More than roommates, p.2
More Than Roommates, page 2
"I would date you."
I wouldn't, but I knew she wasn't taking me seriously anyway, so there was no harm in saying a little white lie.
"How generous of you," her face was far from ecstatic. If anything, she looked more annoyed with me. "You single handedly just wooed me," she continued her sarcastic response with an eye roll.
I chuckled. "That's my talent, princess."
She stopped walking.
I walked three more steps before turning around to face her. I played with the keys in my pocket as she hung her head and sighed in defeat. "Would you stop calling me nicknames? I don't like being called anything that's not my name."
I took it as an opportunity to know more about her. "Then, can you do me the honors of telling me your name?"
"No need." She looked back up and forced a smile. "If I'm lucky, I won't be seeing you after I make it to the office."
I looked down at my feet and kicked an invisible rock before meeting her eyes again. "Am I that ugly that you don't want to see me ever again?" Immediately, I cringed at my own words, but she didn't seem to have the same reaction.
"You and I both know you aren't ugly and I'm not about to feed your tremendous ego when you don't even need to be complimented." She crossed her arms. "But if you're so desperate to get praise, then you still have that girl waiting in your room." She reminded before walking past me again, patting my shoulder on her way. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I would like to get to the office on my own."
I turned around to watch her walk away, my eyes trailing down on their own to stare at her ass again. "I must admit, I quite enjoy the sight of you walking away." Scoffing, she raised her middle finger and pointed it back at me. I chuckled, "Tempting, sweet cheeks. Very tempting."
• • •
Someone had been standing by the door for five minutes, and the only reason I knew it was her was because she was muttering every curse word in both English and Spanish since she made it back. It was funny. Seemed like no matter how much she hated the thought of living with me, fate was determined to keep us together. I respected fate right now.
A few more minutes passed before she scanned her card and dragged her feet into the room. I looked up from my phone and smiled when I saw her irritated face. "Well, well, well, look who's back." I teased. "Changed your mind about leaving such a sexy hunk behind?"
"You wish," she grumbled, dropping her bag on the other bed. "There weren't any female dorms available so I'm stuck with you until a spot opens up."
I watched her make her way into the bathroom as I said, "You act like it's so bad to live with me."
"That's because it is." she called out after closing the door. The lock clicked in place.
"Ouch."
She didn't talk to me anymore while she was in there, so I went back to my phone, passing the time by scrolling through social media. In the middle of liking a picture, Alisson's name popped up on my screen and I grumbled. I debated answering for a few seconds, pressing the phone to my ear. "What do you need?"
"What do I need?" She repeated, clearly not pleased with me. The fuck did I do now? "Blake, where the hell are you? I went to the room you told me and found out it wasn't even yours! You're so damn rude!"
I sat up and lifted a brow. "What?" I'm so confused. "Did I not tell you C56?" I stood up and walked to the door, stepping out enough to look at the number beside the door. When I confirmed that I said the right number, I went back inside and sat at the edge of my bed. "I don't know what to tell you, because that's my room and I'm in it right now. Are you sure you went to the right room?"
She paused, and I nearly called out her name to check if she was still on the line. Before I could, though, she mumbled, "I don't remember..."
"Seriously?" I watched my roommate step back out of the bathroom and followed her with my eyes as she lied down on her bed.
"I just know I went to Madison's room," she informed. So that's her name. "She was nice, despite me accusing her of sleeping with you."
"You did what?" I laughed, my eyes snapping back to Madison. She gave me an odd look, but I didn't care. I couldn't wipe the stupid grin off my face, not even when she looked away and shielded her face from me with her hand. Even then, my smile only grew, because that was cute as fuck. "Oh, shit. Alisson, you fucking didn't!"
"But I fucking did!" She cried in embarrassment. "She clapped back, though. I admire her for it."
Since she wasn't telling me anything about her, I decided to find things out on my own. I wanted to know everything there was to know about her. "What'd she say?"
