Page 83 of Roommate Wars
The queen bed from the second bedroom of my apartment now sat beneath the main window of Elise’s new place. I’d insisted that window needed bars because the apartment was on the lower level, and the owner was happy to allow me to pay for the extra security. Elise lived in a decent neighborhood, but you could never be too safe, and I wasn’t taking chances with my girlfriend.
The rest of the furniture in her apartment consisted of a small used loveseat her mom had helped her find and a two-person dining table she’d bought from IKEA. No TV—not enough space. We watched TV at my place, or Elise used her phone if she was in the mood. We also routinely visited my dad and his mancave for episodes of whatever reality television he was into that week.
Sophia’s contribution to Elise’s apartment was a small hanging plant Elise babied like a child. But it was a happy child, with bright green leaves that made the place cheery. The shoebox was growing on me, and I found myself coming over as often as I could. Or maybe I just liked being wherever Elise was.
“Where’s my dinner, woman?” I was teasing, and she knew it, or I’d have lost a testicle with that statement.
She slid down my chest until her feet hit the ground. “Coming, boyfriend.”
Elise grabbed oven mitts off a kitchen counter that barely fit a microwave and pulled a glass dish from an oven that looked about half the size of a standard. This was what you called “efficiency living,” but she had everything she needed, despite my bitching.
I peeked over her shoulder and breathed in deeply at what looked like a breaded chicken dish. “Going fancy on me? Nothing frozen tonight?”
Elise didn’t make frozen food anymore, because if either of us wasn’t up to cooking, we ordered takeout. I also suspected she enjoyed cooking fresh meals now that she knew how. And I enjoyed being fed, so it was a win-win.
She eyed me haughtily. “I made you something special so you wouldn’t forget the woman who feeds you and warms your bed when you’re off on your trip with Thalia tomorrow.”
She placed the dish on the stovetop, and I wrapped my arms around her from behind. “I think about you all day, every day. Would be hard for me to forget you.”
She twisted her head and smiled. “I must be special.”
I turned her around and tucked a lock of hair that had fallen out of her bun behind her ear. “Pretty special. There’s a chance I’d do anything to make you happy.”
She beamed up at me. “You would?”
I dropped my forehead to hers, taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly. It had been a long day at work, with Environ ramping up, and I’d missed her. When I lifted my head, she was looking at me with concern.
I smiled, basking in her expression that showed how much she cared. There was no one more warmhearted than this woman. “I love you, Elise. Even if you choose to live in a cube.”
She pressed her lips together, and her eyes widened and turned glassy before she blinked. “I love you too.” She reached up and hugged me, wrapping her arms tightly around my neck. She leaned back, smiling. “Even if you’re a money-hoarding billionaire.”
Sassy as ever.
I’d tell her I loved her a thousand times a day if that was all it took to make her smile. I wasn’t sure why I’d waited so long to express my feelings. I’d had them for months.
I picked her up and set her cute rear on the counter before sliding between her legs and kissing her. “I love you,” I said between kisses.
She grabbed my head, kissing my mouth and cheeks and eyelids, then back to my mouth. “I love you too.”
The food grew cold.
Elise grew naked.
And we ended up in her bed.
Some forty-five minutes later, I padded back into the kitchen wearing nothing but my birthday suit to retrieve forks and the casserole dish for sustenance.
Elise sat up, and her face twisted as she reached for a fork and speared a chicken breast, taking a bite and staring off thoughtfully. “You better not have been trying to distract me with your love declaration, because I was serious about tomorrow. Don’t let Thalia take advantage of you.”
I sent her a disbelieving look. “Like that would happen. As for the declaration, it was past due. Being in love is new for me, so there are a few kinks to work out.”
Her eyes twinkled for a moment, then she frowned again. “Thalia is going to try to take advantage. It’s a gut feeling, and I’m worried about my cinnamon roll boyfriend.”
“Cinnamon roll?”
She waved her fork absently. “You’re sweet and kind, and that woman’s a backstabbing, lecherous troll.”
“Tell me how you really feel,” I joked, but Elise was right. Thalia would probably try again, and not because she liked me personally but for the money and influence. Not that she’d get anywhere. I might have been a willing pushover in the past because I hadn’t cared back then. Now I had no time for that shit.
