Landlord... I'm falling for my tenant.

[33rpms]

To say I'm confused is an understatement.

 

 

And the briefing begins...

 

 

A little over a fortnight ago my previous tenant had gotten the last load into his car and was on his way to move into a new home. Just before he was about to hit the road a lady approached him and asked about the situation on the house he'd been renting and wanted to know if I'll be wanting to put anyone in there right away. My ex tenant (a great one at that) asked for her number and said he'd pass it on to me. He told me the situation and within a few days I made the call. We spoke very briefly over the phone and decided to meet at the apartment to seal the deal.

It didn't take long to come to an agreement as she had friends in the complex and I wanted someone in there straight away. These two circumstances merged and she started bringing in her belongings quicker then a heart beat. We discussed rent and how I'd like to renovate after the new year and came to an agreement. Simply put, we're both happy with the outcome thanks to my ex tenant and our personal situations.

When my ex tenant moved he offered to do a clean up as he grubbed it up a little, nothing more then tlc and elbow grease was needed so I told him not to worry about.

 

 

And this is how it all began....

As I was cleaning up she happened to be moving in. Over the weekend we spent a lot of time together and exchanged small talk. The first two days I felt nothing more then a physical attraction. The third day came and we found ourselves exchanging a lot of personal information, normally I don't talk about my private life with somebody I barely know, though we found out our history is quite similar and mutually we happened to chat about it quite comfortably. The third day entailed a transition. I noticed myself dragging out the work so I could stay longing and she had no intention of calling it a night. I recall checking her out a few times and feeling a little shy around her. Throughout my stay at the house she'd offer me on numerous occasions if I'd like anything to eat or drink. Eventually I headed home and wham! I'm in bed and I can't stop thinking about her! As I woke and went about my day I caught myself thinking about her more then I thought I should of been. She told me it was her birthday and had friends coming around in the late afternoon so I told her I'd leave the housework for another day. She ended up calling me and insisted me to come around and not to worry. I felt like I was invading her privacy and tried to bail on her offer although I didn't take long to fold and succumb and get ready. That afternoon I remember getting so nervous driving to the apartment, I picked up a few things from the shop beforehand and remember sitting in the carpark hesitating to go there. Time was flying by as It was around 8:30pm by then and I was already an hour late. I called back and said I'd be even more late hoping she'd call it a night and to my surprise she wasn't fazed and said she'd wait for me.

I headed through and she had a friend over from downstairs that left within 5 minutes of me arriving. She offered me some cake and a drink and to my knowledge there was absolutely no house work to be done. I sat on the couch playing with my thumbs and biting my nails thinking about how this night might end. I eventually settled and came to grips, It's just a crush. We stayed up till 3am and I headed home, only about a kilometer down the road I hit breaks and parked beside the road to text her saying I forgot something. She replied "What" and to my response I said "I forgot to tell you something" She told me to come back and by this time I'm driving towards her house at 3:30am with no idea what the hell I'm going to do. I'm back on the couch and blurt out that I like her and pause as realization hits me so hard thinking, I think I made the biggest fool out myself. I'm 26 and she's 32!- it's her birthday!- I'm her landlord!- it's 3:30am!- i've know her for 3 odd days! WHAT-THE-HELL-AM-I-THINKING!!!!!!!!

Well, she asked why I felt like that and I couldn't give her a straight answer- the long story short is she didn't reject anything I had to say and the feelings happened to be mutual followed by her saying "Well, what are you going to do about it now?" Resulting in me leaning in for a kiss that lasted longer then it should have. Another wham! hit me and now I'm confused as ever, but by now it's nearing 5am so we called it a night and I crashed in the guest room.

I woke up feeling confused and felt like what I'd done was quite childish and made my way home not long after. I told her sometimes I can be really impulsive and said I needed a bit of time to clear my head. Deprived from sleep I needed to take a nap and after waking I made plans with a friend and thought this is exactly the therapeutic remedy I needed. My plans folded and she had called to see If was free, not long after we where in the city practically on a date grabbing ice cream and having a late night coffee. The night ended up in me going back to her house again staying until midnight, still confused about what I had gotten myself into I told her I really needed time to myself to think things through. Almost everyday since then I've been with her and haven't been able to actually think anything through, rather I just give myself an excuse to go there and help out just to be in her company, and if it's not me initiating to come over, it's her asking me to come also.

Now it's gotten to the stage where she wants to know how I feel and what I want to do about it. I tell her I like her but it's as if a part of me is hesitating for numerous reasons. I told her how I don't want to mix business with pleasure and I believe I shouldn't act on my feelings as I've only known her for about two weeks. I also don't want to lead her on and waste her time, I've said this to her on a few occasions and she keeps reassuring me that I'm not.

We both have kids and are obviously single parents, also this isn't the first time I've gotten involved with someone older then me (not that I think there is anything wrong with it).

At this stage we arranged to have dinner and talk about it and settle the score as I've been trying to ignore the topic ever since I told her how I felt. I have no clue as to what I'm going to tell her and feel so confused right now.

Hope I can gain some insight and see it from a different light as this confusion has been draining me out big time.

Thanks people! and sorry for the long read.

[beach]

Stop overthinking it.

 

Enjoy her company.

 

You're her landlord not her boss. Who cares? She abides by the lease she signed and all is good.

 

Take her out! Go on dates. Have fun!