Page 81 of Accidental Roommates

“Hey, Jace,” a girl says on her way to the locker room. She gives me a wave and a flirty smile.

“Who’s that?” Brent asks.

“I don’t know. I’ve seen her a few times but never talked to her.”

“Then how does she know your name?”

I point to my name tag. “Not too hard to figure out.”

“She’s hot. You should ask her out.”

Ignoring him, I check my phone for the time. Tonight’s going really slow. I want to go home, but I have five more hours to work.

“Did you hear me?” Brent asks.

“Yeah. I’m not asking her out.”

“Why not? She made it pretty damn clear she wants to go out with you.”

“I’m not interested. Go take a shower. You stink.”

“You could take her to the party this weekend.”

“Just drop it, okay? If I want to bring someone, I will, but it’s not gonna be someone you pick for me.”

“Whatever.” He walks off, then turns back. “If you don’t want Kenzie, can I have her?” He smiles.

“No!” I yell. I didn’t mean to yell it. It just came out that way.

“Sorry I asked,” he says, putting his hands up in surrender.

Damn. I just proved he’s right about me having feelings for Kenzie. I assume he’ll point that out, but instead he continues to the locker room. I’m sure I’ll hear about it later.

The girl who said hi to me earlier reappears wearing tight black shorts and a hot pink sports bra, her blond hair in a ponytail.

“I’m Rhea,” she says, reaching her hand over the desk.

“Jace.” I shake her hand and smile. “But you already knew that.” I glance at my name tag.

“That’s not how I knew. My friend works out here all the time and told me about you.”

“Oh, yeah? Who’s your friend?”

“Carly. She goes to spin class every night. She’s addicted. I swear, if she misses a class she gets all cranky and whiny, like she’s going through withdrawal.”

I smile. “Exercise can be addicting.”

Rhea leans over the counter, her arms resting on it. “I don’t usually do this, but would you like to get coffee sometime? You seem like a really nice guy and I thought maybe we could get to know each other.”

This happened the other day. A girl asked me out and said almost the exact same words. I got asked out last week too, but that girl was more aggressive, telling me I was hot and that she wanted to have sex with me. She actually came out and said that. I turned her down. The other girl, too. I know I said I’d get out there and date again, but a month’s gone by and I still haven’t done it, unless you count Briana, but we never actually went out.

I should tell this girl yes. I told Brent I’d go on a date and I really should. I can’t keep putting it off. It’s possible Rhea’s just another Briana or Nikki, but I shouldn’t assume that without getting to know her. She could turn out to be really nice. It’s just coffee. We could go out for coffee. There’s no pressure with coffee.

“Can I get back to you on that?” I ask.

“Sure. Here’s my number.” Rhea writes it down on the back of one of the gym brochures. “Call if you decide you want to meet.”

I should just do it. I should agree to meet her for coffee. But I can’t, because going out with Rhea, or any girl, makes me feel like I’m cheating on Kenzie. It’s completely wrong to think that. Kenzie and I aren’t a couple, but I still feel guilty when I think about going out with some other girl.

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