by ML Michaels
“Well, I’m not really into swinging for the home team, sweetheart,” Hayden quipped.
Jesse frowned, not getting his response until she realized what she just said, and she gasped. She hit his arm ineffectively, which made Hayden laugh harder.
“That is not what I meant and you know it!”
Hayden raised his arms up, surrendering.
“Well,” Hayden coughed, his eyes still crinkling from left over laughter. “In my defense, you did walk right into that one.”
Jesse huffed. “I’m just saying that it’s perfectly understandable why I’d think my roommate was going to be a woman,”
“My sister did say I just got out of the military,”
“That is such a sexist remark,” Jesse chastised. “I’m sure there are plenty of women in the marines. And one of them could easily be named Hayden.”
Hayden shook his head, still chuckling.
Jesse picked up both of the coffee mugs, not bother to ask Hayden if he was finished with it. She placed them on the sink and began to wash. She tensed up when she felt Hayden’s presence behind her. She turned her head to look at him lean his arm on the side of the wall, watching her work. She raised an eyebrow.
“What?” Jesse asked, still annoyed.
“Nothing.” Hayden simply said, and continued observing her.
Jesse rolled her eyes and went back to her task. She was trying to contain herself amidst Hayden’s penetrating stare, because she wasn’t used to anyone, much less a man, stare at her with such intensity. She knew for a fact that she wasn’t much to look at. She remembered the words her attacker had called her before Hayden arrived. Fat ass. Well, that wasn’t much of a surprise. She knew she carried extra weight.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Hayden asked.
Jesse snapped out of her thoughts to find Hayden slouched beside her and looking up at her, their faces just inches away from each other. She jerked back so suddenly she slipped on the mat, and Hayden reached his arms just in time to prevent her from falling. Jesse’s eyes widened in surprise at his fast reflexes and sudden close proximity.
“Thank you,” Jesse gasped.
“You’re welcome,” Hayden whispered. Jesse shivered at his tone and Hayden frowned but said nothing more and helped straighten her up.
Jesse cleared her throat, mentally admonishing herself for feeling a little aroused by Hayden’s soft voice. ‘You’re so pathetic. His voice, really?’ she thought.
“Uh, your room is over there. I took all of my stuff out and changed the sheets. The bathroom’s that way. Did your sister tell you when we pay for rent?” Jesse rattled, trying to alleviate the tension.
Hayden nodded.
“Um, I have work tomorrow, so…” Jesse said.
“Alright. I’ll just fix my place up a bit before going out.” Hayden replied.
“Out?”
“Yeah,” Hayden walked pass her back to the living room where he had dropped his bag earlier. “I do have to find a job to pay for this place,” he said.
“Oh,” Jesse replied dumbly. “Well, I’ll just be going then.” She walked to her room and opened her door. She turned back to look at Hayden who was standing in the middle of the living room bag in hand. Hayden looked at her expectantly.
Jesse opened and closed her mouth a few times before managing a small, “Goodnight!” and hurriedly went inside her room. She heard Hayden chuckling as she shut the door.
“Goodnight, Jesse.” Hayden called out from behind the door. Jesse waited for Hayden to enter his room before she groaned, her back on the door as she slid down to the floor in embarrassment.
Jesse couldn’t understand what her problem was. Despite her irritation about Hayden’s knack of laughing at her expense, she felt an undeniable urge to wrap her arm around him and shut him up with her mouth. She shook her head at the images she was conjuring up in her head and sighed miserably.
It was going to be so hard to quell this blooming attraction she had for her new roommate and resolved to put a lock on her door, one to keep her inside of the room and keep Hayden safe from her.
Jesse sighed knowing she had a sleepless night ahead of her.
***
“You’re a mess,” Camille commented.
“Thank you,” Jesse retorted.
“No, I’m serious. You looked like a messed up chocobo,”
“You’re such a nerd, comparing me to a bird in Final Fantasy,” Jesse grumbled, planting her face in her desk.
“The fact that you know what a chocobo is proves you’re just as much of a nerd as I am,” Camille retorted. “Now, what’s wrong? It’s not about your roommate, is it?”
