Page 74 of On a Fault Line

“Don’t you think that’s a bit overkill?”

“What? Me opening your door or your reaction to me doing it?”

I feel a growl from deep in my belly, as I swipe the key from his hand and dump it into my handbag. “Thanks for the spare.”

“You know I have more.”

I grumble something unintelligible and wave goodbye without inviting him in. We’ve had this same repeat experience, and I doubt I will ever get used to him having his own set.

“Honey, you’re home!” Luke calls out from the sofa. “Perfect timing.”

He has on some sports game that I know nothing about nor care to learn. As a kid, I was dragged to my brothers’ wrestling matches, and while I enjoyed screaming from the stands and eating buttered popcorn from the concessions, the extent of my enthusiasm ended there.

“For what?”

“For you to tell me all your secrets.”

“What if there aren’t any?”

Luke tosses a hand into the air. “Just make some up. The juicier the better. I need drama in my life.”

“So there’s this guy…”

Luke sits up straighter and plasters a serious expression on his face. “Tall, Dark, and Overcompensated?”

“What?” I shake my head. “What does that even mean?”

“Like he’s using money or social status to overcompensate for inadequacy”—he points to his groin—“in the tool department.”

I stare at him blankly and then flop down on the couch beside him. “I, um, I don’t even know how to answer that. I mean, he has money.”

“Is he older?”

“Yeah.”

Luke plasters on a knowing smile. “Like a sugar daddy.” When I don’t answer, he lets out a huff. “Come on, you have to give more details. It’s a rule.”

“There’s no rules, Luke.”

He shrugs. “It’s listed in the handbook.”

I make a face. “What handbook?”

“How to Survive Being Roommates.”

“Sounds boring.”

“Sounds practical. And with you I need all the help I can get. Your species is so complex,” he says with a whine.

“Luke, we really aren’t.”

“See, then it must just be you.”

“Gee, thanks.”

The doorbell rings, and Luke nudges me with his toes. “Go get it.”

I glare at him. “Why me?”

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