Chapter 3
Annabel
My eyes dazzled with joy as I scanned the beach house they had transported us to. It was absolutely beautiful and was in a secluded area on the beach, free from paparazzi and tourists, which was a bit more enjoyable than my house in Los Angeles. My heels clicked against the pure white tile in the vast kitchen as I strolled over to the large window that illuminated the living room and was a picture frame for the beach in front of us that had waves continuously crashing against the coarse sand.
I definitely looked like a human version of the heart-eye emoji right now.
The house was perfect in every single way, minus the fact that I would be living with Stuart. He wasn't even glancing around, his head was ducked down and he was typing away on his cell phone. "Can you at least help Keagan bring in the rest of the boxes?" I snapped at him, making him look up in a flustered manner.
"No. I'm not helping move our stuff in when I don't want to live here," Stuart complained. "Don't be so sassy, Ann. I don't see you helping them either."
"Well I'm actually looking around and scoping the place out," I defended, crossing my arms across my chest again and feeling the chiffon material of my tank top rub against my forearms. "And don't call me, Ann or Anna. We are not friends."
He stood up straight, removing the slump in his spine from leaning against the marble counter-tops in the kitchen. His t-shirt tightened around his biceps with his movements and it was quite weird to see the little scrawny Stuart that I once knew as such a buff character. "It's a habit," He stated with a huff, making me want to shudder as the memories from our past creeped back into my brain. "And we're going to have to try to be friends, Annabel. I'm not going to just bicker with you everyday. We can at least make this easy for ourselves and just forget what happened and start over."
I laughed in a condescending manner, shaking my head rapidly to completely turn down his offer. "I'm not starting over. At this point I'm pretty sure that even if you actually man up and apologize after four years that I still wouldn't forgive you. We are not friends and we never are going to be."
He ran a hand through his dark hair, tugging on the ruffled pieces slightly before letting his arm drop back down to his side. "You're overreacting. At least I'm making an effort to start over. I'm not going to live here and have you constantly arguing with me."
"We don't have to argue all the time. You stay in your room and I stay in mine. We'll make a schedule for separate meal times so we don't have to eat together. It's simple really," I suggested, making my stomach churn at the mention of having to have a sit down dinner with Stuart.
"There is only one bedroom," Stuart deadpanned.
My face paled as I glimpsed around the narrow hallway and realized he was correct. I must have mistaken the closet door as another room. "Fine. Then I'll sleep on the couch."
Keagan dropped a heavy box onto the tiled floor, making a thud echo throughout the nearly baron home. He dusted his hands off on his black slacks and lifted the back of his palm to his forehead to remove the lingering beads of sweat that the kitchen light was reflecting off of. "You're not sleeping on the couch, Annabel."
"Okay, then Stuart is," I ordered, shrugging my shoulders nonchalantly.
"There is no way in hell I'm sleeping on a couch every night," Stuart whined. He glimpsed up at his manager for help, similar to a child asking their parents for back up.
Keagan let out a heavy exhale, practically puffing his breath right into my face. "You two are sleeping in that queen sized bed together whether you like it or not. If you really can't manage that, there is an air-mattress in the closet you can blow up and put on the floor in the bedroom. I really hope you two take this seriously. It will be good for you."
I huffed, not wanting to give in to him. The idea of spending an entire month in the presence of someone who I couldn't stand was unbearable. Every time I even heard his name I got the urge to be a kick-boxer, so I'm not sure how I was supposed to see his smug face everyday. "I'm going to take a walk."
The relaxation of my exploration around the serene beach ended as soon as I stepped inside from the back porch. I lightly wiped my sandy feet off on the carpet surrounding the steps and threw my light weight cardigan onto a chair. Stuart actually finished setting up the house which came as a shock to me.
Three new loud and rambunctious teenage boys were lounging around on the sofas that had been placed in the center of the room. They were dark brown leather and seemed to be comfortable, but also were extremely tacky. The four pairs of eyes all directed their gaze to me and watched me like a hawk, as if they had never seen a girl in the entire lives.
