Page 28 of Dear Roomie
My heart drops into my stomach as I go to answer the call. I cast one more forlorn look in his direction before I enter my room and hit Accept.
“Ophie, baby, I miss you,” Tanner slurs too loudly through the phone before I can even say hello.
“Are you drunk?” I try to keep my words from sounding like an accusation but fail. This makes two weekends in a row he’s been trashed before 10 p.m., and it isn’t like him. He turns the call to video but doesn’t hold the phone in a way that lets me see his face. All I can see on the screen is a blur of sideways people and what looks to be a pool as he clumsily moves the phone in his hands.From what I can piece together from the sparse glimpses, he is at a house party, not a bar. No one there will cut him off when he’s had too much to drink.
“A little bit,” he admits with a laugh.
“Where are you?”
“Not sure. Went out with some of the guys from the office to blow off steam. Started at a bar, but then one of them knew this guy throwing a party, and here I am.”
I’m barely able to piece together the slurred rambling.
“Um…yeah, okay. All right. Are you safe? How are you getting home?” My anxiety starts to climb, and it’s apparent in my tone.
“Baby, Ophie, I called because I really, really, really miss you.” I can practically hear his pout through the phone. “We didn’t get to finish last week, and I miss your sweet pussy. Will you show it to me? Please?”
I freeze at his vulgar request. What the absolute fuck is he thinking. This is a conversation we’ve had before, and I thought I made my boundary clear: video sex isn’t something I’m comfortable with, and I never will be.
Point blank, period.
“What the fuck, Tanner? You know I—”
“Please, baby? I need you right now.”
“No. Why the fuck would you even ask me that?” My skin crawls at the thought. I don’t even want to hear his voice right now.
“God, why do you have to be such a prude, James? I bet you already fucked that roommate of yours. You can’t show me your pussy when it’s filled with his cum, right? Fuck you, I’ll have to take care of myself, then.”
“No. What the fuck? Why don’t you just—”
The phone goes dark.
Fuck. Why does he keep doing this? I try calling him back, but he doesn’t pick up. I call again and again but give up when I get disconnected on the first ring.
That fucking asshole.
I toss my phone onto my bed and scream into a pillow. Why is he making everything so much harder than it has to be? If he would listen for half a second, he would see how crazy he’s been acting, and maybe then he’d realize he has nothing to worry about with my roommate.
Even if I didn’t have a boyfriend, the idea of Morgan and I together is laughable. I barely know the man, and as far as I can tell, he’s a nerd—a nerd with abs that look like they were carved from stone, but a nerd nonetheless—and I don’t date his type. Fuck, I’ve never been friends with one either, although I was having fun watching his swords and sorcery shit before Tanner ruined it.
As much as I want to, I can’t go back out there now. He will know something is wrong, and he’ll ask a bunch of questions that I don’t feel like answering, but I can’t just sit here and wallow either. What I need is a night out with the girls. I grab my discarded phone and call Chelsea.
“Hey, Jamie, what’s up?” There’s already a slight slur to her words. It’s like she’s read my mind.
“What are y’all up to tonight? I could use a night out.”
“We are pregaming at my place, and then we are going bar hopping. You wanna come with? I thought you were too busy with an essay or something.”Or something is right.
I didn’t tell Evelyn or Chelsea about the weird budding friendship I have going with Morgan; it’s still too new.
“Yeah, I finished earlier than I anticipated,” I tell her, and Chelsea lets out an excited squeal. She says something to Evelyn, but the words are too muffled for me to make out.
“Perfect. I’ll text you the details, and we can meet up in a bit. I’d say give us another hour or so.”
“Sounds good, girl. See you in a bit.”
If Tanner can spend his nights getting trashed with the guys, I can spend mine with the girls. I take my time getting ready, curling my hair into loose golden waves that cascade down my back and painting my face with dark, moody hues.The black corset dress and matching wedges complete the vampy look. It’s petty, but I want to look hot; I want him to know what he’s missing while he parties with his friends.
