Page 33 of Accidental Roommates

After ten minutes of surfing channels, I shut the TV off and go in the kitchen. I grab a glass and pour myself some whiskey. I down a couple shots, then one more. I’m hoping it’ll help me sleep but not confident that it will. Being in my bedroom, in my bed, will just bring up more memories of Nikki and me.

Going down the hall to my room, I notice Kenzie’s light is off. She must’ve decided to skip the shower and go right to bed. At least one of us can sleep.

I go in my room and gently shut the door, hoping I don’t wake her. I was never this quiet when Carter was my roommate and neither was he. We didn’t care about waking each other up.

I get into bed and lie there, staring at the ceiling. Those shots did nothing to make me tired. I don’t even feel a buzz. I’m a big guy and it takes a lot before I feel the effects of alcohol.

Two hours later, I’m still awake, tossing and turning. I even counted sheep, which didn’t work. Nothing works. I can’t stop thinking about her.

Taking my phone from the nightstand, I put my earbuds in and turn on some music. But all the songs on my phone remind me of Nikki. Makes sense. Half of them were added by her and the other half I added while we were dating. She was part of my life for two years—since my first week at college—and then, just like that, it’s over. And I didn’t even see it coming. I feel like a fucking idiot.

Yanking out my earbuds, I shut down my phone and get out of bed. I need another shot of whiskey. Or maybe two.

Walking to my door I hear a sound. Is it the TV? Did I forget to turn it off? Or is Kenzie watching it?

I go out to the living room. The lights are off but the TV is on, giving off enough light that I can see Kenzie on the couch, hugging her knees to her chest, her head bent.

“Kenzie?” I say softly so I don’t startle her.

Her head lifts and she quickly sits up, wiping her eyes. “Sorry, did I wake you?” She searches for the remote. “I’ll turn it off.”

“You don’t have to.” I pick up the remote, which had fallen on the floor, and set it on the coffee table. “Care if I join you?”

“Go ahead.” She sniffles as she scoots down to give me room on the couch. I catch her looking at my bare chest and she quickly looks away, back at the TV.

Maybe I should’ve put a shirt on. I was feeling hot and didn’t want to wear one. I wouldn’t if Carter was still here, but now that I have a girl as a roommate, I might need to wear a shirt.

Kenzie has on shorts and an oversized t-shirt. She’s hugging her chest, probably because she’s not wearing a bra, but in this dim light, it’s not like I’d see anything.

I sit down beside her. “Couldn’t sleep?”

She shakes her head and wipes her eyes.

“Same here.” I put my arm up on the back of the couch. “Want to talk about it?”

“Not really.”

I nod and stare at the TV. There’s an infomercial on for some kind of frying pan.

“You think we should get one?” I ask.

“What?”

I point to the TV. “The pan.” I watch as a guy slides fried eggs from the pan to a plate without using a spatula or even nudging it out with a fork. “Did you see that?”

I look over at her and see her head is still down. She slowly lifts it, her eyes going to the TV.

“I missed it. What happened?”

“This guy made eggs and they slid right out of the pan. And check it out. There’s nothing left behind. He doesn’t even have to scrub the pan. Now that’s innovation.”

She quietly laughs, just once, but it’s enough to make me smile.

“What?” I turn to her. “You’re not impressed by that?”

“Not really.”

“Are you kidding? It’s genius. You know how hard it is to get the egg gunk off the bottom of a pan?”

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