ROOMIES (Strangers-To-Lovers Romance Novel)

by Bella Grant

  “Fine!” I exclaimed. “Stay here and never find out what’s it like being on the other side. But nobody likes a goody-two-shoes. Real people have flaws.”

  “Wait!” came my brother’s voice as I jerked the door to our dorm room open to leave. I turned to find him frowning at me.

  “Well, what is it?”

  “I’ll come, but I’ll not spend more than an hour. Two hours, tops.”

  I grinned at him in relief. “Great. Come on then.”

  “And I’m doing this for the story, nothing else,” he remarked.

  “No problem, bro. I’ll give you a pretty damn good story to tell.”

  I waited for him to pull on a pair of jeans and Levi shoes and we were off. I could tell he was nervous, but I would show him that this side of life was just as good. I had been doing this for a while, even back in high school, sneaking out to get drinks with my friends and every so often having verbal warfare with my parents.

  I drove quickly to the club. It was a week night, so I didn’t expect it to be as jammed as it was. I had to pay a hefty fee at the door for us to go in, which still wouldn’t have worked until I told the bouncer in a low tone so Kyle couldn’t hear that my brother was a virgin and I was trying to get him laid. Although eighteen, my fake ID had been professionally done, and I hadn’t yet been thrown out of a bar or a club. He looked over at Kyle with disbelief, but the way Kyle looked, standing there with his hands pushed into the front of his jeans and obviously nervous, had him ushering us inside.

  Pop music blasted us as we walked in. Kyle hesitated in front of me, and I shoved him until he started walking. It was a new night club I’d never been to, and a grin split my face as I took in the décor and the college girls. The clubs lured adventurous college girls by offering them free entry and free mimosas, and men would always gather where women were in abundance.

  I bobbed my head to the music and took in the canopy-draped ceiling and the soft purple lights that illuminated for a few seconds before darkening. It was perfect for privacy. Couples making out on the dance floor were copping feels. I longed to find a girl and have her body pressed up against mine, to have her hips gyrate into mine as she backed that ass up into my crotch. I barely resisted the urge, especially with the single girls who looked us over with interest as we walked inside. Any other night, and I would have grabbed one or even two, but tonight, Kyle was with me and I was responsible for him having a good time. A man dedicating his life to the clergy deserved at least one good night to remember.

  We ignored the brown-and-gold-themed leather booths as I led the way to the bar. First, a little liquor in our system to get Kyle to loosen up a bit, and then I could work on the girl angle. One step at a time. A man wasn’t taught to swim by throwing him into the pool and hoping the motivation to live would be the master teaching him how to swim. That just didn’t work.

  We took seats beside each other at the L-shaped bar where four girls handled the fort. They all wore tight, gold, shimmering shorts and black cropped tops, just like the cocktail waitresses who walked around the private booths. A redhead with a nice pair of boobs and nipples puckering through her shirt—a sign she wasn’t wearing a bra—came over to serve us.

  “What can I get you guys?” she asked, popping a gum.

  I turned to Kyle to ask if he liked anything in particular, but he was staring at the redhead’s tits. I grinned knowingly. If he wasn’t careful, he would jizz all over himself looking at the bartender like that.

  “Whisky sour for two,” I replied. “On the rocks.”

  “Coming up.”

  “She’s a pretty one, isn’t she?” I asked Kyle and wasn’t surprised when he blushed.

  “I guess. If you like that sort of girl.”

  “Who doesn’t like that sort of girl?”

  The bartender arrived with our drinks, and I watched Kyle as he sipped slowly. To give him credit, he didn’t make the face I expected him to, even though I knew he wanted to. He held the glass away from him and stared into it.

  “You actually like this?” he wanted to know.

  “It’ll grow on you by the time we’re on our third.”

  “Third?”

  I nodded and flung back my whiskey to order more. I worked part-time on weekends at the mall and had enough cash saved to blow tonight. I would make sure we had a damn good night.

