Roomies with Benefits

by Amy Brent

  “Last night was really good, though,” Abigail said slowly. “At least for me.”

  “Glad to hear it,” I said, flashing her a smile as I got to work mixing pancake batter. I glanced over my shoulder and then asked tentatively, “So are we, like, roommates with benefits?”

  I didn’t know where the words came from. It was a terrible idea. If we kept sleeping together, it was only a matter of time before Zach found out somehow. But at the same time, if we both agreed that the previous night had been pretty good, and if neither of us seemed to be able to keep away from the other, then maybe labeling it as roommates with benefits was the best idea. At least then we wouldn’t get too attached to one another. It was just a roommates thing.

  I wasn’t sure whether I was preparing to convince Abigail of that or if I was trying to convince myself of it.

  “I like that,” Abigail said. “Roomies with benefits.” She smiled at me.

  Again, I was tempted to drag her back to the bedroom, benefits and all. But I refrained. The previous night was enough for now. Besides, I usually went to the gym early in the morning on my days off. I was already a bit later than I’d like, having slept in past when I would normally be up.

  I continued to concentrate on the pancakes. “Have any plans for today?” I asked Abigail idly.

  “Same as always,” she said, sighing. “I have to find a job.”

  “You never take a break, do you?” I asked. I admired that about her, but I was sorry I couldn’t do anything to help her.

  Abigail shrugged. “I’m sure I’ll get something soon. I’ve got another batch of resumes to hand out, and I figure today I’ll hit anywhere they might need a secretary. It’s something anyway.”

  “I’m sure you will,” I agreed, sliding a plate of pancakes in front of her. I sat down across from her with my own plate, trying to ignore how strangely domestic this felt, as if this weren’t just a roomies-with-benefits situation.

  I finished eating quickly and headed for the gym. When I got there, Zach was already in there, working out at one of the machines. I quickly jammed my headphones into my ears, pretending not to notice him. Again, just like when I’d seen Abigail naked after her shower, I just had the feeling that Zach somehow knew, even though that was impossible.

  I’d always done a good job of hiding my feelings for Abigail, and I didn’t think Zach had ever suspected. So, I had no idea how he would react if he did find out what had happened the previous night, or if he knew Abigail and I had agreed to a casual sexual relationship that morning.

  I tried to pound out all my chaotic thoughts into a workout, but I kept lagging behind my usual pace on the machines and feeling shaky on the free weights. I was just too distracted to make it a good workout, especially since Zach kept passing by me, clearly puzzled by my avoidance of him.

  I just hoped he didn’t realize I was avoiding him. Hopefully he thought my random path around the gym was just some new style I was trying out.

  The truth was, I didn’t want to sacrifice my friendship with Ian to sleep with Abigail. Ian and I had been friends since pre-K, and I couldn’t imagine not being friends with him anymore. But I kept telling myself that things would blow over, that we’d find our rhythm again. It was just that this thing with Abigail was so new; that was why I was so flustered around Zach. But we’d gone through periods before where we’d been less close, and yet here we were, still best friends. This was just another one of those times.

  I couldn’t seem to sink into the workout and clear my brain like I normally did, and eventually, I decided to call it quits early. Every once in a while, a man needed a day off. And anyway, I had given it a good shot—not enough to feel my arms or legs burning, but I’d at least made an effort and sweated a little.

  I wiped off my brow and headed for the locker room, disgusted with myself. If things with Abigail were going to be this distracting and complicated, maybe it was better to nip it in the bud.

  But I remembered what it had felt like to wake up next to her that morning. It had been sweet, seeing her lying there against my pillows, resting in my arms. And last night, didn’t that count for something? In fact, maybe that was all this was really about: I had just about had my brains fucked out the previous night, and now I just couldn’t think straight.

  I tried to tell myself that was the situation. I almost believed it.

  Chapter 11

  Abigail

  My phone buzzed as I was printing another stack of resumes. I had changed the layout of these ones in the hopes that some stylistic changes would make people want to call me. It was a long shot, but it wasn’t like I had anything better to do at this point than to tweak my resume.

  I glanced at the text, smiling when I saw it was from Dad. His texts were always more like emails, and in this one, he wanted to know if I wanted to get lunch so that we could catch up. It had been a while.

  I’d love to, I responded. You pick where/when.

  A couple minutes later, he responded with a time and a place. I met him at Green Thistle at one thirty. He was already seated at a table in the back, but he stood up when I walked over, giving me a big hug before we both sat down.

  “I know you’ve been busy looking for a job, but it’s been too long,” Dad said, shaking his head. He opened his menu as though he didn’t already know what he was going to have.

  We’d been coming to Green Thistle for lunch at least once a month since I’d moved out of the house, and he always ordered the same thing: eggs benedict with a side of hash browns and black coffee. But I knew he also liked to look over the menu first, just in case he changed his mind.

  I smiled fondly at him. “It has been a while,” I agreed. “You’ve been busy too, though, haven’t you?”

  “I have,” Dad said. “Our law firm has been unprecedentedly busy lately, in fact, and I, of course, find myself dabbling in most of the different cases.”

