Page 12 of The Roommate Experiment

I’d love to see you, but the place is still a wreck. Haven’t finished unpacking. How about I come to yours instead?

Olivia

Aww, okay. But you owe me a tour soon. I want to see where my boyfriend lives

Boyfriend.The word tastes strange as I roll it over my tongue, unfamiliar. We’ve been dating only for ten days, but she’s moving at light speed. True, I’ve called Olivia my girlfriend, too, but only because it’s shorter than “the woman I’ve been seeing.” I wonder if she’s on the same page or if she assumes this is already a serious relationship after two dates.

Dylan

Soon, I promise

I send the text and dive back into work. I skim through the numbers, the lines of text blurring as I focus on the bottom line. Profit margins, market share, risk factors—it’s all a balancing act, a delicate dance of data and projections.

Another buzz, another text from Olivia.

Olivia

What time tonight?

Dylan

I’m stuck here for a while. I’ll text you when I leave the office

I toss the phone onto the desk, screen down, and crack my neck, the familiar popping sound a brief relief from the pressure mounting in my head as the busy afternoon stretches out before me.

By the time I resurface, the sun is already setting, casting long shadows across the city. I’m exhausted, my mind buzzing with fatigue. I’m half-tempted to cancel on Olivia and go home. But I’m not positive the situation there would be any more relaxing. Plus, I’m not a dick. I’m not gonna ask for a rain check at the last minute.

I pack up my things, slipping my laptop into my backpack. The office is quieter now, the evening calm settling in. I nod to Kelly as I pass her desk, offering a tired smile. “Heading out.”

She stretches her arms above her head, grinning. “Finally.”

“See you tomorrow.”

“Night, boss.”

I order a car on the ride down in the elevator, shooting a quick text to Olivia next.

Dylan

On my way. Should I stop to get takeout?

Her reply arrives as I step out of the building, the air still simmering with the day’s heat, the city alive around me—the noise of traffic, the whisper of a breeze slipping through the tall skyscrapers, the buzz of thousands of lives all moving at once.

Olivia

No need, I cooked. Can’t wait to see you

Good thing I didn’t cancel after she made me dinner.

My car arrives. I slide into the back seat and lean my head against the headrest, closing my eyes. A vague sense of something left undone sweeps over me. But then the car starts moving, and I tell myself it’s nothing, only a long day getting to me.

6

DYLAN

Tonight at Olivia’s was…weird. We had dinner—turns out she’s an amazing cook, then we talked. I broached the subject of how fast our relationship was progressing, and she was cool about it. At first, she hesitated, asking if it was because she’d called me her boyfriend. I said, yeah, in a way. Olivia had the cutest reaction. She covered her face with her hands, but still smiled, and said she regretted sending the text right away. I told her it wasn’t a problem, but that I wasn’t sure how serious she thought we were. She agreed to keep it casual for now.

Then, after dinner, we started making out on her couch. But when things got heated, she shut me down, explaining she prefers to take it slow at the beginning and get to know the other person better before sex, which, of course, I respected. And the weirdest fucking thing? I was relieved she didn’t want to have sex with me. Which has never happened to me, and I’m not sure how to fucking explain it.

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