Jesse merely looked at her.
“Aw, is she awful? Do you want me to kick her out?” Camille offered sympathetically.
Jesse tried to keep herself from laughing as she imagined her friend trying to boss around someone as huge as Hayden.
“No, Hayden’s fine. Well, sort of.”
“Then what’s the problem?” Camille pressed on.
Jesse gave up and decided to tell her friend all about what happened to her last night: her attack, how Hayden came to her rescue, and that Hayden was most definitely a holder of the Y chromosome.
“Oh, wow. What does he look like? Is he hot?” Camille asked, the wheels in her head turning as she considered a possible match between Jesse and Hayden.
Jesse blushed as she remembered what happened that morning.
Jesse woke up to her cellphone alarm, groggily got up from bed and walked out of her room. She opened the door to the bathroom with her eyes closed and didn’t notice Hayden already standing in front of the sink wearing nothing but a towel tied around his hips and his face covered with a little bit of shaving cream, his hand holding a razor.
Hayden raised his eyebrows in surprise but continued to watch Jesse, who was still unaware of his presence, in silence. She rummaged through the closet for a towel then grabbed her shampoo, conditioner and soap.
Hayden bit his lip trying to keep from laughing as he finished shaving. He wiped his face with a towel and turned to face Jesse, who remained oblivious as she moved toward the shower. Hayden leaned against the sink, folding his arms in front of him and continued to watch Jesse for a few more seconds before he decided to speak.
“So, you’ve warmed up to me a lot now, I’m guessing.”
“Hmm?” Jesse said, half-awake. She frowned as she felt a niggling feeling that she’d forgotten something very important. As the haziness of sleep slowly left her, her mind finally processed the vital information.
Her eyes snapped open, and upon seeing Hayden grinning at her, she opened her mouth and screamed. Hayden winced at the shrill sound.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Jesse shrieked and she smoothed out her nightgown to cover herself.
“Hey, I was here first. You’re the one who came barging in here ready to take a shower,” Hayden replied.
“I-I-I,” Jesse stuttered.
She couldn’t tear her eyes away from Hayden, or in particular, Hayden’s body. He was ripped: his chest was full, his bare arms were muscular and he had eight packs on his abs. He didn’t have much body fat on him, and Jesse unconsciously licked her lips as her eyes followed a drop of water trailing down from his collar bones to his chest, and all the way down to his abdomen before it disappeared below his navel in the small smattering of hair shaped almost like an arrow, like it was giving directions to his prized jewels.
Those very uncharacteristic thoughts made her feel very hot, and the heat went up to her cheeks, making her blush crimson.
Hayden watched her, pretty sure he had an inkling of what she was thinking about.
“You don’t have to be so shy, Jesse,” Hayden said, his low voice sounding like a caress. Jesse tensed up. He lowered himself a little bit and held Jesse’s chin up, forcing her to look into his eyes. “I don’t mind it if you come while I’m inside,” he purposely left a few words out to make her think he was referr
ing to something else.
Jesse gulped at this remark and Hayden’s grin grew wider as he got his desired reaction. He dropped his hold and was about to walk out the door before he looked back at Jesse.
“To tell you the truth, if you had come in a little earlier, I would’ve let you watch,” Hayden grinned cheekily at her before leaving. The toilet brush Jesse chucked at him smacked against the closed bathroom door.
“He’s…alright,” Jesse managed to say.
Camille raised her eyebrow at her, knowing her best friend was lying to her. She dared Jesse to stick to her answer, and Jesse groaned, knowing she couldn’t do it to Camille.
“He’s much better looking than that guy we liked in the Divergent series,” Jesse mumbled her honest opinion. Camille’s eyes widened.
“Oh dear Lord, that is H.A.H.” Camille said.
“H.A.H.?”
“Hot as hell.” Camille clarified, and Jesse rolled her eyes.
“It’s a nightmare,” Jesse said, “I don’t know how I’m supposed to act towards him.”
“Just…be yourself?” Camille suggested.
