Bad Roommate: Never Room With A Player

by Terry Towers

  “You look amazing,” I said, sitting down across from her. And she did. Her dark curly hair reached her shoulders and was always perfectly in place and she had the most intense brown – nearly black eyes with the most perfect chocolate brown skin.

  “You look stunning as usual.”

  “Thank you.”

  “So, tell me what’s going on?” Leaning back against the metal hair she crossed her arms over her chest.

  “What do you mean? It’s all good.” I shrugged, trying to be nonchalant, but failing miserably.

  “Whenever you want to give me the comments on one of my books personally, it’s usually because you want to talk about something that’s bothering you. So spill it lady.”

  Grasping the back of my neck, I gave it a gentle squeeze attempting to relieve some of the tension building within. “Well, you know I was getting a new roommate. A man this time. Figured it would work out better.”

  She nodded. “I’m aware. You mentioned it the last time we spoke. How’d it go? Is he eating all your food? Does he have chronic flatulence and stinking up the place? I told you boys are gross to live with.”

  Laughing, I shook my head. “No, it’s nothing like that. He buys his own food. Even cooks me dinner from time to time. And he smells amazing. Fresh, like when he’s had a swim in the ocean and as he’s walking in from the water a gust of wind hits his back sending a light, sea breeze of pure man to your nose.”

  She threw her head back and laughed, a light pleasant sound. She easily had one of the loveliest laughs I’d ever heard. “That’s descriptive, maybe I should have you writing my books for me. I’ll need to steal that sometime.”

  “By all means.”

  “So what’s the problem then?”

  Digging my phone from inside my white leather purse, I brought up my photo gallery and started searching until I found a picture of myself back in high school, then passed it to her.

  Giving me a dubious look, she glanced down at the photo and frowned. “I’m not following.”

  “Does that person look familiar?”

  She looked up from the phone to meet my gaze. “Should it?”

  “That’s me. Back in high school.” I was embarrassed to show that picture, but I needed her to understand my reasoning. “I used my first name Connie back then. I’ve been going by my middle name Felicity since high school.”

  Looking back down at the picture, her mouth fell open. “Wow. I’d never know. Not in a million years. You’re the exact opposite to the person in that picture. Literally nothing is the same.”

  “Exactly why there’s a problem. The summer before high school started, I dated my new roommate for a little while. Then he dumped me when high school started. He didn’t want to be associated with the ugly, fat nerd.”

  “You obviously don’t like this guy, so why in the hell did you let him move in with you?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. He was the best I’d met and he really needed a place. It was an impulsive decision. I figured I could just let it go and not really spend much time with him. Kinda hoped he’d changed. I don’t know.”

  “Does he know who you are?”

  “Nope. No clue. But that’s only part of the problem.” Frowning, I continued the words coming out of me rapidly like a bout of verbal diarrhea. “I like him, but he’s the same player he was back in high school. We got tipsy and had sex a few nights ago, it just felt right. The next day, he came home and just when it seemed like we were having a moment, some girl texted him excited about him coming over to fuck her. Literally the night after we’d had sex he was planning on screwing some other chick. I was willing to drop my shields and thought we had something. Or at least we could’ve had something.”

  I sniffed, surprising myself. At that moment, I realized how strongly I’d felt for him. But it didn’t matter though. It’s not like we’d end up a couple.

  “You’re not going to tear up over a man.” Grabbing a napkin from the dispenser, she leaned forward and passed it to me.

  “I know, this is twice in a lifetime that I’ve been in tears over him. You have to keep in mind one important thing.”

  “Which is? Until the night you two had sex, he had no idea what you felt for him. You said yourself that the sex was alcohol induced. Maybe he’d planned that little sexfest with that girl before you two had your night together. If you gave him the cold shoulder then perhaps he figured you regretted it? There’s so many variables. You know what would fix the confusion?”

  I shrugged.

