Roommates (Soulmates #1) (23 page)

Flashback: Ethan

The day they got married we had to take a family photo…

Jenny wore a light blue dress that she spent the whole day
fidgeting with. Every time I looked at her she was either yanking it up or yanking
it down.

Meanwhile, I was at that age where I was not only expected to dance
with all the little girls, but anyone over sixty still thought it was
acceptable to squeeze my cheeks.

And every time I felt miserable, I would look around for Jenny.

I took comfort in the fact that she looked similarly dejected.

Of course, I knew better than to take it personally. If
anything, I figured she must have realized how controlling my dad was. What’s
more, the way her mom looked at him sickened me. I couldn't imagine how she
must have felt.

I decided I should say something.

I just didn't know what.

At one point, I found her sitting at a round table in the corner
of the room. She was busy mashing a piece of wedding cake into its icing to
make a thick paste.

I sat a few chairs away from her and watched her sculpt it
upwards with two forks, not really making anything but a mess.

"You gonna eat that?" I asked.

I meant it as a joke, but she didn't laugh. Instead, she just
glanced at me out of the corner of her eye before carrying on.

I finished two half-drunk glasses of wine that were within reach
and made my way outside the tent to see if I could get in on a game of bags.

Back to the photo…

Neither of us is smiling with our eyes in it, which is
especially apparent because our parents look ridiculously pleased with
themselves.

But what you can't see in the portrait is that I’m holding
Jenny’s hand.

I only reached for it at the last second- partly so she would
stop fidgeting with her dress and partly because I felt the urge to.

I still remember how my chest felt when she wrapped her fingers
around mine. It was just for a brief moment, just long enough to let me know
she hadn't brushed my hand by accident or regretted taking it.

And in a split second, it turned the worst day ever into one of
the best.

But as much her touch helped to relieve the pain I felt that
day, I knew by the time the camera flashed that holding her hand would never be
enough.

Chapter 45: Jenny

I felt like I couldn't love who I wanted for so long.

It was like being in the closet.

But now I was finally out. At least to myself.

And it was a liberating experience, one that made me feel
lighter than I ever had.

And hornier, too, but Brandi always warned me that would be that
case.

I mean, on the few occasions I could ever recall her having a
dry spell, she would inevitably settle into it and become increasingly happy to
avoid the single’s scene.

But as soon as she got a man on her radar, she was like a cat
who’d just tried real meat for the first time, and she’d be all, like, “fuck
another Whiskas dry food movie night with you, this pussy wants steak.”

Her words, not mine.

Anyway, I finally understood what she was on about because the
more I slept with Ethan, and the more time we spent together, the more the thought
of us being apart made me shudder.

Unfortunately, after about two weeks, I started getting sick of
keeping my perfect boyfriend a secret.

After all, as long as we kept our feelings between us, we were
still sort of swimming against the current, whereas I was ready to relax into
our metaphorical relationship inner tube and see what was around the river bend.

In other words, I was so head over heels I was constantly making
ridiculous analogies to try and explain my smitten status, and I'd never felt
gayer in my life.

It was like living in a fucking musical where ever scene was
more wonderful than the last… there I go again.

Anyway, one afternoon when I was particularly high on love, I
turned my key in the apartment door and pushed it open.

The door to Ethan's studio was ajar- as it often was now that
he'd let me in on his little hobby. But when I peeked in, he wasn't inside.

My jaw still dropped, though.

I took a few steps towards the easel where the print of my naked
back was propped up. He'd made it bright red with yellow accents, and it was
striking.

And as I approached it, I noticed there were more on the drying
rack at the side of the room that he’d made using a variety of other bright
colors.

My chest swelled with pride as I heard the apartment door swing open
and shut behind me.

He walked in wiping his hands on his favorite pair of paint splattered
jeans. "Jenny."

"I love them."

He smiled. "Yeah?"

I nodded.

"I like them, too," he said. "But you should see
the model. They really don't do her justice."

I couldn't suppress my wide smile. "She must be really
beautiful then."

"Blindingly," he said, tucking a strand of hair behind
my ear.

I hooked my fingers in the loops of his jeans. "How will I
ever compete with her for your attention?"

"I have a few ideas," he said, a mischievous grin
giving his filthy thoughts away.

I smacked his chest.

"How was your audition?"

"It was okay."

He furrowed his brow. "Just okay?"  

I shrugged. "I got the sense that the director already made
his mind up and was only sitting through the auditions because people bothered showing
up."

He cocked his head.

