Fell In Love With My Roomy Chapter 52

When I hear a knock on the door and some talking, I start getting dressed. She's here way too early. Before I leave, I quickly change into my clothes and put on some nice shoes. Then, I grab my purse and check myself in the mirror to make sure I look good. I pick up the roses for her and walk down the hall.

What surprises me is how Kent can make my mother laugh, no matter what story he tells her. He even brought her a glass of water.

"Uh, hi, Mom," I say quietly. Usually, she rushes to me for a hug, but Kent was chatting with her.

"Oh, Julianna!" I give her a hug when she smiles.

"You can have these," I tell her as I hand over the flowers.

"Be careful. She's happy," Kent says. "We were just talking about how interesting your thesis presentation was."

"Really?" I ask, raising my eyebrows, and he nods.

"Yeah, it's pretty cool," he says with a casual shrug.

"I told you to be ready when I told you to," Mom says, and I sigh. She pokes my arm.

"You said to be ready at a quarter to," I tell her, and she shrugs and waves her hand.

"But it gave me plenty of time to chat with your roommate."

"And snoop around the apartment at the same time?" I retort.

"I don't know how you can stand her, Kent," she says with a laugh.

"Every day is a challenge," he jokes, and I roll my eyes. "Alright, you two, I'll let you enjoy your evening."

"You should come with us," he suggests. Mom smiles and says, "What? Mom," I protest, and she raises her hands. "I'd love to get to know one of Julianna's roommates better, and you should come with us."

"Um," he starts, then stops talking. I press my lips together.

"No, he's too busy."

"Don't worry about it. I'll put these beautiful roses in the car, and you two can take your time getting ready," Mom says as she hands me her water glass and heads toward the door.

I raise my eyebrows once she's out of earshot. "So, what did you tell her?"

"Nothing, just asked her some questions."

"Kent, you can't interrogate my mom; she's lonely," I groan and run my hand through my hair. "Now she probably thinks you're the greatest person ever."

"Well, maybe I am, who knows?" He chuckles. "I have a way with parents," he adds, raising his hands defensively. "Listen, I won't go if you don't want me to."

"It's too late, and she'll think something's wrong," I mutter as I glance out the basement windows at the driveway. "Alright, here's the deal: she has no idea that we're more than just roommates. She thinks we live together."

"Julianna, do you really think I'm that clueless?" He asks, and I sigh.

"Go put on something nicer; it's a fancy restaurant," I laugh and usher him out of the room. He chuckles and heads off, and I let out another sigh.

How much worse could this get? While I didn't know Kent all that well, I hoped to keep everything hidden from my mom. She was sharp and knew me better than anyone. All I had to do was act like things weren't what they were.

"Okay, ready?" I hear something, and when I turn around, Kent is dressed in slacks, dress shoes, and a white shirt with the top two buttons undone.

Oh, hell, this was the best I'd ever seen him, and I'd seen him shirtless, for Christ's sake. The sleeves of his shirt showed off his arms so well that it made my mouth dry just looking at him.

"Julianna?"

"Yes? Yes! Sorry, let's just go." We both put on our coats, and I mutter something that makes my cheeks feel hot. He looks like he's trying hard not to smile at what I'm doing, and he motions for me to go ahead.

Mom and I get into the car, and Kent joins us in the back. I worry the whole way there because I was only supposed to see my mom for a short time, and now my roommate is coming. I knew that my mom was just being nice when she invited my friends to come along.

I followed her into the restaurant. Kent holds the door open for us, and I roll my eyes as he smiles.

He knows it annoys me, but I also know he likes taking care of himself. He wouldn't let anything slip.

Once we're seated, I clear my throat and focus on the menu, thinking about what I want to eat.

"So, Kent, are you in your fourth year of school like Julianna?" Mom asks, trying to get him talking, and he nods.

"Yeah, I'm graduating in April," he replies kindly.

"What kind of work?" Mom asks, and I raise my eyebrows, folding my hands. I didn't even know this, which seemed silly since we've been living together for so long.

"I'm majoring in both business and economics," he tells her. "I did an internship at a company in the city last year."

"That's great! How do you like it?" She asks, and my stomach sinks.

I had made harsh judgments about him, even though I didn't know everything. I did try to get to know him, but I gave up when it seemed like he wasn't interested.

"It's good, I find it interesting," he says, and she smiles. "Did you go to school too?" He asks, changing the subject, and Mom smiles. Here we go.

"I went to Penn and got a degree in sociology and anthropology," she says, and he nods as she continues. "And my daughter is doing what I told her to."

"Kind of," I interject, and we all laugh.

"I'm so proud of everything you've accomplished," she says, placing her hand on my shoulder, and I smile.

"Thank you, Mom," I whisper, and she smiles back.

"But I knew Julianna had a good shot at Brown. We're lucky because they don't always admit kids from non-wealthy families or without alumni parents," she says, squeezing my hand. I look at Kent, smiling. "Kent, what about you? Was Brown always your plan?"

"No, actually. I had been accepted somewhere else before," he replies kindly.

"What made you change your mind?" She asks, and I cringe. Mom's questions are getting too personal. I clear my throat, noticing something strange in Kent's eyes.

Kent explains that he liked Brown's campus better. I jump in to steer the conversation. "It was a bit smaller and cozier, which helped me settle in as an out-of-state student."

"Don't tell me, where are you from?" Mom asks, and I exhale tightly.

"New York City," he tells her, looking relieved that the topic is shifting.

"New York, where?"

"New York," he confirms, and I grin. It sounded so exciting compared to my upbringing in Rhode Island. "But since I left, my parents moved out of the city to their house in the Hamptons." I blink when he shrugs.

