Page 125 of Accidental Roommates

“Wait. Let’s get comfortable.”

We lay down on the couch and I rest my head on his chest.

“Remember when we did this the night we met?” he asks.

“Yeah. I kept thinking we shouldn’t. It didn’t seem like something roommates should do.”

“Then why’d you do it?”

“Because it felt right. You were basically a stranger, but I felt comfortable around you, even that first day we met.”

“I felt the same way. I told myself it was because I missed Nikki and saw you as a replacement, but that wasn’t it at all.”

“How do you know?”

“Because it felt different with you. It felt right. Like you were the one I was supposed to be with. I never felt that way with Nikki, even after two years of dating her. I was always questioning myself, wondering if she was really the one. I never did that with you. I never doubted how I felt about you.”

“Then why’d you wait so long to date me?”

“I didn’t. We were dating the whole time. The laser tag? That was our first date.”

“No it wasn’t. We didn’t even kiss.”

“I wanted to, but told myself I shouldn’t. And just because we didn’t kiss, or do more than that, doesn’t mean we weren’t dating. We did plenty of flirting. Texting. We spent all our free time together. And we did eventually have sex, so we were definitely dating.”

I smile. “Okay, we were dating.”

“Which is why I was pissed when you dated Dan.”

I lift my head up. “It was one date! And it was when we were avoiding each other. That doesn’t count. Oh! I forgot to tell you. Dan proposed to Maddie last night. She sent me a text.”

Maddie and I became friends soon after that day I ran into her while I was out walking. She got back together with Dan that day, and then called me later that week to see if I wanted to meet for lunch. We met and found out we have a lot in common, which explains why Dan was drawn to me. I’m a lot like his girlfriend, except that he’s in love with her and sees me more like a sister. I’m friends with both of them now and so is Jace.

“That’s great!” Jace says. “But not surprising. Dan told just about everyone he was proposing. He just didn’t say when.” Jace points to the TV. “Check it out. That thing turns vegetables into pasta.”

“Wow! That’s amazing. Should we get it?”

“Probably not. I like regular spaghetti, not carrots made to look like spaghetti. But if you really want it, we can get it.”

“Let’s keep looking.”

We scan through the channels, stopping on all the infomercials, just like we did that night. The night we met. The night we knew we were more than just roommates.

It was the worst day of our lives… that ended up being the best.

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