Page 6 of One Room Vacancy
Wes.
“Why are yo—” I start, but he breezes past me like he owns the place.
Which, technically, he does.
“By all means,” I call after him, “make yourself at home.”
He grins, shaking his head. “I own your apartment.”
“Landlords aren’t supposed to just barge in.”
“You don’t pay rent.”
“Semantics.” I wave him off. “Why even knock, then? Why not use your precious key?”
“Because last time I did that,” he says dryly, “you had a guy over. In the kitchen.”
A laugh bursts out of me—loud and unfiltered. The memory flashes through my mind: Wes walking in, face pale, eyes wide, immediately retreating like the kitchen was on fire. It wasn’t even me he got an eyeful of, which made it that much funnier, and thankfully probably a bit less traumatizing.
“That’s what you get for not knocking,” I tease, smirking.
“Exactly why I did knock this time.”
“Fair enough,” I say, padding into the kitchen. I grab a cold Sweetwater 420 from the fridge and hold it up. He nods, already settling in like he lives here.
Two cans in hand, I head back to the living room and hand him one without a word.
“So what’s up?” I ask as I pop the tab on my beer. It’s unlike him to show up unannounced, especially not after eight o’clock at night. My brother’s blue scrubs are rumpled and splattered with what I hope are just food stains after a long shift at the hospital, so I can’t imagine what’s so important.
“Do I need a reason to stop by and see my only sister?” He raises a brow.
“Oh, bullshit.” I laugh awkwardly. “What’s going on?”
Wes rubs the back of his neck in that way he does when Dad is pissing him off or Savannah tells him she bought another unplanned handbag because her Hermes sales associate called her with something she “couldn’t resist.”
“Wes…” My voice pitches lower. “What’s going on?”
“You’re getting a new roommate.”
“Oh…well.” I bite my inner cheek, trying to think of a way to sway his decision. “I don’t want a roommate.”
“Well, you’re getting one.”
“I refuse to live with another stranger.”
“Wouldn’t be a stranger.”
I stare at him for a few seconds, trying to think of who it could possibly be.
“So, Gabe and Kara broke up.”
“And the sky is blue.”
“They lived together…”
“And? They’ll be back together next week.”
“They’re not getting back together.”
