Page 39 of Accidental Roommates

“Just be careful, okay? Guys can be jerks, and I’d hate for you to get hurt again while you’re still hurting from what happened.”

“I could say the same for you. Girls can be just as bad as guys. Look how much Nikki hurt you.”

“Yeah, but she’s the exception to the rule. Most girls want to commit, not cheat.”

“But the ones who don’t want to commit are the ones you’re looking to date.”

“Date, not get serious with. And who knows if I’ll date at all? Maybe I’ll decide to take some time off from women and focus on school and pick up more hours at work.”

“Well, if you do decide to date again, I’ll keep you from letting it get too serious. And you’ll do the same for me, right?”

“Sure.” He smiles. “And if you want me to go beat up your ex, I could do that too. Just tossing that out there.”

“Thanks, but you don’t need to. I’m sure this new girl will break his heart and then he’ll know what it feels like.” I lay my head back on Jace’s shoulder. “I don’t want to talk about Liam. Let’s find another infomercial to watch.”

Picking up the remote, Jace flips through the channels.

“That one,” I say as he passes it. “Go back.”

He does, and then says, “What’s this for?”

“Hair extensions.” I watch as a guy with a foreign accent talks about how life-like the hair is while he secures what looks like a comb with hair attached to the model’s head. He arranges her real hair over it then turns her toward the camera so we can see the before and after. “Did you see that? My hair could be six inches longer within minutes!”

“Your hair’s already long,” Jace says.

“It’s just below my shoulders. That’s not long. These would make it go almost to my waist.”

“I think it’s a bad idea. One of Nikki’s friends had hair that long and got it stuck in a car door. More than once.”

“But that’s why extensions are great. You can take them out whenever you want.”

“I’d pass on the extensions. Your hair looks good the way it is.”

“Guys like long hair. I’d get more dates, and they’d never have to know about the extensions because we wouldn’t date long enough for me to have to tell them the truth.”

“So you’d be lying?”

“Just about my hair.”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea, but if you really want extensions, go for it.” He points to the TV. “Look. They’ll throw in a brush if you order now.”

I laugh. “I was kidding. I don’t want extensions. I can’t have hair that long. I’d be like that girl, always getting it stuck in the car door.”

“Then should we continue our shopping on another channel?”

“Yes. Continue.”

Jace finds an infomercial selling some kind of vegetable chopper, but I fall asleep before it ends. When I wake up, I find myself lying on the couch, covered in a blanket, a pillow under my head. Jace is at the other end of the couch but sitting up, my feet on his lap. He’s asleep, his head bent forward in a position that doesn’t look at all comfortable. I’m worried he’ll be in pain in the morning.

“Jace.” I nudge him with my foot. He doesn’t move so I nudge him again. “Jace, wake up.”

He mumbles something, then jerks awake, his head lifting up. He rubs his neck. “How long was I asleep?”

“I’m not sure.” I pick up my phone to check the time. “It’s five-thirty. When did you fall asleep?”

“I don’t know.” He stretches his arms out and yawns. “Guess we should go to bed.”

I sit up, gathering the blanket. “Where’d this come from?”

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