2B or Not 2B (Roomies Series) (17 page)

"Lon
… don, I'm close." He thrusts faster, messily in me, and I cried out, exploding around him, squeezing him with my arms, hands and everything in and out of me, pushing him one last time even deeper as he shouted his own release. "London!"

Limp against him, I let him remove me from his shaking body
, and we both fell to the ground, clutching at each other as our breathing wouldn’t go back to normal. He kept me against his heaving chest, enveloping me with his arms and post-sex smell after he discarded the condom in the trashcan nearby.

I was spent, unable to speak yet
, and I felt good wrapped around him with my legs still around his strong hips. His eyes found me, and I saw something I wasn't prepared. Vulnerability. What was it doing here? Now?

"You're going to put your clothes back on now?" he asked me, his growl of a voice deep and calm in his room.

The party sounds were coming back to me with the loud music, the laughters and shouts in the other room. These sounds were drowned out before as I was consumed by my roommate, a womanizer that had yet to push me away and ask me to leave.

"The party isn't over
. I have to clean the mess for tomorrow morning, or my mother is going to freak out," I whispered shakily, still overwhelmed by this amazing sex.

He pulled away and stood up, grabbing his boxers at the same time. "Let's pretend nothing happened, right?!"

I put an arm over my breasts, trying to hide them when minutes ago he had his mouth and teeth on my nipples, and I stood up, looking for my underwear I found next to the TV on the floor. I put them back on fast. "It's not like there's something to say."

He sat on his bed, not getting dressed. His eyes were on me as I was trying to put back on my jeans that weren't cooperating all that much. Though, it might be because my muscles were sluggish
, and my hands were shaking as if I had Parkinson’s. For sure, he rocked my world!

"That's all?" He crossed his arms over his broad chest and challenged me to say otherwise.

I put back on my top and leaned against the closed door. "I don't know why you want to have this talk because it won't end pretty."

"We live together
, and we had sex twice. So humor me and talk."

"The first time it was because we've never been close to someone of the other sex without including sex if the person is straight. This time was because you hate me fucking your friends. That's all there is to say."

He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes for a full minute. He looked like he was trying some kind of relaxing shit to avoid lashing out on me. He re-opened his eyes and uncrossed his arms. "You're really a cold bitch. Get out."

Startled
, I opened the door and left. The calm cold of his voice was chilling. I closed the door carefully after me and got hit by how happy and carefree all the party goers were. I looked around and met Eliott's knowing eyes. He frowned at me, but I turned around and went back to my room. I wasn't in the mood to party.

In two hours I
would throw them out and clean the mess that could be cleaned. As of the mess that was my life, it was another story.

Chapter Nineteen

DAY 46

Waking up at seven in the morning after cleaning up until four am wasn't human. I grabbed the a
nnoying phone and opened Sydney's text. She was at the door and didn't want to wake up anyone or interrupt anything. Ah! She should have texted this last night.

I stood up, ran a hand in my hair to tame it a little
, and paddled to the door. I opened it and was met by a clear-eyed Sydney with flushed cheeks and a big pageant, though genuine, smile. I looked around but didn't see Logan. Trouble in Paradise, already? I arched an eyebrow at her, and she giggled. Ugh. I hated that sound.

She walked in with her overnight bag on her shoulder bumping into my chest. I followed her to my bedroom silently, careful not to look at Byron's door. It was closed and silent, but I didn't want to face him yet. I knew it wouldn't be good.

I closed the door behind me and watched her grimace a little as she sat down. I chuckled and was awarded with a nasty glare from her. Though, it didn't last. She was too giddy for a bad mood.

"How was it? Did it hurt?" I asked in a whisper, climbing back in the bed. I ignored the ache in my muscles and the burn between my legs that brought back to me the previous night.

"It did hurt at first, but not for long," she answered me as she turned to me, her eyes sparkling even more than yesterday.

I smiled at seeing her that way. Some of my nervousness was starting to fade away. "So
, it was good?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "Very much. Not only was
it good, but he was so sweet and caring and careful." She sighed, lost in her night. "No matter what, I know I will never regret it."

"You don't know what life has in store." I crossed my arms over my chest. I wasn't talking only for her. I thought I wouldn't regret anything I did last night when I let Byron seduce me, but today was another story. And my heart wasn't even engaged in this!

"Don't be bitter, London. Just be happy for me."

I shook my head to clear it and smiled apologetically. I shouldn't ruin this for her. "Excuse me, Syd. I am, but I'm also afraid for you. Though, it's good to know that the little brother is competent like his older brother."

