Fell In Love With My Roomy Chapter 58

"I'll give you five bucks, and I'll even watch Die Hard with you," I say, making an offer.

"Deal," he chuckles and hands me a ping pong ball. "Are you ready? Eye-to-eye, no cheating," he says, and I nod, focusing on the cups.

His green eyes were captivating, making me want to do things beyond my control.

"Look right here," he says, tapping his forehead, and I roll my eyes, preparing to shoot.

The game is intense, but we both hold our ground, and soon we're down to the final cup. The room is now crowded, the music so loud that our trash talk is barely audible.

"Why's everyone watching this?" a girl asks her friend.

"Because if Kent loses, he has to do a strip tease!" the friend says excitedly. "I'd love to see his abs!"

"That's not fair. Why wouldn't he make that bet with one of us?" the first girl asks.

I didn't want to do this in front of everyone, but Kent makes the final shot and wins. I deliberately miss my two redemption shots, relieved that I won't have to follow through with my end of the deal.

We head to the fridge for a drink, and I explain to Kent why I threw the game.

"I just thought it was too much for two roommates, don't you?" I say, looking up at him with a hint of vulnerability. He grins, knowing he's got me cornered.

"Juls, come join us for a shot!" Abby urges. I simply shrug my shoulders.

"I have to leave, but I'll still watch the movie with you guys," I whisper, patting Abby's arm. Abby shakes his head with a grin.

We both take another Jell-O shot, and then Abby pours two real ones for us. I need to catch up as things are getting more exciting, and I can tell I'm falling behind.

"Come take a picture with us," Abby insists, pulling Kyle in for the shot as well. It's great to feel young again, as I've been so busy and consumed by drama in my life.

"Who's playing the music?" I ask, leaning toward Kyle's ear. I hear a basic song playing, and I want something with more energy.

"Mark is," Kyle replies.

"Do you think he'd mind if I change it?" I ask, scanning the room and noticing Mark is already engrossed in conversation with a random girl.

"I don't think he'll care," Kyle laughs, and I go over to Mark's phone. To my surprise, Mark hasn't set a password on his phone, making it easy for me to access it.

I open the phone and switch to a different playlist on Spotify, one that I created a long time ago with all my favorite childhood tunes. I shuffle the playlist, and "Blow" by Kesha suddenly blasts through the speakers. Instantly, all the girls in the room rush to the dance floor.

After two more hours of dancing and drinking, I'm exhausted and tired of having my feet stepped on and my head spinning. I realize I've left my phone in my room and wave to Abby, promising to return after checking it. I stumble into my room, turning on the light.

I'm startled to see a large silhouette in the corner but relax a bit when I realize it's Kent. "What are you doing here?" I ask, feeling puzzled.

"My mom called, and I needed somewhere quiet to take the call," Kent explains, shoving his phone back into his pocket. "Your room was the farthest from the noise."

"Your room is just as far," I point out.

"Someone's having sex in my room," Kent states, and I'm taken aback.

"Who?" I ask, feeling confused. "Is someone in your room?"

"I have no idea, but I'm going to kill them," Kent says through gritted teeth. The thought of it happening in my room makes me feel disgusted. "I'm sorry; I should have asked first."

"It's okay," I say with a sigh, and he nods. "How did you realize someone was in your room?"

"I walked in on them," he says with a shiver. I peer intently and go back to the opposite side of the hall, putting my ear to the door. They were making a lot of noise, but the party noise was drowning it out.

I quickly pulled open the door, wishing I could unsee what I saw. They were both almost undressed, and it seemed like they didn't even notice me entering.

"Hey!" I yelled, pounding on the door frame, and she almost jumped off him, giving me a vision I didn't need. "As far as I know, neither of you are my roommates! Get out of here and go find somewhere else to mate!"

They quickly began getting dressed, struggling with their clothes, and I sighed, walking back across the hall. Kent stood there with his mouth agape, watching as they scrambled out of his room, and the entire party laughed as they left.

