Roommates (Soulmates #1) (2 page)

Chapter 2: Ethan

In
my line of work, a guy’s got to be careful.

After
all, with great power comes great responsibility. And just because I could have
my pick of hot drunk girls any night of the week didn’t mean taking them up on
their advances was always the right thing to do.

Besides,
women say a lot of stupid shit when they’re drunk, and they’re no better than
guys. Once they get drunk enough, they’ll hit on anything that moves.

So
resisting isn’t usually much trouble.

But
I’m no saint. If a twelve is going to hit on me every night she comes in week
after week, eventually I’m going to grow weary of saying no.

Which
is how I ended up with my hand wedged between Naomi’s thighs in the elevator of
my building.

“I
thought you’d never take me home,” she said, arching her back and lifting her
face towards the ceiling, her shiny black braids falling around my face as I
bit her slender neck.

“I
admire your persistence,” I growled, pulling her wet panties to the side.

She
was beautiful, like a black Charlie’s Angel. And she’d been nursing her drinks
all night, wrapping her fat lips around her skinny straw as she watched me work
the bar, ignoring her friends and every other guy who made a pass. So there was
no doubt she wanted it even more than I did.

Which
is exactly how I liked it.

The
elevator dinged, and I took a step back. “After you,” I said, holding the doors
open and sweeping my free hand towards the hall.

She
shook her head at me, batting her long eyelashes as her ridiculously short
dress flitted inches below her ass.

Hell,
with a dress that short, it was only right to make sure she got home safe.

She
stuck her hand around and groped me as I fumbled with my keys.

“Hurry
up,” she said. “Before I change my mind.”

I
laughed. “As if your mind has anything to do with this.” I pulled her in my
apartment, closed the door, and slammed her against it, planting my lips on her
soft mouth.

She
tilted her hips against me and started unbuttoning my shirt.

I
slid a hand under the round cheek of her ass and pulled her thigh up against my
hip. If I had my way, she’d be showing me exactly how flexible she was in no
time.

She
moaned in my mouth as I slid my hand back between her legs, picking up where I
left off in the elevator.

A
moment later I felt her nails against my bare chest, teasing the length of it
before she curled them inside the top of my pants.

I
pulled my hips back an inch so she could undo my belt, her urgency making my
dick swell.

“Ahem.”

I
froze.

Naomi’s
eyes were big and still in the dark.

I
pressed a finger over my lips so she’d be quiet and lowered her leg as slowly
as I could.

She
pursed her lips.

I
spun around and flicked the light on.

Two
sleepy eyes peered over a blanket from across the room.

“Jen?”

She
lowered it so I could see her face. “Sorry. If I’d known you were going to have
company-”

“What
the fuck are you doing here?”

She
swallowed as her eyes bounced back and forth between me and… me and… Oh right.

I
turned around.

Naomi
looked like her eyes were still adjusting to the bright light of my kitchen.

“I’m
really sorry,” I said. “But it turns out it’s not a good time.”

She
looked so offended I thought I’d been dropped into an episode of Housewives of
Atlanta for a second.

“Can
I call you a cab or something?” I asked.

Her
mouth fell open. “You’re fucking serious.”

I
nodded and reached past her for the handle on the door.

“I
thought you were going to show me a good time.” Her eyes stabbed me like darts.
“What was all that talk about how you were going to lick m-”

“Raincheck,”
I said, pushing her into the hallway and closing the door.

“Asshole!”
she yelled through it.

I
kept my hand on the door and dropped my head.

“I’m
sorry, Ethan.”

I
squeezed my eyes shut.

“Your
dad was supposed to tell you I was coming.”

I
couldn’t remember the last time I heard her voice, but it hadn’t changed, and
hearing it made me feel sixteen again.

“It’s
only for a few days so I can go to this audition and-”

I
turned around. “How the hell did you even get in here?”

She
raised her eyebrows and pointed towards the counter. “Your dad gave me your
spare key-”

“I
never gave him-” I snatched the offending key off the counter and banged my
fist on it. “God dammit.”

She
shrank against the couch. “Should he not have-”

“No,
he shouldn’t have,” I said. “He got this made without my permission.”

“Maybe
he was just trying to be helpful? In case you ever got locked out?”

I
glared at her. Was she seriously still so naïve? My dad had never done a
fucking thing to help me out in his entire- “What are you doing here again?”

“I
have an audition.” 

“For
what?”

“For
a role in-”

“Never
mind.” I raised one hand and pinched my temples with the other. “I can’t deal
with this shit right now.”

When
I dropped my hands, she was staring at my chest. Her cheeks turned red.

I
sighed. “How long?”

“How
long what?”

“How
long do you need a place to stay?”

She
pursed her lips.

I
pulled my belt the rest of the way off, folded it in one hand, and leaned
against the counter.

“Just
a few days,” she said. “If I get a part, I’ll look for something more
permanent.”

I
clenched my jaw and inhaled through my nose.

“I’m
really sorry again about my timing,” she said, nodding towards the door. “I
just didn’t want things to go any further while I was sitting here and-”

She
always was a prude. “Don’t worry about it. It’s no big deal.”

“Still.”

I
grabbed a glass from the kitchen, filled it with tap water, and drank it down.

She
pulled her knees to her chest. “It’s good to see you.”

“Yeah,”
I said, walking around the counter towards my bedroom door. “You, too.”

But
I didn’t mean it. Not a fucking word. In fact, every decision I’d made over the
last six years was made so I would stop seeing her.

And
now here she was in my goddamn apartment. In her pink pajamas. With no makeup
on so I could see the freckles on her nose, the same fucking freckles I’d
crossed the country to get away from.

“Well,
goodnight,” she said, her face so innocent she shouldn’t have been allowed
anywhere near this city.

