Page 18 of Tapped By My Roommate
God, how would I ever look him in the eye? Kissing Rhett was one thing. That was mind-blowing enough for me, considering I’d never locked lips with a guy before. But kissing my roommate? That could wreck everything.
I kind of wished Rhett was here to reassure me, but that was dumb. He was the reason for my bewilderment. He couldn’t be the answer too—could he?
“Earth to Ethan,” Linh prompted. “Are you going to keep me in suspense forever?”
“Sorry.” I cleared my throat. “Yeah, we went to Tess’s place. It was awful, but pretty much what I expected.”
Minus the aftermath, anyway.
“Did you get your things?”
“Most of them. She, uh, cut up some of my clothes. And she wouldn’t let me have Zilla.”
Linh froze with her spoon halfway to her mouth. “Where does she live?”
“What?”
Her eyes narrowed. “You heard me. I’ll go pay her a visit.”
I chuckled awkwardly. Was my neighbor really that much of a badass? I figured it was a persona she put on to rattle people and entertain herself, but sometimes I really wondered. “Ha. No, that’s okay. Really.”
“You love that lizard.”
I nodded. I’d told Linh about leaving Zilla behind. She’d been urging me to storm Tess’s castle. I would have told Rhett sooner, but it was more complicated with him, since getting Zilla back meant making space for a proper habitat in our tiny apartment or finding a new place to live.
“I’m not giving up on Zilla. Just…diplomacy will work better than violence, don’t you think?”
She looked skeptical. “If you say so.”
“I do.”
Linh lifted her cereal bowl, drinking the last of the milk, then handed it to me. “Okay, thanks for the morning high. Next time, brew some coffee too.”
“How about next time you makemebreakfast?”
Her eyebrows shot up. “What was that?”
“Uh…nothing.”
“Don’t back down now. You were doing so good. You want something, you have to ask for it.”
“Fine. Next time, will you make me breakfast?”
“No.” She patted my shoulder. “I don’t keep this sugary crap in my house. It’s no good for you. Have a good day in class. Tell Rhett hi for me.”
I tried to hide my flinch. “Sure, yeah. I’ll tell him.”
Linh gave me a sympathetic look when she reached the door. “Rhett left about five minutes before you peeked into his bedroom. Maybe he’s just not ready. But it doesn’t mean he never will be.”
My heart skipped. “What?”
She looked at me knowingly. “You’re easy to read, Ethan. You like him. You have for a long time.” She shrugged. “He likes you too. I keep waiting for you guys to notice, but boys are dumb.”
“Uh, okay.”
She gave me a cheery wave and left the apartment.
As soon as she was gone, the silence weighed down on me, oppressive. Despite Linh’s thoughts on the matter, I didn’t hold out much hope that Rhett felt anything for me. If he did, why would he slip out so early?
