Page 82 of Accidental Roommates

“Have a good workout,” I say.

“I will. Bye, Jace.” She shoots me a flirty smile then walks off, giving me a view of her ass, which is nice but not as nice as Kenzie’s. I really need to stop comparing every girl I meet to Kenzie.

When I get home just after nine, I find Kenzie on the couch with her laptop.

“How’s the studying going?” I ask.

“Ugh.” She falls back on the couch.

“That bad?” I say with a laugh.

“I can’t take any more. My head’s about to explode.”

“Will this help?” I sit beside her and take the ice cream from the sack.

She sits up, her eyes wide, a big smile on her face. “You got me ice cream?”

“It’s the least I could do after what happened earlier.” I hand her the container. “I’ll grab some spoons.”

“You didn’t have to do this. I’ve already forgotten about what happened. It was nothing. Liam used to yell at me all the time, even when he wasn’t angry.”

I return with the spoons and hand her one. “I don’t want to be like Liam. The guy didn’t treat you right and never deserved to have you. Actually, he shouldn’t be dating at all. He doesn’t know how to treat women.”

“Sometimes I wonder what my life would be like if I’d never met him.” She dips her spoon in the ice cream. “How many other guys would I have gone out with? What if one of them was the one, but I never got a chance to meet him because I was with Liam?”

I reach over to get some ice cream. “If you’re destined to be with someone, then that someone is still out there. Being with Liam didn’t change anything.”

“That makes my head hurt,” she says, rubbing her forehead. “I’m running on low brain power after studying.” She digs her spoon around in the ice cream, trying to get to the cookie chunks. I got her cookie dough, her favorite kind. “Are you saying that everyone finds the one they’re supposed to be with?”

“I’m saying if you believe in destiny, then things will happen that will lead you to that person. Like if your soulmate was here in town, then something would’ve driven you to come here so you could meet the person.”

“You really believe that?”

“Kind of. And I only say that because sometimes the timing of things seems too perfect to be random. Like there’s some force out there making it happen.”

“Like when we met.” She points her spoon at me, her eyes getting wider. “It’s crazy that I just happened to stop on your porch when I needed a place to live and you needed a roommate. And then I find out the same thing happened to you that had just happened to me? I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to find someone to talk to. Someone who understood what I was going through.” She smiles at me. “We needed each other and we found each other. That’s kind of amazing, don’t you think?”

“It is,” I say, like it’s not a big deal, but I agree it’s amazing. Ever since that day we met, I keep thinking about it and how it didn’t seem random. I think we were meant to meet that day, at that exact time, after we’d both had our hearts broken. I’m not sure why, but whatever the reason, it seems like more than just a coincidence.

“Thanks for the ice cream,” Kenzie says, taking a bite of it. “It’s exactly what I wanted.”

“Guess I read your mind.” I take another bite. “You know, you can always call and ask me to pick up something on my way home.”

“That wouldn’t seem right.”

“Why not?”

“Because we’re friends. That seems like something you’d ask a boyfriend to do. Actually, Liam would never do that. If I asked him to stop and get me something, he’d tell me to get it myself, which is why I don’t ask guys, or anyone, to get me stuff. Liam trained me to do everything myself.”

“That’s messed up.” I set my spoon down and lean back on the couch, turning toward Kenzie. “Why the hell did you date him for so long?”

“Because I didn’t know any better. He was my first boyfriend. I didn’t date anyone else.”

“Then let me make this clear. Most guys would do most anything for the girl they love. Even if it’s a blizzard outside, or he’s exhausted from work, or it’s the middle of the night, if his girl asks for something, he’ll get it for her.”

“Really?” she asks, like she doesn’t believe me.

“Yeah. You’ve just been dating the wrong guy. Any guy’s going to be better than Liam, but if you find the right one, it’ll be a whole new world for you. You’ll finally see how a guy should treat you.”

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