He ducked into the bathroom, wetted his hands and ran them through his unruly hair to try and tame his morning curls.

His hands were shaking. It took all of his willpower to open his front door.

"Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Rovnak? Brenda and Howard, right? I'm Shannon; I'm a friend of Hank's," he introduced himself quickly. They turned to face him, bewildered.

Her father instinctively reached out to shake hands, but recoiled after a second, realising there was a new protocol to greeting people who were not immediate family.

"She's fine," Shannon continued, not giving them a chance to speak. He quickly hit the Facetime button on his phone. As soon as she connected, he held his phone up so they could see her face.

Hank's mother almost burst into tears at the sight of her daughter.

"Are you okay?" Brenda stepped forward, but Hank's father pulled her back, afraid to get too close to Shannon.

"Yes, Mom, I'm fine!"

"Hank," Shannon interrupted before either could say anything else. "I want you to go out on to your balcony. We'll be out in a minute."

He didn't hang up, but made it clear he was talking to her parents.

"We've been neighbours for a year since she moved in." Technically, that wasn't a lie, even though he was glossing over the fact that they had really just met a few days before. "If you want to come inside, you can see her from across the way. I've been working from home for the last two weeks. I promise I've been as safe as anyone can be."

Leaving the door open, Shannon stepped back into his apartment. Her parents exchanged a worried glance, but followed, if for no other reason than it represented the only chance to see their daughter.

There was a clear path through his living room to the balcony. He paused only to grab a container of Lysol wipes off the counter. He made a show of wiping down the table and two of the chairs, as well as the railing facing Hank's apartment.

Hank stood on her own balcony, her face a mixture of anxiety, fear and gratitude. She smiled feebly at the sight of her parents.

They rushed over to the railing as soon as Shannon stepped back.

He retreated back into his apartment to give them some privacy. At least as much privacy as anyone can have when the conversation has to take place outdoors and from fifty feet away.

thank you she texted.

you're welcome. is there anything else i can do? he replied.

i'm going to order an ipad at walmart. can u go pick it up for me? they don't have facetime.

don't bother. i have a solution. u can pay me back later.

It took him about half an hour to set up a Gmail address, Apple ID and reset an old tablet he had laying around. He texted the relevant usernames and passwords to Hank as she talked to her parents.

Howard and Brenda stayed for a couple of hours, but they were clearly tired from traveling all night.

"I have something for you," Shannon told them. Hank looked on intently from her balcony. He set the iPad Mini on the table next to the wipes. "This is my old iPad. I have already set it up so you can video call Hank any time you want. It has a screen protector and drop-resistant case."

He looked over the other balcony. This was going to give Hank immediate piece of mind, but might drive her crazy in the long run, depending on her relationship with her parents.

"We can't accept this," her father said. "It must have cost a fortune."

"Nah, it's two years old. I have a new one," Shannon shrugged. "Usually, I give my old one away to my mother or it just sits around."

"How much is it worth?" Howard asked, reaching for his wallet. "They've got to be a few hundred bucks."

Shannon's phone buzzed. It was a text from Hank. take whatever he gives you. don't argue.

"Maybe a hundred," Shannon said. "It's used."

Her dad counted out six twenty dollar bills and set them on the table as her mother reached for the wipes to clean the iPad off, just to be sure.

"I already programmed her number in. Click on the green icon on the bottom row that looks like a camera," Shannon instructed from six feet away. "Now press on her name . . ."

Hank's phone rang.

"Hi, Mom!" she said through the screen.

"Oh, honey, this is wonderful." There was immediate relief in her mother's eyes. Her father's, too.

"You need to be on wifi to be able to call anyone," Shannon said, and gave them a sixty-second run-through on connecting to a wifi network. "I'd let you stay here, but I don't have any extra beds. There's a Residence Inn up the road about three miles. You are welcome to come over for as long as you're in town and visit on the balcony."

"Thank you," her mother said appreciatively as the headed for the door. Shannon could tell she wanted to give him a hug, but didn't.

She needed to hug her daughter, but couldn't.

As soon as they were in the car, Hank Facetimed him.

"You are a lifesaver," she sighed. "I didn't think they'd come."

