The rules we break a roo.., p.25
The Rules We Break: A Roommate Romance, page 25
“When did she leave?”
“Like 10 minutes ago.”
“I have to go,” I say, racing to the door.
“Theo, wait!” Avery yells as I’m getting in my car. “She’s probably on her way home by now.”
She might be, or she might still be on campus. I need to find her. This can’t wait. She’s already moved out. Next she’ll find a guy, one she can trust to stick around. I want to be that guy, but I won’t be if I don’t hurry up.
When I get to campus, I park at the student center and go inside. The bulletin board where people post stuff is near the vending machines at the back of the building. I sigh in relief when I see Darcy there. She’s in front of the board, reaching up on her toes to pin a sheet of paper on an open spot at the top.
I walk up behind her. “Can I help?”
She turns around. “Theo. What are you doing here?”
I take the piece of paper from her and read it. “Looking for someone who needs a roommate.”
“Theo, give it back.” She tries to grab it from me, but I hold it up, out of her reach.
I keep reading. “I’ll pay rent on time, pick up after myself, and I don’t smoke or have pets. If interested, call the number below.”
“Theo, this isn’t funny. Give it back.”
I get my phone out and call her.
She takes her phone from her pocket, sees it’s me, and rolls her eyes.
“Aren’t you going to answer?” I ask.
“Theo, c’mon. Just give me the flyer.”
“Answer your phone first.”
She gives me an annoyed look as she answers. “Hello.”
“Hey, this is Theo Jenkins. I saw you were looking for someone who needs a roommate. Turns out mine just moved out so this is great timing.”
“Thanks, but I’ll keep looking.”
“You sure? You haven’t even seen the place. It’s a two-story house. It’s old, but it’s been updated and everything works. You should come check it out.”
“I’m sure it’s nice, but I don’t want a guy for a roommate. I already tried that and it didn’t work out well.”
“That guy was an idiot who should’ve told you how he felt instead of telling you he only wanted to be friends. I’m not that guy.” I lock my eyes on hers. “And if you live with me, things will be different. I promise.”
“I don’t believe in promises, not after watching my parents break up.”
“Then just believe things will be different. Give me another chance, Darcy. Just one more. That’s all I’m asking for.”
“What exactly do you want, Theo? Because you’ve changed your mind so many times that I—”
“I want you to move back. And not as my roommate.” I toss her flyer on the floor. “I want you to move back as my girlfriend. I know I screwed up. I know you don’t trust me. Let me prove to you that you can.”
She ends the call and puts her phone away. I do the same with mine.
“Darcy, please, just give me another chance.”
She picks up the flyer, looking at it, then looking at me. “How do I know you won’t change your mind?”
“I’ll put you on the lease. If anything happens, you can kick me out. You can keep the house and find a new roommate.” I put my arms around her. “But I’m hoping you keep me around. Because I love you. And I don’t want to go another day without you.”
She smiles a little. “I just moved out. I’d have to move everything back. Set my room up again. That’ll take some time.”
“I want you to stay with me, in my room. We can turn the other room into something else.”
“Like a reading room with bookshelves and lots of pillows and a comfy chair?”
“If that’s what you want, then yeah. But didn’t you give away all your books?”
“They’re in boxes at Avery’s house. I wasn’t ready to give them away. They make me want to believe in love, even if those stories aren’t real.”
“This one is. And despite what I did or said, I really do love you, Darcy. Will you please move back?”
She looks at the flyer in her hand. “When?”
“Right now.”
“I’m kind of hungry.”
“Then I’ll take you to lunch first. I’m hungry too.”
She looks up at me. “You’re always hungry.”
“Yeah, and I’m out of food. We should get groceries after lunch.”
“I should probably see your house first. Make sure I like it. And the bedroom. I’m really picky about my bed.”
“Let’s go try it out.” I smile at her.
She crumples up the flyer and gives it to me. “Can you throw this out?”
