Page 9 of The Roommate Situation

FOUR

RORY

A couple of hours later I’m almost completely unpacked, including the sheets and comforter for the twin sized bed and getting my toiletries in the bathroom down the hall. I haven’t heard or seen Parker since he left my room, but when I make my way out to the kitchen to grab a chair so I can hang my curtains, I see him sitting on the couch in the living room with a book in one hand and an apple in the other. He takes a huge bite, and I flinch when I hear him crunching loudly.

As I reach for the chair I second guess myself and turn to him instead. Maybe I should extend an olive branch. “Hey, you busy?” I ask, and he looks up at me so fast I wonder if he was waiting for me to talk to him.

“Nope. You need something?” God, he’s so eager it’s kind of adorable.

“I uh,” I clear my throat as he sits on the edge of the sofa, his book and apple discarded on the coffee table as he stares at me, waiting. Jesus, if he was a dog his tail would be wagging and histongue would be sticking out. “I could use some help getting the curtains up in my room. I can’t reach.”

His eyes light up as he stands. “You got it, little dude.” He claps me on the shoulder and heads down the hall. The rod was already up. I just need to get the curtains on it and put it back up.

He spies the navy blue curtains on the bed and gestures. “This them?”

I nod, hands in my pockets. He takes the rod off without even stretching and my dick twitches when I get a really nice view of both his strong back and his tight ass. Jesus, how does he eat all those cupcakes and stay in the kind of shape he’s in?

I’m hating myself for not finishing that blow job. His cock was delicious and felt so good in my mouth. Damn Zach.

I hold one end of the rod and slide a curtain on while he does that same to the other end, then we reattach the knobs at the end, before he slides it back in the slots above the window.

“It’s looking good in here,” he says, his gaze darting around the small room.

“Thank you,” I say, flushing.

“You hungry? I’ve got dinner in the oven.” His eyes are sparkling and I can’t believe how excited he is about the idea of something so simple as eating a meal with me. I can’t believe he wants to be around me at all after I left him with blue balls.

“Uh, I’ll grab something for myself, but thanks, anyway,” I tell him. He looks so sad I want to cry but I quickly add, “Thanks for helping me with the curtains. I hate heights, so not having to stand on a chair was really nice.”

He beams. “No problem, freckles. Anytime you need something just let me know.”

He heads back out to the kitchen, and I follow. I’m tempted to barricade myself in my room for the foreseeable future, but I know I can’t. If he’s going to be my roommate I’m gonna have to get comfortable around him.

I don’t have much of my own food yet, so I remind myself I need to go shopping in the morning. For now I’ll survive on instant rice and a banana.

My stomach growls when Parker pulls the pan out of the oven and sets in on top of the stove. There’s chicken in it that’s dripping with what looks like three different types of cheese and covered in breadcrumbs with parsley sprinkled on top. Damn, it smells amazing.

“You sure you don’t want any?” he asks as he watches my instant rice heat up in the microwave. “There’s more than enough.”

I give a small smile. “Can’t,” I say, “I’m allergic to good food.”

His eyes widen. “Really?”

I chuckle. “I mean, yeah, sort of. I have to stay away from certain foods, and one of them is dairy. Kinda sucks, actually.”

He blinks at me with those big hazel eyes. “You can’t have dairy?” He seems so upset on my behalf it’s almost comical.

I shake my head.

“Dude, that’s just sad. I can’t imagine my life without ice cream, or milk, or cheese or chocolate. Oh, god, I’m getting depressed just thinking about it.”

“Yeah, I’m not a huge fan, but it is what it is.” I take my instant rice out of the microwave and dump it into a bowl as he dishes the chicken onto his plate along with some broccoli that is also drenched in cheese. We eat standing for a bit before he speaks again.

“Wait, is that why you didn’t want a cupcake?”

I nod and he lets out a breath. “That’s a relief. I thought…” He bites his lip.

“What?” I ask when he runs his fingers through his dark hair, showing off his bulging bicep in the process and making my dick twitch again. For fuck’s sake. Even if last night did end horribly, my body still knows what it wants, apparently. Those hands onme again. Those arms around me. Those lips on mine. God, my lips are tingling again just at the memory of how he kissed me.

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