Page 54 of Tapped By My Roommate
“I’m going to come get you. We’re going to have a talk about how to handle a situation like this one without running into the night alone. It’s not safe.”
“I know.”
She sounded drained and sad, and I softened my tone as I stepped into the elevator with Ethan. He pressed the button for the ground floor.
“We’ll eat some pie,” I said.
I caught his eye, hoping he’d be okay with hanging out a while. If not, I could maybe just borrow his car and drive myself. He gave me a little nod and smile.
“Lemon meringue?” Audrey asked hopefully.
“You can have lemon. I’ll stick with apple.”
She blew a raspberry. “Boring.”
I laughed. The elevator doors dinged open. I stayed on the line because I wanted to be sure she was safely inside the diner before disconnecting.
Ethan led me to his car, unlocked the doors, and motioned me into the passenger seat without a word. He started the engine and asked quietly, “Where to?”
I placed my hand over the receiver. “Rudy’s Diner. You didn’t have to drive me. I could have taken my car.”
“It’s no trouble.” Ethan shifted into reverse as he pulled out of the parking spot. Then he reached over and put his hand on my thigh once more, squeezing. It wasn’t a sexy touch. It was meant to comfort. And it did. Warmth suffused me.
Audrey had to repeat herself before I tuned back into the conversation.
“Who is that, Rhett?” Audrey asked. “Are you with someone? Oh my god, did I interrupt a date?”
“It’s not a date,” I said. “It’s just my roommate.”
Ethan withdrew his hand and placed it on the steering wheel. I looked sidelong at him, but his eyes were steadily fixed on the windshield. My heart sank at the rigid set to his shoulders.
I hoped my words hadn’t hurt him. We’d set boundaries. We hadrules, and the rules said that our hookups were not about emotional attachment, that it was just sexual discovery for Ethan and fun for me.
Having a relationship, actually dating my roommate, would be a terrible idea, right? Relationships were fraught with drama. When something went wrong, neither of us would have an escape. One of us would be forced to move—as Ethan had when things ended with Tess. I pictured Ethan with a box in his arms, asking me if it was okay if he took the toaster, and mentally flinched. I didn’t want that for us. Ever.
We had to keep the boundary between casual hookups and lovers intact. So I focused on my sister, reassuring her, and dragging out the call longer than necessary so that I didn’t have to think about the cold spot on my thigh where Ethan’s hand had been.
15
ETHAN
Rhett’s sister was pretty. Of course she was. She was related to Rhett, and clearly good genes ran in the family. Audrey’s hair was the same caramel-streaked brown as Rhett’s, her eyes a similar warm brown, but the rims were reddened, and I could tell she’d been crying. She was seated in the booth, but I could see from the side of her that was visible that she wore a white lacy tank top and distressed jeans that had been ripped strategically over the thighs and knees.
“Audrey, no coat?” Rhett asked as we neared the table. He was already stripping off his wool-lined leather jacket and holding it out to her.
Audrey shook her head, standing to slip her arms into the too-long sleeves. Rhett pulled the front closed around her, then hugged her. She leaned into him for a long moment, her head pressed against his shoulder.
I felt like an intruder as I watched them. I had been curious about Rhett’s life outside our apartment, especially his family. I knew he was close to his brother and sister. So, when he’d been distracted and concerned by Audrey’s call, it had felt natural to offer to drive. But now I was second-guessing that decision.
As Rhett had told his sister, we were roommates.
His words were nothing but honest, but they’d been a reminder that I wasn’t behaving very much like a casual hookup. The sex had been intense for me. Special. I’d felt close to Rhett in the moments before Audrey’s call. I should be glad his phone rang when it did. Who knew what I might have said or done? I might have curled into him and tried tocuddle.
How mortifying.
“A tank top and no coat in April?” Rhett was lamenting. He and Audrey had broken apart, and he was shaking his head. “Those jeans can’t be very warm either.”
“Okay,Dad,I get it.”