"They're scared as hell. We're all scared as hell."

"I'm sorry for not telling you yesterday," she said. "I want you to go down to the hospital and get a COVID test. Tell them you've been exposed and they'll give you the swab. Our lab just started doing the tests, so your test should come back faster than it would have last week."

"Have I been exposed?"

"I don't know," she said quietly. "I don't think so. I dropped that food off for you the other night. But none of the evidence we have right now indicates this is food-bourne. You could have come into contact with it from the containers I gave you, but if you washed them, and then washed your hands, you should be okay. But I would like you to go get tested. It would make me feel better."

"Then I will go get tested. Will they be open today?"

"Go to the ER. Ask for Dr. Kajel. Tell her--"

"I'm telling them you're my girlfriend!"

Hank blushed. And smiled sheepishly.

"I'd like that, Shannon" she whispered.

"Me, too, Hank."

"Don't you dare say anything to my parents, though," she said with a snicker. "They'll have us married by the end of the week. Mom's gunning for grandchildren before I'm thirty."

"I think we have to hold hands before we get to that point."

She started to reply, but stopped to swipe at something on her screen. "It's my parents. They're trying to Facetime me. I'll call you later."

"Okay. I'm not going anywhere."

"Thank you again," she smiled before the screen went blank.

****************

Shannon was getting set up to log in and join his raid group when Hank's name came up on his Facetime.

"Hi," she said softly. "Thank you for taking care of my parents today. I'm sorry that it fell on you like it did, though."

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked gently.

"Not really," she replied wearily. "Not right now."

"Okay," he said, and let the matter drop. Hank was old enough that he trusted to bring up her infection when she was ready.

"But I wanted to do something to show you how much I appreciate you being there for me."

"That's what neighbours do," he said simply.

"Not just as my neighbour . . . as my . . . um, quarantine . . . er, boyfriend." Hank looked away for a moment, almost imperceptibly.

She wasn't embarrassed, as far as Shannon could tell. Was it hope?

"Do you really want to be in your twenties with a boyfriend who's going on forty?" he made a joke at his own expense.

"You're only eight years older than me," she fake pouted. "And I don't give a shit about any of that. I would like you to be my quarantine boyfriend . . . and maybe once all this is over, I'd like you to be my real boyfriend."

"I'd like that, too, Hank," he said softly. "Or do I get to call you 'Harriett'?"

"Don't you dare call me 'Harriett'!" she laughed. "I just wish my parents didn't have a thing for old-timey names."

"I like old-timey names," he said. "It's better than being a boy with a girl's name. But you'd know how that goes, too."

"Yeah, but I like it," she said. "I'd rather just be plain old 'Hank' than have to spell out 'Harriett' on every official form. But that's not why I wanted to call you tonight."

"What's up?" he asked.

She pulled her phone back to show that she was laying back on her bed. Her hair was down and fanned out over the pillow.

Light from candles on the nightstands flickered, bathing her in a soft glow.

Her shoulders were bare. The top sheet was tucked under her armpits. And pulled tight, showing the outlines of her breasts, their silhouettes barely falling to the sides of her chest.

Shannon drew in a sharp breath when he realised she was naked under the sheet.

She smiled and blew him a kiss.

Then she set her phone down next to her so it showed her profile. Only her shoulder, the outline of her breast and her head were visible.

"I was thinking of what I could do for you," she said softly, looking at the camera. "And I think I have just the thing. Shannon . . . after our first date, I knew I wanted to sleep with you."

"Hank, I don't want to sleep with you," he said quietly. Her eyes got wide for a second. "I want to fuck your brains out."

"I like the sound of that," she smiled back. "I was hoping you felt that way. I don't know anymore. It seems like most people I meet just want to hook up, or they go straight from small talk to dick pix. You're the first guy I've met in a long time who isn't just a gross human being."

"I'll take 'not gross'," Shannon laughed.

"You're 'generally attractive' as well," she winked.

His heart skipped a beat when she drew two of her fingers into her mouth and sucked on them suggestively.

She lifted the sheet and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath then exhaled.

"I've been thinking about you a lot before I go to sleep," she whispered.

"What do you think about me doing?" he asked.

"I think about you kissing me. Would you like that?"