“He’d probably pack his bags faster than I could say, ‘Hi’,” Jesse grumbled.
“You don’t know that. I like you. What’s not to like? Besides, you never know, he might be your chance to find true love,” Camille teased, but Jesse adamantly shook her head.
“A finely sculpted Adonis like him would never choose someone who is overweight,” Jesse said.
“I don’t know why you always say that,” Camille said earnestly. “Not every man wants a woman who looks like she hasn’t eaten in a year. And you’re beautiful.”
“You’re just saying that because you’re my best friend,” Jesse said.
Camille raised her arms in irritation at her friend. She didn’t know how to convince Jesse that she was worthy of any man. It was high time her best friend saw it for herself.
***
“You set me up,” Hayden said, greeting his sister with narrowed eyes when she came to pick him up at the apartment.
“Well, hello to you too dear big brother,” his sister, Haylee greeted mockingly.
“You didn’t tell me Jesse was a girl.”
“You didn’t ask,” Haylee shrugged.
“That’s the kind of information that should be given automatically. Besides, you didn’t tell her I was a man, either,” Hayden growled impatiently.
“She didn’t ask,” his sister said. Hayden scoffed and looked out the window. “Besides, I did tell her you were an ex-marine. She should’ve taken the hint,” Haylee explained.
Hayden remembered Jesse’s words at the same explanation and blurted, “That is a sexist remark. There are women in the marines.”
Haylee looked at Hayden in surprise. “Wow, never thought you would make such a remark. Which means you got that from someone else. Who’d you steal that from, hmm? Jesse?”
“Keep your eyes on the road, and yes, it came from her,” Hayden confirmed, suddenly grinning as he remembered his new roommate and the morning’s bathroom fiasco.
Haylee snuck a glance at her brother. “What’s with that smile? What are you thinking about?”
Hayden wiped the smile off his face. “Nothing,” he said shortly.
Haylee frowned, but decided to shift gears. “Well, how is Jesse as a roommate, anyway? Is she okay?”
“Yeah, she’s alright. Kind of shy, but it’s cute,” Hayden replied.
Haylee’s eyes widened. Even more surprises, she thought, as her older brother wasn’t known to compliment anything, much less women. Especially one he’s only known for a day.
“Oh yeah, did she ever mention to you where she works? Do you know how to get there?” Hayden suddenly asked.
“Uh, yeah. She gave me her business card to contact her so I think it’s listed there. Why?” Haylee asked.
“No reason,” Hayden reached behind and grabbed his sister’s purse, ignoring her protests as he rifled through her wallet until he found what he was looking for. He pocketed the card and asked his sister to drop him off in the middle of town.
“Do you need me to pick you up here?” Haylee asked.
“No, I’ll just take the bus or something. Maybe buy something to eat,” Hayden responded.
Hayden nodded his thanks and walked away, leaving his sister staring after him and wondering about his growing interest in his roommate.
She smiled thoughtfully to herself, hoping that her plan to set her older brother up with his very nice roommate did some good.
***
Jesse was pleasantly surprised when she left the building where she worked as a financial analyst and saw Hayden leaning on the wall by the exit. She wondered if it was just a coincidence, or if he knew someone else who worked in her company. She seriously doubted that he’d come here to wait for her; she wasn’t an assuming person. And bigger girls like her never had men waiting for them to finish work, she thought sadly.
Jesse covered her face with her hair as she passed by Hayden, but he grabbed her hand and stopped her. She turned back, pretending to look surprised that he was there, though judging from the look on his face, she wasn’t successful.
“Why didn’t you stop?” Hayden asked.
“Why are you here?” Jesse countered.
Hayden looked at her strangely, and Jesse raised her eyebrows, silently daring him to answer. He let go of her hand and scratched his head, embarrassed.
“I just…I wanted to make sure you got home all right. Those guys might follow you again, especially since we pissed them off,” Hayden mumbled.
Jesse bit her lip, thinking Hayden was being cute, but quickly pushed the thought away.
“Oh, but how did you know that I work here?” Jesse asked.