"Either that or he's a robot who only stays alive by
playing games on his phone."

He scrunched his face. "Sorry."

"It's okay," I said. "I'm actually feeling more
optimistic with every audition."

"Each no gets you closer to a yes."

“That’s what I’m telling myself. Plus, Ira has kept his promise
of getting me seen."

"I suppose that's true."

I ran a finger down his chest. "I hope you thanked your
friend for me- Ira’s nephew who got me the appointment in the first place?"

"Why don't you thank him yourself?"

I raised my eyebrows.

"I want you to come to the club tomorrow."

"Are you sure you'll be able to concentrate if I'm
there?"

"Actually, it's for a private party so I'll be slacking off
pretty hard."

"I would like to see where you work."

"And I'd like you to meet my friends."

"Really?"

He nodded and pulled me towards him.

"Would I be meeting them as your stepsister or-"

"You'll be meeting them as my wet hot lover."

I laughed and looked down to hide my burning cheeks.

"What do you say?"

I looked up at him and furrowed my brow. "Are you
sure?"

"Of course I'm sure."

"What's the party for?"

"It's an engagement party," he said. "For my
boss."

"Ben?"

He nodded. "One of many if I had to guess."

"And you want me to be your date?"

"Date, drinking buddy- whatever you want to call it."

"And what if someone asks how we met?"

He squinted at the ceiling before looking back at me. "Say
I saved you from a burning building."

I rolled my eyes.

"I would you know."

"Yeah, but-"

"Or that I pulled you out of the Hudson after your tour
boat capsized."

I squinted at him.

"Or that I threw myself in front of a bus to keep you from
getting-"

"Why does it have to be a story about you saving me?"
I folded my arms. "Why don't we tell them that I saved you?"

"We could," he said. "But lying is more
fun."

I fixed my eyes on him. "Oh, that's the truth, then, is it?
That I saved you?"

"More times than you know."

I pursed my lips.

"To be honest, I don't care what you tell them, and I care
even less what they think."

I took a deep breath, my inhale forcing my chest towards his.

"All I care about is giving my friends a chance to meet the
reason I'm in such a good mood these days."

"You are in a pretty good mood."

He laughed. "I know. I'm almost so smug I'm annoying
myself."

"Well, in that case, I'd be delighted to introduce myself
as the reason you've gotten so annoying."

"Great, cause I already said you'd come."

I craned my neck forwards. "You did?!"

"Yeah," he said, backing out of the room. "I
figured once you knew I'd be there, you wouldn't be able to resist coming
along."

I shook my head and followed after him.

He opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water.

"Only if you're sure," I said, sliding onto one of the
barstools.

"Why the doubts?" he asked, leaning a hand on the
counter. "Why wouldn't I be sure?"

"I don't know." I shrugged. "I guess because once
I meet your friends, you can't take it back."

"Take what back?"

"This," I said, waving my hands between us. "Along
with everything that's happened between these walls in the last two weeks."

"Why would I want to take any of this back? It would be
like returning the only gift I ever really wanted."

I reached for his water. "Is that what this feels like to
you?"

He handed me the bottle. "Of course. I've wanted you since
I got on the bus that day-"

"And completely ignored me."

"What can I say? It was part of my slow seduction
strategy."

I laughed and set the bottle on the counter. "It was slow
alright. I nearly died waiting."

He raised his finger. "It was worth the wait in the end,
though."

"Was it?" I asked, cocking my head. "I can't
really remember. It's been so long since I saw any of your moves-"

And with that, he scooped me off the barstool and fireman
carried me to the bedroom.

Chapter 46: Ethan

I could tell she was nervous on the way to the club.

She kept making me check her teeth for lip gloss, and she was
fidgeting like crazy, pushing her hair in front of her ear and then behind it
and then in front of it and then-

"You look great, Jen."

She looked at me through grateful eyes. "Sorry. I'm a
little nervous."

"I know," I said, clocking a passing street sign.
"But there's no reason to be. My friends are going to love you."

"And if they don't?"

"Then they aren't my fucking friends anymore, how's
that?"

She scrunched her face. "Excessive?"

"Look, it's an engagement party for two people who are in
the mood to celebrate happy couples, and seeing as how we just became one,
we'll fit right in."

"Did we become one?” she asked, cocking her head. “When did
that happen?" 

"Around the time I made that print and you dropped to
your-"

She elbowed me in the ribs and glanced in the rearview mirror,
but our Uber driver didn't seem to be paying attention. "Speaking of
inappropriate,” she said. “When I first met Ira, he said he expected me to be
more butch."