I shut the door to his room again and returned to mine, closing the door behind me.

"Problem solved," I said with a shrug. "I'll help you with the laundry."

"I think I need to burn my mattress instead," he said with a shrug, and I burst out laughing. I lay down on my bed.

"My feet are killing me," I sighed and glanced at him, smirking. "You look like one of the Village People."

"I have these handcuffs, and I'm not afraid to use them," he said, holding up some cheap plastic handcuffs.

"Good luck with that," I said with a shrug, and he got this gleam in his eye. It was a look I only saw occasionally and only when he was truly happy. A challenge from me was like a fix for Kent.

"Juls, I actually have something to ask you. Could you come over here, closer to me?" He smiled, nodding his head in his direction, and I made a strategic move to sit on my hands. "That won't help," he chuckled, releasing my hands, and I watched him toss the handcuffs onto my mattress. He grabbed my elbows.

"That's not fair," I laughed, and he succeeded in freeing my hands.

"No, this isn't," he clarified, and I gasped as he started tickling my ribcage.

"Let me go!" I yelled, laughing uncontrollably, and he chuckled too.

"You have the right to remain silent," he teased, and I swallowed as my back hit the mattress. I kept trying to fend off his attempts to handcuff me. Why did I even say that? I didn't want to be in cheap handcuffs, or maybe... maybe I wanted an excuse to be close to him again.

He managed to grab my wrists in one hand, and I lost my breath as he held them above my head on the mattress. I gazed at him wide-eyed, and he gave me a smile.

"Surrender?" he inquired, and I remained silent, tightly pressing my lips together. This was a close and personal situation, with him on his knees over me, holding my hands in his grasp.

"You know me, I don't give up," I replied, making an effort to conceal the trembling in my voice, and he let out a soft chuckle. "But, in the interest of avoiding being tickled any longer, I'll accept a cease-fire," I murmured, and he rolled away from me, settling onto the bed next to me as well, lying on his back.

"You're tough," he said, still trying to catch his breath, and I burst into laughter. "It must be all that swimming," he added.

"I do have impressive arm muscles," I teased, pretending to flex, and he laughed. Turning to face him, I smiled. "Thank you for this week. I've been feeling pretty down since Monday, but you've done a lot to cheer me up."

He returned my smile and turned to face me too. I loved these small, unassuming moments with Kent, when everything felt relaxed and effortless. I could tell that he was a bit inebriated, and he seemed less guarded and reserved than usual.

"Good," he said quietly. "Juls, you're...incredible. If that guy couldn't see it, then it was his loss and it wasn't meant to be," he continued.

"Thanks," I whispered, feeling my cheeks flush. My heart fluttered, and I smiled. "Did you just call me incredible?"

"Don't get too big-headed," he responded softly, and I bit my lip, trying to hold back a smile. Despite the loud party going on just outside my door, all I could focus on was him. "I have to tell you something," he said.

"Of course, go ahead," I replied softly, feeling the room envelop me.

"I never wanted five dollars if I won that game," he said, referring to an earlier conversation.

"Really?" I asked, and he shook his head. "What did you want then?”

"I...I didn't want to say anything at the time because you were with someone else, and you seemed happy. That's all I wanted for you. But now...well, things have changed, and I want to tell you something," he explains, his hand resting over mine, trapped between the solid wall of his chest and his large palm.

"Okay," I murmur, my body shaking with nervousness. "Juls, I—"

But before he could continue, a voice interrupted us with a knock on the door. "Juls?" Abby calls out, and the two of us quickly sit up. I scoot away a little as he clears his throat. Abby enters the room and looks at us, both of us now sitting on the bed. "What are you doing here with Kent?" she asks, sounding bewildered.

"We were just talking," I answer, shrugging. "What's going on?" I inquire, and she sighs, looking torn.

"Dane is here," she says.