Page 6 of My Italian Roommate

“Expecting company?” Mario whispers.

“No, are you?”

“No. You want to ignore it?” he asks and I’ve never wanted anything more but the pounding gets louder and more insistent.

“We have to answer that,” I tell him.

“Damn, okay. Do not get dressed. I’ll see who it is and get rid of them.”

He leaves the room and I sit down on the edge of the bed. What am I doing? Should I be letting this man undress and kiss me? The logical answer is probably no but there’s nothing logical about the way that I’m feeling. I wait for a few minutes then hear voices coming from the living room. I leap to my feet and rifle frantically through my clothes.

My hands are shaking as I try my best to put my clothes on as quickly as possible. I feel like a little girl who got caught peeking at the presents under the Christmas tree as I listen to my big brother Steve in the next room.

Once dressed, I walk out to find Steve and Mario drinking coffee at the breakfast bar. Steve appears shocked to see me.

“Mallory? What are you doing here? I thought you were on vacation,” he nearly spits his coffee.

“Yeah, I was getting to that. It seems your sister canceled her plans. Imagine my surprise, and hers, when I showed up here last night,” Mario explains. He shoots me a look of disapproval and I realize that he expected me to hide out in the bedroom until Steve left. In hindsight, that was probably the right thing to do. It would have saved us both from having to answer uncomfortable questions.

“So, wait, the two of you stayed here together last night?” Steve peers over at the couch, clearly looking for signs that someone slept there.

“I have asked you not to let people stay here when I’m away, and I told you that I canceled my plans,” I say with my hands on my hips even though I feel my face getting hot.

“It’s alright. We’re managing,” Mario adds but Steve isn’t having it.

“I need to speak to my sister alone for a minute,” Steve demands.

“Sure, I need to get dressed anyway. I’m running late,” Mario excuses himself.

When the bedroom door closes, Steve grabs me by the arm.

“Are you stupid? Do you know who he is?”

I rip my arm away and say, “Yeah, he’s your college buddy and you gave him a key to my front door.”

“Only because I didn’t think you would be here. Yeah, he’s my friend and all but, he’s a Formula One driver. He has ten different women throwing themselves at him every night. Is that what you want for yourself? You want to be just another groupie waiting for him to ride back into town and maybe screw you if someone better-looking doesn’t get to him first?”

All my earlier embarrassment and guilt are gone. Now, my blood boils and I point an accusing finger at him.

“First of all, you have no idea what you’re talking about. Don’t accuse me of being some boy-crazy kid. Second, your friend was the perfect gentleman last night. That’s why I’m letting him stay for as long as he wants.”

“And sleep where? Why are there no pillows or blankets on the couch?”

“Because he’s too big for the couch. Listen, last time I checked, I was a legal adult and you’re not my father. Where people sleep, when they stay with me is not your concern.”

“But you said you didn’t sleep with him.”

“No, I didn’t. I said he was the perfect gentleman.”

“Did you have sex with him?”

Bristling, I huff in exasperation. This is so not how I expected this morning to go.

“Oh, so not your business but since I don’t want you to do anything stupid and mess up your friendship, I’ll tell you. No, I didn’t have sex with him.”

“Good. Here’s what I’ll do. I’ll apologize for the misunderstanding and invite him to come stay with me.”

“No, you won’t. I told you, he’s staying here for as long as he wants.”

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