  After eating the peanuts laid out—which I knew was a ploy to get you thirsty enough to order another drink—I convinced Kyle we were going to pick up chicks. A pair of girls sat at a booth who looked hot. They weren’t dancing with anyone, so I assumed they didn’t have boyfriends or, even if they did, they weren’t with them this night. The perfect opportunity for two brothers to get in the mix.

  Surprisingly, I didn’t have to cajole much for Kyle to enjoy the drinks, and by the time I suggested we ask the two girls to dance, he was all mellowed out. He had a grin on his face, and for the first time I could remember, he looked relaxed. I expected I would have to do all the talking to the girls before he would join the conversation, but boy, was I wrong! He acted bold and asked the brunette with the nice, round ass to dance. I did my own fair share of dancing with the blonde, who was a little bit on the chubby side, but I didn’t particularly care. She had a nice pair of boobs, which I spent a considerable amount of time caressing when we made it back to the booth and started making out. She was panting and wet when I slipped my hand under her short skirt and into the wet folds of her pussy. I had known what she wanted the minute she pulled her skirt up on the dance floor, showing her naked, round ass sliced between her cheeks by a thong. I fingered her until she climaxed, and I went to the bathroom to wash my hands.

  I’d hardly entered when the blonde, who had followed me, stepped inside. She didn’t care that two other guys were in the bathroom. She backed me into one of the stalls, slamming the door shut, and reached for the snaps on my jeans. As horny as I was, I couldn’t stop her even though the guys were whistling and carrying on outside. Neither did it seem to bother her. My cock sprung free from my jeans, still semi-erect from me touching her body, and by the time she slipped it between her lips and started sucking, it was rock hard. Her mouth was slightly cold from the drinks, and the sensation sent shivers up my spine. She crouched between my spread legs, and I splayed my hands in her hair and rammed my cock down her throat. The girl had a pretty good handle on deepthroating, especially considering my length and girth. The action of her lips sucking hard at my rod and her hand cupping my balls soon had me shooting my cum in her mouth. She kept sucking and milking me until my legs were weak.

  “Fuck!” was the one thing I could think of saying as she smiled at me. She stood and walked from the stall, leaving the door open and me with my jeans still half-way down my legs. I fixed my clothes and washed my hands before walking back out into the bar.

  The night had just begun.

  I lost track of the time as I drank and danced. The blonde had moved on to another guy, which I didn’t take any offence to. I tried to keep track of Kyle, but between the bar and the dance floor, there were a few times when I had no idea where he was.

  Around two, I decided it was time to leave since Kyle needed to sleep off all the liquor he’d had and ace his exam, which was later that afternoon. We burst out through the doors of the club, both of us unsteady on our feet. I’d lost track of how much I’d had to drink as well. I contemplated calling a cab, but with all the cash we’d spent at the bar, we didn’t have enough left to get a cab.

  “I’ll drive,” Kyle stated. “You’re worssh that me anyhow. It’s not that far to campush.”

  I frowned at him, trying to clear the cobwebs from my mind and the haziness in my head, but nothing would cure that other than a good night’s sleep. I was buzzed. “We’re both drunk,” I drawled, my tongue heavy in my mouth and distorting my words.

  Kyle grabbed the keys out of my hand and tottered to the car. “I had less to drink than you. Come on.”

  I shrugged. The night had
been a high, but all I wanted was to crash in my bed and sleep the day away. I didn’t even care that I had classes all morning. Nothing got me out of bed after a buzz.

  I buckled in beside Kyle and blasted the AC. I was sweating like crazy. I always broke out in sweat when I drank, but it wasn’t enough of a reason to stop drinking.

  “Drive shlowly,” I cautioned Kyle. “Did you have a good night?”

  “Bessht night ever.” He grinned and whooped. I couldn’t believe this was the same person I’d had to drag out of the dorm room that night.

  I must have dozed off, another consequence of my drinking. I could fall asleep at the drop of a hat. Everything was blank for I couldn’t tell how long before I was suddenly jerked awake by the motion of the car. My eyes flew open, my brain dull from the intoxication, and my faculties were too sluggish for me to see what was happening until it was too late. The car was hurtling into a truck. Kyle was trying to react but wasn’t fast enough.

