Page 23 of Accidental Roommates

“For now, yeah. I have to build up strength in my upper body before I even attempt to play sports again.”

“You look pretty strong to me.”

Her eyes drop to my arms, which are muscular but not even close to as big as they used to be.

“I was a lot stronger before I got hurt,” I say. “After my shoulder surgery, I couldn’t lift weights for months. I lost some muscle, but I’ve been working to get it back.”

Kenzie doesn’t say anything, and when I look over at her, she’s staring at the counter, seeming lost in her thoughts. She keeps spacing out like that, probably thinking about her ex. Surprisingly, I haven’t thought about Nikki for hours now. I’ve been too focused on Kenzie, trying to make her feel better.

“Hey,” I say. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” She looks over at me and smiles. “Do you have any cleaner?”

“For what?”

“The counters.”

“I usually just wipe them down with water.”

“Move over.” I step aside as she bends down to look under the sink. She pulls out a spray bottle. “You have cleaner. An entire bottle of it.”

“I didn’t know I had that. My uncle must have bought it.”

“Does your uncle live nearby?”

“About twenty minutes from here, but he’s in Spain for the semester. He’s a professor in the College of Business. They have an exchange program in Spain and he’s teaching some classes there.”

“Is he single?” She laughs. “Maybe he could date my mom. They’re both teachers. Both like living overseas.”

“He’s single, but it probably wouldn’t work out if they’re living in different towns. By the way, where are you from?”

“Illinois. How about you?”

“Ohio. Home is about a four-hour drive from here, depending on how fast I go.”

She sprays the counters with the cleaner. “The alcohol’s wearing off. I don’t even feel drunk anymore. I think I’ll go to bed after this.”

I grab a paper towel and help her wipe the counters. “Why don’t we go do something?”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know, but I’ve been instructed not to sit in my room so I kind of have to go out.”

“Who told you not to sit in your room?”

“My boss, and he’s right. Sitting in my room, thinking about what happened, is the last thing I should be doing. Same for you. You need to get out.”

“And do what?”

“Go to a movie. A bar. Whatever you want. I’d like to avoid parties. Nikki tends to party hop and I don’t want to risk running into her.”

“Liam doesn’t go to parties. Or maybe he does and just didn’t tell me. Everything he said is probably a lie.”

“Hey.” I take the bottle of cleaner from her. “Stop talking about Liam. It’ll only make you feel worse.”

“It’s hard not to talk about him when he’s such a big part of my life.”

“But he’s not anymore, so you need to start making your life about something other than him. I know it’s hard. I’m trying to do the same thing with Nikki. I need to stop talking about her and thinking about her.” I turn to face Kenzie. “Maybe we can help each other out.”

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