Page 45 of Roommating

Marcia kneels to kiss Rocket. “I’m okay, baby.”

Sufficiently reassured of her well-being, Rocket retreats back to Marcia’s bedroom.

I press a hand to my heart, the sexual encounter with Adam now behind me, at least for now. “Oh no.”

“What did he do?” Angry sparks fly from Adam’s eyes.

Marcia drops her purse on the coffee table. “Do we have any of that prosecco left?”

“I’ll open a new bottle.” I rise from the couch and rush to the kitchen.

A few minutes later, after Marcia changes into pajamas, we reconvene in the kitchen, and she recaps her night over glasses of prosecco.

“When I got to the restaurant, he was already at the table, along with a pile of pills in front of him like he was waiting until I arrived to take them. Before even saying ‘Nice to meet you,’ he went through the list of all the medications he’s on: Crestor for high cholesterol, Monopril for high blood pressure, Celebrex for arthritis, Zoloft for anxiety.”

“Hot,” Adam deadpans.

Marcia takes a glug from her glass. “We’re senior citizens, I get it, but can we at leastpretendto still be sexy for a first date?”

“Youaresexy, Marcia! Sexy is not about age. It’s about…” I look at Adam. Why am I looking at Adam? Because he’s the epitome of sexy.Snap out of it!“What about Richard Gere?”

“And Michelle Pfeiffer. She’s totally sexy!” Even though this is the perfect time to present a united front while we list some of the sexiest of the over-sixty crowd, Adam avoids eye contact with me as if his own cholesterol, blood pressure, joints, and anxiety depend on it.

“I could have gotten past the meds—even bonded over the side effects of our high blood pressure medication—but then he went on a rant about his last several dates. This one wanted to sleep with him on the first date. He should be so lucky! One had been married twice already, to which I say, so what? I just can’t with Judgy McJudgersons.” She side-eyes us in annoyance.

A smile slips out in the midst of her rant. I’m a terrible person.Marcia is in the aftermath of a brutal reentry into the single scene and I’msmiling. Yet I can’t help but feel a burst of pride for the main-character energy she’s bringing to this fiasco.

“Is it always like this?” She glances between us, pleading for us to say no.

At the same time, we say, “NO.” Left unsaid is that it’softenlike this.

“Good, because I can’t wait to do it again as soon as possible.”

I choke on a sip of prosecco. “Wha… what?”

Marcia grins. “Tonight was a disaster, for sure, but the excitement? Getting dressed up? The optimism that maybe we’ll hit it off? I liked it. I liked it a lot. I want to keep trying.”

“That’s fabulous!” I raise my glass. “To trying!”

We all take a sip, then Adam shakes his head. “It’s all well and good you want to get back out there again, butImight need anxiety meds to get through it.”

My heart tugs even as a chuckle leaks out. I can’t resist sneaking a glance at him. My gaze locks on his lips and my mind flashes to how soft but firm they felt against mine. When I look up, he’s watching me too. The room gets hotter.

Marcia walks her glass over to the sink. “It’s past my bedtime.” She kisses Adam’s cheek. “Thank you both for sharing in my excitement. This was the most fun I’ve had in a long time!” She glances between us with obvious affection before retiring to her room.

Once she’s gone, it’s me and Adam alone in the kitchen again. The vibe is awkward with a capitalA. He’s on one end by the refrigerator and I’m on the other side by the table. Even though it’s a small space, it might as well be the Atlantic Ocean.

Adam scrubs a hand across his face.

I decide to break the ice. “Well, that was a close call!”

He drops his hand and cocks his head at me. “You think?”

“Whatareyou thinking?” I don’t even know whatI’mthinking, but it would be nice to get a sense of where he’s at. Carley and Gabe are right about one thing: I like Adam. He’s kind. He listens. He cares. Hereads. His yummy appearance doesn’t hurt. Anddamnthe boy can kiss. He’s also packing serious heat between his thick legs.

But nothing’s changed. He’s still Marcia’s grandson. Getting involved with him is probably a lousy idea. If things go bad between us, it could ruin everything. I love my living situation (and Marcia) too much to risk losing it over a boy.

“It shouldn’t have happened. We were both worried about Marcia,” Adam says before walking to the pantry and predictably removing a bag of Cheetos.

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