Fell In Love With My Roomy Chapter 60

I wanted Kent. As much as Kent was a jerk to me when we first met, he'd never insulted me for things like Dane had. For my interests or friends or the things I liked. I thought about Kent, what it would be like to finally get this free, unhidden version of him. I dreamt about him, thought about his arms, about how he made me feel.

Dane was a consolation prize in comparison, but I had to be okay with that for now. Because anything's better than getting all tangled up with Kent's secrets. At least Dane had the decency to be honest about things and tell me exactly how he felt.

"This is what I want, that kiss with Kent was random and one time only. I've got something stable with Dane for now," I whisper, and she gives me a doubtful look. "I don't want to lose my friendship with you over it, please."

"I don't like him, Juls. I don't trust him," she whispers, and I press my lips together. "But I love you, please be careful."

"I will, you know I'm always smart about things," I whisper, and she nods.

She seems to leave it at that and finally lets me out of the bathroom afterward. The party starts to wind down, and I feel prickles up my spine when I look for Kent. Gone. Worse? So is Piper.

"Hey Juls, I think I'll take off," Dane says, coming back over. "I'll see you in the morning, why don't you tell me when you're feeling up to going and I'll get you."

"Alright," I whisper, and he nods. This is probably where normal couples would kiss or something, but nothing felt normal.

"I'll go grab my beer out of your fridge." I scan the room to find Kyle. He's the only one of my roommates I can find.

"Where'd Kent go?" I ask, and Kyle chuckles.

"Upstairs with Piper, she had a big grin, and he seemed eager. I think we both know what that means," he whispers with a grin, and my heart shatters. "Probably good for Kent, maybe he'll stop acting like a jerk all the time and relax."

He was really going to do that? All because I'd made up with a guy I gladly would have given up for him if he'd just told me to stay. I had to stop this fantasy about Kent; he clearly didn't feel the same way I did, and I needed to try to get past this. But I also had to be firm on my boundaries so I could stop feeling so let down.

"Okay, see you tomorrow, Juls."

"Wait, Dane," I sigh, and he stops, holding his case of beer and looking curious. "Why don't you let me get some stuff together, and I'll stay with you tonight?" I suggest, knowing it was bold. My anxiety knew it was bold too.

"You.....I thought you said you wanted to think."

"Well, I'm done thinking," I answer quietly. "Let me get some stuff, and I'll go with you."

"Alright, yeah. I'd like that," he smiles, and I nod for him to follow me down the hall to my room. I open the door and turn on the lights, grabbing a bag from my closet, and I start putting clothes into it. Just something to sleep in and a casual outfit for tomorrow.

"I like your room," he chuckles. "It's really.....personal," he admits, looking around.

"I like things that spark joy," I whisper, and he chuckles. "I'll go get my toiletries, back in a second."

I grab the stuff I need for the night out of the drawers in the bathroom, filling a small travel bag with necessities. I walk back into my bedroom, and I see him sitting on my bed, spinning Kent's plastic handcuffs around his finger. I feel my face flush instantly, and he clears his throat.

"These spark joy for you?" He asks, sounding confused. "Because they look like they belong with your roommate's cop outfit, how'd they end up here?"

"He stepped in here earlier to make a phone call with my permission; he obviously just forgot them when he was done," I tell him, ignoring the massive wrestling match that happened in between. "We all live together, stuff gets mixed up; it's not a big deal."

"Right," he sighs, and I sit down next to him. I need to try and iron this out with him; I know he's not comfortable with this situation still.

"Dane, if this is going to work, you need to trust me," I whisper, and he nods. "I'm not with Kent, I'm with you," I remind him, putting my hand over his. "Now let's get out of here."

He nods quietly, and I toss a pair of sneakers into my bag for tomorrow. I turn out my bedroom light and close the door as we leave. I walk back through to see Kyle cleaning up the cans.

"Do you need a hand?" I ask, and he shakes his head.

"Nah, Mark should be out soon," he says, and I can vaguely hear moaning under the thumping music. I snort, and he smiles. "Are you heading out?"

"Yeah, see you tomorrow," I whisper, and he nods. Dane heads for the door, but Kyle holds me back a second.

"That jerk gets out of line, you call me, alright? I'll be home all night," he says, and I smile. Good roommates, what can I say.

"I'm a big girl, Kyle," I tease, and he nods. "Have a good night."

We go back to Dane's place, and this time he seems more optimistic. After riding the elevator and walking to his door, he grins, opening it for me.

"After you," he smiles, and I nod. "You didn't see the bedroom last time, right this way," he chuckles, and I follow him to a massive bedroom with one king-size bed in the middle and an uncomfortable-looking chair in the corner. The windows on one side were completely floor to ceiling.

"What do you think?" he asks, and I take a deep breath.

"Are you an exhibitionist?" I tease, nodding to the big windows.

He smirks and grabs a remote, causing all the shades to lower simultaneously. "They invented blinds for a reason."

"Very fancy," I smile, and he nods.

"You can take the washroom first," he shrugs, and I nod, bringing my bag into the washroom to change into something comfortable.

The washroom looked like a spaceship. There were no....taps or buttons anywhere. Everything was sleek and white and crisp.

I pull on an old sweater and a pair of pajama bottoms. I take off my makeup and pull the pins and hair ties out of my hair. I brush it quickly, and I realize how.....frumpy I must look. This was a new relationship, and I'd decided to hop right into the deep end with a sleepover.

After I finish my night routine, I open the washroom door, seeing Dane deep in thought on his phone.

"Everything alright?" I ask, and he clears his throat, putting it down.

"Just a work email, nothing to worry about," he smiles, and I nod. He goes into the washroom and finishes up a quick routine while I dig my iPhone charger out and plug it into the wall. I pull out his nightstand and lean down to plug it into the socket when my eyes catch something metallic, glinting in the low bedroom light.

A condom wrapper.

At first, my thoughts were that it was old. Just because he hadn't been on a date in a year didn't mean he wasn't having sex before we met. But then I felt nerves creep back in when I realized....Dane's too neat to let a condom wrapper linger behind his nightstand. There wasn't even dust back here, like he regularly pulled it back from the wall to clean.

I guess it's always possible that he slept with someone over the past few days, but that didn't fit his angle of 'I've been tossing and turning, and I wanted to fix everything!'

"What are you up to?" He asks, and I clear my throat, plugging the charger into my phone.

"Just checking to see if I had messages," I shrug.

Trust did go both ways. Until I had some reason to think otherwise, I trusted him.

"I'm wiped, your friends know how to party," he chuckles, and I smile. "My senior citizen body isn't meant to do shots and fist pump anymore."

"But it was.....kind of fun, right?" I ask, settling under the blankets, and he shrugs.

"It was fine," he assures me, and I nod. I'll take it, considering none of my friends seemed particularly thrilled with his presence. I had a lot to think about with Dane.

"Night," I mumble, shuffling down. His bed was a lot bigger and nicer than mine.

"I'm really glad you gave me a chance, Juls," he whispers, rolling onto his side and resting his hand on my stomach. It was over two blankets and my sweater, and he still felt too close.

Nothing came easy with Dane. I really believe I made a mistake tonight, all because I just liked Dane's attention. I felt like a terrible person for this.