More than Roommates

by Jillian Quinn

  I move away from Mia, hanging in the doorway for a few seconds so that I can watch her in action. She rubs detergent into the fabric, oblivious that I’m still in the room with her. Thinking over her words, I channel the person I once was with Mia.

  “Tell me something good,” I say.

  She stops moving and glances over her shoulder at me. “What if I want to start with my something bad?”

  I smile at her. “Tonight, I only want to hear your something good.”

  She grins so wide it reaches up into her blue eyes. “It just happened a minute ago. You were always my something good.”

  It takes every ounce of energy I have inside me not to close the distance between us and give Mia the kiss I have wanted to give her for years. Instead, I decide to leave her with something better.

  “You were mine, too,” I admit.

  It’s the truth.

  Her face glows with happiness, and I’m glad that for once I can give it to her, even if it won’t last long.

  Mia was my ray of sunshine during the darkest days with my father. Too bad I have to walk away as if this never happened. How can I act normal around Will when every feeling I ever had for Mia comes to the surface every time she’s in the same room as me?

  We need distance. So, I do the right thing and walk out of the room without another word, wishing Mia wasn’t my best friend’s little sister.

  9

  Mia

  After the incident in the laundry room with Ethan, I have trouble focusing on anything other than his mouth during dinner. I watch Ethan like a hawk, all while he rambles on with my brother about hockey. I zone out, having zero interest in their conversation. I still know nothing about hockey, even after all these years. And I don’t care to learn.

  Between bites, Will asks me if I want more wine.

  “Uh-huh.” I slide my glass in the center of the table for a refill.

  I need as much alcohol as I can consume in one night after almost kissing Ethan. What was he thinking getting that close to me? Ethan has been making moves every time we are alone, and I’m getting sick of it. I have no self-control around Ethan. If he had kissed me, I wouldn’t have stopped him. But one of us needs to get a grip. Either he’s trying to torment me, or he wants to kill me. Probably both.

  Midway through our delicious dinner, Will gets up from the table to open another bottle of red wine. On his way back to the table he says, “You ready to go clubbing with us?”

  I point a finger at my chest, confused. “Are you talking to me?”

  Will laughs and takes his place once again at the table. “Yeah. Who else would I be talking to?”

  “Ethan,” I say, stating what I think is obvious.

  When referring to we, that could mean Will and his hookup of the week for all I know. Like Ethan, my brother is a total manwhore.

  “You are going,” Ethan growls. “It’s not a request.”

  I shake my head at him. “You don’t control me. And I’m not the club type. Go without me.”

  “There’s no such thing as the club type,” Ethan says, irritated. “You either like fun, or you don’t, and since you have the personality of a ninety-year-old lady, we have no choice but to kidnap you if you don’t come willingly.”

  “Wow!” My mouth opens wide in shock. “This must be one hell of a club if you are resorting to threats.”

  “We’ve been there a few times,” Will adds. “It’s pretty chill. Just come out with us. Live a little, Mia.”

  “What club?”

  Will lets out a sigh of relief. “It’s called The Sixth Floor.”

  “Oh, the place on Delaware Ave?”

  Will nods.

  “Wear something sexy,” Ethan adds. “No frumpy sweaters or pajama pants.”

  Will’s face scrunches up in disgust, as he turns his head to look at Ethan. “Dude, don’t tell my sister to wear sexy clothes. Gross. She can wear a turtleneck sweater down to her ankles for all I care. I would prefer it.”

  Ethan laughs. Will doesn’t, his face still mirroring his revulsion of me in slutty clothes. Not like I would wear them even if I owned what could pass as club attire.

  “I don’t have anything to wear that either of you would consider appropriate so count me out.”

  “Don’t act like that, Mia.” Will picks apart a piece of garlic bread and stuffs half of it into his mouth, speaking between bites. “You never do anything remotely fun. I’ll throw you over my shoulder in what you’re wearing if I have to.”