"She said she didn't need a man to pleasure her. You know, because she could do it herself." Her voice sounded muffled as she said something else, but I figured she pulled her phone away so I wouldn't hear. After a moment, her voice came fading back in. "Why am I telling you this, anyway?"
"Because you're my favorite sister."
"I'm your only sister, you idiot." She snorted. "But hey, I'll take it."
I let my back fall onto the bed and rested my head on my right arm so that I was facing Madison, scanning my eyes down her body. She was too distracted with a book to notice me, so I took a real good look at her.
I want to change your mind, Madison. I want you to need me.
CHAPTER 3
Madison
It's been two hours since I've been in the same room as him. The guy who had been getting on my nerves endlessly, with every chance he got. The guy who still didn't have a name in my eyes. Not that I cared. The guy who was undressing me with his eyes from across the room. Something he'd been doing nonstop. Probably even more than the annoying habit of calling me every single nickname that existed. To make matters worse, he was doing all this with a new girl beside him.
He was just that, though, annoying. His looks didn't help him enough for me to willingly want to be around him. I was just stuck in the same room as him, still found it hard to call it our room.
I looked between him and the girl before saying, "If you need the dorm, just please stay out of my side." I motioned to my side of the room as I made my way past them, pausing at the door. "Oh, and when you get the chance, mind unpacking your musty boxers to finally give them a wash? It's all I've been smelling since I arrived and I'd like to come back to a fresh space."
The girl turned to look at him, disgust written on her face. "Um, I think I hear my friends calling me..." she hastily excused herself before walking out of the room, thanking me for saving her on her way out the door.
I couldn't stop the smug smile that took over my expression, but it quickly fell when I saw Blake glaring daggers at me. "Did you purposely just cockblock me?"
"What? I would never." I feigned innocence as I walked over to my bed, letting myself fall back onto it. "You're the one who doesn't wash his boxers."
"I do wash my boxers," he got defensive. "It doesn't even smell in here."
"So used to the smell that you can no longer smell it? Mm, now that's just nasty. Hygiene is important, you know?" I kept taunting him, because I realized that it was actually quite fun. Not to mention easy. "I'd like to live in a room where I don't have to leave just so you can have sex. I don't want to sleep in a room that smells like musty boxers and sex. So from here on out, figure that out for yourself."
"My boxers aren't musty."
Is that really all he's worried about? "They will be if you keep up that lifestyle."
He rolled his eyes at me. "Now, you just sound like my sister."
"Well, she has a point."
He dropped himself on his bed with a huff and looked up at the ceiling, fixing his arms behind his head. "I use protection all the time, not that it's any of your business."
"What a responsible fella," I mused. "And don't worry, I'm only here because there weren't any female dorms left. But trust me, if any of them are ever available, I'm out of here. Then, you can do whatever you want with your time without me getting in your business."
"Oh, I don't mind you getting in my business if it involves my bed."
My cheeks flushed, and horror consumed me. What the actual hell, Madison? Get it together. I quickly caught and composed myself. "Yeah, that's not happening."
He turned his head in my direction and winked. This time, I didn't react. Thankfully. "Maybe not today, but you will want it eventually, angel face."
I scoffed and laughed mockingly. "You're full of yourself, aren't you? And don't call me that."
"I call it confidence, sweet cheeks." he radiated pride as he grinned. "And why not? You do have the face of an angel."
"Just don't call me anything that isn't my name." I sighed. "I'm not into that."
"Are you into me? I can empty up a space for you, if you'd like. The girls ahead of you might get a little mad, but they don't bite... not too hard, anyway."
I grimaced, shuddering visibly. "I do not need to know about your personal life."
"Would you like me to demonstrate instead?" he got off his bed and made his way over to me. I extended out my hand and pushed his chest harshly when he got too close, which just made him laugh. He lifted his hands and turned around to walk to the bathroom. "Would you relax? I won't do anything you don't want me to. But one thing's for sure," he paused by the doorway to look back at me with a smirk. "I won't make it easy to resist me."