She narrowed her eyes on me and perked up, her big smile turning into a wondering expression. "What do you mean?"

"Uh
. Nothing. Well, you know how Byron is. I told you how a womanizer he is and all," I said lamely, a poor attempt in trying to cover up. That's what happened when you barely slept for three hours. I should take my pillow and strangle myself.

"You're babbling. You never babble unless you're nervous," she pointed out, wrinkled up her little nose. Her eyes bugged out suddenly
, and I braced myself. "Oh my God! You had sex with Byron!"

"No!" I countered too fast and too loudly. I brought a hand to my mouth and groaned.

"Yes. How did I miss it? When I think, you brushed me off when I told you there was something between you two." She laughed at me, so I flipped her off.

"It was just one night, Syd." Make that two, now. "Nothing like
what you have with Logan."

"When did it happen?" she pressed on, eager to know everything like it was the most amazing thing ever.

"A few weeks ago. Can't we talk about you instead? After all, that's why you're here."

"I'm so not like you. I won't tell you all the details, but now I want to know everything about you and Byron."

I pushed her head away from me as she came closer. "Do you realize I never gave you any details about my sex life before, Syd?"

"That doesn't mean I never listened at your door when you and Macon talked for hours in your room."

I gaped at her, drawing a blank. "Don't tell me you did that."

"I'm sure Byron is something else in bed. I mean, Ryan doesn't look like the type of guy to curl your toes while Byron
…" she trailed of, her voice amused at my expense.

"Said the girl who just lost her v-card with a rough looking guy
—years from any preppy looking guy you’ve ever met before." I arched an eyebrow at her as her cheeks turned a deep red.

"Don't avoid this talk."

"I think I prefer you when you were obsessed with classes and nothing else," I whined, but it did nothing to deter her upbeat mood. We were so not on the same page today.

"That was before the Davis boys barreled into our life." Words of wisdom.

I pictured Byron in my mind and sighed. "He is hot."

"No news there."

I turned toward her and brought a hand to my heating cheek, the one not hidden by the pillow. "I mean, almost too hot in bed. And it's very obvious he's experienced."

"Between the lines
, it was insanely good," she resumed with a laughing smile and sparkling green eyes.

"Yes."

"So why is it just a one-night stand?"

I sat up and crossed my arms. She knew me
, and she saw how Byron was. She shouldn't need another explanation. "Sydney, Byron and I are not in love. We were in lust, needed to release this tension, and now it's over. That's all."

She leaned closer to my face,
examined it, and stood up. "Look at yourself in the mirror next time, and you'll see you're still in lust."

A k
nock at the front door prevented Sydney from saying something else. I glanced at the alarm clock on my bedside table and saw it was barely 7:15. Our mother was even earlier than I thought she would be.

"I think it's time for you to go home. Let's go,’’ I said and stood up slowly. There wasn't an inch of my body not aching from the exercise I did last night.

"You'll sleep with him again," she sing-songed at me as she shouldered her bag and bounced out of my room.

"You and Macon are so annoying sometimes," I mumbled behind her as she opened the door.

Our mother inspected us both before she smiled. We passed the inspection. Sydney kissed her cheek—well put together with some make up to give her a healthy tan—and turned back around to hug me. "Thank you so much, London," she whispered in my ear.

I smiled back and brushed some of her hair away from her face. My little sister wasn't that little anymore.

A door in the apartment opened, and Byron walked out with black shorts riding low on his strong hips and a white tee-shirt clinging to his body. He forced a smile and mumbled "hi" for my mother and sister before his eyes landed on me. And his frown returned.

"I'm going for my run."

I nodded, and we all let him run away, his strong legs eating fast the pavement. I had a hard time not looking at his retreating figure, and I managed it only when my mother asked Sydney to go to the car because she needed to talk about my rent. My sister waved at me and walked away.

"Is there a problem with my rent?" If she told me that
she and Dad thought it would be best if I didn't live with Byron anymore, I wouldn't fight this time. I'd welcome it, even.

"Do you know you're not exactly hiding it well?" she said with a soft voice
. I couldn't remember the last time I heard it when directed at me.

"Hiding what, Mom?" I asked at a complete lost.

"That you're in love with this young man," she replied with a smile and a wave in the direction Byron took for his daily run.

I laughed nervously and shook my head. Me? In love? And with my roomy? "Byron? I'm not in love with him!"

She put both hands on my shoulders and squeezed softly. "I know we never talk about these things and I know I wasn't exactly the warmest person toward him when I met him, but you can tell me if there's something between you two."

