Page 81 of The Roommate Experiment

Dylan’s eyes search mine as if he’s struggling to find the right words. His thumb continues to stroke my cheek, the touch so gentle it makes my heart ache. “Everything has changed. In the past month, I’ve felt closer to you than I’ve ever felt with anyone. You’re easier and funnier to hang out with than even Tristan. I can’t wait to be home with you every night, to see your smile and hear your laugh. It’s the best part of my day. I’m sad when I wake up and you’ve already sneaked out of the house. That I didn’t get to tell you good morning.”

His words lodge deep in my bones. I can’t breathe, can’t think, as he continues.

“I wanted you even when I was dating Olivia. That’s the main reason the failed break-ups frustrated me so much. Because every time, I was looking forward to coming home and testing the waters between us but never could.”

Each new confession sparks in my chest, lighting up something bright inside me as I process what he’s saying. My mind reels, struggling to make sense of it all. Dylan wanted me? Even when he was with Olivia? The idea seems impossible, too good to be true.

“But you and Olivia… you looked so…” I trail off, unable to finish the thought. The memory of seeing them together, of the jealousy that twisted in my gut, is still too fresh.

Dylan’s expression becomes solemn. “Olivia and I were never that serious, Hunt. It was mostly hanging out, a few kisses. But it never went beyond that. I never even once wanted to have sex with her.”

Then he gives me a stare so dark my toes curl in my socks. His eyes rake over me, taking in every inch of my face.

“But with you… Those shorts you’ve been wearing around the house… worked wonders, Brolin. You have no idea how many times I’ve had to stop myself from reaching out and touching you.”

The words rumble through his chest as his hands slide down to my hips, his fingers digging deeper into my skin through the thin fabric of his shirt.

“Every time you walked around in those tiny shorts, I wanted to grab you and kiss you until you couldn’t breathe.”

“W-why didn’t you?”

“I didn’t want you to think I was on the rebound from Olivia or something. That you weren’t my number-one choice.” Dylan’s fingers tighten on my hips, his grip firm and possessive. “Because you are. And the only thing hotter than seeing you in my shirt would be dragging it off of you.”

My skin prickles at the thought of his hands on me, slowly undressing me. I can almost feel the heat of his touch, the whisper of fabric sliding over my skin as he removes the shirt inch by tantalizing inch.

“I want to take my time with you,” Dylan continues, his eyes darkening with desire. “Explore every curve, every freckle, every sensitive spot until I know your body better than my own. I want to make you shiver and gasp and moan my name.”

Each word is a caress, igniting a fire under my skin as Dylan’s hands slide higher, his thumbs brushing my ribcage over the light material of his shirt.

“I can’t tell if it’s love. If it’s too soon to call it that.” He drops his forehead over mine. “But it feels a lot like it. The way my heart races when you walk into a room, the way my skin tingles when you brush against me, the way I can’t stop thinking about you even when you’re right next to me… It’s like nothing I’ve ever felt before.”

Dylan’s last confession hits me in a wave, crashing over me and sweeping me under. My fingers dig into his arms, clinging to him as if he were the only thing keeping me from drowning in the overwhelming rush of emotions. I’m not sure if I’m holding on to him out of lust, love, or a desperate need for support, but either way, my grip is shaky, my hands trembling against his skin.

It’s my turn to confess. “Dylan, I’ve had a major crush on you since the day we met. You’ve been the guy I’ve compared every boyfriend to, and no one has ever lived up to you.” The words spill out of me in a rush, letting go of a secret I’ve held inside for so long. But now that I’ve laid my heart bare on the kitchen counter, I float in the freedom of saying these words out loud. “I went on all those stupid dates because I wanted to forget about you and Olivia,” I admit, my voice cracking. “Seeing you two together, it hurt so fucking much. I thought if I could find someone else, I could move on from this hopeless crush. But no one else could ever compare to you.”

I will my hands to stop trembling as I continue. “Every time I went out with a new guy, all I could think about was how he wasn’t you. How his laugh didn’t make my heart skip the way yours does, how his smile didn’t light up the room the way yours can. It was to convince myself I could be happy with someone else when deep down, I knew it would always be you.”

Dylan’s eyes widen. “Why didn’t you say something sooner? In all the years we’ve known each other, you never once hinted that you had feelings for me.”

I let out a throaty laugh, shaking my head. “How could I? When we first met, I was eighteen, a freshman who still had to figure out who I was. And there you were, this sophisticated investment banker already living in the city like a proper adult. I was such a kid compared to you.”

I caress his shoulders, giving myself permission to explore his body. “If I had told you back then how I felt, you would’ve laughed in my face. Or worse, patted me on the head like some silly little girl with a crush.”

“I would’ve never laughed in your face.”

I smirk. “But you don’t deny the possibility of a brotherly pat on the head?”

“I can’t speak for the me of back then, only for the me of right now who doesn’t have a single brotherly thought toward you.” He’s unapologetic, intentional. When I think there’s nothing left of me to burn, another section of my body goes up in flames. It’s my spine this time. “And you’ve been an adult and living in the same city as me for a few years now.”

I let out a long sigh. “You’re right. But by the time I moved to New York, I’d drifted naturally into an acquaintance zone with you.”

Dylan raises a skeptical eyebrow. “Acquaintance zone? Is that even a thing?”

I chuckle at his confusion. “Okay, fine. The technical term is ‘friend zone,’ but that implies a level of closeness we didn’t have. We were more… friendly acquaintances. We hung out in group settings, but never one on one. I was always Nina’s best friend to you.”

Dylan nods thoughtfully, his hands still resting on my hips, his thumbs tracing idle patterns that send little shivers through me. “I get that.” He smiles, eyes crinkling at the corners in that way I love. “So now that you know me better and we’re more than acquaintances… do you still want me?”

His tone is easy-going but with an undercurrent of uncertainty that makes my heart clench. I realize that as confident as Dylan may appear, even he needs reassurance sometimes. The thought that he could doubt my devotion to him is almost laughable. If anything, the more I’ve gotten to know Dylan, the deeper I’ve fallen.

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