Page 2 of Oblivious Roommate

I sit back down in the swivel chair, fighting the need to fidget. I’m twenty, almost twenty-one, and I can be mature about all of this.

“No outdoorsy gays for you to share a tent with? Not in the sexual way— Though, yeah, I guess in the sexual way too…” I gulp. “So… you have sex with guys?” I ask, and while the answer to my question is obvious, the sole thought of Cassian, my Cass, in bed with another dude, touching him and everything, makes the hairs on my arms bristle.

Am I… homophobic after all?

Cass bursts out laughing. “It’s kinda in the definition, so if you wanna take that vacant room, you need to be fine with it. But don’t worry. I have an ensuite.”

“It’s just a lot to take in. Of course I’m fine with it. Just that… all this time when we talked about girls in high school, you were secretly thinking about dudes? Help me out a little, I’m trying to put the puzzle pieces in the right places, and you know how I am with puzzles.” Shit. I'm shit with puzzles.

In fact, being shit at math is how I met Cass in the first place, because he’s so much smarter, and tutored me in high school.

Cass cups his face with both hands, which makes it appear a bit rounder and younger. “Oh, you know, I do think girls are pretty. I just don’t want to sleep with them. But it’s not like talking about them grosses me out, so feel free to tell me about all of your upcoming conquests.”

But all I can think about now is Cass kissing some faceless dude, pressing him down on the bed, and their dicks rubbing against each other as they grind into oblivion.

I’m a monster.

“Th-this is cool though. We’re cool, and living together will be the best time of our lives. Do you know how to do laundry?” A change of topic. Yes, that’s the best course of action. No gay stuff, no dicks, no naked Cass in my mind, just… laundry.

“I sure hope you do, because I want the apartment to be vaguely hook up-friendly at all times,” Cass says with a wink that once again pushes my mind toward things it shouldn’t acknowledge. It’s none of my business how many guys my best friend fucks.

I freeze at the sound of a knock, and my gaze darts to the door. “Um... come in,” I say, already knowing it’s my mom. She always knocks the same way and walks as silently as a cat.

She enters in her yoga clothes and lungs full of air, as if she wants to tell me off for leaving the kitchen in a mess, but her serious expression morphs into a smile when she spots Cass.

“Oh my God! It’s you! Matt didn’t mention you were in town,” she says, tidying her blonde hair.

Cass gets up. “So good to see you, Mrs. Marshall.”

“My, my, you’ve grown so tall, and—” Mom moves her hands in Cass’s general direction as she takes in the breadth of his shoulders and the stubble on his cheeks. “I hardly recognize you. You must be quite the lady-killer looking like that, huh?”

I rub my hand down my face with a lump in my throat. “Mom… Please, don’t embarrass him.”

“I’m just saying what I see!” she insists with a wide smile. “Are you staying for dinner?”

“No, sorry, I’m afraid I have to run, but be sure to teach Matt how to do his laundry by next week.” He grins at me and playfully wags his finger.

I roll my eyes, getting up. I can’t believe he has to go already. I have so many questions, and none of them can be voiced around my mom!

“Will do,” Mom says. “I’ll see you in a week then. Matt has so much stuff we’re gonna help him move.”

My cheeks flame, because compared to me, Cass seems to be so put together. What if he decides he no longer wants to live with me after tonight?

“It’s not that much…” I grumble, but all of a sudden, Cass steps up to me and gives me a hug.

“I’m sure it will be fine,” he says, but I can barely hear him through the thudding in my ears. He smells so different than he did two years back. Herby… Is it mint? Rosemary? Yet more proof that he is a changed man, and I’m desperate to smell my pits to make sure I live up to his standards.

He lets go all too fast, leaving me numb, and gives the same brief hug to my mom, making me feel somewhat less special.

Cass lingers in the door that bit longer, looking straight into my eyes with the same sincerity as always, and I can feel that his coming out to me took a lot of weight off his shoulders. He seems… happy.

“We’re gonna have a blast, Matt. I can’t wait.”

Me too. Even if my whole chest is on fire, my stomach is shrinking, and I’m dying to smell my T-shirt to check if Cass’s scent has clung to me.

What?

It’s a nice smell.