  “You’re the best man for the jobs,” I said, winking at him, and he laughed.

  “Maybe that’s true, or maybe I’m just too anal for my own good!” he said, shaking his head. He closed his menu and narrowed his bushy eyebrows at me. “What about you? Have you managed to snag yourself a wonderful new job yet?”

  I winced. I’d expected the question, but I thought he might wait until we at least had our food first. Not that he phrased the question the way Mom would. It sounded like Dad was merely curious about my life rather than judging me for my failures.

  “I haven’t found anything yet,” I told him, leaving out the fact that I’d barely had any response to my applications at all. “But I’m still applying and still hoping.”

  “I’m sure you’ll find something,” Dad said. “Actually, one of our newest clients is a therapist, and she’s looking to add someone to her practice. If you send me a copy of your resume, I could put in a good word for you.”

  “That would be amazing,” I said, wondering if this was the precise opportunity I’d been waiting for. I didn’t want to get my hopes up too high just yet, but maybe I hadn’t heard anything back from all those other companies because the universe was waiting to drop the perfect opportunity in my lap.

  I made a mental note to send my resume to Dad as soon as we were done with lunch.

  “So, if you haven’t found a job yet, I assume you’re still living with Ian?” Dad asked.

  “Yeah,” I said carefully, wondering what his reaction would be. Mom wasn’t too excited about the idea of it, having accused me of mooching off Ian, and I still didn’t know how Zach felt about the situation, though he clearly tolerated it at least.

  Dad grinned at me. “That boy isn’t driving you crazy, is he? I still remember when he and your brother used to play music loud enough to shake the whole house!”

  I laughed. “He’s not driving me crazy,” I told Dad. “Actually, he’s really great as far as roommates go. He takes the trash out, and he’s made me breakfast most mornings. He’s super healthy, so it’s probably the best I’ve eaten in a
while—with the exception of the night he brought pizza home.”

  “That’s good to hear,” Dad said, peering at me. I wondered if he could see something in my face.

  To be honest, it was difficult to talk about how things were going with Ian. All I could think about was how things were really going—roomies with benefits and all.

  I still could barely believe that we’d agreed to that. Not that anything had happened again since Friday. It felt like we were just dancing around the idea of it, still getting used to one another and trying to figure out what the other person was thinking. I could tell Ian still wanted me, but he seemed reserved, and I was putting distance between us because of that. I knew it was only a matter of time before we had sex again, though. Already, I could feel the tension building. Ian’s shower that morning had been twice as long as his usual ones, and I had to assume there was a reason for it.

  “Just remember, if you have any problems with Ian, you can always move back in with us,” Dad said.

  I smiled at him even though Mom had made it clear that wasn’t really an option. “Thanks, Dad,” I said. Dad always had my back. “So, tell me about some of your latest cases. Anything really interesting?”

  “You know, I still think you should have become a lawyer,” Dad said, shaking his head. But I knew he was proud of me for my therapy degree and that he thought the things I’d studied were interesting as well. He just wanted someone to follow in his footsteps.

  He started talking about his cases, and the rest of our lunch passed quickly.

  “I’ve got to head back to work, kiddo,” he finally said, looking at his watch. “But we should do this again soon.”

  “Yeah. Just let me know when you can fit me into your busy schedule,” I teased.

  “I’m sure your schedule will be busy enough soon,” Dad said. “Don’t forget to send me that resume!”

  “I won’t,” I promised, giving him a hug.

  He headed back to his office, and I headed for Ian’s gym. I couldn’t remember the last time I had worked out, but something about being with Ian inspired me. It had nothing to do with trying to be more attractive; I could tell Ian already thought I checked that box resoundingly. But it wouldn’t hurt to take better care of myself. Maybe I could try to do a little networking while I was at it and get myself a job that way. It was worth a shot.

  I signed myself up for a membership, glad that the first month was free. I was going to have to remember which places I had signed up with recently, though, or else when all the bills hit for the gym and the storage unit and everything else, I was going to be hurting.

  I entered the weight room and saw Zach grabbing some weights from the rack. “What are you doing here?” he asked in surprise.

  I shrugged nonchalantly. “I just thought that maybe it was time I started to get in shape,” I said.

  Zach narrowed his eyes. “If Ian said anything to you about your weight or anything else…” He trailed off, but the threat was clear.

  How could I explain to Zach that Ian hadn’t insulted me? Rather, it had been the opposite. Ian was totally flattering toward me and made me want to become an even better version of myself. I could feel myself start to blush. Uh oh, not good.

  Zach looked suspicious. “Do you even know how to do anything in here?” he asked.

  I rolled my eyes. “It’s been a while since I was in the gym, but I at least know how to do bicep curls and squats and stuff,” I said. “And no, I’m not going to try to bench press without a spotter or anything else. I’ll probably just get on the StairMaster and work on my ass—if you wanted to know.”

  Zach made a face. “I don’t need to hear about your ass,” he said.

  “Then don’t ask questions you don’t want answers to,” I said primly.

  The whole interaction was weird for us. Zach didn’t approve of the way I’d been living lately, but it felt like conversations between us had become increasingly stilted. The other night when we’d gone out to the bar, it had seemed like I was talking primarily to Mikayla and Ian and Brittany, hardly saying anything directly to Zach. I just didn’t know what to say.