  “Talk to him.” She passed me the phone back, the picture of my sad and pathetic teenaged self still staring at me. “And maybe let him in on the fact that you two had a past together.”

  “I don’t want to be that girl anymore, Alicia.”

  “But you still are that girl. You may not look like her anymore, but you’re still her. What if you two make up? And what if he discovers he knew you back in the day, don’t you think he’s going to get pissed because you lied to him? Yes, you haven’t actually lied, but omitting a huge part of who you are is just like lying.”

  I groaned, tossing the phone into my handbag. “I know. I’ve been avoiding it. My mother even called me the other day telling me she ran into his mother. She thought it might be fun if we reconnected.”

  Alicia laughed. “Well mission accomplished on that front.”

  “So just tell him, huh?”

  “That’s what I’d do… You know, if I were interested in a relationship with someone – which I’m not.”

  “Yeah, I think I recall you mentioning that from time to time,” I teased, my laughter subsiding and I grew serious again. “Listen, thank you for your help. I think you’re right. I think I need to sit down and have a chat with him. I just have to gather the balls to do it.”

  Alicia winked at me. “I know you can do it. You didn’t spend all the time and effort that you did to reinvent yourself just to chicken out on telling someone you’ve got the feels for that you’re into them. What’s the worst that can happen? Him telling you he’s not into you? If he’s not because of who you both were back in high school, then you definitely don’t need him in your life.”

  Spreading my hands out at my side, I nodded. “When you’re right, you’re right.”

  Smiling, she leaned forward. “Now tell me, how in love with my new novel are ya?”

  ~*~ TT ~*~

  Leaving the coffee shop, I grabbed my phone from my purse and pulled up Carrington’s number. Like a Band-Aid right off.

  Felicity: Hey Carrington, are you still at work? Can we talk?

  As I waited for him to respond, I began to walk my way towards the tattoo shop where he worked. Maybe I could bring him a sandwich as a way to break the ice? There was a deli not far from his work that he loved to eat at.

  A half hour later, I entered the deli. As if he’d sensed my closeness, my phone buzzed.

  Carrington: I’m just finishing up with a client. What’s up?

  Felicity: I’m at the deli you like. I can grab you a sandwich and we could meet at the park down the street. Turkey and bacon club sound enticing?

  Carrington: Sure does. �� Meet you there in ten minutes?

  Felicity: It’s a date.

  The line wasn’t all that long, so I was in and out in less than five minutes.

  Carrington was already at the park by the time I arrived.

  He looked up as I approached and smiled. “Hey you, I’m glad you came over. I was hoping we could talk. I just wasn’t sure how to go about it.”

  Passing him the sandwich wrapped in brown paper, I sat down next to him. “Not sure I like the way you’re starting with this.”

  “Why?” Accepting the sandwich, he opened it up with a smile spreading across his lips as he looked down at his lunch and he immediately lost his train of thought. “This looks amazing. I haven’t eaten all day. I had a last minute walk-in. Wanted a large leg piece of all things. Crazy. Had to design the thing on the spot and ink it.” />
  Opening my sandwich, also a turkey and bacon club, I took a bite. “That’s wild…” I hesitated. “But to get back to what it was that you wanted to talk to me about…”

  “Oh yes.” He put the sandwich, which was now nearly halfway done, back onto the wrapping. “I’ve noticed that it's been a little awkward between us since…”

  I popped a shoulder as I inhaled sharply. “Our night together.”

  “I know. I haven’t been sure how to fix it. And I know you saw that message from Sophia. I wasn’t sure how to explain it or even if you’d be interested in talking to me. Was hoping you’d come to talk to me when you were ready.”

  “And what if I didn’t?”

  “Then I’d have eventually figured out a way to approach you when I knew you’d calmed down. You’ve pretty much kept yourself locked in your room the past few days, so assumed you weren’t ready.”

  “Did you go visit your friend that texted you?” The word friend came out of my mouth dripping with sarcasm.

