I look back down the hallway, but my mystery housemate is nowhere to be seen.
“Cool, cool, cool,” I say aloud. “So I’m living with someone. That’s… not horrifying at all.”
I exhale hard, running a hand through my hair before I turn back toward the stairs. I make it back to the kitchen in a weird sort of fugue, every sound in the house suddenly too loud, too specific. I open a cabinet on pure autopilot and quickly scan the contents.
Peanut butter. Nutella. A tub of protein powder the size of a newborn.
I close the cabinet gently, in case slamming it triggers a full existential collapse, then I head back into the living room and sink onto the couch—hiscouch?ourcouch?—and stare at the ceiling for a full five seconds before pulling out my phone again.
There’s no signal (standard), but I tap into the Wi-Fi. There’s a moment of purgatory, then:
MooseNet47, connected.
“Bless you, MooseNet,” I mutter.
I open my messages and scroll straight to the top of my thread with Sasha. She’s my former roommate, and the one person who has helped me survive breakups, burnout, and the Great Ferret Incident; and apparently, I now need to addaccidental cohabitation with a strange man in a hockey townto the growing list of emergencies.
I have made a HUGE mistake.
Three dots appear instantly.
Already?! What did you do? Is this about the pancakes? Or did you accidentally join a cult?
I roll my eyes. Safe to say she’s not a big fan of small towns.
Worse.
I moved into my rental and SOMEONE IS ALREADY LIVING HERE.
Her reply comes quickly.
WAIT WHAT
Like… a squatter?
Are you texting me from inside a horror movie??
I snort and look around at the suspiciously neat living room.
Not a squatter, but a man. Specifically, an alpha.
I haven’t seen him yet, but judging by the cologne-to-sweat ratio in the hallway, he’s here a LOT.
A full thirty seconds pass before she responds, which is long enough for me to imagine every worst-case scenario.
Are you safe?!
Do you need me to send help? Or mace??
I can practically hear her rifling through her purse.
What is it with you and mace??
She chooses to ignore that completely, despite the fact that it is a very valid question.
Oh my god.
You’re going to be living with a man.