I rolled my eyes. "You're definitely full of yourself, to the point where it's unhealthy."
He shut the door behind him, but not before winking at me and saying, "How can I not when every girl wants to be full of me?"
This time, my entire face heated up.
He's so... so vulgar and shameless. How am I gonna survive a full year with him?
I made it my goal to get out of the room before he could make me even more uncomfortable, but my quick wasn't quick enough, because he was back out before I made it out the door.
"If you'll excuse me, I need to go grab the rest of my bags."
He dried his hands on his pants before grabbing the doorframe above his head and leaning forward, stretching his arms. "Need me to help?"
For a second, I debated taking his offer. Just for a second. "No, thank you."
"Suit yourself." he shrugged, going back to lay down on his bed.
Once I was safely outside the door, I inhaled deeply as I took a moment to mentally prepare myself for yet another walk.
• • •
After having to struggle by carrying all of my bags—because I wanted to avoid another trip—I dropped all of my things when I finally reached the building. Honestly, though, it was something I expected. At least it didn't happen when I was passing in front of a huge crowd. Sure, they still gave me odd looks, but that would've just been humiliating.
I quickly tried to pick up my stuff before anyone saw me. But of course, as my luck always failed me, a group of guys passed by and I turned my back to them so they wouldn't see my beat-red face. One of them offered to help, but I quickly turned down his offer, praying that he would just go away with his friends. Thankfully, he did.
Taking my chance, I simply grabbed everything by the straps and dragged them the rest of the way to the room. The door granted me access on the first try and I rushed inside.
At least that door didn't have anything against me. I didn't even blame it for trying to keep Blake out.
I laughed at the thought.
"You good?" Blake questioned with his eyebrows pushed together, looking at me over his phone.
I stopped laughing abruptly as I cleared my throat. "Yes, just fine."
"It looks like you ran a marathon," he chuckled deeply. "You look like crap."
I grumbled, "Gee, thanks."
He shrugged, going back to his phone. "Hey, I offered to help but you turned me down."
"Because I'm perfectly capable of doing things on my own," I argued lamely.
He hummed, keeping his eyes on his phone as he typed away. "I never said you weren't, but asking for help doesn't make you any less capable. It's just to make things a little easier, which isn't a crime." He looked up at me and a faint smile lifted one side of his lips.
Just as I was about to respond, the second knock of the day sounded on the door and we both glanced at it before looking back at one another.
"Can you get that?" He asked, making himself look busy on his phone again. "If it's Alisson, please tell her I'm not here."
"Sure, I'll open it, but I'm letting her in if it's her."
He scoffed, "You suck."
I laughed, walking back towards the door to open it.
To my surprise, it wasn't Alisson. It wasn't even a girl. It was a guy. A handsome one at that.
He waved at me, a gorgeous grin taking over his features. Warm brown eyes got covered halfway with how big his smile was. "Hey," he greeted. "I heard Blake was rooming here?" Then, as if just noticing my appearance, his face fell and his eyes widened. "Wait, shit, did I just interrupt you guys?"
My friendly smile slowly faded. "What?"
"Well, I know my best friend and wouldn't put it past him to bring a girl over." he explained while rubbing the back of his neck, showing his discomfort. "By the looks of it, that's exactly what he did."
At that point, I just didn't bother making him believe otherwise. Seemed like everyone was just going to assume I was some random hookup and there wasn't much I could do about it, except ignore them. Without saying another word, I stepped away from the door and went back to my bed. Not before flipping Blake off for laughing at my annoyance.
"Oh, man," he paused to sit up, wiping a fake tear from his eye. "I guess you better get used to that if you're gonna be rooming with me."
"It's not like I want to be here," I grumbled. "Besides, It's all your fault."
"What the, how?"