  I roll my eyes at him. “Neither of you seem to understand that I only have work outfits and lounging around the house stuff like jeans and a T-shirt.”

  “Then don’t think of it as a club,” Will says. “It’s nothing more than an oversized bar that plays techno music and throws crazy raves.”

  “I’m sure you have at least one dress in your closet,” Ethan says. “Maybe even a skirt. Go look, and if you don’t find something I will take you to the store.”

  “I have to work tomorrow,” I whine.

  At this point, I would do anything to get out of going with them. I’m more of a drink vodka from the bottle while eating Cheetos and playing with my beat up MacBook on the couch kind of girl. Will was always the outgoing sibling and the constant center of attention. We could not be more opposite. Ethan was always a mixture of us, but that was back then. I don’t know the man he has become. But I want to know him. So bad.

  * * *

  Thirty minutes later, I dig through my closet, beyond frustrated and ready to give up. When Ethan walks into my room, I smell his musky scent before I hear his footsteps behind me.

  Ethan laughs. “Did you throw your clothes on the floor so you could use that as an excuse not to go?”

  I glance down at the piles of clothes around my feet and sigh. “No, stupid. I was looking for something to wear.”

  “You won’t find a dress on the floor, Mia.” Ethan comes up from behind me and reaches into my closet, pushing hangers along the rack. “You weren’t kidding, huh? Do you own anything other than jeans or something with holes in it?”

  “The holes are intentional.” I turn around to face him, stunned by how polished and refined he is at all times. “It’s not like I sit around with scissors and cut up my jeans and shirts.” Tugging on the sleeve of his navy oxford, I continue, “We all can’t look as good as you do on short notice.”

  He cups my face in his hand and strokes my cheek with his thumb. “You would look good in a trash bag, Mia. Stop dragging your feet and get ready before I have to dress you myself.”

  Now that he’s planted the thought in my mind, I cannot stop myself from imaging Ethan undressing me. He does that well enough with his eyes. And now I’m thinking of him naked and me alongside him.

  Stop it, Mia. Get your shit together.

  “You were never this bossy,” I choke out, barely breathing. “What happened to you?”

  “I’m not the same person, Mia. The sooner you get that through your head, the easier it will be for you to come to terms with the fact that I am not going to change. This is who I am now. Take it or leave it.”

  “That’s a lie. I don’t believe it for one second.” I place my palm over his heart and move closer. “For whatever reason, you don’t want to let me back in. You were never this arrogant and rude to me.”

  He covers his hand over mine and blows out a puff of air. “Some things are better left in the past. You can either get to know the person I am now or cling to the memory of the boy you had a crush on when we were kids.”

  I snort. “I didn’t have a crush on you.”

  A smirk turns up the corner of his mouth. “That’s a lie, and you know it.”

  “Whatever.” I take a step back, and his hand falls to his side. “I have to get dressed. Can you get out?”

  “You have nothing to wear. Let me take you shopping.”

  “I don’t know whether to be offended or flattered that you would do something so selfless for me.”

&nb
sp; He pushes his hands onto his hips and shakes his head, staring at me with one of his killer smirks. “You’re such a mess. Someone has to help you.”

  I step close enough that our mouths are almost touching. “I don’t need your help or your pity, Ethan. Now, get out of my room.”

  Ethan cups my shoulders with his big hands. “I’m calling my personal shopper at Boyds whether you like it or not.”

  “You are impossible,” I shoot back. “Whatever. I don’t see why you are so insistent on me going out with you and Will tonight. The last thing I want to do is watch skanky women grind on you.”

  “Good,” he growls, “because the only woman I want grinding on me is you.”

  I gasp at his comment.

  What do I say? How do I act around him?

  Ethan is making this living situation too hard for me. And we’re less than twenty-four hours into the arrangement. I will not last a month with him invading my personal space, all while forcing me to confront my feelings for him.

