Page 31 of Tapped By My Roommate
I was relieved to see Ethan set up at the table with his laptop. If nothing else, tonight’s meeting seemed to have cut through the awkward tension.
Now there was a different kind of tension building.
One that made me really,reallyhope that Ethan took me up on my offer.
I put the soda in the fridge, along with some energy drinks to keep me going later, and dumped my haul of snacks onto the table. It included chocolate bars, Skittles, Twizzlers, and a few other snacks.
Ethan eyed the corn nuts. “Are those…”
“For you,” I confirmed. “Is it okay if I set up at the table too?”
“Yeah, sure.” He moistened his lips with his tongue. “I’m just, uh, reading up a little more on pet custody law. I’ll call it a night soon.”
“No luck with Tess?”
He shook his head. “I’ve been trying to get her to go to coffee and talk it out calmly. No luck yet, but look—she sent me a photo.”
Ethan held out his phone like a proud papa, and I squinted at the photo of a vivid green lizard lounging on a branch. It was hard to tell for sure, but it looked to be a few feet long. This wasn’t one of those tiny gecko things.
“She looks…uh, happy?”
Ethan chuckled. “Yeah, she’s looking okay.”
The relief in his voice was immeasurable. I squeezed his shoulder. “That’s something, then. I hope you can get her back.”
“Me too,” he murmured, still smiling at the photo.
I got my laptop, books, and notes—taking up far more of the tabletop than Ethan did—and tried my best to focus. It wasn’t easy with him sitting so close, with so much potential simmering between us.
I’d spent a lot of time feeling guilty about that kiss with Ethan. But that was over. I wanted him, and I was done denying it. I wanted to be the first guy to slowly undress him, to touch and kiss him everywhere, to introduce him to so much pleasure he came apart in my arms.
Eventually, Ethan moved on to watching a documentary. I focused better with a little more space between us, but I was behind on too many things. I continued working long past the time he’d turned off the television and said goodnight.
I finally went to bed around three a.m. and slept hard. When my alarm woke me, I stumbled out of my room—still half-asleep and desperate for some coffee. Algorithms had danced through my dreams, making me feel as if I’d done homework even in my sleep.
Ethan and Linh were standing at the breakfast counter when I entered the kitchen. Our neighbor noisily slurped cereal and read over Ethan’s shoulder while he wrote in a spiral notebook.
“You forgot to add kinky stuff,” Linh said.
“No, I didn’t.”
“Spanking,” she said.
“No.”
“Gags? Handcuffs? Come on, Ethan. I thought you wanted to be more exciting.”
“This is enough excitement for—”
I cleared my throat, and they both whipped their heads toward me. Ethan slapped the notebook shut as if it were his diary. I raised an eyebrow. “What’s that?”
Linh nudged him. “Tell him.”
“Not now.”
“Then when?” she demanded, placing her hands on her hips. “If you want something, you have to go for it. Isn’t that what this is all about?”
Ethan frowned, and I was two seconds from telling Linh to back off, when he snatched up the notebook. “Fine. But, Linh, you need to go. I don’t want to do this with an audience.”
