Page 83 of Take My Heart
‘I’ll have to open a window.’
‘And freeze to death? I don’t think so. Just take my room. I’ll sleep on the couch. Or we could—’ He stops suddenly, then says, ‘Never mind. That’s not a good idea. I’ll take the couch.’
He was going to suggest we sleep together, but then decided against it. What does that mean? That he doesn’t want us to be anything more than friends? Or roommates?
It makes sense. He doesn’t want a girlfriend. He’s told me that more than once. And look how he lives. This house is the stereotypical bachelor pad and he likes it that way. He’s not looking for a relationship. Last night was just sex and we probably won’t do it again. Even if we do, it won’t mean anything.
Brody and I are roommates. He’s my landlord. I’m paying him money to stay here. It’s a business arrangement. That’s all this is.
Chapter 16
Brody
It’s Friday and Kate has been living with me for almost a week. I’ve never spent this much time with a girl, even ones I was dating, and I’ve never once wanted to live with a girl. I like living alone, having the house to myself. But I have to say, living with Kate hasn’t been that bad. In fact, I kind of like having her here, and not just because she cooks and keeps the place clean. I keep telling her she doesn’t have to do that stuff, but she says if she doesn’t, she’ll get bored.
Kate is one of those people who has a hard time relaxing. She has to be doing something or she gets restless. The only time I can get her to slow down is at night when I get home and am watching TV. I’ll invite her to sit on the couch with me, which turns into her laying on me and eventually falling asleep.
We started this on Monday night and now it’s become a thing, cuddling on the couch and watching TV. If anyone saw us, they’d think we were dating, but we’re not. We’re roommates. Nothing more. We haven’t had sex since that nightwe got drunk. Okay, that’s a lie. We did it last Tuesday, but we didn’t mean to. We were watching TV and Kate was lying on my chest and I accidentally kissed her forehead. She looked up at me and I kissed her again, on the lips. Next thing I knew, clothes were coming off, Kate was straddling me on the couch, and my cock was inside her. Like I said, we didn’t plan this. It just happened.
Kate and I may be nothing alike, but when it comes to sex, we’re a perfect match. The best sex I’ve ever had has been with her, and I’ve had a lot of sex. Tuesday night was even better than when we did it before. Having her straddling me, I was able to look at her, grab her ass, and watch her tits bounce around. She was really getting into it, which I love. It turns me on. Kate comes off as this uptight good girl, but she’s got a wild side in the bedroom.
Later that night, we were in bed and Kate asked if I thought we should stop having sex. My immediate thought was no, but that was my cock talking. The rest of me knew having sex with her wasn’t a good idea. So I told her that, and she agreed. But she slept in my bed that night, in my arms, and she’s been there every night since.
I don’t know what the hell we’re doing or how I’d define our relationship. I just know that I like having her around. I like having her here when I get home from work. I like having her next to me on the couch when we watch TV. And I like having her in my bed. What does that mean? That I was lonely before she showed up and didn’t know it? Or that I like Kate more than I want to admit?
‘You shoveled it out?’ Kate asks, as I pull my truck over to the side of the highway. The tow guys are showing up soon toget the car out of the ditch. Cam hired a tow company from Chicago because the asshole didn’t trust anyone local to tow his precious car. It’s going to cost a fortune and he’s making Kate pay for it. The tow company was going to charge extra to shovel the snow off the car so they could get to it. I told Kate I’d help her do it to save her some money, but instead I got up early this morning and did it myself while Kate was still asleep.
‘It didn’t take long,’ I tell her, but it actually took almost an hour. The thing was buried under two feet of snow.
We get out of the truck and trudge through the snow to the car.
‘Brody, I told you I’d help. I didn’t want you doing all this.’
I shrug. ‘I figured I owed you after all the cooking and cleaning you’ve done all week.’
‘Thank you.’ She hugs me. The girl is a hugger. I’ve had more hugs this week than I’ve had all year.
‘You got the keys?’
‘Right here.’ She takes them from her coat pocket. She got a coat and some more clothes at one of the stores downtown. Gina, Sawyer’s girlfriend, took her shopping. They met at Sawyer’s brewery the other night. I took Kate there to check the place out. Gina was there and she and Kate really hit it off. If Kate lived here, I could see them being friends.
Sawyer was too busy running the bar to give me shit about Kate, but I’m sure he will tonight. I’m meeting my brothers at the brewery in a couple hours and Kate’s coming with. I told my brothers she’s just a friend, but they’ll still give me shit.
‘At least it’s still here,’ Kate says, taking her suitcase from the trunk. It’s really small and bright pink with a heart-shaped luggage tag hanging off it.
‘You were worried someone stole it? Who would steal it in a blizzard?’
‘I don’t know, but it happens.’
‘Maybe in Chicago, but not here.’ I take the suitcase from her. ‘What else do you need?’
‘I think that was it.’
‘Maybe you should do a quick check to make sure you didn’t forget anything. You’re not going to be seeing this car again.’
‘That’s true. Okay, I’ll check.’ She gets in the front seat and searches the center console, then the glove compartment.
Cars are driving by, looking at me standing in the ditch holding Kate’s tiny pink suitcase. I’m sure I look like an idiot. I must really like this girl.
