“I think I’m going to grab a shower and lie down,” I say, yawning.
“That’s probably what I’m going to do as well. And I’m going to the grocery store in the morning, if you want anything special. I do a lot of meal prepping on Sundays. I can make you some too.”
Maybe on its face, offering to make your roommate a few meals isn’t a big deal. But since we’re not talking about the night we shared, maybe it’s an opportunity to start over as friends. This could be her version of an olive branch.
“Can I be completely honest with you?”
She nods, swallowing.
“The main point Darcy made when convincing me to move you in was that you would cook for me. I didn’t really need any more convincing after that.”
Lyric laughs. “Honestly, it’s easier to cook for two than just for me.”
“Well, I’m grateful for any food you want to make me. I’m a typical guy. I like red meat, fried things, and would rather starve than eat a salad.”
“You’re kidding. Waylon, that’s so unhealthy,” she says.
“I’llbe fine. I come from a long line of cowboys. It’s baked into our DNA.”
She lets loose that laugh of hers again and starts down the hallway.
“Good night, darlin’,” I call after her.
Her footsteps halt and she turns on her heal, walking back toward me. She squares up right in front of me and pokes me in the chest.
“Listen here, Waylon. There is one rule for this roommate business that has to be respected,” she says, poking me again.
“What’s that?” I try to be serious, but she’s cute when she’s bossy.
“There will be absolutely no hanky-panky,” she says firmly.
I rub my chin, narrowing my eyes. “What if we just did the hanky and not the panky?”
Lyric stares at me without a word.
“You want the panky? Might be hard without the hanky first, but I can manage.” In case you haven’t noticed, I like teasing her.
“Good night, cowboy,” she yells back.
And that’s how I know she must be in a hell of a good mood. She called me that once or twice that night, and I remember liking it very much. I’m surprised to hear it now. It’s also worth noting that she didn’t punch me for my panky joke.
I’m not going to read into it. She’s got a few beers in her, and her friends were just here. She’s riding the high of a good day.That’s all. I’ll gladly accept all the kindness she wants to give out though.
“Come on, Tater,” I say, nodding my head to where he’s sitting on the chair in the living room.
He barks and hops down, then stretches and trots toward me. Oh, to be a dog. Little dude sleeps in the chair, gets up, sleeps in the bed, eats treats, gets belly rubs, and then does it all over again.
I walk past Lyric’s door, pausing for a moment to listen. I hear the faint sound of water running and know she’s probably getting undressed to take a bath right now. And fuck, I would’ve been just fine not knowing that. Now, I’m thinking about soap. Slippery, wet skin and good-smelling shower gel and all the suds. Christ, the suds.
Yep, I definitely would have preferred to step into my shower without that knowledge. Now I have to touch myself.
I don’t let Tater into the bathroom with me. He can’t see this. It ain’t right. No sooner than the water hits my face, I grab my dick. The idea that Lyric is just through that wall and naked is maddening to me.
I stroke myself thinking about that kiss. She told me we didn’t need to talk about it, that nothing happened and it was no big deal. But it was a big deal to me.
The truth is, I fucking panicked. It’s why I broke the kiss, and it’s why I left the next morning. But there’s no way I can say that to her. Really, I should just consider myself lucky that she’s giving me a pass on this one. I’d hate to have to lie to her about it.
Still, I remember her soft lips against mine, the way my hands melted into her skin. The way hers felt gently clawing at my back, pulling my body into hers. And I fucking thought to myself,Holy shit, this feels big. So I pulled away.