I raised my eyebrows.

"And bald. He thought I was going to be bald.”

I swallowed.

"Is anyone at this party expecting me to be bald and
butch?" She turned an ear towards me. "Cause I'd really like to know
now if I'm going to disappoint."

I sighed.

"Well?"

"Christophe will probably be surprised."

"And why is that?"

"Cause when you first came to town, he started asking all
these questions about you, and I wanted to squash his interest."

"By telling him I was a hairless lesbian?"

"By encouraging him to stop trying to picture you
naked."

"Sounds like a real charmer."

"Oh he is,” I said.

"Anything else I should know?"

I squinted at her. "You probably shouldn't tell everyone
how in love with me you are."

She blinked.

"Cause I don't want our love to overshadow the happy
couple's."

"You're so full of it."

I reached around and squeezed her waist. "You're going to
be so full of it if you don't watch it."

She smiled. "I better be."

"It has been a full two hours since-"

"I just hope we can make it to the end of the party."

"If there's an emergency, just say the code word."

She furrowed her brows. "What's the code word?"

I glanced at the driver and put a finger over my lips.

"How am I supposed to say the code word if I don’t know
what it is-"

"I'll know."

"And what if you don't pick up on it?"

"I will."

She narrowed her eyes at me.

"And if I don't for some reason, just drink your whole
drink all at once."

She raised her eyebrows. "That's a signal you won't miss,
is it?"

"It's a signal I'm highly trained to notice."

She groaned and looked out her window but crossed her bare legs
towards me.

It felt great to have her as my date, but she was so much more
than that.

In the last two weeks, we'd sunk into a domestic routine that I
was already getting used to… apart from how regularly I was waking up in the
night with a dead arm from holding her while we slept.

But that was the kind of thing we could get better at in time.

And I was willing to work at it.

That's how I knew it was serious.

I'd met lots of women in the past that I had chemistry with,
women who were great in bed and good company and easy on the eyes. But none of
them were perfect.

And neither was Jen. But in her case, I was willing to put up
with the occasional disagreement, the occasional clogged sink, and the
occasional wet towel on the bed.

If anything, I felt kind of lucky to be the guy with her hair in
my sink, the guy who knew all her little quirks.

I knew what Taylor Swift songs she liked to sing in the shower,
knew the weird way she ate Kit Kats so the wafer was the last part to go. I
even knew when she was tired because she'd get so visibly cold her lips would
change color.

And with every little oddity I learned about, I fell for her a
little more.

I was especially enamored of the way she bit her lip before she
dropped down to give me head, which she'd done only two hours ago in the
shower.

Hence my being so relaxed.

But it wasn't just the sex. She was everything I could ever want
in a woman- everything I ever had wanted- and it made the whole thing pretty
surreal.

"I guess there's a lot riding on tonight," she said,
looking back my way.

I furrowed my brow. "Why do you say that?"

"Because." She shrugged. "If this goes well we
might think about telling our parents."

I clenched my jaw.

"Unless you think this is a short term-"

"Of course I don't," I said, putting a hand on her
knee.

"So why the long face?"

"There's a chance they won't understand."

"A very good chance," she said. "But don't you
think they would in time?"

"I like to think so."

"That's why I think the sooner we come clean, the sooner we
can relax."

"I feel pretty relaxed as it is."

"Well, I don't," she said. "I hate feeling like I
have to hide how happy I am from the people I care about."

"I'm glad you're happy."

She sighed. “Too happy maybe."

"Why too happy?"

"Because I'm on such an ecstatic level of happiness it
feels unsustainable."

"Me too," I said. "But no matter what happens, we'll
get through it."

She smiled and leaned her head on my shoulder. "I suppose
we've survived being miserable together before, too."

"Yeah, but we’ll never be that unhappy again."

"How do you know?"

"Because I'm never going to let anything come between us
again, least of all anyone else's agenda."

She lifted her head. “That means a lot coming from the best
roommate I ever had."

I rolled my eyes. "I can't tell if that's a promotion or a
demotion."

"It just is what it is. That's all. No labels necessary."

"I suppose labels have caused us some heartache in the
past."

She nodded. "Too much."

"So how will we explain it to my old man?"

She shrugged. "I don't know yet, but it's not going to be
with the leaked sex tape idea you suggested last night."

I smiled. "Shouldn't we make one just in case?"

"Only if I can't get a break without it."

My face dropped. "You wouldn't really consider-"

"Shame on you," she said, smacking my chest. "As
if."