I shook her off and stepped away. "There's nothing, Mom. Well, nothing to talk about. I'm not his kind of girl
, and he's not my kind of guy."

"But you feel something for him," she insisted
, part nosey and part worried. Her perfect eyebrows formed a line I never saw on her face.

"It's called lust
, if you want the truth."

"London!" She glanced around to be sure none of the neighbors heard me. If only she knew how used to Byron's open bed policy
they were.

"You started it."

"And I guess I'll stop it." She shook her head and grabbed her car keys from her little Louis Vuitton bag. "I don't understand why you're so against love."

"Because it hurts, Mom," I replied tiredly. She didn't exactly know what happened and why I lost it last year,
but I didn't want to tell her everything about how not so golden the golden boy, Ryan, was. It was useless; it was in the past now.

"Not always. You should prove to yourself that you're really the kind of girl who takes risks
, and I think Byron is a good first risk."

"Why?"

She shrugged her thin shoulders. "It's something in the way you both look at each other. And don't tell me it's just lust."

With
these words, she kissed my cheek and turned around. I was left very confused. I closed the door and padded back to my room. A few more hours of sleep might clear my head more. Or, at least, it would give me a longer break.

* * *

DAY 46

I was curled up on the couch with a good smut book on my
Kindle when Byron walked back in, his breathing loud and his tee-shirt clinging to his chest with sweat. He froze when he saw me on the couch. A drop of sweat fell down his scar, and he caught it before it left his square jaw.

I turned off my
Kindle and braced myself for a talk I needed to put behind me; something I realized when I couldn't fall back asleep. Something had to give because my mom's words rang too true to sit well with me. "Do you have a minute?"

He threw away his empty water bottle and walked toward me where I didn't move from the couch. "I'm dripping wet, Bridge. I need to take a shower."

"It won't take long."

He shrugged, not showing anything of his thoughts. He didn't even look angry anymore. He seemed
… detached. "Shoot."

I stood up, put my
Kindle on the coffee table and locked eyes with him. "I'm leaving … next week, which means a week before the end of my trial.’’ My parents didn't know it yet, Macon either, and I wasn't even sure where it was coming from. Really, what my mother told me opened my eyes. I could fall in love with Byron. I could be crushed by him without him even noticing it. I was already hurt when I knew he was with other girls and we had casual sex once, now twice. What would it be next time he'd tell me or do something sweet and I'd let down more of my guard? I couldn't risk it. I did it enough as it was already.

He lost his detached look and stepped closer to me. I could smell his sweat
, and it hit me like a punch. He almost smelled like he did last night when he was inside me. It was too much. I began breathing softly through my mouth.

"What
the hell are you talking about?"

I looked away, toward the kitchen. "I'm just telling you that you need to find another roommate because I'm leaving next week."

He tilted my head up with the tip of his thumb and pointer finger. His gaze was intent on me, almost to the point of making me close my eyes. But I didn't. "You're not leaving."

Stubborn man. I rolled my eyes and took a step back until my calves hit the coffee table. "Yes, I am
, and you don't have a word to say."

His hand fell back and with the other one, he traced his scar nervously. I took him off guard. "Tell me it's not because we slept together."

I laughed humorlessly, shudders running down my back as my body was getting cold. "Of course it's because we slept together. Did you really think it wouldn't change a thing?" It was difficult to look at him and see the hurt on his face. If there was something I didn't expect, it was hurting him. After all, I was just his roomy with whom he had sex. It wasn't like we were friends before then. He didn’t even want me here in the first place.

"Don't be like that, Bridge."

"Damn it! Stop it with the nickname Byron, and open your eyes!" I said louder, waving between us like a mad woman, and it left a bad taste in my mouth. I was acting like some of the girls he had sex with. I was making a scene precisely because we had sex. "We can't live together and have sex whenever you're feeling lonely or horny. It can't work."

He ran a hand in his scruff and focused on his feet. "It won't happen again."

Hesitantly, carefully, I put a hand on his glistening arm and squeezed lightly. I didn't care if he was all sweaty and that must say something. Usually, I wouldn't come close to a sweaty guy, even if I was paid to do it.

"You knew I wouldn't last here with you. I didn't want to listen when you warned me. I'm not mad or anything because you didn't do anything wrong."

He put a hand over mine, the one still on his arm. His hand was twice the size of mine, and it felt rough against my skin. Just this innocent, tiny touch sent tingles from the tips of my fingers to my elbow.