Page 78 of Tapped By My Roommate
21
RHETT
Ilet myself into the apartment as quietly as I could after a shift at the bar. I got home late, given that I had to walk twelve blocks, but it was starting to feel normal after going four days without a car.
A figure moved in the darkness as I stepped inside, making me jump.
“Sorry.” Ethan leaned forward, and as my eyes adjusted, I could make out his shape seated on the futon. “It’s just me.”
Oddly, that didn’t make my heart race any less. It just transformed my adrenaline into something more like anticipation. I closed the gap between us so that I could see him better. He looked disheveled, his hair messy and his T-shirt and pajama bottoms wrinkled. It made him no less desirable. If anything, it made him sexier, all rumpled up when I usually saw him more put together.
“What are you doing up?” I asked.
“Couldn’t sleep. Stuff on my mind.”
I hesitated. I should probably keep my distance. Go to my room and crash, or at the very least, go to the kitchen for a glass of water. But maybe my exhaustion had affected my judgment. Because instead, I sank down next to him. Close enough that the soft cotton of his T-shirt brushed my arm.
I wanted to respect Ethan’s boundaries. His rules. But I was too tired to fight myself. I couldn’t keep hiding how I felt.
“Wanna tell me what’s wrong?” I asked.
“You’ll probably think it’s silly.”
“If it’s keeping you awake at night, it’s obviously not silly.” I nudged him gently. Even that small touch sent a wash of warmth through me. I’d missed touching him. Missed being so close I could hear his every exhale.
I couldn’t make out his expression, but there was an intimacy to sitting in the dark with him, so I didn’t suggest turning on a light.
“Just thinking about my never-ending drama with Tess. I called her again a couple of days ago.”
Uh-oh. Anything involving Tess was unlikely to end well. My jaw tightened at the thought of her being cruel to Ethan.
“I’m guessing she wasn’t polite or reasonable.”
“No.”
“I’m sorry, but you shouldn’t believe her. Whatever she might have said to you, you’re better than that.” With the opportunity to reassure him, the words got away from me. “You’re really…you’re the best person, Ethan. So smart and passionate. I admire so many things about you.”
There was a beat of silence. “Wow. Thanks. But, uh…” Ethan shifted toward me, his knees bumping mine. “I wasn’t really upset about what she said, just that I couldn’t get her to give up Zilla.”
The back of my neck heated with a flush. “Oh. Guess I got carried away.” I chuckled weakly. “But it’s all true.”
“When you said I was passionate…” I could hear his breathing speed up. “You meant, like, driven, right? Not like…”
“Like what?”
He huffed. “You always make me say it, don’t you?”
“I like it when you talk to me,” I said. “You can trust me with your thoughts, Ethan.”
“The sex,” he blurted, his voice suddenly louder, as if he’d needed to build up a burst of energy to get the words out. “With me. Was it any good? I never…” He exhaled noisily. “I just never asked you that, and I wondered.”
I couldn’tnottouch him. I lifted my hand to his jaw, feeling the faint prickles of his stubble under the pads of my fingers.
“You were good,” I said huskily.
“Okay. Uh, good then.” He laughed weakly. “That’s reassuring.”
“There’s still a lot we didn’t do,” I added.