  It was the whole Ian thing looming over me, I knew. The same as with Dad, I was afraid I would say too much. It wouldn’t take much, I didn’t think, for Zach to realize I was sleeping with his best friend, and I wasn’t sure how he would take it.

  But the fact that I couldn’t tell anyone about Ian and me—I kind of liked it. It turned me on. He was my dirty little secret. I’d never had one of those before. There was something naughty, a hint of danger, about sleeping with Ian.

  Speaking of Ian, I looked around the gym and spotted him on the far side of the space, working with one of his clients. As I got on the StairMaster and started to work, he kept looking over at me. He never took his full attention off his client, but I wondered what was going through his brain. I wondered if he was distracted.

  Not too long after I arrived, Zach said a quick good-bye to me and left. I felt like that gave me permission to stare at Ian as much as I wanted. After all, it was clear that his client was interested in him, whoever she was. But he was making it clear with his body language that he was only interested in me, and that made me feel smug as anything.

  I could only do so much time on the StairMaster, and then I could only do so much with the free weights. Ian’s session still wasn’t over, so finally, I settled in on the mats over in the corner and started stretching, long and slow. That was one thing I was good at, having done years of yoga. I made sure to do the sexiest stretches I could think of, like bending over to touch my toes while making sure Ian got a good view of my ass and so on.

  I was working on a nice hamstring stretch when he finally came over to me. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he asked, his voice husky.

  “Am I doing something wrong?” I asked innocently, batting my eyelashes at him.

  He glanced around, but the gym was practically empty by this point. It was the mid-afternoon lull. He grabbed my wrist and dragged me to the locker room and into one of the private shower stalls. “I could get into so much trouble for this,” he said, pinning me against the tile wall.

  I shivered, liking the sound of that. Again, the sheer naughtiness of it all made something bloom inside me. Ian didn’t give me much time to think about it, though, before he was kissing me hard. He kept me pressed against the cool wall even as heat flared between us. Our teeth clacked against one another’s, and our tongues fought for dominion. Meanwhile, his hands found their way into my leggings and into my panties, plunging into me with no foreplay.

  He swallowed my moan with his kiss, moving his fingers back and forth inside me, opening me up for him. Just when I started to think that wasn’t enough, he spun me around, bending me in half so that my palms were pressed flat against the wall for support. He yanked my leggings and panties down around my thighs, and I heard the ripping of foil as he tore open a condom wrapper.

  Only a few rapid heartbeats passed before he pierced my folds with his thick cock, pushing all the air out of my lungs. The coolness of the tile was such a counterpoint to the heat inside me, My fingers scrabbled for purchase as I pushed back into his furious thrusts.

  Ian tangled his fist in my hair. “I can’t believe you,” he said, but I heard a hint of amusement beneath the growl. “Coming into my work like this, distracting me.”

  “I’ve got a membership now,” I told him breathlessly. “I’m going to distract you a lot.”

  Ian groaned wordlessly, releasing my hair and stroking his fingers down my side. “Fuck, you’re amazing,” he told me.

  I felt myself flush with pleasure at the words, but it was nothing compared to the heat churning in my core. Every new thrust sent a wave of burning sensation through me. I had to bite my lip not to cry out. It just felt so good to have him inside me and know that, the weirdness with my family aside, there were no strings attached. Roomies with benefits.

  Roomies with very, very good benefits.


  For a second, I thought I heard someone moving around in the locker room, but Ian didn’t even pause, kept rocking his hips into me. We could be discovered, my mind insisted, and god, didn’t that turn me on.

  My elbows bent, hardly able to support myself as I fell into a state of sheer pleasure. But it was okay. Ian’s hands held my waist, drawing me back onto his throbbing dick over and over again until I saw stars shooting through an immense orgasm. My knees quivered, but Ian had me; he wouldn’t let me go. In fact, he continued to use my body until he came as well, his hips stilling, his rod quivering inside me.

  Eventually, he pulled out and tied off the condom, putting it back in the wrapper to be disposed of. We both straightened, tugging our clothing back into place. I grinned at him and leaned up to kiss him on the cheek. “See you back home, roomie,” I told him.

  He shook his head. “See you back home,” he agreed. “Crazy girl.”

  Chapter 12

  Ian

  I was at the gym on Tuesday when Jason showed up. Abigail wasn’t there, so I ignored him and continued to work my way through my exercises. After the first time Abigail and I had had sex, I’d found myself totally distracted at the gym. But this time, I felt curiously calm, like something had settled inside me. I had a feeling it was because I was now settled into what we were doing. Things were still a little off between Zach and me, but things between Abigail and I were all good.

  So good.

  I smiled at the memory of her from the previous day. I could barely believe how audacious she’d been. She knew exactly what she was doing, coming in here and working out the way that she had. She’d been making sure I was looking at her ass the whole time. It was totally unprofessional, but I hadn’t been able to stop myself.

  And it wasn’t like the gym was going to fire me anyway. I was one of the best personal trainers they had.