Page 16 of A Roommate for Christmas
“Trust me, the handsome effect wears off real quick once you exchange five words with him.”Paige rolled her eyes, partly because she truly disliked him, and partly to try to convince herself that she wasn’t still attracted to him.
“Honestly,” Paige continued, “it’s really not that bad of a setup.It’s pretty much like living alone ...I’m just getting paid for it.He is never here.I’ve actually never even seen him open the refrigerator.I’m not sure he eats!”
“That explains the abs you were drooling over last weekend.”Nadia winked.
Paige had obviously filled Nadia in on Carter’s move-in weekend, from his arrogance to his washboard abs.
“I was notdroolingover them.I simply noticed them, burned the image into my memory forever, and texted you immediately to update you about said image of abs.”
“Whatever helps you sleep, or er, not sleep at night,” Nadia said with a little shoulder shimmy.“Okay, enough about Carter.How have the apps been going?”
After downloading the dating apps, Paige had solicited Nadia’s help in creating her profile.
“Well, it started out strong, but then quickly went downhill.So far I’ve gotten at least fifteen ‘What u doing later?’messages, seven requests for my Snapchat username, and one unsolicited dick pic.So, I’d say par for the course!”
“Oh god,” Nadia groaned.“Where have all the good men gone?”She dramatically tilted her head back with the back of her hand to her head.
“You’re telling me!You should be extra grateful for Linus tonight after you see the mess that is dating apps in Chicago.Sure, there are some normal guys on there, but no one who really ...stands out.”
“You mean there’s no one as hot as Carter?”Nadia couldn’t hide her smile as she said it.
“Oh my god, Nadia, don’t you dare bring him back into this!”But Paige had to admit there was some truth to what Nadia had said.
“I kid, I kid.I just want you to be happy, and most of all I want you to be getting some while you’re still young.”
Paige stared at Nadia blankly from across the couch before throwing a pillow at her face.
“Careful with the wine, Paige!And speaking of wine, I need a top-up.”
Nadia jumped up from the couch and made her way to the kitchen counter to where the open bottle was waiting and started pouring, while Paige opened up one of the dating apps on her phone to see if there had been any major changes since the last time she checked.
“Oh!”Paige gasped, looking down at her phone.
“OMG, what?”Nadia inquired, rushing back to the couch as fast as she could with a full wine glass.
“I matched with a guy named John a couple days ago and he’s just messaged me asking to go out on a date tomorrow night.”
Nadia snatched the phone out of Paige’s hands within seconds.
“Okay, John.”Nadia whistled.“He dresses well, has a good smile, and looks buff as hell.Pretty hot for a bald guy.”
Nadia started typing while mouthing out, “I’d love to!Name the time and place ;)”
“Nadia!What are you doing?Give it back!”
“Too late!Already hit send.”Nadia locked the phone and tossed it back to Paige.“This is good for you, Paige.It’s time to get back on the horse.You’re growing cobwebsdown there.”
Nadia pointed below Paige’s waist without apology.
“Wowwww.You are the worst.”
Paige knew Nadia was right.It had been ages since she had hooked up with a guy, and she was starting to wonder if she’d even remember how to flirt.
“That’s what best friends are for, babe.If I don’t nudge you back out into the dating world, no one will.”
“Fine.One date.But I don—” Paige’s phone screen lit up.“He just wrote back.”
Sunda in the West Loop at 7:30.Looking forward to it :)