  “No, not yet. If you’d read the entire conversation you’d have seen that she wants a tattoo. She’s the daughter of the motel owner. The motel I was living at for a bit before moving in with you, you know the one. I’d traded the room in exchange for a tattoo when he wanted one. He told Sophia she could take his spot, so she just wanted me to come by to get it done.”

  “Sounded a little more intimate than that.” My eyes narrowed at him. “Have you slept with her before?”

  He shifted on the bench. When he looked back up at me, I didn’t need him to verbally confirm my suspicions. I already knew. “Look, I knew her before I met you and I legit wasn’t planning on a hook-up. I wasn’t even sure where you and I stood. I had no idea what you thought after we slept together. You avoided me, and just when we were breaking ground, that stupid text fucked it all up.”

  “You’ve said on countless occasions you’re not really a commitment guy. And you’re not really into the monogamous thing.”

  “You never gave me a chance to even consider something different. You never gave me a chance, Felicity.”

  “Are you saying you’re reconsidering your interest in monogamy?”

  The charming smile that made my heart do a little flip-flop spread across his lips. “Never said I wasn’t open to change.”

  I cocked a brow at him. “In that case, what do we do now? We’re roommates, this could get complicated.”

  “It’s already complicated, baby.” Hooking his index finger under my chin, he lifted my face so I looked up into his stunning blue eyes. Lowering his head, he grazed his lips across mine so lightly I hardly believed it happened. “We’re down the rabbit hole at this point.” Pressing his forehead against mine, I closed my eyes and savored the feel of his closeness, our breaths intermingling.

  “Carrington,” I whispered, just as his lips captured mine with more force and passion. Moaning against his lips, he took the invitation to slip his tongue past my lips to frolic with mine. It felt so familiar – so good.

  I was quickly on my way to losing myself in him when his phone buzzed, interrupting our moment. He groaned against my lips and reluctantly pulled away.

  “Sorry.” Giving me an apologetic smile, he pulled his phone from his back pocket and brought up his messages.

  I almost expected to see that girl Sophie’s name on the message, but it wasn’t. The message was from Hailey.

  “My boss,” he explained.

  “I know.” Sitting back on the bench, I diverted my gaze not wanting to appear nosy.

  “I’ve gotta go. Another walk-in client wants a job done and I’m the only artist available.”

  My heart sank a little. “I understand.”

  Wrapping up his sandwich he leaned into me and gave me another kiss. “Will you go on a date with me tonight, after work?”

  “What do you have in mind?”

  “Not sure yet. But I’ll figure it out by the time I get home.” He took a step away from me, turned and leaned in for another quick peck before jogging off in the direction of the shop.

  With a wide grin on my face, I looked down at the sandwich feeling lighter in my heart than I’d felt in a long time. I’d tell him the truth about me later. There’d be lots of time on our date.

  Chapter 11

  Carrington

  This was definitely a step for me. I’d never in my twenty-eight years had anything remotely resembling a relationship, yet here I was, a few hours from getting home and taking Felicity on an official date. Not a hangout. Not a coffee or a Netflix and chill, but a real date. It felt strange, I was actually a little scared along with excited. Maybe it was time for me to take life seriously. Did I really want to be in my thirties or even forties still chasing pussy, yet never having anything meaningful?

  If I was completely honest with myself, that’s not what I wanted, I’d been only telling myself that’s what I wanted. The more I got to know Felicity, the more I saw life from a different angle. We were already living together so it’s not like there would be any change, aside from sleeping in the same bed and being intimate.

  “Looks like you’ve got something on your mind, brother,” the man in my chair said.

  Straightening in my chair, I looked up from his chest where I was tattooing the head of an elephant and looked into his eyes. The client was roughly my age and had been pretty quiet the entire session, until now.

  “Yeah, I’ve got some things going on at home.”

  “Wifey giving ya trouble?”

  I laughed. “Nah, it’s complicated, but the jest of it is I have an important date with someone tonight. I gotta make sure it’s perfect and I have no idea where to take her and funds are a little tight.”

