Page 72 of Roommating

“Fine.” I take a cookie from the tray and bite into it as Marcia joins us in the kitchen.

Her eyes widen. “Did you just offer Sabrina a dog treat?”

WHAT?I spit the bite into my hand and drop the rest of the treat onto the floor. Rocket must have “treat” radar because he races into the kitchen, his tail wagging behind him, and swallows it up within seconds. “Seriously?”

My cheeks are practically baking from embarrassment. I march to the sink and pour a glass of water to wash the taste of dog treat out of my mouth. After I guzzle it down, I face my two roommates again.

Marcia shakes her head at Adam. “What’s gotten into you?”

He smiles sheepishly. “The recipe says they’re good enough for humans to eat. I was just seeing if that was true.”

I cluck my tongue. “Using me as your guinea pig. Nice.” From the small taste I got, I agree with the recipe, but I will never admit this to Adam.

The three of us watch Rocket go to town on another treat, but after a few seconds Adam says, “I’m sorry, Sabrina. I couldn’t resist, but I swear I wouldn’t have let you swallow it.”

“I should hope not,” Marcia says, her lips twitching. She pats my back. “Are you okay?”

I glance between them, all smiles because I don’t want Marcia to suspect anything and also, it’s not like he tried to poison me. “Go ahead and laugh. It’s all in good fun, right, Adam?”

“Exactly.” He pulls his apron over his head. Underneath, he’s wearing a black hoodie that he unzips and removes as well, leaving only a T-shirt in such a light shade of blue, it almost looks white. It’s so threadbare, I can see his muscles right through it. He might as well be wearing nothing, although this might actually be sexier. Not wanting him to catch me staring, I look away, but it’s too late.

“All in good fun.” He winks.

I escape to my room to recover. When I come back out about an hour later, Adam’s on the living room floor brushing Rocket’s hair while the dog leans into his touch with soft eyes. I retreat back to my room and text Carley.

Sabrina:911

Chapter Thirty-Two

Adam brushed Rocket’s hair?” Carley asks, her voice inflected with disbelief.

“Uh-huh,” I say, visualizing the tender moment between man and dog right before I texted her.

“RocketletAdam brush his hair?”

“Rocket must be his angle. Did I mention he baked dog treats too?”And fed me one.

After I witnessed Adam grooming a blissed-out Rocket, I had to escape the apartment. I packed an overnight bag and let myself into Carley’s studio in Hell’s Kitchen using the spare key she gave me in case of an emergency. I bingedTed Lasso, the most stress-free show ever, from the comfort of her suede green sofa until she came home from the theater. I’m catching her up on everything now, desperate for her advice.

Carley, who’s been talking to me from behind the built-in bookshelves designed to separate her tiny bedroom from her living room and kitchen space while changing out of her work clothes, joins me on the couch, now wearing a pink T-shirt with designs of makeup brushes on it and black drawstring shorts. “What do you mean by angle?”

“He’s trying to get into Marcia’s good graces through the dog.”

Carley frowns and cocks her head from side to side. “But he’s already in her good graces. And isn’t he supposed to be proving toyouthat he deserves to stay?”

“Yes. Maybe? I don’t know!” I rest my elbows on her dark wood coffee table and bury my head in my hands, questioning what I got myself into with this competition. “This was such a bad idea,” I mumble.

There’s no way Adam is going to play fair, although I’m not sure what playing fair even means. Our only rule was that Marcia wouldn’t get hurt in the process.

Carley pats my back. “I’m sure it’s not. We just need to strategize.”

I sit up and rub my nose. “I did. I got up early to scrub the bathroom with a toothbrush!”

Carley’s eyebrows shoot up. “Why do I have a feeling it didn’t work out the way you wanted?”

I pout. “It didn’t. First Adam ‘slipped’ and then Marcia said it was a waste of effort.” And now I can’t get “It’s the Hard Knock Life” out of my head.

She touches a finger to her lips. “Was Adam okay?”

---