"Hello band mates," I greeted sarcastically, giving them an uncomfortable wave. They all just gaped at me blankly. "I'm going to be in my room. Nice meeting you?"
The three boys who I recognized from the premiere still failed to even mumble a noise and I'm sure Stuart must have given them a warning that I was a total bitch and would lunge at them if they even spoke to me. I shuffled towards the only bedroom when I spotted the sink was filled with dishes, my ultimate pet peeve. "Stuart! Is it really that difficult to put the dishes in the freaking dishwasher?"
Finally, a chuckle chorused throughout the room. Stuart rolled his eyes at me. "Yeah, I don't do the dishes. Get used to it."
"You're such a slob!" I screamed, stomping towards the kitchen and collecting my hair onto one side of my face as I turned on the sink.
"Hey wait," One of his friends called. I glimpsed over at him, realizing that he was approaching me. He had blonde hair that was piled up on the top of his head and had electric blue eyes that were filled with sincerity, not to mention an adorable grin. "I'm Benjamin. I can help you with those dishes."
I smiled at him appreciatively, handing over a sponge that had yet to be used and needed to be drenched in water to gain that squishy quality. "Thank you. Sorry you had to see me yell like that. But everything Stuart does pisses me off."
"Yeah I can tell," Benjamin responded with a light laugh as he gripped one of the plates and rinsed off the excess food. "He wouldn't tell us what happened between you two but I can assure you he isn't as bad as you think he is, Ann. Can I call you Ann?"
"Only my friends call me Ann," I told him stubbornly, trying my best to hide my amused smile as I scrubbed against the porcelain plates that seemed to be heavily stained with some form of sauce. I was unaware we even had food to eat in here or that Stuart even had the ability to cook a proper meal.
Benjamin bumped his hip against mine gently, the volume of the chatter in the adjacent room increasing dramatically. "Well, how do I become your friend?"
I desired to just turn him down right then and there. I wasn't keen on the belief of friendships between opposite genders, mainly because the one I shared with Stuart years ago had left me incredibly bitter. But he was undeniably cute and I found the black ring connecting from his lip to his cheek rather endearing and intriguing. "We can go get some frozen yogurt and tell each other all of our most embarrassing stories, including the one where milk came out of my nose in front of George Clooney."
Benjamin's jaw dropped and he clapped his hands together like a seal as he chuckled obnoxiously loud, making my cheeks alter to a shade of bright pink. "You're kidding, right?"
"I wish," I murmured, setting a plate into the plastic rack for it to dry. "The worst part was that some of the milk got onto his shirt!"
The two of us laughed even harder. "Oh my God! I don't think any of my embarrassing stories can beat that. But I do have some really good ones about Bradley."
My eyes twinkled with anticipation, preparing my belly to hurt from laughing so hard. "Spill!" I exclaimed, tugging on the sleeve of his flannel shirt much like an impatient toddler at the toy store.
He smirked at me, making direct eye contact. "I'd rather save them for our frozen yogurt date. Well, if you want it to be a date. Otherwise, we can just go satisfy our dairy cravings at a slightly overpriced rate."
&nbs
p; I giggled quietly, feeling a sense of giddiness at how sweet he was. Rarely did a guy ever put in this much effort at trying to flirt with me. It made it impossible for me to say no. "If you're asking me on a date then I will say yes. If we are just going to grab frozen yogurt then it's a no from me."
Benjamin's long fingers reached up to scratch the back of his neck. "Okay, well then Annabel, would you like to go on a date with me? Because I'd really like to call you Ann."
"Because it has ass in it, right?" I joked, making the two of us giggle at my corny pun. "Just kidding. But yes, Benjamin. I'll go on a date with you."
"Alright, cool," He answered smoothly, although I could tell his heart was pounding against his rib cage and his palms were growing clammy, just like my own. "So do you want to go on Wednesday at like seven?"
