I set my drink down, the thud final between us. “Don’t even try to ease into it. Just rip the Band-Aid off, Daph.”
She looks up at me with that innocent smile, but I’m not falling for it. I’ve walked into a trap, and I realize that now. “I was actually going to ask if she could maybe—just temporarily—stay with you since you currently have a spare room?”
Hudson coughs into his fist, and my best friend only does that when he feels awkward.
Daphne rushes to explain. “It’s too late in the semester to get a dorm. The new ones they’re building won’t be ready until January, and everything nearby is either overpriced or a total dump. We offered her Rosie’s room, but she refused, and I just can’t have her somewhere that isn’t safe.”
“Wow,” I say. “You’ve really thought this through.”
“I’m just saying,” she continues, a little more hopeful now. “It wouldn’t be forever, only until the New Year. She’s clean, she’s quiet—”
“Daphne,” I interrupt. “I have met your best friend a handful of times, and quiet is not what I’d call her.”
“Okay, maybe you’re right, but she’s sweet and thoughtful, and she can pay you!”
“I don’t need rent money.” Even if my job has shitty pay, it covers my bills, and even though my place is a two-bed, it was a steal thanks to… her brother Finn, who lives downstairs and knows the landlord… damn, I guess I owe her a favor because of that setup.
“You haven’t done anything with the extra room yet, right?”
I shake my head, but can’t seem to find the words to say no just yet.
“She reallyhasmellowed out,” Hudson offers, trying to be diplomatic. “I mean, mostly.”
“That’s… comforting.” In a way that really isn’t comforting at all.
Daphne rests her elbows on the table and leans in, giving me puppy dog eyes. “Please, Jay. I wouldn’t ask if I had any other option. She needs a soft place to land right now, and you’re—”
“A human mattress, apparently.”
She bats her lashes this time. “A comfortable, reliable one.”
I sigh, raking a hand through my hair, knowing that I’m always the reliable one. I’m always the one who could be trusted to step in, to smooth things over and save the day. Hell, back when Hudson’s hookups pre-Daphne went sideways—and they often did—I was the guy who’d fake a phone call or show up with an invented emergency to bail him out, wearing some animal onesie to be his fake boyfriend. Jesus, my best friend was a menace, thank god Daphne has him now.
So yeah. Saying no has never been my strong suit, especially not when someone actually needs me. And Liv… well, she’s not some stranger. Blowing out a breath, I admit defeat. “Fine,” I say, pointing a fry at Daphne. “But I’m only doing this because you and Finn helped me get that place, and I’m paying it forward.”
Daphne beams. “You won’t regret it.”
Hudson chuckles, finally sitting back in his seat, the tension draining from his shoulders. “You’re such a softie, man.”
I shoot him a look. “I’m not a softie. I just have a moral compass and two manipulative friends who know how to guilt-trip me.”
“I really appreciate it, though.” Daphne elbows Hudson in the ribs. “Don’t we, baby?”
He grunts, but recovers fast. “Yeah, we do.”
I drag a hand down my face, suddenly feeling the weight of responsibility on my shoulders. “So, when is my life going to be turned upside down?”
Daphne winces, glancing at Hudson. “Tomorrow?”
I blink. “Seriously? That soon?”
She shrugs, but it’s sheepish. I’m pretty sure they did this to give me zero time to second-guess it. “We figured it’d be easier to ask forgiveness than permission.”
Hudson lifts his glass. “To impulsive decisions and best friends.”
I stare at them and reluctantly clink mine against his. “To whatever the hell I just agreed to.”
And just like that, my peaceful life is interrupted by a roommate.
