Page 48 of My Three Roommates

I’m relieved when we head out, but Cody gets strangely quiet.

“What’s on your mind?” I ask as our ride arrives.

“Nothing. Just thinking.”

“About what?”

Cody glances at the driver busily talking on the phone, then lowers his voice.

“This kind of thing is going to keep happening. You being worried about what your friends think. Me worked up about Brad showing up at my office. I shouldn’t have to think twice about it, but I did. It worked out and for me, it’s worth the risk. Now Nadine believes you’re cheating on Brad. That’s trickier. If it’s not one thing, it’s another.”

“Yeah,” I agree slowly. “And Tanner’s brother at the bar.”

“Right,” Cody continues. “Beyond keeping everything hidden at work, I don’t care what else could happen to me. If any of my friends don’t accept us, I have no problem kicking them to the curb. I know it’s different with you, Kenna. You’ve got a long history with your girlfriends. Our relationship shouldn’t cause us trouble, it should be a positive thing. I’m not sure how to handle this. If we do go completely public, these kinds of issues will keep coming up.”

“I didn’t expect to run into anyone I know at your work party,” I say.

“You’re really worried about Nadine, aren’t you.”

“I’m not worried about her telling everyone, because that’s guaranteed. There’s no way she didn’t send out a group text the very second she walked away from us. All of my friends know by now. I don’t know how to deal with the fallout.”

“You could tell them it was a misunderstanding. That we’re still only friends and not actually together.”

“Then that’ll get back to your coworkers,” I say. “I love Nadine, but she’s big on gossip.”

“I’ll manage that somehow, Kenna. I want this relationship to be easy for you. I don’t want anything to make you reconsider it.”

“Is that what’s bothering you? You think I’m having second thoughts?”

“I hate that this is causing trouble for you. It’s not too late to backtrack. You can text her right now and tell her we’re just friends. Whether we have to keep it secret or not, our relationship is more important.” He leans in close and gives me a kiss, his eyes intense. “You’re more important.”

Just for a moment, I let myself get lost in Cody’s gaze. “It’s not easy to find work these days. I can’t let you risk your job. Besides, this shouldn’t just be easy for me. It should be easy for all of us, including you.”

As the car pulls into our neighborhood, my thoughts race. Our jobs and our friends are being affected. Maybe none of us have really considered the bigger picture enough.

“Even if I tried to convince her we’re just friends, she wouldn’t buy it,” I say. “She saw how we were acting tonight. There’s no going back now. If I even try, she’d only get more suspicious.”

“I want to help you, Kenna. Just tell me what you need.”

I rub my forehead. “I don’t know. I guess I’ll have to come clean to Nadine and all of my friends about everything, or at least you and Brad. I’ll talk to Brad first and see what he says, because he’ll be affected too. I don’t want to out him if he’s not ready yet.” A lightbulb goes off. “Maybe I’ll just say that Brad and I are in an open relationship or something.”

“Do you think that’s believable?” Cody asks. “Really?”

“Probably not, but it’s all I’ve got. Maybe I’ll come up with something brilliant after sleeping on it. I don’t even want to think about it anymore.”

After the car deposits us in front of the house, I stop Cody and give him a kiss. “I don’t want you to think that I’d bail for any reason, even this. I’ll figure it out somehow. You couldn’t have known Nadine and I are friends, and I don’t want you to feel guilty. ”

“I’m not,” Cody says unconvincingly.

“I know you too well to buy that. But seriously, no guilt. I mean, we haven’t exactly been careful. We should’ve paid more attention after what happened with Tanner’s brother. It’s the kind of thing we’ve got to be ready for in the future.”

“I can’t stand that we have to be so careful,” Cody says. “There shouldn’t have to be any repercussions for us being together.”

“I know, right? We aren’t hurting anyone,” I say morosely as we walk.

We both stop as we get to the front door. Cody takes me in his arms and turns me to him. In spite of everything we have to deal with, it’s still worth it to me.

Cody strokes my cheek and brushes his lips across mine. “I wouldn’t change a thing.”

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