"I would like that very much."

"Where would you kiss me first?" Hank's eyes were still closed, her mouth turned up into a wry smile.

"Your lips for starters, they look very soft. I think I could kiss you forever."

"Where else?"

"Your neck. Everyone loves to be kissed on the neck."

"Where on your neck to you like to be kissed?" she asked dreamily.

"The back." Shannon was getting hard watching Hank's face, acutely aware that she was touching herself as they talked. "And right under my ear."

"Me, too," Hank said softly. Her eyes opened just a bit. "I want you to kiss me all over, Shannon."

"All over?"

"All over."

"Do you want me to suck on your tits?"

"I want you to suck on my little titties . . . I want you to eat my pussy . . ."

"I'm going to lick your clit until you beg me for mercy."

Hank's body shuddered as she masturbated for him.

"My cock is so hard for you right now," Shannon continued, even though he was pretty sure she was only concerned with pleasuring herself. "You are so fucking hot, Hank. All I want to do is make your little pussy mine . . ."

"Oh, god!" she cried out.

"Look at me when you cum!"

Her eyes were hooded over with pleasure, but she met his gaze. Her lip quivered. Shannon could tell she was frigging herself at a feverish pace.

"I'm cumming! . . . I'm going to cum for you!"

"Cum, Hank . . . cum like I was eating your pussy right now!"

Hank's body tensed and she rolled on to her side. She curled up into a ball as she stroked her pussy with her fingers.

She never broke eye contact as the orgasm consumed her. Her mouth fell open, but no sound came out.

Shannon couldn't help but stroke himself as he watched Hank pleasure herself.

Finally, she fell back into her pillow. Her eyes closed for a long moment.

Her face was flush.

He waited until she caught her breath.

"Thank you," he said after some time.

"For what?"

"For sharing that with me. For being vulnerable like that."

"Next time, I want to watch you," she smiled contentedly. "Maybe we can cum together."

"I think we can definitely make that happen."

"Good night, Shannon."

"Sweet dreams, Hank."

"I hope to dream of you."

****************

Brenda and Howard stayed for two more days. They came over mid-morning and sat on Shannon's balcony while he worked in his office. He made sure to clean the second bathroom just for them, and put out more of the wipes and hand sanitizer he had swiped from the office.

Her parents bought lunch for the four of them and had it delivered in a safe, no-contact way. Hank and Shannon split paying for dinner.

Shannon's COVID test results came back negative, which was a great relief to them all. While at the hospital, one of the ER supervisors who knew Hank slipped him a sealed package of surgical masks, as well as some hand-sewn cloth masks which had been made by some volunteers in the hospital's auxiliary organization.

On Wednesday morning, there was a knock on the door. Howard and Brenda came in for just a few minutes to see their daughter before they headed home.

"Thank you for taking care of us," Brenda reached out and gave Shannon a big hug since they knew he was not infected with the virus and he knew they had minimal contact with anyone but him. Howard also gave Shannon a big bear hug. "And thank you for looking after Hank."

"You're welcome," he replied sincerely before scribbling his name and phone number on a Post-It note. "I'm just right across the steps from her, so if you need me to check up on Hank, just call me."

They said their good-byes to Hank from Shannon's balcony and then left to go home.

Both watched them drive off.

Hank wiped tears from her eyes. Tears of relief.

She looked over at Shannon and mouthed the words, "Thank you," and smiled impishly.

Before he could reply, Hank opened the collar of her bathrobe and flashed him the black lace bra which covered her pert breasts.

After blowing him a kiss, she retreated back into her apartment, leaving Shannon to work all day with his cock swelling in his sweatpants.

****************

"So what is your favourite position?" Hank asked, lazily rolling over her side.

Earlier in the day Amazon delivered to each of them a long flexible arm which clamped to the nightstand on one side and held a cell phone or small tablet on the other.

Both of them had their phones suspended above their beds. Shannon hoped the clamp worked as advertised or someone was getting a face full of iPhone. And probably a broken nose and black eyes.

Their texts and conversations were explicit, but the photos they exchanged were all PG-13 or better. Even when masturbating for the other, they were only visible from the shoulders up. Neither asked to see more of the other, and neither offered.

