Until I found my own place, I spent the first month in the new city renting a bedroom in a friend of a friend’s flat. The friend of a friend, who has long since been promoted to friend, is Czech. His partner lives in Prague. They typically visit each other every few weeks: usually, he makes the trip there. Though I have seen her a couple of times in the ensuing months, I never met her during the brief period that we lived together.
Because I was staying with a man who was at the time only a slight acquaintance, I didn’t bring lovers home with me. My partners hosted the various one night stands as I discovered my way around a new city. I did masturbate at the apartment, on occasion with porn on the laptop for inspiration, or while chatting with my ex-boyfriend in California over Skype. Our two bedrooms were adjacent. The doors and walls didn’t afford much privacy. I know he heard me because I heard him. Sometimes when I started playing with my pussy at night, he would jerk off, too. The collection of circumstances amused me.