  “You can’t turn this on and off whenever you see fit, Ethan. Will is your best friend, and I am his sister. He would kill both of us. Don’t act like you like me one minute and hate me the next. Even Will is starting to notice the subtle things you are doing with me. When Will saw your hand on my knee at the Wells Fargo Center, I was so sure that would start a fight.”

  He cups the side of my face with his hand and whispers, “He doesn’t have to find out. You’re a big girl now, Mia. You can make your own decisions without your brother there to hold your hand.”

  I lean into his touch and sigh. “Stop torturing me, Ethan.”

  “I think I’m torturing myself more than you,” he says under his breath.

  “Are you ready?” Will says from the doorway.

  I step back, and Ethan quickly removes his hand from my face, the two of us standing still, terrified of what this must look like to Will.

  I turn my back to Ethan and sift through my closet, moving the hangers along the metal bar. “Give me a few minutes.”

  “You don’t have anything to wear,” Ethan says. “Let me call my girl. What size do you wear?”

  I glance at him over my shoulder at him. “None of your business.”

  “We don’t have time to fuck around in department stores,” Will says, annoyed. “Find something and let’s go. We’re going to a club, not a wedding. No one will care what you have on as long as it’s passable to get in the front door.”

  This time, Ethan doesn’t bother to argue. He keeps his mouth shut and follows Will out of my bedroom. I close the door behind them and lean against it. With Ethan out of my sight, I can finally breathe. Ever since he moved into my apartment, Ethan has been sucking up all the air.

  10

  Ethan

  Will shoots daggers at me from the other side of the living room. We hold each other’s gaze for a few seconds before I lean back against the couch and Will reaches for the TV remote.

  “What were you doing with my sister?”

  “I was only trying to help her get ready.”

  Will clicks on the TV and flips through the channels, shaking his head at me. “That’s not what it looked like to me. Do you like Mia? You know, you can tell me if you do.”

  Yeah, right. The second I say yes the two of us will end up beating the shit out of each other in the middle of Mia’s apartment. And I would deserve every single punch.

  “No. Mia is too proud, and she has nothing decent to wear. I offered to have my girl at Boyds pick something out for her. It wasn’t a big deal. Don’t read into it.”

  “Sorry, man. I didn’t mean to jump down your throat. Thanks for helping Mia out. She won’t take anything from me.”

  He blows out a puff of air and drops the remote on the coffee table in front of us. Will folds his arms over his chest and leans back with his eyes focused on the playoff game on the screen. There’s so much sadness in his eyes as he watches what could have been our shot at the Cup.

  We were both bummed out about being knocked out of the playoffs by the Penguins, but Will has taken this loss harder than the rest of our team. It’s as if he takes our loss as a personal failure when it was on all of us.

  After a major loss on the road, Will was already at his limit. Then, we had to come home to a flooded apartment, all because the woman upstairs fell asleep in the tub with the water running. The situation sucks, but we have to make the best of it. Mia is just another complication to our already complicated lives.

  “How do I look? Do I pass as “club appropriate” or am I still underdressed?” Mia walks into the room, using air quotes to ask her question.

  I almost laugh at the silly expression on her face. But I can’t take my eyes off her. She’s beautiful, a complete fucking knockout.

  My eyes fall to Mia’s long, toned legs and the tight leather skirt that rides up her thighs. I travel up the length of her delicious body, taking in the strapless gold top that’s practically plastered over her tits, her cleavage popping out and on display. She’s wearing heels. Not flats or boots. She ditched her usual attire. When she’s going to work, Mia reminds me of someone’s grandmother with her frumpy sweaters and knit pants. And when she’s home, it’s emo all the way.

  Where has she been hiding this outfit? Damn. I bite the inside of my cheek to keep myself from making any obscene facial gestures. Will notices every movement I make around Mia. Right now, my dick is getting hard just thinking about burying my face between her legs. And her tits. Fuck.

  “See, I knew you had something in that closet.” Will hits the off button on the remote and pushes himself up from the couch.

