Page 109 of Tapped By My Roommate
I shook my head.
“Oh geez! Of course I love you, Rhett. So much.” He licked his lips. “I, uh, haven’t mentioned this, but I think I might actually be demisexual. You know what that means, right?”
I nodded. “The basics. It means you need to develop an emotional bond before you are sexually attracted to someone, right? But then…” I trailed off as the full ramifications hit me. Our casual hookups would have never been casual for Ethan.
He smiled shyly. “Yeah. I’ve felt so much for you for so long. I should have said it sooner. It was there in my mind, and my heart, every time we connected.”
“Ah, Ethan.” He ducked his head bashfully, and I attempted to lighten the mood. “It’s because I love your lizard, isn’t it?”
Ethan laughed, and I could imagine the blush that probably heated his cheeks. “Shut up. No. It’s because you’re the sweetest, most generous, supportive person I’ve ever met. You’re perfect.”
Now I was the one feeling flushed. I was used to Ethan complimenting my body. But my nature? Not as much.
“I’m not perfect,” I mumbled. “There’s that whole hero complex thing.”
“Rhett, you can be my hero anytime,” he said. “As long as you let me be your hero too.”
“I can do that.”
I drew him down for another kiss, feeling as if everything were right in the world.
My problems were all still there. The challenging classes I still had to finish, the long hours at the bar, the choices I’d have to make about my future career. But I knew they’d all work out. I was more sure than I’d ever been that I was on the right path.
Watching Ethan grow and change into a man who’d fight for himself showed me that, hero complex or no, I could learn a thing or two from him. It was time to trust in my mother, who’d always been capable—with or without an overprotective son—and give Keith a chance to prove he wasn’t the villain I’d imagined all these years. It was time to trust that Audrey and Cary were maturing into people who could take care of themselves.
And it was time to trust in myself—that I could be happy without being everything to everyone else.
And it started with being everything to just one man. Not because he needed me, but because I needed him.
Epilogue
RHETT
One year later…
“Babezilla, it’s time to leave!”
Ethan sighed and turned from the terrarium that was taller than he was. The height allowed for branches, a necessity because green iguanas enjoyed climbing and basking on them. Ethan had educated me on many things lizard—and especially iguana—in the past year. So I knew that Zilla, if born in the wild as nature intended, would live high in the South American rainforest tree canopy.
“I told you not to call me that.”
“You didn’t like me calling you babe. You said it reminded you of your ex.”
It wasn’t often Tess was brought up in this household anymore. Despite her threats, she’d never reported Ethan or sued to get Zilla back, and we’d happily moved on.
Ethan rolled his eyes, but his lips twitched with amusement. “And Babezilla is so much better?”
I grinned. “I think it is. And after tonight, you’ll agree.”
“Tonight as in the second Annual Wild Night trivia event at Tracks?”
“More what comes after that,” I said evasively.
His eyes narrowed as he approached me. “You’re being mysterious. I don’t know what you’re up to, but—”
I kissed him hard and fast. “It’ll have to wait. It wouldn’t be right for the two organizers to be late to their own event.”
“Especially the bar manager,” he said dryly.