I
nodded and closed the door, wondering what the hell I’d done to deserve this.

All
I wanted was to live a simple life filled with simple women who I could
entertain simple feelings for.

But
apparently I couldn’t have that.

Just
like I couldn’t have Jen.

Chapter 3: Jenny

My
bladder was full when I woke up.

I
rubbed my eyes and rolled over.

Ethan’s
door was still closed.

Shit.
Under no circumstance could I creep in there and use the bathroom if he was in
bed. Not after last night.

For
all I knew, he slept naked. Or I’d wake him when I flushed. And I couldn’t not
flush. I mean, I was already an unwanted houseguest.

I
scooted to the end of the couch where I’d stashed my bag and pulled my bra out,
keeping my eye on his door as I put it on under my pajama top. Then I reached
for my phone on the glass coffee table. It was after nine.

I
tried to recall when he’d come in the night before, but I hadn’t checked. All I
knew was that I was dreaming when I heard the door slam. God that was so
awkward to see him touching that girl across the room, to hear her moaning like
that.

Just
thinking about it again sent a chill up my neck.

I
folded the blanket I’d used in the night and laid it across the back of the
couch, hoping he’d be impressed with my attempt to make my temporary bed. At
this stage, I needed to be on my best behavior.

I
figured as long as I stayed out of his hair, he wouldn’t kick me out. But
somehow I knew that wouldn’t be enough. I wanted him to like me, not just
tolerate me like he always had.

Perhaps
a gesture of thanks was in order.

I
opened the blinds a little and looked out the window. He had a great view of
the city, which was a nice surprise since I half expected his windows to face
other walls or grimy dumpsters after the way my stepdad bitched about New York.

He
was always saying it was full of shallow social climbers and wannabes and
people who thought too highly of themselves. It was his least favorite place on
Earth.

Perhaps
that’s why Ethan had decided to call it home.

Personally,
I didn’t have an opinion on the place. Not yet. All I knew was that- as an
aspiring actress- I could probably be accused of being any one of those things
so who knew what he thought about me. But I already knew I was going to love
the place, the energy of it, the unpredictability.

Not
that I didn’t love growing up in Ohio, but I’d always longed for the creative
buzz that seemed to spring out of major cities where everything was bigger,
brighter, louder, and more glamorous. I just hoped New York would love me back.

Starting
today.

Then
again, maybe it would be wise to start with winning over my roommate.

I
went to the fridge and pulled out the carton of eggs, the bread, the milk, and
the butter, tiptoeing as quietly as one of the cat sized rats my stepdad warned
me about. I flinched as I pulled a pan from one of the cabinets, as if I could
make up for the clanging metal sound by opting not to breathe.

And
I’d never been more conscious of the noise a cracking egg makes. Of course, it
wasn’t until I’d cracked all but two of them that I realized I probably
shouldn’t have helped myself to Ethan’s stuff without asking.

Moments
after the first batch of toast popped, the smell hit my nostrils, and I hoped
Ethan would wake up soon because I didn’t want to have to decide which was less
awkward- bringing him breakfast in bed or surprising him whenever he woke up with
cold scrambled eggs.

Fortunately,
I heard him get up when the eggs were halfway done cooking, and despite my
desire to come across as cool and casual, I had to pee so bad at that point all
bets were off.

I
raised my eyes from the pan when he opened his bedroom door. He was standing
shirtless, a pair of navy sweatpants pulling between his hip bones. I felt a
shameful curl of heat in my stomach.

Last
time I saw him, he still had a few boyish qualities left, a few skinny features
here and there. But he’d completely filled out, and he didn’t look anything
like the thin, metro gay guys I’d studied drama with.

“Morning,”
he said, speaking through a scratch in his throat.

“Morning,”
I said, looking back down and wondering if he’d gotten all dressed up for me.

“You’re
making breakfast.”

I
raised my eyebrows. “Is that okay? I just thought-”

“I
wish you would’ve asked first.”

My
heart stopped.

“Those
were special eggs.”

I
looked up at him and turned the burner down. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I’ll-”

“I’m
joking, Jesus. The look on your face.”

“Fuck
you,” I said, the heat in my cheeks moving to the back of my neck.

He
rolled his eyes. “Relax.”

“I
was trying to be nice.”

“Try
to be nice with a thicker skin or you’re going to get eaten alive out here.”

I
hadn’t realized how high and hopeful I’d been until he rained on my good vibes.
“Can I use your bathroom?”

He
pushed his door open and stepped up to the counter. “I don’t see why not,” he
said. “What’s mine is yours, right?”

I
turned the burner off and walked towards his room.

“My
apartment, my couch, my eggs-”

I
clenched my jaw as I passed him.

I
felt a little less anxious after I went to the bathroom, but I didn’t go back
to the kitchen right away. Instead, I stared at myself in the mirror and tried
to calm myself down.

So
what if he didn’t like me? Why did I care so much?

My
skin was plenty thick enough. I didn’t need his approval. I just needed his
couch for a few days, and if he wasn’t happy about it, so what?

I’d
never asked him for a goddamn thing.

Not
a ride, not a hug, not even a “hey can you open this for me?”

What
right did he have to treat me like this when I hadn’t done anything wrong?

Besides
maybe cock block him a little last night.

But
I said I was sorry.

I
took a deep breath and puffed my chest out like a Gorilla until I felt big and
proud and strong like my charisma book promised I would- or rather, until I
felt silly. Then I headed back out to the kitchen.

And
while I wanted to stay mad at him and show him that I could be hard and not cut
anybody slack, too, that all went out the window as soon as I saw him again.

Because
something about the way the muscles in his arms and stomach moved as he plated
those special eggs made me forget everything.

Including
the fact that he was totally off limits.