Mira
I rub the sleep from my eyes, squinting at the sun glowing through the cheap curtains of Cali’s bedroom window. I can’t believe Tyler. Asshole. That girl was unfastening his pants. Pretty obvious what I walked in on last night.
I flip over and punch my pillow to fluff it up.
Okay, I just want to hit something.
He couldn’t find someplace else to take his hookup? I could have come home at any point during their little interlude. You don’t do that shit with a roommate around. It’s an issue of respect.
I swear he brought that girl back just to piss me off. I never should have told Tyler what was up with my mom. Had I left him guessing, he probably wouldn’t have bugged me about the job stuff. We might not have fought.
He looked like he expected me to walk in on them—like he planned it. I might be reading into things, but he could have at least stayed at her place instead of bringing her here.
But even that thought bothers me. Arghh.
I tilt my ear toward the door. No noise filters in from the living room. It’s early—seven, maybe. Tyler is probably still asleep. I rest my chin on top of my pillow above my folded hands and stare at the clock.
One, two, three minutes tick by.
If Tyler is going to be an inconsiderate jerk, why should I be a courteous roommate? I’ll go mad if I stay in here all morning, waiting for his date to leave.
I grin. I’m willing to bet that I’ve had more experience at being a bitch than he has at being a jerk.
I leap out of bed and throw on slipper socks, jerking my hair into a ponytail. Tyler wants to bring a girl home and make out on our couch? Fine. But he’ll have to deal with his early-rising roommate.
I open the bedroom door and saunter into the living room. And my stomach sinks, all thoughts of retribution fleeing.
Tyler is on the couch, the girl he was with last night half lying on top of him. He has his arms wrapped around her waist, her head tucked beneath his chin. They’re sleeping, his handsome face tipped back onto the armrest, looking boyish and sweet.
Fortunately, they’re dressed; otherwise I would have to kill him. The thought of Tyler naked with another girl—I won’t even go there. Seeing him like this leaves me in enough pain. He left town. I wasn’t supposed to be subjected to this sort of thing.
Damn him. I glance away and swallow the knot in my throat. Tyler with another girl stabs me in a place I never feel pain. It’s deep, shadowed, and protected so well that not even the shit my mom pulls penetrates. But Tyler manages to spear the spot in one shot with his insensitivity. Because I want to be the girl wrapped in his arms.
I walk past them into the kitchen and pull out a bowl and cereal. I’m not quiet as I set milk on the counter and fill the teakettle with water. After a minute or two, I hear light rustling and the sound of hushed conversation. The girl walks into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.
I sit at the dining table, ignoring Tyler a few feet away in the living room. His date exits the bathroom and waits by the front door as he puts on his shoes and grabs his keys. After a moment, the sound of the front door closing reverberates throughout the house.
I set my spoon down, my hands balling into fists.
Tyler has been gone a long time. Of course he’s moved on. Logically I know this, but seeing it is so much worse.
I take a deep breath and try to clear my head. My heart doesn’t recognize Tyler coming home for what it is. Temporary. He’ll be gone soon. This being forced together is a blip, one small scene in his brilliant life. It means nothing to him.
I munch woodenly, chewing the cereal that feels coarse and rough against my tongue, attempting to harden my heart against the pain that living with Tyler causes.
I don’t know how long I stare out the backyard window before the front door opens and Tyler walks in. For a moment, I glimpse uncertainty in his eyes.
“Morning.” He plasters on a cheery smile.
I stand and walk into the kitchen, dumping the rest of my cereal in the sink. “You can’t bring girls home while we’re living together,” I tell him, my back turned.
The sound of his keys clanking on the counter comes from behind. I look over to find them in the exact spot he pulled them from earlier. He returns his shoes to the resting place they were in when I walked out this morning.
He has a routine. That I notice pisses me off.
“Excuse me?” he says. “Pretty sure I can. Last time I checked, I’m not tied down.”
I twist on the faucet and run water over my cereal bowl, washing it vigorously. “That’s not the point. This place isn’t big enough for sleepovers.”
I sense him walking up behind me, the way he did yesterday morning. Too close, his body grazing my back. “You got a problem seeing me with other women?” he says above my ear, his voice low and sultry.
I set the dish down and step around him to the other side of the kitchen, careful not to touch him. “Of course not.”
He leans against the cabinets, his handsome face set in a determined expression, arms crossed over his broad chest.
“As soon as I get another job, I’ll be working a ton. I’ll hardly be around. Can’t you put it off until then?”
A beat passes as he continues to study me. I hate it that I don’t know what he’s thinking right now. I’m pretty sure I won’t like it.
“Nope, don’t think I can. Besides, my sister and Gen accommodated their boyfriends. You can deal. Or—here’s a thought—you could move in with the Sallees.”
No way. If those men are dangerous to me, they’ll be dangerous to the people I care about. Tyler’s a young guy. He could take care of himself in a fight. “Gen and Cali are best friends. Of course it worked for them. You and I—”
He crosses the couple of feet that separate us, making the pulse at the base of my throat hammer. I grab the edge of the counter. “You and I what, Mira?”
My mind goes blank. I don’t know what we are to each other. We are so much more than we should be, and so much less than what he shared with that random girl who just left.
“Nothing, we’re nothing. Just—don’t bring girls around while I’m here. Or be prepared for me to return the favor. You’ll see how crowded things can get.”