A tall blond man opened the door. "Oh!" He smiled as he looked me up and down. I scowled. His roommate's boyfriend shows up and he has the nerve to look me up and down? I had to rein my temper back, since he didn't know who I was yet.
"My, you are a handsome one! Ryan wasn't kidding. Come on in."
What?
"How do you know who I am? And why are you checking me out if you know I'm Ryan's?" I almost said "boyfriend" but choked on even saying that word. God, I really was a mess when it came to relationships. I needed to get over my fears and fast.
"Tall, dark, handsome and sultry. He described you perfectly. And don't you go to museums to check out fine artwork? I'm just doing the same. Except the art walked up to our place this time." He winked and opened the door wider to let me in. I couldn't help but smile at him.
"How's he doing?" I looked around the living room but didn't see Ryan. One of the doors off the hallway was closed. I assumed that was Ryan's room.
"He left me a note that he came home from work sick and was going to nap. What happened?" I didn't know how much Lance knew of Ryan's life, and wasn't sure what all to share.
"I think he's got the flu. I had my driver take him home earlier. I didn't think he'd make it home on his own."
His roommate frowned at that.
"Did he throw up?"
Why was he asking that? God, I needed to get control of my suspicious attorney nature.
"Yes, actually. We just sat down for the Cinco de Mayo office party and he left in a hurry." The roommate flattened his lips and looked down. I narrowed my eyes. He knew something. If he knew Ryan was pregnant before I did, I wasn't going to be happy.
"What's your name, by the way? It seems that you know me already, but I'm Marcus Sutton." I held out my hand and he shook it.
"I'm Lance Ferguson. Ryan and I have been roommates since college."
Ah. Then he probably does know everything.
"I'm going to check on him, make sure he's OK. Which room is his?"
Lance blanched looking back at the hallway.
"Uh, let me tell him you're here."
Okay... something was definitely going on and I didn't like it. I stood waiting in the living room with my arms crossed. I couldn't hear anything, as Lance closed the door after he went in.
I slowly turned around in the living room, taking in the well-loved couch, the IKEA furniture, and the older TV. I realized that these two were either early in their careers or weren't making much money. However, I knew that as a paralegal, and a good one such as Ryan, should be making enough that he could certainly live better than this. Was he supporting his roommate? Was Lance just his roommate and nothing more? The door opened behind me and I turned around, dropping my scowl.
"He's really tired." I frowned. I knew a bullshit excuse when I heard one.
"Well, it's a good thing I'm here then, so I can help take care of him." I walked past Lance's sputtering and opened the door. It was a small bedroom, much smaller than an adult should be forced to live in. He had a single bed, a dresser, a nightstand with a lamp- but that was about it. There was something to be said for minimalism, but I didn't think that his decorating scheme was due to a personal choice.
Ryan sat up with big eyes when I walked into the room. He looked mortified. He quickly laid back down and threw the covers over his head. I walked over and lay down on my side next to him. I had one leg still on the floor to keep my balance so I wouldn't fall backwards off the bed. This was the most uncomfortable I had been since messing around in college. Why the hell did he still have a twin bed for God's sake? But most of all, what the hell was going on?
"I told you I'd stop back to check on you. I want to make sure you're doing okay." I turned my head to glance at the doorway. Lance was standing in the open door, chewing his bottom lip. He looked concerned until he saw me looking, then smiled.
"Oh, I'm sure he's just, you know, not feeling well. You should come back tomorrow."
I rolled my eyes. I couldn't even try to go along with this obvious bullshit.
"Lance, I know you're probably a really good roommate and friend. Especially because you're trying to give me some bullshit excuse and get me out of here, which obviously means that I need to stay to find out what's going on." With that said, I turned back to the lump under the covers. He hadn't moved. I turned my head back to Lance. "I need to have a conversation with Ryan, could you close the door? Thanks." I watched him close the door with a worried look on his face. Something was indeed not right and I had a pretty good idea what it was.
I turned my head to look back at the bed. So, I guess this was going to be a one-sided conversation then? I didn't know whether I should be mad that his roommate knew before I did. But, I could really understand Ryan's point of view. If he was indeed pregnant, he was probably scared out of his mind. With the state of his apartment, either he must not come from money or they both must be saving everything they earned. Being a single omega with a child would be a nightmare. I could definitely see why he would be upset and scared.
"Ryan, I couldn't happen to notice," I ran my hand down the farthest lump which I hoped was his shoulder. I wanted to touch him, to reassure him that I was here and I was going to still be here for whatever was going on. I just hoped I was rubbing his arm or chest and I wasn't making him feel like throwing up again. "-that you suddenly had to throw up after not even eating lunch, were wearing pants with an elastic waistband, , and your flat abs that I enjoyed seeing up close and personal, now have a little bulge."
Ryan still hadn't moved. I didn't even have to look under the covers to know that he was as white as his sheets and scared stiff. I had heard enough stories about asshole alphas to know why Ryan was scared. I wondered if something had happened to either him or Lance in the past with an asshole alpha that had him so paranoid about me.