  “Oh, shit!” I cried as metal crunched against metal. Our car fishtailed and flipped. Glass splintered around us as the seatbelt cut into my flesh, keeping me stationary. I held my hands over my face as splintered glass stuck to my arms and other exposed parts of my body. My head slammed into the door from being jerked to the side. Horrified fear clawed at my throat at the sound of Kyle’s scream as the car finally slammed into a lamp post the right side up.

  “Kyle!” The scream tore from my throat, my heart beating a drum of doom. His seat was empty. He hadn’t worn his seatbelt. Oh, God, why didn’t I tell him to buckle up? My eyes strayed from the empty seat to the blood-splattered windshield and bile rose in my mouth as I realized he’d flown through the windshield.

  “Oh, God…no!” I gasped, ripping into the seatbelt, which was jammed. It took several attempts before it unclicked and I could open the door and fall out on my knees on the concrete. Shards of glass were embedded in my arms, but I didn’t care. I had to get to Kyle. A few cars had stopped and people were gathered around an object lying in the street.

  On wobbly legs, I walked over, begging a god I didn’t even believe in to please let my brother be okay. I would do anything. I would go back to church. I would make it up to my parents. Anything. Just let Kyle be okay.

  I pushed between two people and dropped to my knees, rivulets of tears streaming down my face. Kyle’s head was turned at an awkward angle towards me. His frightful, sightless eyes were wide, the shock seemingly frozen on his face. His legs were twisted and blood splattered on the concrete where his skull had cracked against the pavement.

  A wail erupted from my chest. Noooo….

  14

  Emily

  I jerked awake from a deep sleep, not sure what had awakened me. I lay in the dark, my body tense. I listened and heard it again. A painful cry like somebody was hurt. My heart beating hard, I peeled back the bedsheets and got out of bed. I pushed my door open and listened again.

  “Kyyyyyle!”

  The unexpected, mournful cry scared me within an inch of my life. I jumped almost a foot high. It came from Liam’s room. I barreled into his room and flicked the ceiling light on. He thrashed in bed, crying, tears streaming and his face contorted in pain. Sobs tore from his chest as he called the name ‘Kyle’ again.

  Seeing him with a look of stark dread on his face scared the crap out of me and twisted my gut with sympathy. Whatever he dreamt about, whoever Kyle was—and I took a wild guess he was his brother—it was causing him so much pain I feared for him.

  I hurried over to the bed and planted my hands on his shoulders shaking with his sobs. I gripped the strong muscular arms and shook him gently. When he didn’t respond, I shook him harder. I wasn’t sure I was doing the right thing in waking him, but one thing was sure. I couldn’t bear seeing him this way.

  “Liam. Liam! Wake up.”

  With a gasp, his body jerked awake and his eyes flew open. He blinked several times, and I watched his pupils adjust to the light in his room. He looked up at me, confused, trying to comprehend what I was doing in his room. I could see the questions in his damp blue eyes—those sad blue eyes.

  “Oh, God, Liam, you frightened me!” I cried, sitting on the bed beside him. “You were shouting and crying, and I could hear you from my room.”

  He pulled himself up to a sitting position in bed and wiped the tears from his eyes. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, leaning against the headboard as though depending on it to take the whole weight, and not just of his body.

  “I’m sorry for waking you,” he apologized hoarsely. “I’m fine. You should go back to bed and back to sleep.”

  “I don’t care that you woke me up,” I responded softly, scooting closer to him. “I was…I was worried about you. Do you…want to talk about it?”

  He shook his head, and I sighed heavily. I wished he would open up and talk about what haunted his dreams at night and his eyes during the day.

  Without thinking, I reached up to brush a lock of hair that had fallen into his eyes. He needed a haircut, a silly thought for me to have considering the situation. His hair was thick and lustrous to the touch and sent a shiver through me. I started to pull back, realizing what I was doing, but I wasn’t fast enough. His hand clutched mine and pressed it against one cheek. His hand over mine sent an electric jolt through my body, from the tips of my fingers to the tips of my toes. Beneath his, my hand massaged his firm and stubborn jaw.

