Fell In Love With My Roomy Chapter 59

"This is one of the most confusing moments of my life. Dane sure knows how to pick his timing," I whisper to myself.

"What do you mean Dane's here?" I ask, turning to face the person who told me he was here.

"He just walked through the front door. He sticks out like a sore thumb, looks like someone's older brother," she replies with a shrug. "Do you want me to bring him in here?"

"I'll come out in a moment," I tell her, and she nods before leaving and closing the door behind her. "What did you want to talk to me about?" I turn to Kent, who looks just as conflicted as I feel. "Don't you want to go see him?" he asks.

"Do you want me to leave?" I ask, feeling disappointed. "Just tell me, I'm all ears."

"I don't want to cause any trouble between you and Dane," he says quietly. "I just want you to be happy."

"Kent, be honest with me. Don't push me away from him because it's the easy thing to do," I say, putting my hand on his knee. "Explain."

"It's not anything serious, I just wanted to know when you wanted to watch our movie," he says softly.

"You're lying to me," I say, accusing him. "Look at me. I'll only talk to Dane if you promise me that nothing has changed, and you still feel the same way you did three weeks ago. If you still want us to be friends, I'll walk out the door. But if you have something else to say, then speak up."

He remains quiet, and I nod, feeling disappointed. Dane had managed to create a divide between us, how crazy is that?

"Fine," I say, standing up and dusting off my skirt. "Let me tell you something for a change. There's nothing stopping me or holding me back from you. If you were just honest with me, things would be so much easier. If you let me go, then I'll take it as you being okay with us staying friends." I remind him, turning towards the door. When he doesn't say anything, I nod and feel let down. "Close the door on your way out," I instruct before walking down the hall. I had managed to have three hours of drama-free fun, and now it was all falling apart again.

"Juls!" Dane calls out as I approach the party. "I'm sorry. Is there somewhere we can talk privately?"

"No, we're not talking tonight. You're here to have fun or you need to leave. We'll talk about everything tomorrow," I say, angry. "You're not ruining this for me."

"O-okay?" He says, sounding confused and I nod. I could see the whispers, the heads turning, everyone wanted to know who the old guy was.

"I can't believe you'd just sandbag me with this." I whisper, feeling my face turn bright red and I go get another Jell-o shot from the fridge.

"I thought you wanted me to come." He counters and I sigh.

"That was before I found out I wasn't mature enough." I say sarcastically and he rolls his eyes.

"Juls, I feel bad for saying that. None of that came out right, and I got so frustrated the other night. I came here to make it right, to...try and fix things."

"You know how easy a phone call would have been?" I retorted.

"I've been calling you all night, you wouldn't pick up. I got desperate to try and change things." He insists, and I suddenly remember that my phone was on my dresser all night. I hadn't been checking it.

"Not tonight, Dane! Why not Tuesday? Or any other time this week?"

"I'm here now, Juls!" He insists. "I'm here because I care about you and because I want you back!"

I feel awful, my heart's been in a tornado. I wanted Kent all of five seconds ago, hands on his chest, smiles being exchanged. I felt like he was finally going to own up to his feelings for me and now I was for some reason entertaining Dane's pleas to take him back.

"Juls, I want you to be my girlfriend. I've never felt this way before, you make me laugh and smile, you're interesting and intelligent...every moment I spend with you feels like it lasts forever. You told me the other night that I wasn't even your boyfriend, I want to change that. Be mine." He begs, and my eyes briefly pass his face and I look at Kent. He just nods, telling me it's alright.

"I want to think about everything a bit," I mumble, and he nods. "You really hurt my feelings the other day," I whisper, feeling a tear leak over my cheek, and he sighs, wiping it away with his thumb. That didn't feel right; it wasn't what it felt like when Kent's hands cupped my face.

"I know I did. I feel bad for it," he sighs, and I nod. "I know there's more to say. I'll take you to breakfast tomorrow, and we can talk about it then," he whispers, and I nod, pressing my lips together.

This was truly the reason I kept finding myself giving Dane chances. It was mostly because he always seemed to know what he wanted. There was no lying; he was able to lay all of his feelings out in the open, and that was what made him a grown-up. It was probably the thing I liked most.

"Make it brunch," I whisper, crossing my arms, and a brief smile plays on his face.

"Yeah, brunch. I can do brunch," he assures me, and I nod. "And a trip to Starbucks."

"Okay," I mumble, and he smiles. I made the sudden choice to hug him; I'd never really hugged him before. Only brief greetings; this one was longer, and I just wanted to hug somebody. I got close to Kent again and got shut out again. I liked that he wanted me.