"What do you mean, how? You're the player who's making everyone think I'm just a hookup. As if I would ever be interested in you."
"Careful," he smirked. "You might end up manifesting your feelings for me. Not that I'm against the idea."
I rolled my eyes, shaking my head as I pushed the pads of my fingers into my temples. "You're actually infuriating."
"It's a gift, sugarplum."
His friend realized his mistake and switched to guilty mode just as I was about to remind Blake that I hated nicknames. "I am so sorry! That was stupid of me to assume that. Can we try again?"
I sighed. "You're fine,"
He walked into the room to shake my hand, "Name's Bruce and I could be an idiot sometimes. I'm so sorry, honestly."
"Sometimes?" Blake teased.
Bruce shoved him, both of them laughing like children. Without a doubt, a lifelong friendship. I knew one when I saw one.
"Alright, well, enough with the introductions. You came over to take me out, right?" Blake asked, imitating an impatient girlfriend.
"Patience, bitch. She hasn't even told me her name yet." Bruce scolded him, smiling back over at me when Blake walked out to wait for him outside. "Now that he's gone, can I know your name?"
"Madison," I told him. "It's nice to meet you, but it could've gone a little smoother than it did."
"Yeah, that's my bad." he laughed nervously. "Anyway, I gotta go now. But I hope I get to see you around."
"Well, unfortunately for me, I'll be here all year." I sighed.
He chuckled, running a hand through his hair. It looked so soft and shiny, my own fingers itched to touch it. Not in a weird way, just to feel if it simply looked soft or if it was actually soft. "He's not so bad. You just gotta get used to him."
My eyes snapped back to his and I cleared my throat. "That's the problem."
"If he causes you too much trouble, just let me or Alisson know." His smile grew when he said her name. "Have you met her?"
"Yes, she offered the same thing actually."
He thought about it for a moment, a smitten look on his face. "Yeah, that sounds like her."
"Bruce, hurry up!" Blake called out to him from a distance.
"I'm going!" He called back, grabbing my hands in both of his as he bowed his head. "Anyway, guess I'll see you."
"Yeah, see you." I waved, watching him go after Blake.
When the door shut behind him, I threw myself on my bed. At last, I'd be alone. Even if it was just for a while, it would give me enough peace to unpack as much as I could before finally going to sleep.
• • •
When my alarm woke me up the next morning at seven, I was shocked to see Blake's side of the room empty. I didn't take him as a morning person. Then again, I wouldn't know if he came back at all. His bed was made and the room looked exactly how I left it after putting all my stuff away last night. Not that I touched his side.
Not being one to complain, I got up to shower and get ready for orientation. Once I was ready to leave, I got an email notification and took the time to read it. It was an email from the school board, letting everyone know that orientation would be an hour later than was originally planned, due to a few personal issues.
Releasing a deep breath, I laid back down after grabbing one of my romance books to pass the time. The only type of romance I'd ever allow myself to get involved in. Fictional and unable to hurt me. Well, that was a lie. Sometimes, they still had the power to emotionally wound me for weeks straight. But still safer than real emotions with an actual person.
The door beeped when I was deep into a chapter, but I didn't bother to look up. Not until I found out if he was going to kiss her or not.
Slow burn could be irritating but, oh boy, was it worth it in the end.
"Same time tomorrow?" I heard Bruce ask from outside the door and I looked up to wave at him. He waved back with a grin, and so did Alisson.
"Yeah, man." Blake nodded towards Alisson. "Make sure she makes it safely to her dorm, yeah?"
"Of course." He dipped his chin in a firm nod before looking back over at me. "Bye, Madison."
"Bye, girly!" Alisson called out giddily and I laughed as I waved at both of them again, this time as a quiet goodbye.
With a mischievous grin directed at his sister, Blake closed the door in their face.
"You twat!" she shouted in annoyance. I laughed. Loudly. And when Blake turned to give me a prideful smile—as if making me laugh was an accomplishment—I stopped laughing.