  “This girl special to you?”

  Smiling, I slowly nodded. “Yeah, I think so. Definitely has potential and I don’t say that about just anyone.” I huffed. “Never said that about anyone else before, to be honest.”

  “Hmm.” He scratched at the scruff on his chin. “How about we work out a little trade?”

  Placing the tattoo gun on the tray, I considered for a moment. “What kind of trade?”

  “Well, I just happen to manage a dinner cruise. We do a nice tour of the Manhattan skyline, a little sail past the Statue of Liberty. The dinner is fine dining with an extensive menu, very romantic and we have a live band each night. It’s fairly formal and extremely romantic. So you’ll need to wear a suit – and a tie.”

  Laughing, I nodded. “Believe it or not, I do own a suit.”

  “Then you’re golden. Now this is normally a pretty expensive cruise, but how about we trade the tattoo for the cruise for two?”

  I mulled it over. I’d never done any of the tourist stuff in the city – not yet and I’d really wanted to do a cruise on the Hudson. Those things were stupidly expensive, and I just could never justify the cost of doing it. But Felicity would be that excuse and I couldn’t think of anything else that’d show I was serious about having an exclusive relationship than with a gesture like that.

  After a moment, I smiled and extended my hand to him. “If you can get us on that boat tonight, then you’ve got yourself a deal.”

  “Even though it’s summer, it’s still mid-week. There will be some vacancies, so I guarantee it can happen. Trust me, if you’re looking to make this girl feel special, then this is the way to do it. Just give them my name when you arrive and I’ll have a table waiting for you.”

  My lips curled into a smile, “I’d really appreciate that, brother.”

  ~*~ TT ~*~

  Felicity

  I looked down at the text Carrington had sent me, feeling butterflies flutter within my stomach. What did he have up his sleeve?

  Carrington: I’ve got something extra special lined up for you. Make sure you’re ready for a night you’ll never forget.

  It left me anxious, unsure of how to dress for this. Finally, I decided to text him back.

  Felicity: Any clues on how I should dress for this?

/>   Carrington: None. Maybe a sexy little dress. You know the saying, you can never go wrong with a little black dress.

  Opening my small closet, I thumbed through the dresses hanging up. I really didn’t have much to choose from. Maybe I should make a run to Macy’s? After some back and forth in my head, I finally decided shopping would be the way to go. I rarely bought new clothes for myself, so I was long past due anyhow.

  I was closing the closet when the apartment door opened. “Honey, I’m home,” Carrington called out.

  Fuck! So much for the shopping trip. Opening the closet back up, I grabbed two of the sexiest dresses I owned, spun and placed them flat onto the bed. “Awesome! It’d be really nice if you’d give me an idea of what to wear. I’m really stressed over this.” Turning from the bed, I went to the bedroom doorway and peeked out.

  Tossing his backpack onto the floor near the kitchen counter, Carrington caught my gaze. “You’re free to go without clothing, but I’m not sure if we’d make it out the door if you do.”

  Rolling my eyes at him, I responded. “Or, you could give me an idea of what I should wear.” Ducking back into the room, I grabbed the two dresses that I’d picked out and brought them into the living room, holding each of them up to myself.

  The first one was a form-fitting short-sleeved, black dress with a skirt that flared out falling just above the knee. The second was a strapless little red dress that landed mid-thigh. It wasn’t my favorite since it tended to be uncomfortable, but it did certainly qualify for sexy.

  “Hmmm,” he eyed both dresses with intense scrutiny. “I think that you may need to strip down and let me see them both on you so I can get a really good idea of how they’ll look.”

  “I’m not doing that.”

  “Then I don’t have enough information to be able to give you an educated answer.”

  “You’re a putz.”

  “Ouch.” He clutched at his chest and took a staggered step backwards. “Is this the kind of verbal abuse I can expect from you now that we’re dating?”