Page 38 of Accidental Roommates

“This girl. She won’t leave me alone. She must’ve found out I broke up with Nikki.”

“Already? How would she know?”

“I’m kinda well known on campus because of basketball. Even though I’m not playing anymore, I’m still in that world. I hang out with the team. Go to their parties. People still talk about me, so when something like this happens, word travels fast.”

“And now some girl wants to date you?”

“She didn’t say anything about dating. More like… doesn’t matter. I told her no.”

“She wanted to sleep with you? Already?”

“It’s how some people get over an ex.”

“Would you have told her yes if I wasn’t here?”

“No. It’s too soon.”

“How soon before you’ll date again?”

“I’m not sure. I haven’t thought about it. I need to let some time go by and see how I feel.”

“But you’re staying away from relationships, right?”

“For now, yeah. I’m not ready for another serious relationship.”

I turn to him. “I have an idea.”

He looks at me. “What is it?”

“What if we helped each other out?”

“Meaning what?”

“What if we helped each other stay out of a relationship?”

He looks confused. “I don’t get it. Why would we need help?”

“Maybe you don’t, but I do. I’ve been in a relationship for so long that I could easily see myself getting into another one without even realizing I’m doing it. But that’s not what I want. My heart needs time to heal before I get serious with someone again. I want to do like you’re doing and just date with no strings. No commitment. So will you help me?”

“Um, sure,” he says, still seeming confused. “But what does that mean? Is dating someone more than a few times a relationship?”

“I don’t know. What do you think? What’s your criteria going to be?”

“I don’t really have any. I’m just going to be honest and tell the girl I just got out of a long relationship and I’m not looking for anything serious.”

“And you think she’ll be okay with that?”

“If that’s what she wants too, then yeah. You’re not the only girl looking to date without it becoming serious. This isn’t just a guy thing. Anyone who’s been hurt needs time to get over it, but that doesn’t mean they stop dating.”

“Then maybe I’ll do what you’re doing. I’ll tell the guy upfront that I don’t want anything serious.”

“Um, yeah, you may want to tweak your wording. To a guy, that means you just want sex.”

“Oh. Okay, well, I’ll figure it out.”

“You sure you want to start dating again?”

“No, but like you said, sometimes getting out there and dating again helps you move on.”

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