Page 14 of The Reluctant Roommate

She got into bed and pulled the covers over her head to block out the laughter and arguing from across the room, and the music from the girl in the bunk above her whose headphones weren’t as good as she thought they were.

Chapter 9

So Far, So Good

The sound of the front door banging, followed by a muffled exclamation, woke Morgan. For a second, she lay there frozen before her brain caught up. It was Wednesday. And the front door was almost certainly her new roommate moving in.

Morgan rolled over and glanced at the clock. Just after nine. A reasonable hour, one when most working people were up and had been at work for at least an hour. That had been her until recently. Now, though… She’d been awake until two. As usual. A couple of hours of fitful dozing, full of dreams she couldn’t remember, and then, it seemed, she’d fallen into a deep sleep.

She’d never had the option of sleeping until nine when she’d worked at Mattingley.

Morgan swung her legs out of bed and groped for a robe to pull over her pajamas, then shoved her feet into slippers and headed downstairs.

Heidi stood by the door, flicking each of the light switches in turn, evidently looking for the one that lit up the living area.

“Morning,” Morgan said. “It’s the bottom-right switch. The dimmer.”

Heidi startled and swung around. “Hi. Sorry if I woke you.” Her gaze raked Morgan from head to toe. “Nice PJs. Flannel. Always a solid fashion choice, especially after September.”

Morgan folded her arms. “I like a cool bedroom for sleeping. And, yes, you woke me, but that’s okay. I’m normally up by seven.”

“Don’t let me hold you up. I guess you’ve got to get ready for work.” Heidi twisted the dimmer, and the room brightened.

Morgan swallowed. “I can set my own hours, so I’m starting later today.” The lie burned in her throat.

“Lucky you. That’s why I’m moving in early.” She indicated the backpack propped against the wall. “My shift starts at noon. So I’ve got time to unpack and figure out what else I need to get before I head to work.”

So she hadn’t misled about working often. Morgan breathed a little easier. If Heidi kept evening shift hours and then enrolled at DU, Morgan would barely see her.

“When do you get back?” At Heidi’s puzzled glance, she added, “I’m not checking up on you. Well, I guess I am. I’m asking so I don’t worry if I’m in bed and hear the door open.”

“Fair enough,” Heidi said. “My shift finishes officially at nine. If it’s quiet, Robert will probably let me go at eight. If it’s busy, he may ask me to stay later—and I always do, as the later hours get more tips. I haven’t figured out the light rail times yet, so I don’t know how long it will take me to get home. Maybe thirty minutes?”

“I’ll probably be in bed.” No need to tell Heidi that while she might go to bed by nine or ten, she would almost certainly be awake until two. Or three. Pacing her room, doing yoga in the living area, making herbal tea until she either went back to bed for an hour or stayed awake, sipping tea and staring out of the window as the peaks of the Rockies caught the morning sunlight.

Heidi left her pack by the door and went into the kitchen. “I’m making coffee. Want one? Oh.” She huffed a breath. “Or I would, except I haven’t gone grocery shopping yet. Would you mind if I used some of yours? I promise I’ll shop first thing tomorrow.”

“Sure.” What else could she say? Morgan followed her into the kitchen, hoping this wasn’t the start of Heidi treating Morgan’s groceries as her own. “I’ll make it. Show you how the coffee machine works. Then you’ll also know what sort of coffee to get.”

“Thanks.”

Heidi watched intently as Morgan showed her how to work the machine. Beans in the top, the setting for the grind, the water reservoir, the milk frother. Her coffee machine was state-of-the-art. She slid a sideways glance at Heidi. Hopefully, she’d respect that.

After a few minutes, Morgan shunted a mug of coffee across to her. “Try this.”

Heidi sipped. “It’s good. A bit weaker than I’m used to, but the roast is perfect.”

“Thanks. You can increase the strength with this dial. You’ll know now for next time.” She made one for herself.

Heidi showed no inclination to start unpacking, so Morgan sat at the counter. Her toes twitched in her slippers. This was strange, a bit discombobulating. A stranger—albeit a pleasant one—in her home, looking in the kitchen cabinets as if she lived here. She caught herself. That was exactly it. Heidi now lived here, and having her peer into the cabinets, commenting on her mixer, blender, electric wok, and other gadgets was making Morgan uncomfortable. Did Heidi expect to use them?

But of course she did; Morgan had advertised a furnished room, and what little she knew about how roommates functioned these days meant Heidi likely expected to use the kitchen equipment. Her last roommate had been in college, over ten years ago—and they’d just kept to themselves. Everything labeled. Didn’t share so much as a toilet roll.

“Thanks for clearing cupboard space,” Heidi said. “I won’t be cooking when I have evening shift, but on day shift, I’m happy to cook, happy to share with you, if you’d like.”

What would Heidi cook? Frozen burgers and oven fries? Overly processed food? Some weird Australian concoction? “Let’s see how our schedules mesh and then figure it out.”

“Sounds reasonable.” Heidi drained her coffee mug and went over to the sink, carefully washing it and putting it in the drainer.