Page 3 of Oblivious Roommate

Chapter 2

“Go to the right. We’re almost there,” Cass says, carrying the final box of my belongings. We could have taken the elevator, but with one being broken and the other—already taken over by a group of girls occupying one of the larger apartments, we opted to use the stairs.

The apartment building is just off campus, and while it mostly houses students, it should be a neat transition from living in a dorm to renting someplace on my own. But instead of looking at the beige walls and barf-green carpet in the corridor, all I can focus on are the muscles of Cass’s back flexing under his T-shirt. We both love sporty stuff, hiking, swimming, so he’s always been fit, like me, but he’s grown since high school. His T-shirt fits on the tighter side, and it's hard not to assess how much work he must put into his workouts. Is it to attract guys, which is a weird thought in itself, or simply because he wants to be more toned? I’m not sure if it’s appropriate to ask.

“This is a good workout though!” I laugh, taking another sneak peek at him.

Yep, definitely more muscular.

Cass bumps his shoulder into the door and leads the way into a bright interior with large windows. To the right is a kitchen, and to the left—a wall of green interrupted by the dark blot of the flatscreen TV. Cassian’s always loved plants, but since he’s moved away from home it has become more of an obsession. And I’ve already seen way more in his bedroom.

“It will feel like living in a jungle,” I say, taking in the endless greenery.

“Hope you don’t mind?” Cass asks, settling the box on the kitchen counter. “My previous roommate claimed half of those shelves for his books, but I took them over since,” he says with a grin before heading to the window where a Venus flytrap grows out of an ornamental pot. “And here she is. You can finally meet Lollobrigida in person. Or should I say, in plant.”

I chuckle. “Did she wave? It’s only natural to wave back, right?” I say and wiggle my hand at the plant that’s Cassian’s pride and joy. “She won’t eat me at night if I’m polite to her, right?”

But then I turn my attention back to my best friend. The front of his T-shirt is dark with moisture, and it sticks to his body.

Seeing the change in my face, he offers me an apologetic smile. “Sorry, I think something broke in transport.”

“No, it’s my fault! I took a reckless turn when driving. Fuck. Mom’s pickles must be leaking. You don’t want that on you. It has staying power. Ask me how I know.” I rush up to him and pull on the T-shirt so the fabric pulls away from his body. I stiffen, realizing that what I'm doing could be considered weird, and end up just standing there, stuck in a conundrum of my own making.

Cass doesn’t seem to notice my awkwardness and pulls the top off, revealing his toned upper body with short dark hair dusted over his chest and stomach. Does he… trim it? No way it could have grown like that on its own. And his pecs?

Damn.

His pecs.

His skin is a naturally dusky shade, and sure, I’ve seen his nipples before, I know they’re a darker color than mine, but I’m still staring. Is it because I’m jealous of how much he’s grown? Ridiculous. I’m no small guy myself. I work out, though now I find myself wondering how long it would take me to match up with him. Is it the difference between us that makes me analyze his looks all the time?

“Fuck. Sorry,” I mutter when he stills, and I turn, cheeks on fire.

There’s a moment of silence, and then, “You don’t have to look away. We’re both guys.”

“Hm. Are you sure? I don’t want you feeling weird. We’re both guys, but you’re also into guys, so I’m not sure how this works.”

“Are you attracted to me?” Cass asks with an edge of amusement to his voice.

“No!” I exclaim in a pitch all too high. “No,” I repeat, but now it’s too low. I clear my throat. “No. I’m straight. I was just looking because I noticed you beefed up.”

“The campus gym’s great, and the price is good,” Cassian says, walking past me with his T-shirt resting on his shoulder. Maybe I really am jealous, because I can’t stop staring. “Come on, I’ll show you around. It’s still early.”

“Just wash off those pickle juices because no man’s gonna want you if you smell like that,” I laugh a bit stiffly, because the more I see of him, the more I’m convinced every gay guy in this town would want a piece of Cass even if he smelled of vinegar. Which he doesn’t. Nope, as I walk behind him, that delicious scent of rosemary and mint still pulls at my nose. It’s a great cologne. I bet girls like it too.

“I’ll just tell them it’s exotic perfume someone brought me from abroad,” Cass says, approaching his bedroom. His gaze lingers on me, as if he wants to figure something out.

“You have to tell me where you got your cologne though, seriously. I can already see girls stopping in the street to smell me if I used it.” I laugh and put down my box, but even though I know I should get changed, I can’t force myself to break the eye contact. I missed him so much.

Cass hides inside his room, and only his head remains out. “Oh, it’s from that local natural cosmetics store. They have lots of different products, and I swear by their stuff. Get changed and we can go.”

And with that, he disappears from sight.

I drop to my narrow, bare bed with a deep sigh. I don’t know why I’m this rattled. I’ve seen Cass on camera, but it hits me every time I look at him just how handsome he’s gotten. Not that he wasn’t before, but we were teens, and in the two years we’ve been apart he’s turned into a man.

When I hear him rattling with something in the kitchen, I force myself up and change. It’s an opportunity to assess myself. I have no reason to feel inadequate. My blue eyes are a chick magnet, I’m athletic, sturdy, with dirty blond hair, and my nipples have a nice dark pink shade, no worse or better than Cass’s.

Why am I checking out my nipples?