Page 107 of The No Touch Roommate Rule
“I hate him,” she says, her jaw clenching. “I wish there were something I could do to get back at him. At both of them.”
“Well, I mean, you have a plus one, right?” I ask, settling into the chair across from hers. “At the very least, you can bring someone foxy, who will make Teddy feel sad and crusty in comparison.”
She snorts. “Like who?”
“What about Nix?” I suggest, hurrying on before she can speak, “I know you said you didn’t want to give him your number, but hear me out. He’s a gorgeous professional athlete with muscles in places Teddy’sneverhad muscles, not even in his college basketball days. And he’s hot after you, girl. Why don’t you let me?—”
“No. No way.” She holds up a hand. “That was a one-time thing. And a mistake. If I hadn’t already had two glasses of wine before he showed up, it never would have happened.” She shudders. “Especially the thing with the zucchini. I don’t know what I was thinking, and I will never forgive him for telling Parker about it. That should have stayed private, just between us and the vegetables.”
Inclined to agree with her, but not ready to give up on the Nix angle just yet, I change tacks. “You’re right, but that doesn’t mean he’s all bad. He has a degree in philosophy from Boston University. And he’s about to turn thirty-one. That’s not that much younger than you are.”
Charlotte’s eyes narrow. “This from the woman who complained that six years was too much for her to date the man she used to babysit for months and months?”
“Yes.” I shrug. “I was wrong about that.”
“And Parker?” she presses. “Have you listened to his messages yet? Did he grovel?”
My stomach tightens, gurgling around the French roast. “I don’t know yet.”
“Makena.”
“What? I’ve only been awake for twenty minutes, and we’re busy plotting revenge.”
“And last night?” she presses. “What stopped you from checking your messages after I went to bed?”
“I was tired.” I clutch my coffee tighter to my chest. “And overwhelmed. And I couldn’t handle any more bad things in that particular twenty-four-hour period.”
She nods, her gaze softening. “Understandable. But now it’s a new day. Want me to hold your hand for moral support while you get caught up? As much as I hate to admit that my initial opinion of hockey players was wrong, some of them do seem to be decent human beings.”
“Like Nix?” I tease.
Charlotte shakes her head. “Like Grammercy. He and Elly are magical together.” She nudges my foot with hers under the table. “And Parker doesn’t seem too shabby, either. He did risk his life to save yours, feed and shelter you, and deliver many life-affirming orgasms.”
“I didn’t tell you about the orgasms,” I mutter.
“But I’m right?”
I nod, sighing as I whisper, “And they were life-affirming and…I’m pretty sure I’m in love with him. I was about to tell him I was, in fact, the day before he told me to pack my shit and leave.”
“He didn’t say that,” she counters. “I’m sure it felt that way, but honestly, from what you told me last night, it seems like he was just overwhelmed. I have a fantastic relationship with my parents, but if one of them were fighting with me, while someone else we loved was in the hospital, I doubt I’d be my best self, either.”
“You wouldn’t be fighting with your parents. Not like that,” I say. “His dad was just…horrible. It’s like he has no idea who Parker is. Or who his mother is. It was really sad, actually. We’d been having this beautiful weekend, so loving and happy and perfect, and Phillip just came in and peed cranky heartless businessman all over it.”
Charlotte’s lips turn down. “That’s awful. Poor Parker. And poor you.” She reaches out, giving my wrist a gentle squeeze. “But that sounds like a once-in-a-blue-moon kind of thing, Makena. You two won’t be dealing with his father or a family member in the hospital very often, you know? I mean, God willing. And it sounds like you two were getting along really well on your trip, right?”
I nod, but my stomach is still in knots. “We were, but…you should have seen his face yesterday. He was over it. Overme.”
“Maybe he was just over the situation, honey. If he were over you, he wouldn’t have called this many times.” She nods toward my phone. “Listen to the messages, and we can discuss when I get back. I need to put on some real clothes and get out of the house for a while. Up for grabbing some croissants and another coffee at Soul Roasters?”
“Yeah, I’ll get dressed, too.” I lift a hand in surrender as she shoots a glare my way. “After I listen to the messages, I promise.”
After Charlotte heads upstairs, I wander back to the couch from hell and do the damn thing. I pick up my phone, scroll to the first missed message, and hit play.
By the end of it, my chest feels looser than it has since I left Oxford.
By the end of the second, I’m feeling pretty silly for avoiding this, and by the time I listen to the message he left while Char and I were having coffee, I’m pretty certain everything is going to be okay.
But I want it to be better than okay.