I toss it in the trash, then take her hand as we walk out of the building. We go back to the house and barely make it through the door before clothes start coming off. We leave a trail of them on the stairs on the way to my room.
Turns out she likes the bed, or at least what we did in it. She agrees to stay and we celebrate by taking Wes and Avery to dinner that night. Avery watches me with Darcy, like she thinks I’ll change my mind about her again, but it’s not going to happen. Now that she’s back, I can’t imagine ever being without her.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
JUNE
THEO
“Why did I agree to this?” I ask as I help Darcy make the bed in the room that used to be hers. Her plan to make it into a reading room never happened. I got her some bookshelves to hold all her romance books, but she likes to read them in bed. Then when she gets to a steamy scene, she gives me that look that says she wants to act out what she’s reading. And damn, some of those sex scenes describe things I haven’t even thought of doing. I love that Darcy’s into that stuff. I even got her a gift card to buy more books.
“I think it’ll be fun having her here,” Darcy says, pulling the comforter over the bed.
“We won’t have any privacy.” I toss the pillows on the bed. “No more couch sex. No more kitchen sex. No more—”
“It’s only for a few months,” Darcy says, coming over to me. “And we still have the bedroom. The shower. The car.”
“You need to stop talking about that or we’re gonna have to do it right now.” I grab her ass and pull her against me.
“Theo! Not in her room.” Darcy pushes me away.
“Then let’s go to our room.” I kiss her. “Before she gets here.”
“We don’t have time. She’ll be here in a few minutes.” Darcy picks up the colored pillows she bought and arranges them on the bed. “How’s it look? You think she’ll like it?”
“She’ll love it, but you didn’t need to go to all this work. She’s only here for the summer.”
“I know, but I wanted it to be nice.” Darcy stands back, admiring the room. “I’m excited to have her living here. It’ll be like having a little sister.”
“Don’t get too excited. Little sisters can be a pain in the ass.”
“Ella’s not a pain. She’s fun. I can’t wait to do stuff with her.”
“What about me?” I put my arms around Darcy. “You just gonna forget about me with my sister living here?”
“You won’t even be here. Football practice starts soon and then I’ll never see you.”
“It doesn’t start for a few weeks.”
“Yeah, but you’re training. You spend hours at the gym.” She smiles as she runs her hand over my bicep. “Not that I’m complaining.”
“Okay, seriously. The way you’re looking at me? And touching me? It’s making me hard. We have to go do this.”
“Not now.” She backs away. “Later, once Ella’s asleep.”
“Asleep? I can’t wait that long.”
Darcy laughs as she goes to the closet. “Do you think I got her enough hangers?”
“Stop worrying about Ella. She should just be happy we’re letting her live here.”
“I thought you wanted her to.” Darcy walks back to me. “Now you’re acting like you don’t.”
“I do. I just don’t want her affecting when we have sex or how much we have. Do we really have to wait until she goes to bed?”
“Oh! I forgot to get extra towels. I’ll be right back.”
As Darcy leaves, I go to the window, waiting for Ella’s car to pull into the driveway. When my parents asked if she could stay with me this summer, I almost told them no. Things are going so well with Darcy and me that I didn’t want to risk anything changing that. But our relationship is strong enough now that I think it can survive a summer with Ella living here. And it’s only until August when she can move into her dorm room.
My parents are looking forward to a summer without kids. They’re spending this month doing some renovations to the house that they’ve been talking about doing for years. Then in July, they’re going to Europe for three weeks. When they get back, they’re visiting some friends in Maine, then going to Boston to see my dad’s sister. My mom’s been sober since getting out of rehab and it’s totally changed her relationship with my dad. They’re like newlyweds now. They’re always kissing and they can’t keep their hands off each other. I guess that’s good, but I’m not used to seeing it. Ella isn’t either, which is why she wanted a break from them.