"Hey, who are you, and what have you done with Juls?" He teases, and I sigh. His cologne smells wrong; his body feels lean. He just seemed...different. But I should start getting used to it, I guess. "You don't hug."

"Maybe I do now," I whisper, and he pulls back, taking my hands and stepping back to take a look at my dress.

"Jenna Rink, Thirteen Going On Thirty?" He asks, and I nod.

"Finally someone who knows!" I groan, and he laughs. "You know that movie?"

"My mom used to have it on DVD growing up; when it was her turn to pick the movie, that was always her go-to," he sighs, and I nod. "You look incredible."

"You think?" I ask, and he smiles with a nod. "What did you come as?" I ask, feeling confused, and he sighs.

"Cowboy?" He suggests, showing me his flannel shirt and desert boots. "I was a little shy in the costume department," he admits, and I nod. "But I wanted to come, show you that...I do care about the stuff you like."

"I'm still thinking about this," I remind him, and he sighs with an understanding nod. "But I appreciate you coming."

Even if it did mess up my moment with Kent.

"I'm glad I did," he mumbles, and I give him a shy smile.

"Then let's do something fun," I beg, yanking his arm out of the kitchen, and he chuckles.

Despite my best efforts...all of my friends knew what had happened between us, and they just weren't warm with him anymore. Not even Abby, who used to ask me about him all the time and seemed so excited that I wanted to date. I pried, but they wouldn't budge; it would just take a bit of time.

I've got to appreciate how loyal my friends are. I look over at one point and see Piper's appeared on the scene, and she's cozied up to Kent. For the first time, he looks happy to talk to her, and a part of my soul cracks. Maybe I'd made a mistake by just giving up so fast tonight.

"I guess I didn't have anything to worry about; all of your roommates seem interested in other girls," Dane shrugs, and I nod. They were. He was.

"See?" I shrug, and he nods.

I didn't have anywhere near as much fun once Dane arrived. It really messed with the tension in the room and put my friends in a bad mood. Towards the end of the night, I feel someone grab my hand, and Abby drags me down the hall to the washroom.

She practically shoves me inside and locks the door, glaring at me.

"What are you doing?" She asks, and I furrow my eyebrows.

"What do you mean? I'm...I'm just having fun," I defend, and she runs a hand over her face.

"That guy hurt you, made you cry, called you all sorts of horrible names, and broke up with you. Here he is after almost four days of no contact, and you just forgive him? Juls!"

"I haven't forgiven him, but I'm going to hear him out. We're going to talk tomorrow," I whisper, and she laughs.

"Why are you even with Dane? You guys had that fight because you realized you're too young to be dating, Juls. That's not going to change anytime soon," she reminds me, and I sigh. "I know he seems interested in you, and he's good-looking, but there's something manipulative about him. I just...I'm worried."

"I'll make that choice," I shrug. "Abby, I'm tough, I'm not stupid. We all make mistakes and-"

"What about what's going on with Kent?" She asks, cutting me off, and my lips part.

"W-what are you talking about?" I ask, feeling nervous. I swallow a lump in my throat, feeling anxious, and she sighs.

"I'm not f***ing blind, Kyle and Mark might not see it because they're not as perceptive, but you two...you practically get into foreplay whenever you speak to each other. I know you two weren't just talking in your room earlier either."

"We were!" I insist. "Nothing happened."

"Bull, every time I see you together, you find some excuse to touch or to talk privately. He pushes your buttons and you push him, I know something happened between the two of you," she insists. "I know you like him."

"Abby, no I don't! I don't like him that way; he's just my roommate. We're finally starting to get along, and-"

"How about the time you two kissed?" She asks, and my lips part, my stomach drops to the floor, and I shake my head.

"H-how do you know about that?" I whisper, and she grins.

"I didn't until just now, I was grasping at straws and saying something random to see what would stick...you've kissed him?" She hisses, and I shush her. I'm so stupid; why didn't I just deny it?

"Once, a while ago, before I even met Dane," I beg. "You can't tell anyone, please. Nobody."

"Why are you settling for Dane?" She asks, putting her hands on my shoulders.

"I'm not settling, Dane is nice and-"

"So nice that he dumped you?" She retorts, and I chew the inside of my cheek.

"There are things about Dane I like; Kent has no interest in me, and for the first time in four years, I have a chance at a relationship," I whisper, feeling my lower lip wobble. "I've never had a guy take interest in me like Dane does and tell me that he wants so much with me. I'm not going to blow that over my mess with Kent."

"Juls-"

"Abby," I warn, and she backs off. "Please don't say anything, take it to your grave. Dane would flip a table if he found out."

"Is this what you really want?" She asks, sounding doubtful.

No, I wanted Kent.