Hayden held up her business card.
“My sister,” Hayden said, looking oddly self-conscious.
Jesse remembered giving his sister one and she nodded, smiling. “Thank you, Hayden.”
Hayden nodded and both of them walked home together. They kept up conversation and learned a lot about each other. Hayden and Haylee were twins and he was older by six minutes while Jesse was an only child. Hayden joined the marines when he was 21 years old, and Jesse and Camille spent many of their weekends watching foreign movies.
When the subject of relationships was brought up, however, the conversation stalled.
“Why have you never had a boyfriend?” Hayden asked, incredulously when Jesse revealed one of her most painful secrets.
“Well, why haven’t you?” Jesse said, trying to shift the focus.
“I’m not into men,” Hayden said, baiting Jesse.
Jesse huffed, her cheeks puffing a little in frustration, causing Hayden to smile warmly.
“I was never really the boyfriend type of guy,” Hayden answered before Jesse could say more.
Jesse looked crestfallen at his answer, so Hayden quickly backtracked.
“No, I don’t mean it that way, I was just…girls like it when they hear I’m in the military, but they don’t realize how hard it is to deal with the travel and distance involved. Besides, I was never really interested in dating,” because he didn’t need to date a woman to get her to bed, but Jesse didn’t need to know that.
Jesse chewed on her lip, thinking over Hayden’s answer. He had a point, but she highly doubted he stayed celibate even when he didn’t go on dates. She didn’t know how that revelation applied to her though.
Hayden nudged her shoulder, silently asking her to answer his question. Jesse blushed.
“I’ve never had a boyfriend because I look like me,” Jesse said simply.
Hayden frowned and wrinkled his forehead. “I don’t get it,”
Jesse sighed. ‘Was he really going to make me say it?’ she thought.
“I’ve never had a boyfriend because…I’m bigger than most girls,” Jesse said boldly, glad to finally call a spade a spade. “Growing up, I was literally called the elephant in the room. Even the thugs who
attacked me called me ‘fat ass.’ I eat well, and I’ve tried losing weight, and while I might lose a few pounds, they always seem to come back. Over time, I’ve decided that my body is just built this way. I know most guys aren’t interested in girls who wear more than a size 6.”
Jesse bit her lip to stop herself from sobbing. She had never told anyone that before, not even Camille. She had kept that sadness buried deep inside, so she wondered why she had admitted those painful thoughts to Hayden of all people, and so easily at that.
Hayden was shocked at Jesse’s confession. He couldn’t believe she thought those things about herself. He couldn’t see it. The thought of her as a ‘fat ass’ or ‘elephant’ had never crossed his mind. Sure, she wasn’t skinny; she had sexy, fuller curves. She wore baggy clothes a lot, but he had seen her in her skimpy nightgown that morning. It had done little to hide her firm, ample breasts, toned upper arms, and creamy thighs that he had instantly imagined wrapped tightly around him. No, she wasn’t ugly at all. By his standards, she was absolutely beautiful.
He was about to tell her so when he sensed someone following them. He narrowed his eyes and pulled Jesse closer to him.
“I know you’re there. Quit following us and come out,” Hayden threatened. Jesse tensed up and looked in the direction that Hayden was talking. She gasped as two men with matching snarls on their faces came out of the alley they had just passed.
“You got my boy Chuck in the slammer,” one of them growled. He cracked his knuckles while the other man kept his hands inside the pockets of his windbreaker. Jesse couldn’t tear her eyes away from him. She had a sneaking suspicion that he was carrying a weapon of sorts.
Hayden squeezed Jesse’s shoulder in reassurance but kept his stony façade. He had to get Jesse away from trouble so she wouldn’t get hurt. If the other guy was holding a gun, then things could get messy, and he didn’t want Jesse to be hit by a stray bullet. Somehow he had to keep them focused on him.
“Yeah, that’s me. But she has nothing to do with this. Let her go, and I’ll come with you guys to straighten this out.” Hayden pushed Jesse away from him, but she inserted her arm around his and shook her head. Hayden mentally cursed.
