HisRoman Empire.
***
The next morning, Levi woke up early to the sound of someone moving around in the living room. It took a second to registerbefore he remembered that he did not live alone anymore. He had a roommate…a roommate who fell asleep watchingTed Lassowith him on FaceTime like it was the most normal thing for her to do while he lay awake for a good hour or so after silently cursing himself for how much he enjoyed it.
He got dressed and made his way out to the kitchen, where Haddie was already brewing a pot of coffee.
“Good morning,” she said with a smile.
“Good morning,” Levi replied, returning her smile.
“Stayed up later than I meant to last night, so I think I’m saving my run for when I’m with my team today,” she told him.
He glanced down at absolutely nothing on the floor and scratched the back of his neck. “Sorry if I… I mean, you should have said something about your morning runs if—”
“Don’t be silly, roomie! Coach Lasso is always worth a little sleep deprivation,” she interrupted, all cheer and zero awkwardness while Levi felt like…like what? Like they’d had some special moment watching TV?
That’s what roommates do, dumbass. Hell, you coined the phrase. Now get out of your feelings and get your head in the game because you are hitting the pitch for the first time today.
“Wait…” he continued. “So, we both have practice this morning?”
Haddie nodded. “Nine to noon for me. How about you?”
“Same,” Levi replied, brows furrowed. “So our camps are running at the same time? Does that mean we have to split the field?”
Haddie shrugged as the toaster dinged, and she slid out a toastedEnglish muffin. “Hope you don’t mind,” she told him, slathering peanut butter over the golden tops of the muffin. “I’m famished and have, like, zero groceries anywhere. I’ll go shopping later today after I pop back home to shower.”
Levi watched Haddie as she took a bite from her muffin, smearing a bit of peanut butter on the corner of her lip. He stifled a groan and shifted his weight, trying to will away the sudden urge to wipe it clean with his thumb. Or worse, with his tongue. That definitely wasn’t something friends or roommates did, was it?
“What?” Haddie asked. “You’re looking at me like my fly’s undone. Spoiler! There are no zippers on soccer gear.”
He only realized now that she was wearing a purple Muskies soccer jersey paired with fitted black running shorts. Jesus, she wasn’t playing fair.
Get it together, man!
“You just…” he started. “You have some…” He rolled his eyes and pointed to the corner of his own mouth. “You have some peanut butter—”
Haddie gasped. “Oh god. I eat like a slob, don’t I?” She scooped away the glob of peanut butter with her thumb and then licked her thumb clean.
“Yep,” Levi said stiffly. “Total slob.”
She grinned, oblivious to his inner turmoil that heknewwas just a physiological reaction to a woman who—friend or no—was objectively attractive, and he’d just have to get used to it.
She polished off the rest of her muffin in record time and filled a travel tumbler with coffee.
“I’m gonna head out,” she told him. “See you there?”
She moved toward the door as he poured himself a cup of coffee, her energy and maybe a bit of haste giving him whiplash.
“Wait!” he called after her. “Should we, like, drive together or something? I mean, we are going to the same place.”
“Nah!” she called back. “It’s beautiful out, so I think I’ll walk.” She popped her head back around the corner and into the kitchen. “But if the field is free after we’re done with the kids, maybe we can scrimmage.”
He coughed as he tried to swallow his first mouthful of coffee, hot liquid dribbling out of the corner of his mouth in a display he was 100 percent sure was not as sexy as the recent peanut butter incident.
Haddie covered her mouth, clearly stifling a laugh.
“Sorry!” she cried with a wince. “I know it’s going to take some getting used to the fact that your peanut-butter-mooching roommate knows more about your new job than you do, but I promise to make our time together as painless as possible.”