Darcy returns with a stack of towels. “You think this is enough?”
“Yeah, she can only use one at a time.”
Darcy goes in the bathroom to put the towels away. I don’t know why she’s trying to make everything perfect for Ella. My sister already loves her. Darcy went home with me a few times last spring and spent time with Ella and my mom while my dad and I went golfing. Ella kept telling me not to screw things up with Darcy because she wants her to be her sister someday. I didn’t tell her that I actually am thinking about marrying Darcy, but not anytime soon. I’m not ready for marriage and neither is Darcy.
“She’s here,” I say, watching Ella’s small red car pull into the driveway.
“Let’s go,” Darcy says, hurrying out of the room.
I’m still making my way down the stairs when I hear Darcy at the door.
“Welcome to your new home,” she says.
I smile when I see her hugging Ella.
Ella notices me and smiles. “Hey, big brother.”
“Hey. Get over here.”
Darcy lets Ella go. “I’ll take your bags.”
“That’s Theo’s job,” Ella says, coming up to me and giving me a hug.
“How was the drive?” I ask. “Get any speeding tickets?”
“No.” She lets me go. “You sound just like Dad.”
“I’m taking his place for the summer. Didn’t he tell you?”
“That’s a joke, right?” she asks, her brows rising.
“Not really. I told him I’d take care of you. I told Mom that too.”
“Yeah, but I don’t have to listen to you.” She goes to the couch to sit down. “I’m an adult now. I’m on my own.”
I glance at Darcy, with a look that says I’m already regretting letting my sister stay here. I wanted to have a relaxing summer with my girlfriend, but instead I’ll be watching over Ella, making sure she doesn’t get into trouble. She didn’t when she was in high school, but that’s because my dad kept a close eye on her. And he was strict. He didn’t let her get away with stuff. Now that she’s living with me, she might try to do all the things she couldn’t do when she was home. Drinking. Staying out all night. Who the hell knows what I’m in for with her?
“You’re not on your own,” I say, sitting next to her. “While you’re living here, you’re my responsibility.”
“Meaning what?” she asks, putting her feet up on the coffee table.
“Meaning I need to know where you are. And you can’t be staying out all night. You sleep here, in your bed.”
“Theo, seriously? I’m 18.”
“Yeah? So?”
“So I’ve been with guys before. I’ve had—”
“Why don’t we talk about something else?” Darcy says, racing over to us.
Ella was about to say she’s had sex, which infuriates me even though I know she’s not a virgin. Last summer, I saw birth control pills on her dresser and asked my mom about it. She said Ella had only had sex once, as far as she knew, but she put her on the pill just in case it happened again. My mom wouldn’t tell me who the guy was, knowing I’d want to smash his face in if I found out.
“Ella, are you hungry?” Darcy asks. “You want something to eat?”
“No, thanks. I stopped and got a burger on the way here.”
“I told you we were taking you to dinner,” I say.
“We can go later,” she says. “I was hungry. I couldn’t wait.”
She gets up and walks to the back window, looking out at the yard. “You guys have a lot of room back there. We should have a party.”
“We’re not having a party,” I say, noticing Ella’s clothes and how little they cover of her body. It’s summer, so I get that she wants to wear shorts, but the ones she’s wearing are so short I could see her ass cheeks when she leaned forward to look out the window. And she’s got on a tight tank top that’s cropped just below her boobs, showing off her stomach. Her body’s really changed the past year. Her boobs got bigger, even bigger than Darcy’s, and her legs got longer. She shot up in height and is now taller than my mom. She’s at least 5’9, maybe 5’10.
“Ella, do you want to go check out your room?” Darcy asks.
“Yeah, I’ve been dying to see it.” Ella perks up, excited to see how Darcy decorated it. Darcy’s really good at decorating. Ella’s not. Neither is my mom. She hired a decorator to do our house.
The two of them go upstairs. Moments later I hear squealing and “Oh my God, I love it!” from Ella.