Shannon liked the mystery and the chase, and truly, he loved watching Hank cum, even if he could only see her face and hear her voice.

"It depends on my mood," he replied, reaching for the tissues on his nightstand to clean up the mess.

"That's a bad answer," Hank rolled her eyes, even through her post-orgasm smile.

"What's your favourite?" Shannon returned, settling back on his pillow.

"I like doggy," she replied. "I want to feel you deep inside me. Your turn."

"Doggy is good. Cowgirl, too," he said thoughtfully. "But sometimes, just plain missionary is best."

"I love feeling someone on top of me," she said wistfully. "I want to spread my legs and feel your weight as you enter me."

"You need to give me a minute if that's where you're going," he laughed.

"What's wrong, old man?" Hank teased.

"If I were your age, I'd be good for two or three more tonight," Shannon sighed. "But I need some time in-between now."

"So you're saying that you're going to need help handling my needs once all this ends?"

"Probably not for the first couple of days, but if your sex drive is still going this strong after that, you're going to kill me."

"It would be a helluva way to go," she winked.

"That's not a complaint, by the way; I'm just giving you fair warning." He reached over for his iPad and opened up a browser window. "Speaking of . . . I've ordered something for you. UPS says it should be delivered tomorrow."

"When did you order it?" Hank asked, puzzled.

"The day your parents left."

"That's fast."

"I paid for expedited shipping, and it's still taken five days."

"I ordered some stuff last week with Amazon Prime and it's still not here," Hank mentioned. "I'm not surprised, though, with all of the shipping delays they've had and because what I ordered isn't considered 'essential' or 'emergent'."

"When it comes, I want you to put it on for me."

"What is it?"

"You'll see."

"Spoilsport," Hank pouted.

"I can't wait to hold you," he said softly.

"After filling me with cum."

"Before, during and after."

"I can't wait, either," she sighed. "Big spoon or little spoon?"

"Tonight? Big spoon."

Hank reached over and piled up a couple of pillows behind her and pressed back into them.

As they had every night for the past five days, Hank and Shannon called via Facetime, talked for a while, made some sexual innuendo which devolved into X-rated dirty talk and then led to mutual masturbation.

Each described all of the nasty, evil things they wanted to do to the other, and what they wanted done to them.

During the day, Hank mostly left Shannon alone to work, even though things were slow. Over dinner, they talked and got to know one another. In the evenings, they watched Jeopardy! "together" or caught up on TV shows or movies.

Shannon's usual solitude was interrupted in a good way. And since she couldn't work her regular shifts, Hank adapted back to a day schedule that mostly synced up with Shannon.

One night, he even roped her into singing backup with his friends who were remotely recording a rendition of Earth, Wind & Fire's "September" before dropping it on YouTube. They seemed to be settling into something of a routine while confined to their homes.

She yawned, and then looked up at Shannon through the camera.

"Just so you know, this pillow does a shitty job of being you."

"It doesn't snore, so be grateful for that."

"Good night, Shannon."

"Good night, Hank."

She winked and then reached for her phone. As soon as the screen went blank, Shannon took his phone down and set it on the wireless charger next to his bed.

"Good night, my love," he whispered into the air before rolling over and going to sleep.

****************

"I'm going to kill you for this," Hank swore softly.

Shannon laughed at her. It was lunch time. Several boxes had been dropped off at Hank's apartment from UPS.

Some of the things were thoughtful gifts, like the long, memory foam body pillow. Some were practical, such as the small air fryer which he got on a clearance sale.

But then there was the box of sex toys.

Specifically the remote control vibrator which was nestled inside Hank. And Shannon had the control.

"Hands where I can see them," he said playfully.

She lay back on the couch and put her hands above her head. Hank was wearing a short sleeve workout top. Her hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail.

The vibrator was set on low. Her eyes were closed.

Shannon watched her teeth clench when he changed it suddenly from low to high.

"Touch your breasts for me," he commanded.

Hank cupped her breasts over her compression top as the vibrator continued to buzz inside her.

When she started to convulse, Shannon smiled to himself.

"I'm gonna cum!" Hank cried out.

He left the vibrator run on high through the orgasm. Her legs shook.