Page 16 of Tapped By My Roommate
He pouted, and oh shit, that was even more adorable than before. A flash of heat went through me. My head was hazy. We’d both had too much damn beer. I should have been more careful. I knew I was feeling…off. Sort of protective and warm toward Ethan. I should have kept my guard up, let him be alone, but the idea of him in here, sad and dwelling on Tess’s words, hadn’t sat right with me.
“That’s not an answer,” Ethan said. “Or maybe it is. You’re just too nice to tell me I’m not sexy. I wouldn’t last a second on one of those apps. No one would want to hook up with me, right?”
I grasped his shoulders, leaning in to look into his eyes. They were so goddamn pretty, a bright blue made more luminous by the sheen of emotion in them. “You would do just fine on a hookup app. You’re sexy, okay? You’re cute and sexy, and I—”
I cut myself short before I could blurt out anymore.
“You really think so?” Ethan beamed. “If you think so, it must be true. Everyone wants you.”
I laughed, shaking my head. “I don’t think so.”
“I really envy you,” he said softly. “You’re so confident. When you want something, you just take it. Like…” He wet his lips. “I bet if you wanted to kiss someone, you’d just do it, right? You wouldn’t be afraid.”
“I’d ask first,” I said.
“Oh. Right.”
“I’d say…Ethan, can I kiss you?”
His lips parted. “And I’d say yes?”
I nodded. “And then I’d just…”
As if watching from a distance, screaming at myself to stop, I tipped forward and brushed my mouth over his. He opened for me, and I traced my tongue along his bottom lip before dipping in to taste him. When our tongues met, we both jolted—shocked back to reality.
Ethan jerked back with wide eyes, and I stood too quickly, nearly tripping over my own feet.
“Wow. We drank a lot, huh?” I ran a hand through my hair and laughed awkwardly. “We should probably call it a night.”
Ethan looked everywhere but at me. “Yeah, uh, probably overdid it a little.”
I gathered the pizza box and empty beer bottles, juggling it all in my arms so that I wouldn’t have to make a return trip.
“Goodnight,” I said. “Sleep it off. Everything will seem better tomorrow with, uh…”
“Tess?” he asked.
Right, Tess. That was the problem. Not that I’d just kissed my roommate. We were both pretending that hadn’t happened.
“Yes,” I said, nodding emphatically. But I couldn’t resist adding, “Drink some water, though. Hydrate, so you’re not too hungover.”
“A hangover,” he murmured. “Yeah, that’s what I’m worried about.”
Heart still racing, I slipped out the door before either of us could voice the real problem. I’d kissed my roommate and told him he was sexy. My verystraightroommate.
A horrible thought struck me. Would Ethan think I’d taken advantage of him? He’d seemed to be asking me for that kiss. Begging for it. But what if I’d misread him? He was into women, and he’d had a rough day.
I’d only wanted to take care of him, but I feared I’d made a mess of everything.
6
ETHAN
My alarm blared beside my bed, and I fumbled for it in a panic, yanked from a deep sleep and still disoriented. I slammed my hand on the large button several times before I got it at just the right angle. Silence descended—other than the sound of my frantic breathing.
My heart continued to race while my stomach churned. I felt panicked. And sick. Why…
Oh, God.I jackknifed into a sitting position as the memories hit.Rhett. And me. Bowties, and…and…kissing?
