Page 95 of The Roommate Lie

My hand slides to the back of her head, my fingers tangling in her hair as I pull her toward me. Pressing a slow line of kisses up the side of her neck until she grips me tighter, stifling a moan.

Good.

That’s what I wanted to hear, the only encouragement I need. But right before I reach her mouth, I hesitate. Her perfect pink lips are right there. I can almost taste them.

“Carrots—” I start, but I don’t know how to finish.

All I really want to do is the one thing I can’t: hold on to this moment forever. I want Alice to be mine, and I want to murmur that nickname of hers over and over. Whispering it against her lips and grumbling it against her skin every day for the rest of my life.

Except I don’t get to keep her for that long. Two more days, that’s all I get.

I still don’t close the distance between us. I can’t. It’s been so long since I’ve done anything this reckless, this blatantly self-destructive. Going any further will only make it hurt more when she’s gone.

Alice braces her hand against my chest, my heart, like she’s thinking the same thing, like she knows this is a bad idea. I wait for her to call the whole thing off—to be the sensible one—but she doesn’t. Our eyes lock, and her gaze is just as intense as mine, just as dark and full of desire. It’s like we’re daring each other to make the first move.

I break first; I knew I would.

It isn’t my intention; I mean to end things, to stop. But right as I pull away, she utters the perfect tease, the ultimate challenge.Can’t think of anything else for that scene, Blythe?

And that’s all it takes.

My hands slide back to her waist, to the hem of her cropped t-shirt, and I grip the fabric in my hands. Tugging her body against mine as I press my mouth against hers. She holds on to me too, pulling closer and closer as her body melts into our embrace.

I’m not just kissing Alice. That’s the real problem, the most dangerous part. I’m trying to sway her, to convince her.

Choose me.

I know Jason has everything I don’t, that he’s everything I could never be. That I could try for the rest of my life and never come close. Butpick me.

It was bad enough when I was growing up, and the older girls didn’t take me seriously. When I was just the fun game everyone wanted to play in high school. But now, when it’s Alice—my perfect girl—it hurts so much more.

I can picture forever with her, the life I’ve always wanted. The future is so beautiful and clear. But she was texting her exlate last night and meeting up with him at Muriel’s this morning—she doesn’t want me. She’ll never choose me.

I pick her up without thinking, setting her on the counter as that kiss deepens between us, as our bodies tangle and she murmurs my name. We don’t hear the door.

It’s just Alice and me. We’re the only two people who exist, but then Tyler and Lydia stomp into the mudroom, laughing about whatever movie they saw, and our only saving grace is that they can’t see us yet. That we’re around the corner in the kitchen, hidden in the dark.

We burst apart, and I press my back against the fridge on the other side of the room, as far away from her and that counter as I can get. I can’t catch my breath. Neither can Alice, and her eyes are wide with surprise, that look morphing into sheer panic.

She regrets everything.

I don’t want that to be true, but those regrets are etched all over her face. They mingle with her panic, her shock, and that mix of emotions is undeniable; that look she’s giving me is enough to stop my heart.

Before I can react, Alice flees the scene. She doesn’t even look back, not once. She just bolts up the stairs as fast as she can like I don’t exist. Like I’ve never existed.

Leaving me alone with nothing but moonlight.

Chapter Fifty

ALICE

Spotted:

It seems there might be trouble brewing at the house of a certain former rake. But not the kind of trouble you’d think.

The next day, Charlie and I avoid each other. It isn’t hard. He leaves for his normal Monday shift at the bus station, and I stay in the guest room to work on my novel.

Even when he gets home late that afternoon, I don’t run into him. I stay put while the Sharp twins arrive, and Lydia starts making dinner in the kitchen—the scene of last night’s crime.

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