Page 36 of The Roommate Situation

We’ve got snacks set up on the bar and drinks in the refrigerator. Everyone showed up, but Lucy and I were exchanging looks when Jackson and Preston arrived together. They told us they ran into each other in the hallway on the way up here, but they both look a bit flushed, and Jackson’s hair is messier than I’ve ever seen it.

I think back to when Parker and I saw the two of them at the Halloween party, and then a couple of weeks ago when Jackson was hanging out with Lucy and me, and left in the middle of the movie we were watching because he had “somewhere he had to be.” At midnight.

“Are they….?” I ask her as we stand in the kitchen sipping our drinks. I mentioned the situation with Zach to her too, and she beamed with pride.

I have a soda and Lucy has sparkling water. I think the stuff is nasty but she loves it so I always have some for her when she comes over.

She shrugs. “He hasn’t told me anything. But, I have a feeling something is going on between them. He’s been secretive lately, texting someone and then hurrying off. Remember a couple weeks ago?” I nod.

“More of that stuff. We were hanging out the other day at my place and he just up and told me he had to leave out of nowhere and then scurried away like his pants were on fire. He’s been acting weird since the Halloween party.”

I raise an eyebrow and we both look in Jackson’s direction. He’s in the living room, laughing with Parker at the moment, but Preston is nearby, and the way he looks at my friend tells me he’s either getting some, or wishes he was. “They were kinda friendly that night, remember?” I say. “Parker and I saw them.”

She hums. “Speaking of bed partners,” she says, a grin growing on her face. Oh, no. “Have you and Parker….?”

My cheeks heat. “Ahhh!!” She squeals, “I knew it.”

“Shhh,” I hush her, and she laughs. “Jesus, I don’t need the entire apartment building knowing.”

“Sorry,” she says. “I’m just super happy for you. He’s a really great guy.”

“I know,” I say, my gaze straying back to him. He’s got all of his friends and Jackson laughing now at something, and they’re slapping his back.

“Oh, honey,” Lucy says, “you’ve got it bad.”

I sigh and take another sip of my drink as I watch Parker take a seat on the couch and pick up aNintendo Switchcontroller. Chrissits next to him and then I hear him say, “Get ready to cry, mother fucker.” Then, “Winner keeps playing. Loser hands the controller to the next person.”

“I know.”

“Does he know you want more?”

I shake my head.

“Why haven’t you told him?”

“It’s too soon,” I say. “I don’t want to scare him off. And I know I’m not the easiest person to date.”

She frowns. “That’s your idiot ex getting in your head again. Jesus, I hate that he made you feel that way about yourself. The right person isn’t going to make you feel like you owe them for being in a relationship with you. I’ve seen the way Parker looks at you, babe. And he’s taking you to get an endoscopy, and didn’t you tell me he took you to get your blood drawn?”

I nod, biting my lip.

“That doesn’t sound like someone who is upset or overwhelmed by making sure you’re taken care of. He’s crazy about you, Rory. I don’t think there’s anything you could do that would scare him off.”

She snatches her third chocolate chip cookie and takes a huge bite, then grins at me. “Besides, he makes cookies better than my grandma, so he’s definitely a keeper.”

I smile, and she winks at me, before we head into the living room to join the others.

It’s not until after I’ve finished my turn playing against Parker in Mario Kart, and losing epically, that I realize Preston and Jackson are nowhere in sight. And thank god for my earplugs, because I never realized a game of Mario Kart could be so loud. I’m managing so far, but I’m guessing I have about another thirty minutes in me before I need to kick people out. I figure I can get a break in the bathroom and pee, so I make my way down the hall, only to stop when I hear raised voices from the other side of the door.

“I’m sorry, I just, it’s hard, okay?” Preston’s voice.

“Look, this is why I didn’t want to come. It was risky enough showing up here together, and I don’t think Lucy and Rory bought for a second that we ran into each other on the way up. You can’t be touching me, or fucking looking at me like that, not here. Not in front of them. Or they’ll definitely know something is up.”

“It would have been riskier to both not come. How do you think that would look? I don’t understand why it’s such a big deal anyway, if they know.” Preston sounds absolutely crestfallen.

“Because we agreed it would just be casual. Hooking up. That’s it. I don’t need it announced.”

There’s silence before Preston speaks again. “Fine. I’ll leave. That will make it easier. Then you can enjoy the evening without worrying about me.”

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