He dipped his head toward hers, their hands still clasped. “There’s a story behind the Toblerone, isn’t there?” he tossed back at her.
Haddie yanked her hand away and gave it a shake. “You’re right,” she replied, and for a second Levi thought she was about to confide in him until she added, “I should test it out.” And then she flopped back onto her new mattress and frame that Levi hoped wasn’t missing any crucial parts. When she didn’t crash through the floor, he let out a breath until she popped back up and cried, “Wait!” She grabbed him by the wrist and gave him a swift yank, catching him off guard and causing him to stumble over his own two feet and fall over a newly sprawled Haddie, his hands braced on either side of her head as his body hovered over hers.
She stared at him, wide eyed, as the two of them froze, no one moving a muscle or so much as exhaling a breath.
Was she waiting to see if the extra weight proved her theory about imminent death? Or was she—like him—instead anticipating a much slower and more agonizing way to perish? Because Levi was pretty sure the sweet, citrusy scent of her shampoo or perfume or whatever it was that made Haddie smell like something he thought he knew but couldn’t put his finger on was going to be the end of him. She smelled like…like the first day of summer vacation had always made him feel.
“We’re not plunging,” Haddie finally croaked. “I…um…think we’ve proven the efficacy of our furniture-building skills.”
“You’re right,” he ground out, his voice rough. Then he held his breath, a momentary reprieve from the intoxication of her scent, and climbed off the bed and back to his feet.
Haddie pushed herself up to a sitting position. “Sorry about that,” she said, her cheeks flushed. “Maybe next time I want you to jump in bed with me, I’ll give a verbal cue instead of yanking you into the sack without warning.” She let out a nervous laugh. Was she making jokes for the hell of it? Or was she fighting the same distracting thoughts he was fighting? Not that the answer mattered. Levi’s professional reputation was riding on how this year played out. He couldn’t afford any missteps.
“As I was saying,” he began, deciding not to entertain any thoughts about what she might be thinking. His thoughts were his, and her thoughts were hers, and he needed to simply walk out of her bedroom door and clear his damned head. “It’s late. I should get to bed. And by bed, I mean the air mattress in the middle of the floor in my room.” He laughed.
Haddie did too, any tension that had been building between them finally on its way out. “Yeah. Me too. Thanks for your help tonight, Levi.”
“Of course,” he told her. “That’s what roommates do, right?”
He kept rolling the word around on his tongue as he said good night and headed toward their shared bathroom to brush his teeth before collapsing onto his makeshift bed.
Roommates. Roommates.Levi hadn’t had one since he was an undergrad and didn’t suspect he would until he found the rightperson and settled down. Except Levi wasn’t the settling type. He preferred to be on the move…on the go…never truly setting down roots. Because the only roots he had were here in Summertown, but so were his memories of grief and loss, which was why this…situation would only be temporary.
He was finally uncomfortably propped on his air mattress, laptop open to his next episode ofTed Lasso, when his phone lit up and vibrated with a text.
Birthday Girl:Asleep?
Levi found himself smiling before he even picked up his phone.
Levi:Nope
Birthday Girl:Do you think we should establish some ground rules?
Levi’s brows furrowed.
Levi:For…
Birthday Girl:For being roommates
Levi:Is this something you do with all your roommates?
Birthday Girl:Never had one. Had a single my first year and then was an RA after that. New territory for me.
Levi:So… I’m your first?
He laughed and swore he could sense her roll her eyes and sigh.And then he watched the three dots appear and disappear several times before her next text came through.
Birthday Girl:There has to be a bathroom cleaning rotation. A bathroom using rotation. And there’s the issue of the toilet seat. Vacuuming. Taking the garbage out. And then there’s groceries. Meals. Do we eat together? Separately? Worry about ourselves and only ourselves? Are we friends now? Can we strike last night from the record and start from scratch?
First of all…whoa. That was a lot to take in. And second, there it was. That last sentence. The question he knew she really wanted to ask and the one that had been on his mind since the second they agreed to live together. Levi would never forget that night, but he could pretend. He had to, didn’t he?
Levi:And you want to discuss this now? At 11:30 p.m.?
Birthday Girl:It’s gonna keep me up if we don’t. And since we’re both still up…
Levi:What if I was busy?
Birthday Girl:Shit! Sorry! Forget I texted. We can talk tomorrow.