I knew he grew up in the Hamptons.

"Exciting," Mom says. "I've always wanted to take Julianna there. It's not too far, but it's so hectic and expensive. Back when Julianna was into musical theater—"

"Mom," I mumble, folding my hands.

"What? You used to love musicals, especially that one about The Wizard of Oz. What was it called?"

"Wicked, Mom, and please stop," I implore.

"Wicked, that's right. She had a bootleg copy of it on her computer, and she watched it all the time."

"Mom," I plead, but she snickers and raises her hands.

"Musicals used to be your thing?" Kent asks, clearing his throat.

"Yeah, a long time ago. We've all had our embarrassing phases, so let's move on," I say, straightening the edge of the tablecloth.

"It's also great to finally meet you, Kent. I'm glad to have you join us for dinner tonight," she says warmly, and he smiles.

"No problem, Miss Macey. Thanks for having me," he says kindly, and I take a deep breath, feeling relieved.

When I got home, my mom greeted me with lots of hugs. I knew she'd missed me, and it felt good to see her again, even if it meant spending the whole evening with Kent.

"Please be careful, alright?" She whispers to me, and I nod.

"I will." Kent extends his hand to shake hers, and I smile, stepping back.

"Kent, it was really nice having you over. We should do it again sometime," she tells him warmly.

"Thanks for dinner. I had a great time," he says, and my mom smiles, clearly taken with my roommate. Kent was right; he knew how to talk to parents, and my mom was no exception.

Mom waves goodbye and drives off. We wave back and head back to our apartment. I knew we were alone because the door was still locked, and the lights were off.

"Yeah, she really likes you," I mutter teasingly as we walk through the door, and he laughs.

"Julianna, I think you're the only one who doesn't like me," he responds, and I roll my eyes, removing my shoes and coat. "Your mom's really nice," he adds, and I grin.

"Maybe she talked to you more than she talked to me," I laugh as I hang my purse on the back of a dining room chair.

"Thanks for covering for me when I couldn't explain why I chose Brown," he says with a shrug, and I smile because I understand.

"Of course," I reply. "I didn't know you were majoring in business and economics."

"Yeah, it's not that exciting," he says with a nonchalant shrug, downplaying it. "But you used to love musicals."

"Cut it out," I warn him, and he chuckles. "I can't believe she brought that up, and I wouldn't trust my mom to keep a secret for her life."

"But she's proud of you, and it's nice that she's so interested in everything you do," he says, and I nod, acknowledging that he's right.

I look around and notice the apartment is empty. The silence is almost deafening.

"Still flying solo, huh?" I laugh as I head to the freezer.

"I guess Mark's still out partying," he chuckles, and I snort as I retrieve my pint of ice cream from the freezer. "Think he's moved past the dead dog talk yet?"

"We've been gone for over an hour and a half, so I really hope so. I'd be so annoyed if I spent over two hours with a guy and we were still talking about a deceased pet."

"Plot twist: they never get intimate, and he just keeps crying about his dog," he laughs, walking around the kitchen counter to stand on the other side. I laugh hard and almost trip on my way to the silverware drawer.

"That doesn't fit his plan to make her want more, does it?" I hand him a spoon and ask, "Care to share?"

"What kind?" He asks skeptically.

"Cookie dough," I reply with a shrug, removing the lid and causing him to wince. "You don't like cookie dough ice cream?"

"It's too chunky," he mumbles.

"I knew there was a reason we didn't like each other," I mutter, sticking a spoon into the ice cream. The first scoop yields a big chunk of cookie dough.

"So, our entire relationship boils down to ice cream?" He inquires, leaning against the counter's edge and taking a spoonful of plain vanilla ice cream.

"It kind of makes sense," I jest, and he laughs, shaking his head.

"You want to visit New York, right?" He changes the subject.

"I think it's awesome there are so many things to do, like shopping and making art," I sigh contentedly. "Have you watched Gossip Girl?"

"No," he answers, taking another spoonful of plain vanilla ice cream.

"Kent, you're seriously lacking in culture," I tease, and he laughs. "Anyway, I used to watch it when I was younger, so that's how I imagined it. It seemed glamorous, intriguing, and fun, but probably with less drama than the show." I smile and laugh.

"It gets old," he says with a shrug. "Right now, I'm enjoying being here."

"Really?" I inquire, and he nods. "This place seems a bit dull."

"That's not true," he replies with a serious yet smiling face. "There are plenty of interesting things right here."

I smile, feeling a warm flutter in my stomach. He smiles back. When we were alone and not arguing, it felt great. I enjoyed spending time with him more and more each time.

"I can't believe you're eating the part that tastes like plain vanilla," I mutter, and he shrugs.

"I appreciate the simple things in life," he teases, making me roll my eyes.

"Come on, let's watch the first episode of Gossip Girl together," I suggest, shaking my head toward the living room.

"I'm not so sure about that, Julianna," he hesitates.

I plead, "Please." "If you watch this show with me, I'll let you have all the vanilla parts from this tub," I smile, playfully shaking the ice cream container. He rolls his eyes.

"Alright, fine, but you'll owe me for any brain damage," he sighs, and I pull him to the couch by his sleeve. "Brain damage?"

"The damage to my frontal lobe," he quips as we settle in, and I roll my eyes.

"You think you're so funny, don't you?" I sarcastically retort, and he grabs the pint from me.

"This silly show is the real comedian here, now find it," he laughs as he instructs me.

Tonight turned out to be more enjoyable than I ever expected. What was even stranger was that he agreed to watch the show with me, something he wouldn't have done a few weeks ago. Maybe this time he truly meant to change. Maybe both of us had changed.