Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 48146 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 241(@200wpm)___ 193(@250wpm)___ 160(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 48146 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 241(@200wpm)___ 193(@250wpm)___ 160(@300wpm)
“Okay, cool.” He placed the supplies on his dresser. “Let’s watch an episode while it dries, and then we can wash it off.”
It felt ridiculous to sit beside him on the bed with this shit tightening on my face, but soon enough, we got lost in the episode.
When it ended thirty minutes later, I stretched my legs. “That was good.”
“Right? I love the new character they introduced.”
The show was pretty diverse with respect to the cultural backgrounds, genders, and sexualities represented. That was something I’d never really paid attention to before, but last year had been a lightbulb moment regarding mental health and sexuality. Suppose I had Lark and Henners to thank for that.
I motioned to the screen, my thoughts returning to the episode we’d just watched. “Do you think those two will eventually hook up?”
“I hope so. I’d be all for a gay love connection.”
“Have you…?” I swallowed, wondering if I could even ask the question. “Have you had any of your own over the summer?”
“Maybe,” he said in this coy way he always did when talking about guys he hooked up with here and there. “What about you?”
“Well, I’m not into guys, so…”
He playfully pushed me. “Never say never.”
Before I could respond, he rolled off the bed. “Come on, let’s go see what we look like.”
I followed him to the bathroom, where we burst out laughing as soon as we saw our reflections in the mirror. “We look like ghosts.”
Emil snorted. “At least we’ve got Halloween figured out.”
He turned on the faucet and began rinsing his face. I handed him a towel, then washed my mask off next.
“Feel your skin. Isn’t it smooth?”
I rubbed my fingertips across my cheek. “Suppose so.”
He arched a brow in the mirror. “Admit it.”
“For Christ’s sake. I have no idea.”
When his knuckles brushed my jaw, I shivered. God, I was losing it.
“Let me feel yours,” I told Emil.
He lifted his chin in my direction, and I cupped his cheek. He briefly shut his eyes like it felt good. Or maybe I was reading too much into it. “Yeah, okay, it’s soft.” Though I had a feeling it was always that way, but whatever, I’d play along.
“Told you so.” His eyes brightened. “That settles it. Once a week, we’ll pamper ourselves with face masks.”
“Hard pass. That was a one-and-done.” Thank God there wasn’t any photographic evidence.
“Don’t be a maskhole. You’ll love it.”
A laugh jumped out of my mouth, making my chest feel fluttery and weightless.
How dare he make this fun? And why the hell had I agreed to room with him again?
When I followed him out of the bathroom, he asked, “You in the mood for another episode?”
“Absolutely,” I replied around a yawn. No way I’d pass this up, even if I was still feeling tired from my week.
We cut the lights and positioned ourselves against his pillows in front of his laptop again. We ended up watching two more episodes, though my eyes were slits and I nodded off halfway through the second.
3
EMIL
The dork was asleep in my bed.
But he was also kinda cute with his soft snores and relaxed features. After his drunk confession, I felt like I understood him better, so his persona around campus was in question. I wondered if he was purposely hiding his grief about his brother behind the facade of a big, clueless jock. Except, on top of having the energy of a golden retriever, he also made lots of blunders, as if unaware of how his uninformed statements sounded.
The good thing was he generally learned from his mistakes. Or maybe I was going soft on him. Ever since move-in day, something was different about him or between us, but I couldn’t put my finger on what it was.
Whereas before, he would joke about both of our hookups, now he seemed more inquisitive about mine, like he’d just clued in that I was his gay roommate and had sex with dudes. I’d caught him staring at me no less than five times over the last week, as if trying to figure something out about me. I would find it amusing if it wasn’t so unnerving. What was his deal?
Maybe he was the one who needed a hookup.
I shook him a little. “Hey, B. You fell asleep.”
“Need another minute,” he whispered, then slung his arm over his eyes.
Ugh, no way I could move him myself. I swear he had a hundred pounds on me.
Instead of the hassle of waking him up, I just closed my laptop, placed it on the floor, then turned onto my side and shut my eyes. Our mattresses weren’t even full-size, so no doubt he’d move to his own bed as soon as he felt uncomfortable sleeping in such a cramped space.
But that wasn’t what happened. By morning, he had me practically pinned against my pillow, and I could feel his boner pushing against my hip.