Page 9 of My Three Roommates

I stare at him in disbelief. “You did not have sex with Tanner,” I insist. “That’s not possible.”

Cody laughs. “Oh, Kenna. Haven’t I taught you yet? There’s really no such thing as a completely straight guy. Given the chance, most guys will experiment.”

“How could you?” I’m torn between laughing and scolding him. “He’s Brad’s best friend.”

“So?”

I open my mouth and close it again. Why not? “It could make things pretty awkward,” I say.

“Sure.” Cody shrugs. “But believe me, I didn’t start it. I just went with it. It was Tanner’s idea.”

“No.” My hand flies to my face. Tanner? No way.

“I gotta tell you again, Kenna. I’ve never met a guy who hasn’t messed around with another guy in some way. Whether it’s experimenting as teens or doing it as men, the truth always comes out. Men really are more flexible than you think. It’s not even just about an opportunity coming up. Some guys are already very, very interested.”

I have to know. “So which one was Tanner?”

Cody leans in close and lower his voice. He’s so close we could kiss. Not that I want to kiss him, of course.

“He was in the interested camp. Very much so.”

“You’re sure?”

“Definitely.” Cody winks at me. “Like I said, you’d be surprised.”

I’m not so much surprised as completely blown away. I sip at my coffee. Tanner and Cody. What the actual fuck.

CHAPTER 6 CODY

“HOW WAS YOUR weekend, Cody?” Molly asks as I pass by reception. “What did you do?”

“Usual. Had a good time, chilled, that kind of thing.”

I hurry off before she can press me for details. I was very into moving in with Kenna. Now that I have, it’s torture having to see her around Brad all the time.

I settle at my desk and rest my head in my hands. I’d pretty much blocked the idea of Kenna and Brad out of my mind. It’s impossible to do that when he’s always in my face.

Now that I’m living with the two of them, I’ve got to accept she’s my best friend and nothing more. It’s way too painful to believe anything else could be possible. I could still do without the constant reminder that Kenna isn’t actually my girlfriend and she never will be.

Back to casual sex it is for me, from now on. Which is fine. That’s all I really need.

I shove every confusing thought out of my head so I can lose myself in the tasks of the day. Usually I like my job, but today the hours are barely dragging by.

Once the day’s done, I leave quickly. Fortunately the receptionist has already gone. Once I squeeze onto the extremely crowded subway, I let my mind drift to Tanner and everything that happened this weekend. That was a great distraction from the torture of seeing Kenna with Brad.

After Kenna caught the way he was acting with me the next morning, Tanner spent the rest of the weekend avoiding me completely. Disappearing in the morning before anyone got up, and not getting back until late at night. I didn’t ask him where he went. I didn’t even tease him about avoiding me, or try to make him nervous that I might spill everything to Kenna or Brad.

He wouldn’t know that I already told Kenna. We tell each other everything and I know she’d never let it slip out. She wouldn’t want to make anything awkward for Tanner. That’s how she is, very careful and aware of everyone’s feelings. It’s one of many things that I love about her.

No. Not love. Like. I can’t love her as anything more than a friend.

I drag my mind back from Kenna to Tanner. I figured he’d start avoiding me the next morning. Strangely, he was affectionate until he got caught out. Most guys would pretend nothing happened. Not Tanner. The way he touched me was completely unexpected.

I’ve never made an effort to get to know Tanner. He was always just Brad’s friend. Maybe I should give it a shot. He seems like a decent guy, unlike some of the men I’ve been with. Not that I cared what any of those men were like. All I wanted was sex. If anyone said “boyfriend,” I was out of there.

I’ve never really been one for dating. More like extended periods of sex that last maybe a month or two. It all ends as easily as it starts. Quickly and with no feelings involved. Any time a guy starts to act like he wants something more, that’s my cue to leave.

I don’t want any attachments, nothing complicated. Why would I? They start out as one night stands for a reason. If the sex is great, we’ll keep going until one of us decides to move on.

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