I’m not sure I’m going to survive living with those two. Soon they’ll be taking over the TV, watching dating shows and romance movies.
There’s a knock on the door. “Theo, it’s me. You in there?”
I open the door and see Colton, shirtless, and wearing gym shorts. “What are you doing here?”
“Seeing if you want to play some hoops. I got the ball in the car.”
“I can’t. Ella just got here.”
“Shit, that’s right. I forgot she was coming today.”
“She’s upstairs, checking out her room with Darcy. You want to come in? I could use some testosterone in here to even out the flood of estrogen.”
Colton laughs as he comes into the house. “There’s no way you’ll survive all summer with those two.”
“I was thinking the same thing.”
We go to the living room and sit down.
“Ella thinks she’s an adult now,” I say. “She’s telling me she can do whatever she wants.”
“She’s kind of right. She’s 18. That’s technically an adult.”
“Her age doesn’t make her an adult. She’s still a kid. She’s got a lot to learn before she can be considered an adult.”
“You sound like an old man,” he says, laughing. “Remember when you were 18? You thought you were an adult. So did I.”
“Yeah, but we’re guys. It’s different for girls. They have to be more careful. And Ella’s not, especially around guys. She believes what guys tell her.”
“She’ll be fine. She’s got her big brother watching over her.”
“Not all the time. I’ve got shit to do.”
“So have Darcy keep an eye on her.”
“But that’s the thing. I want to go out with Darcy, not have her babysitting my sister.” I sigh. “This was a bad idea. I wish I hadn’t agreed to this.”
“Too late now. She’s already here.”
“It’s only a few months. I guess I’ll survive.” I swipe through my phone and see Curt’s text from last night. “Curt’s coming here next week.”
“Oh, yeah? To see you?”
“Yeah, we’re having lunch and might play a round of golf.”
“Did you call him, or did he call you?”
“I called him. It’s been a month since I saw him. I thought it’d be good to meet up again before football practice starts.”
“How’s his job going? Did he say?”
“He doesn’t like it, but he said it pays well.”
After Curt left, he got a job coaching football at a private high school in Connecticut. He said the kids are rich and spoiled and don’t want to work hard, which makes coaching them difficult. He’s only been there a few months and is already looking for something else.
“Any chance he’d come back here?” Colton asks. “We still need an assistant coach.”
“I don’t know. Maybe I’ll ask when he’s here.”
“Would you want that? Having him back here?”
“I’m not sure. I need to think about it. Being here and being my coach are two different things. It wouldn’t bother me having him here, but I don’t know how I’d feel about him coaching me. Maybe that doesn’t make sense, but it’s how I feel.”
“I get it. Being a coach is almost like being a dad and you’re not ready for that.”
“Yeah, that’s the thing. I don’t feel like he’s earned the right to be my dad, at least not yet. But I do want to see him more. I’m ready to get to know him better. He asked if he can come to our games this year.”
“But he’ll be coaching.”
“High school. Their games are Friday. Ours are Saturday.”
“Yeah, that’s right. So what’d you tell him?”
“I told him I wanted to talk to my mom first, make sure she’s okay with it. It’s not like they’d be sitting together at the games, but she could run into him. I was going to call her tomorrow and talk to her about it. I don’t think she’ll have a problem with it. She’s doing really well. I think she’s finally moved on from all the stuff from her past.”
Ella and Darcy come down the stairs.
“Theo, my room is amazing!” Ella says. “I love it!”
“I told you she would,” I say, smiling at Darcy.
Colton gets up. “Hey, Ella.”
She stares at him, not saying anything.
He walks up to her. “You looking forward to a summer with Theo?” he says, laughing a little.
Ella’s staring at Colton’s chest, her mouth slightly open. That’s just great. My sister’s checking out my friend. Is this how it’s going to be with all my friends? I have the guys over and my sister gets a crush on all of them?
