Page 71 of The Roommate Experiment

“What are you playing?” she asks, settling down beside me.

“Shadowlands,” I manage, my voice miraculously steady.

Hunter tilts her head, intrigued. “Cool name. Is it fun?”

“Yeah?”

She scrunches her face in the cutest way. “That didn’t sound convincing.”

“No, no. It’s a fun game, I promise.”

Hunter smiles, making me sweat despite the cold temperature. Should I invest in a stronger deodorant? “Think you could teach me how to play?”

If she’s into gaming, I’m toast.

“Yeah, sure.”

We shift on the couch, getting comfortable. I hand Hunter the spare controller and will myself to focus. “Shadowlandsis a story-based game, a quest. The first thing you have to do is choose your character class. That’s gonna determine your abilities, your fighting style, magical powers, and weaknesses.”

“Like in the newJumanjimovie?”

“Yeah, like that.”

“If there’s a character who can’t eat cake, I don’t want that one.”

My lips twitch. “Noted.”

We sift through the various avatars and Hunter settles on a sexy warrior elf. Of course. If she had pointy ears to go with those legs, I wouldn’t be sitting on the couch; I’d be passed out on the floor.

As I walk her through the basics, and let her familiarize with the commands, I’m hyper-tuned into her presence beside me. The heat of her body, the scent of her, the way her knee bumps against mine as she attempts a complicated move on the screen. I’m talking and explaining, but my mind is short-circuiting.

The oversized T-shirt she’s wearing is making me unhinged. It keeps slipping, baring more and more of her shoulder.

When I have to adjust her grip on the controller, sparks dance across my skin. I do my best to ignore the sensation, to stay cool, but everything sharpens into focus, the room closing in and opening up at the same time.

I’m sitting on the couch doing nothing but my pulse is racing faster than it ever did on the basketball court, even in the final seconds of my senior championship game.

We finish the practice drills and I ask Hunter if she has questions. She looks up at me from under those long, dark lashes and shakes her head, a small smile playing on her lips. My stomach bottoms out.

We start the game. Hunter’s tongue pokes out the corner of her mouth as she concentrates, and it’s so freaking adorable I can barely focus on my half of the screen. She giggles and I glance over to see her character stuck in a dead end, running endlessly against a wall.

Without thinking, I reach over and place my hand on hers, guiding her through the sequence to free her avatar. My fingers linger on her skin for a beat too long. We both freeze. The world is holding its breath alongside me. I clear my throat awkwardly and pull back to refocus on the game.

As the sun drops out the windows, the living room remains lit only by the faint glow of the TV, but I’m not moving from this couch, not even to turn on the lights. I can’t remember the last time I felt this at ease with anyone besides Tristan. It surprises me, how easy it is to be with Hunter.

She navigates through a tricky puzzle in an ancient ruin and a hidden door swings open. My jaw drops. “Hey, I’ve been trying to get through that secret passage for ages.” I’m in awe of how smart she is.

Hunter grins at me, eyes sparkling. “Need me to show you how to pass the next part too?”

I bump her shoulder playfully. “Beginner’s luck,” I tease, but the touch sends another jolt through me.

Hunter’s smile fades as she looks at me, her dark eyes wide and luminous in the half-light. My gaze drops to her mouth. She notices and those beautiful lips part in a gasp—the sound sets a fire to the base of my spine.

Gosh, it’d be so easy to toss the controller aside, to pull her to me and taste those lips…

But it’s too soon. She doesn’t even know about Olivia. Or does she? Is she aware we broke up? I have to tell her. The words fly out of my mouth. “Olivia and I broke up.”

Hunter makes a face I can’t decipher and pulls away. Uncertainty flickers across her features. I mentally chide myself,way to kill the mood, dude.

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