"See you then," I replied, smiling brightly at the blondie. I was never this comfortable on accepting a date with someone I had only met minutes ago. But he was more adorable than a puppy. I could sense some sort of chemistry between us already. "Oh and thank you for helping me do the dishes."
He merely nodded, turning on his heel to return to his friends. I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding when his tall body disappeared into the living room. With a glimpse over in their direction I made eye contact with Stuart, and suddenly my pissed off mood had crept back into my skin at the remembrance of why Benjamin was even in my house.
He's Stuart's best friend. And Stuart Robinson is officially my roommate.
Chapter 4
Stuart
My best friend retreated back towards the rest of us, his lanky body slumping into the empty space on the sofa next to Bradley. Benjamin had a giddy grin etched across his features and his radiation of happiness irritated me. "Hey lover boy. How did the suck up enjoy washing those dishes?" Clayton teased, giggling at his own words.
Benjamin just smiled even wider. "Well she enjoyed it a lot considering Annabel and I are going on a date very soon."
My jaw dropped slightly with my eyes bugging out of my head. I was completely baffled. The Annabel I knew would have never accepted a date with a boy so quickly. She was always incredibly awkward around guys and would complain about how her crushes never knew she existed. But they did. They all did.
"Really? Oh my God, you're the man! Do you think she'll let you touch her boobs? She has such a nice rack," Bradley rambled, then proceeded to use his hands to draw the exaggerated outline of her breasts in the air.
I involuntarily glared at him. It was so shocking to see my friends so obsessed with her when she was one of the most annoying people on the planet with a terrible habit of holding grudges. Sure, Annabel may be very pretty now, but she didn't always used to look like that and their glorification of my old friend and current roommate was both disgusting and incomprehensible.
I zoned out from listening to the three of them converse about just how fantastic Annabel was and soon enough they were piling out of the door as they claimed it was nearly night-time and they didn't want to intrude on my first night in my new home. My begging to let them stay and sleepover here had ultimately failed and my stomach tied in a knot as the nerves of how this whole roommate thing was going to go.
My feet waddled against the plush carpet to the sole bathroom to brush my teeth before bed, and I was thoroughly surprised to see Annabel already in there with some ridiculous face mask applied on the surface of her sun-kissed skin. She screeched at the sight of me. "Were you raised in a barn? Oh my God! It's not that difficult to knock."
"You know where I was raised, Ann," I shot back, lifting my tooth brush out of its holder and running it under the sink. The counter top had already been taken over by a variety of useless products that all seemed completely foreign to me.
"Please just knock next time. I could have been changing my tampon or something," She said in a lighter tone than the previous harsh one.
I cringed at the mention of those feminine weapons of mass destruction and lifted the toothbrush to my teeth, carefully pressing the bristles over every inch of the pearly whites. "Ew. Don't talk about your lower region bleeding around me."
"What are roommates for," She sang, still continuing to examine her green face in the mirror as if she had to find some sort of treasure at a scavenger hunt. I just kept swirling the brush around in my mouth while silently watching her, and feeling the buildup of my saliva and the minty taste. I needed to spit.
When I went to spit out the toothpaste, Annabel ducked her head to rinse the mask off her face only seconds before, causing my spit to land on the back of her neck. Annabel instantly screamed and I couldn't bite back my hysterical laughter. "Stuart! You're disgusting!" She shrieked, slapping my arm with force.
"I honestly didn't even do that on purpose," I admitted, still chuckling over my impeccable aim.
Her hands reached up and tugged her blouse over her head, leaving Annabel in only her bright red bra with lace details. "What are you doing?" I asked in utter confusion, but never darted my eyes away from her perfectly perky boobs. Bradley was right. She did have a nice rack.
Annabel gathered her hair onto one side of her face and grasped my arm before I could retreat from the bathroom. I set my toothbrush down, my eyebrows still knitted together, and she hoisted the detachable shower head from the top of the shower. "You're rinsing this crap off," Annabel ordered, forcing the coiled chord into my hands.