  The room falls in silence without the game providing us with a distraction. I haven’t been able to peel my eyes from Mia since she walked into the living room. She seems to have the same problem as me.

  After holding my gaze for far too long, Mia glances at Will and smiles. “I clean up good, huh?”

  Will moves toward her and studies her clothes. “Well, I’m not thrilled about the length of your skirt or the low-cut top, but they have standards at The Sixth Floor. They would never let you in wearing jeans. Stay close to Ethan and me. I don’t want anyone coming near you. Okay?”

  She nods, her stare shifting between Will and me. “You have nothing to worry about.”

  But he does. He just doesn’t know it.

  I hate myself for thinking of Mia in any way other than Will’s little sister. She makes it too hard for me to separate my friendship with Will from my desire for her. The two cannot exist together, and I value Will’s friendship too much to ruin it over my feelings for Mia.

  “Don’t drink too much,” Will says. “No dancing with any guys.”

  Mia rolls her eyes at him. “Yes, Dad. Anything else? Do you want to check my homework before we go out?”

  I laugh, but Will doesn’t find it funny. He shoots me a pained look, and then his gaze falls back to Mia. “I’m serious.”

  “Yeah, whatever, Will. This was your idea, not mine. I’ll just dance with Ethan then if you’re going to be such a buzz kill.”

  Will pulls his phone from his pocket, tapping on the keys at a feverish pace. “Yeah, stick with Ethan.”

  Am I violating my best friend’s trust? I haven’t done anything wrong. Yet. But I know I will. How can I stop myself when Mia licks her lips at me or flips her blonde strands over her shoulder, giving me come fuck me eyes? She’s a fucking temptress, and she knows it.

  “Uber will be here in fifteen minutes,” Will says, turning on his heel to head into the kitchen. “We need to get a good buzz going before we get to the club. Do you have anything other than this old bottle of vodka?” He digs through Mia’s freezer and holds up the almost empty bottle of Stoli. “Any chance you have some Jack around here?”

  “No.” Mia pushes her hands onto her hips and frowns at Will. “You can take it or leave it. And I expect you to replace whatever you drink. That’s all I have left.”

  Mia glances at me before foll
owing behind Will, and I trail behind her, taking in the sight of her body. Her ass. Those legs. I’m so fucking screwed.

  One month. I can do this. Deep breaths.

  Even I don’t believe myself. Why would Will?

  * * *

  No one has ever looked more out of place in a club than Mia Roman. She glances up at the ceilings, memorizing every detail of the room, as the cocktail waitress leads us upstairs to the VIP section Will had reserved for us earlier. Will hits on the waitress, as per the usual, and I keep Mia at my side. My hand grazes her ass when I have to pull her closer to make room for a drunken couple to pass us on the stairs.

  I should stop touching her before Will sees us, but he’s busy with the blonde bombshell and staring at her huge rack. So, I keep my hand on Mia’s ass for a few seconds more, just to test her limits. She flashes me a warning look and tips her head to Will as if telling me to stop. But she doesn’t force me. She wants me to keep touching her just as much as I want to continue navigating every surface of her body.

  Once we reach the VIP area, I sit on the couch next to Mia, while Will continues to chat up the waitress and give her our drink orders.

  “I can see why you insisted on dressing me,” Mia says. “This place is nice. I wouldn’t have fit in with my normal clothes.”

  I shake my head. “Nope. I’m sure the bouncer would have let you in because you’re with Will and me. But at least now you look the part.”

  “As what? One of your puck bunnies.” She rolls her eyes and makes a gagging sound. “People probably think I’m fucking you and Will. Gross.”

  “Let them think what they want,” I tell her. “And fucking me would not be gross.”

  She laughs. “I don’t know about that.”

  Before I get the chance to respond, Will plops down on the other side of Mia and slides his arm along the back of her neck. “So, what do you think, baby sis? Not so bad, right?”