  “Emily.” He whispered my name, and my eyes lifted to his, pulling me deeper into his consciousness. “You’re so good,” he continued. “I want some of your goodness to rub off on me.”

  His words were so emotion-packed I did nothing when he cupped my face and urged me closer to him. And when our lips touched, sparks went off behind my partly closed eyelids. At first, our lips clung to each other, pressed together without movement, and with a groan, he pulled me up the bed so I sat across his lap. His lips devoured mine, soft yet firm and insistent.

  I moaned with need and leaned into his body as I rested my hands on his shoulders. His tongue found mine and drew it into his mouth, sucking and nipping playfully. Perhaps, if the kiss has been gentle, I would have had the power to stop him, but with the headiness that overcame me, I wanted more and more. So, when his hand crept up my pajama top and closed around my breast, I allowed him the chance to give me more. I pressed my chest into his hand, begging him, needing him as much as he needed me. His fingers tugged at my distended nipples and shot zings down between my legs. Wetness pooled between my thighs.

  “Liam,” I moaned, dragging my lips away from his. “Oh, God, Liam.”

  He kissed the corner of my mouth, sucked on my bottom lip, and kissed down my chin. His hands settled around my waist and urged me to straddle him. His thighs were thick and muscular beneath mine, and I could feel his bourgeoning cock pressed against my bottom.

  Liam kissed down my neck, leaving his mark on my flesh where he couldn’t help sucking on my succulent skin. When he gathered my top and attempted to pull it over my head, I lifted my arms, aiding him. I’d never been with a man other than Jake, and a blush heated my cheeks because I didn’t know what Liam would think of me. He stared at my breasts. I was always self-conscious about them, thinking they were too big.

  “You’re so beautiful, Em,” he groaned almost painfully, and a relieved breath left my body. I smiled at him and brought his hands up to cup my mounds. The rest he did on his own. He caressed and tugged on the nipples, palming the tight buds, and when I squirmed in his lap, he brought my body closer to him. I raised myself slightly so my breasts were in alignment with his mouth.

  I moaned at the silky feel of his tongue wrapping around my nipple as his lips latched on. At his sucking and licking, I was helpless against my body’s needs as I gyrated my butt hard against his crotch. My hand clutched the back of his head, encouraging the exploration of my breasts with his lips, and rubbed hard against his cock. His hands moved to pull the sheet from his waist so I could grate against the hardness o
f his jeans. Now I wished I had gotten him out of them earlier. Yet the pleasurable sensation of the hardness of the flap of the jeans rubbing against my clit and his mouth working my breasts left me breathless.

  “You’re so damn hot,” Liam announced and flipped me onto the bed so I lay on my back. He lay on his side and kissed me lightly before returning his mouth to my other breast. I could never tire of the way his mouth tugged at the nipple.

  His hand traced down my flat belly, caressing the silky flesh, teasing me before dipping beneath the waistband of my shorts. As usual, I hadn’t worn undies to bed, and his fingers found my slit without hindrance.

  “Oh, yes…yes,” I groaned when he parted my pussy lips and rubbed my outer labia. He delved deeper and flicked a finger against my slippery hole. He didn’t enter, just rubbed against the silky opening. His thumb found my nub, and he rubbed it until my clit eased out of its hood, pulsing with desire. He circled my clit slowly, even when I begged him to do it harder.

  I gasped and panted as I felt my climax start to build. I understood now why he insisted on rubbing my clit slowly instead of hard and fast. With his tongue against my breasts, magnifying the sensations between my legs, the pressure that built in my womb was slow but big, and it kept rising and rising until I was maddened beneath him, writhing and thrashing, my hips undulating against his hand.

  “Please, Liam,” I begged him as the pressure swelled more. Why wouldn’t he rub me harder? “Liam, please…Oh, God. I want—give me…”

  My pleas erupted into a cry as the dam finally burst, so intense and beautiful. I felt like I was combusting as pleasure exploded in my throbbing womanhood and deep inside my womb. And he never let up, just rubbed my clit slowly with all the patience in the world as I crashed on waves and waves of my climax.