I sighed, watching as she bent over the porcelain tub and the vertebrates on her spine barely protrude out of her back. I turned on the water and let it heat up for a bit before directing it towards the splotch of my toothpaste on the nape of her neck. It swam down her body and I used my finger to carefully blot the excess, causing goosebumps to rise at my touch.
Annabel ducked out from the hot water after rinsing off the remaining mask from her face and threw a fresh towel around her shoulders, the microfiber material absorbing it up. An uncomfortable silence settled upon us as she collected her things and I almost preferred when we were arguing rather than us pretending that the other didn't exist. "I don't know about you, but I'm going to bed. And I'm getting the actual bed," She declared, walking right past me.
I followed closely behind her since I intended on going to bed too. The air mattress had thankfully already been blown up. "Are you really going on a date with Benjamin?"
"Yes, why is that so surprising?" Annabel mumbled, irritation clearly evident in her tone.
I shrugged nonchalantly as I bundled up the blankets on the air mattress that would soon be swaddling my body. "I don't know. You didn't date much before."
She pursed her lips together tightly before her petite body climbed the hills across the sheets. "We haven't seen each other in almost four years, Stuart. Do you honestly believe that I would be the exact same person? Of course I've changed."
I lifted my t-shirt over my head and swapped it for another one to wear as pajamas. "Don't act like I don't know you, Ann. We were best friends. And we still could be if we patched things up," I argued, suddenly becoming frustrated with her attitude.
"You should have thought of that before you screwed up our entire friendship," She hissed, wrapping the duvet over her body as she nestled into the mattress.
A feeling similar to the drop on a roller coaster lurched in my stomach as I was reminded of our twisted past. Guilt tended to chew away at my brain whenever I remembered the incident that tore us apart years ago. Although I deeply regret what I did to her, the condescending part of me did not want to stoop to her level and give in to performing a massive apology. In an unusually way, I almost enjoyed our bickering. Because if we weren't arguing, then I am positive we wouldn't be talking at all. The awkwardness would leave this bedroom silent.
Annabel tossed to the other side, clutching onto the blanket and cradling it against her chest. "Well, I still want you to watch out for Benjamin. He might seem all sweet and innocent but he's not the best at relationships and he always ends up hurting the girl," I warned her.
/> She scoffed, a small snicker escaping her full lips. "I don't think he can hurt me as much as you did, Stuart."
My jaw clenched, making the joint stick out of the side of my tan cheeks. I swallowed deeply, letting my eyelids close. Her attempt at making me feel like shit was working. "I know," I responded weakly as the realization that her statement was true hit me like a fast paced train. I cleared my throat. "But, uh, just be careful around him, okay?"
"I can handle myself," Annabel protested, sliding down the squishy sleeping-blindfold to smother her bright eyes. "Goodnight, Stu."
"Night, Ann," I whispered quietly before the words I spoke flew away into the thin air and slumber took over my body.
Chapter 5
Annabel
"Hi Mum," I greeted into the laptop that was resting on the top of the cold granite counter top in my new kitchen. I could see my mother clutching onto my dog, Adam, from the other side and she was peering into the webcam with her eyes squinted.
"Are you at a friend’s house or something? Why does your apartment look so different?" She asked me, her expression revealing that she was utterly puzzled.
I shook my head. "No, um, I had to move into a house in Malibu for the summer. It's part of a management deal. Do you remember Stuart Robinson?"
A giant smile grew upon my mother's slightly wrinkled cheeks. "Of course I remember our neighbor, Stuart! We actually just had dinner with the Robinson's last night. Apparently he's in Los Angeles at the moment too. You two should go catch up! It's still such a shame you're not friends anymore."
I groaned underneath my breath as the dodgy computer screen pixelated my face for a few seconds when it attempted to maintain the connection. Of course my parents adored Stuart, they had absolutely no idea what he did to me. If they had any clue there was no way I would ever be allowed to be within a ten mile radius of him. "Well, Stuart and I are kind of forced to live together. We're roommates now."
Raunchy Roommate Page 2
