Page 113 of Accidental Roommates

“Wait—what? How do you know?”

“I caught her coming out of his room just now.”

“Did he say anything to you?”

“No, he’s asleep. I can’t believe he’s seeing her again. How could he get back with her after what she did to him? Are guys really that stupid?”

“Not all of them. And I don’t think Jace is. I don’t think he’d get back with Nikki. It doesn’t make sense, especially knowing the way he feels about you.”

“Well, you’re wrong, because he’s definitely back with Nikki. She was in his room. And she left her earrings here, which means she’s been here before tonight.”

“Okay, hold on. You’re making all kinds of assumptions, none of which may be true.”

“You think Nikki just stopped over and snuck in his room when he was asleep to make it look like they were back together?”

“Maybe. She sounds kind of crazy.”

“She is, but that’s not what happened. She’d only do that if I were home to see it, and I wasn’t. She had no idea when I’d be home. And how do you explain why her earrings were in Jace’s room? Jace said he got rid of all her stuff.”

“Maybe he thought he did, but the earrings were in a drawer he never looks in.”

“Then she would’ve come and got them after they broke up, not months later. Dan, I know you’re trying to make me feel better, but the truth is right in front of me. Jace is back with Nikki. It’s too late.”

“You could still tell him how you feel. Maybe the thing with Nikki isn’t serious. Maybe it’s just sex.”

“Yeah, that makes me feel better,” I say, rolling my eyes.

“You know what I mean.”

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore. Jace and I are friends, and I’m just going to keep it that way.”

“But that’s not what you want. And do you really want him to be with Nikki?”

“No, but if he’s stupid enough to take her back, there’s nothing I can do about it. I can’t tell you how many hours Jace and I spent talking about our exes, saying how we’d never take them back, and now here he is, back with Nikki.”

“Kenzie, I’m really sorry. I never thought he’d do that.”

“I didn’t either.”

“You want to go somewhere? We could grab dinner. Get a drink. Whatever you want.”

“Thanks, but you need to talk to Maddie.”

“I could do it tomorrow.”

“No, you can’t keep putting it off. You need to talk to her.”

“You sure you’ll be okay?”

“I’m fine. I shouldn’t even be mad about this. It’s not like Jace was cheating on me. He’s free to do what he wants. I’m more mad at myself for not talking to him weeks ago. I can’t let you make the same mistake. Call Maddie. Do it now. Don’t wait. At least one of us should have a happy ending.”

“You’ll have yours too. Maybe not today, but someday. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”

“Not if things work out with Maddie. You two need time to make up. If I don’t hear from you, I’ll assume you two got back together.”

“And if you do hear from me, it means things didn’t go well and you owe me a drink for making me do this.”

“Deal. Bye, Dan.”

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