“Dream on.”
“Dude, seriously. Can I ask her out?”
“I-”
“Hey boys,” Audrey says, approaching the counter. “We were just in the neighborhood. You got any free day old muffins you’re giving away?” She winks at Felix, knowing he’s the weaker link out of the two of us.
“For you fine ladies, everything’s on the house today. Drinks too.” His gaze lingers on Samantha, but she doesn’t notice. She’s like a little kid in a candy shop, her attention solely on the dessert display case.
She straightens, eyes bright as she looks at us. “Can I have a blueberry muffin and a hot chocolate?”
He stares at her, dumbfounded. “Levi here is our best barista,” he claps my shoulder. “He can make you anything. Latte, macchiato, cappuccino. And you want to waste your time with a hot chocolate?”
“Yes, please,” she chirps, completely disregarding his judgment.
I go over to the machine and start preparing it for her, ignoring Jasmine and Derek’s continued fight in hushed tones and Felix’s efforts to sway Samantha to a fancier drink. I already found out she dislikes coffee, and it doesn’t bother me any. That means there’s no chance of her messing up my machine at home the way Chris did trying to figure it out.
It’s been a little over two weeks since she moved in and living with her has been nothing like I expected so far. I figured we’d avoid each other for the summer. That’s what I planned to do anyway.
She apparently had other plans, somehow insinuating herself into both mine and Audrey’s daily activities until it seems like she’s always been here. The weird thing is, I don’t mind. I show her how to make something new for dinner every night, her laughter and enthusiasm making cooking fun instead of a chore.
That first day she showed up, I thought she was another one of the bitchy rich girls from high school or dumb sorority girls on campus now. But she’s not. She doesn’t care what she looks like. Wears ratty clothes and no makeup. Open, honest, has zero pretension.
She makes me laugh, a rare feat according to Audrey. She clicks into place with the two of us at home in a way that Chris never did. Maybe when we start looking for another roommate for August, it should be a girl.
I never thought I’d like living with a woman. Audrey doesn’t count, though. She’s practically my sister. Everything I was worried about - girly stuff around the apartment, hogging the bathroom we share, listening to her drone on about guys or fashion or whatever it is girls talk about - hasn’t happened. She’s respectful as a roommate, practically to the point where I’ve had to step up my game in response to keep our shared areas clean.
The only thing I had an issue with at first was the touching. Every time she gets excited about something, she grabs my arm or gives me a little squeeze. She doesn’t think twice about brushing against me to get past in the small kitchen or bathroom. But I see her doing the same things to Audrey. It’s never in a sexual way, with either of us. I don’t even think she realizes what she’s doing. She’s just naturally a toucher.
Initially, I’d step aside or move out of her way, but that got to be too tiring. Even though she means it platonically, I have to admit it doesn’t always feel like that on my end. She’s just a friendly person, I remind myself.
So why did I have that sex dream about her last night?
We were preparing spaghetti in the kitchen, her wearing those short cut-offs she wears most of the time, making her legs appear even longer, and then suddenly we’re going at it, my hands fisted in all those blonde curls as I stroke into her mouth with my tongue. Her tugging my head down to get closer, her other hand cupping my rising dick through my jeans, and then I have her up on the counter, her legs wrapped around my waist as I pull down the shoulder of her oversized t-shirt, feasting on the creamy, exposed skin. Then we’re somehow in my bed, naked and sweaty, me pumping into her as she claws my back, the breathy moans she’s making so vivid I can recall them even now.
I shake my head to clear it. Everyone has weird sex dreams, right? Just the other week, Felix was telling me one he had involving Karen and a llama. It doesn’t have to mean anything. I hope to God it doesn’t in Felix’s case. Or in mine. She’s my roommate, I remind myself again.
“Yo, you finished with that drink, yet?” Felix’s voice brings me back to the present. I grab the hot chocolate, bringing it over to the table the three of them are sitting at, munching on blueberry muffins. Her fingers brush mine as she takes it from me, sending a spark of electricity through me. Her smile is genuine as she thanks me, not a hint of anything else in her face. It must just be me feeling it.
The place is slow enough that we can sit down with them while Jasmine and Derek man the counter. Plus, Karen’s not here to yell at us.
Samantha is laughing at some story Felix is telling her, something about getting bit in the ass by a chihuahua. He’s angled toward her, his arm around the back of her chair, and my teeth clench in response before I force my jaw to relax. Why should I care if he flirts with her? He hits on most girls who walk in here. Ninety-five percent ignore him, but he thrives on the five percent that do pay attention.
Audrey narrows her eyes at me, scooting her seat closer and whispers, “What’s up with you?”
“Nothing.” I check the counter to make sure the two ex-lovebirds don’t need help. Or aren’t strangling each other.
“Felix makes moves on everyone. It doesn’t mean anything. He flirts with me, for God’s sake.”
I shift in my seat. “I know he does.”
“So,” I hear him say to Samantha. “How about we go out this Friday? There’s a great French restaurant around the corner from here.”
“You want to go out with me?” she asks, wide-eyed, pointing at herself. Her eyes flick over to me for the briefest moment before going back to him.
“Uh, yeah,” he says. “You’re a total babe. Obviously,” he motions up and down.
Her smile fades. “No, thanks. I don’t have time to date.” What’s she talking about? Other than a couple times when she’s gone over to visit her cousin and his girlfriend, she’s been home every night. I keep my mouth shut, though, satisfaction coursing through me that she turned him down before I can block the emotion.
“No problem.” He gives her an easy grin. And for him, it really is no problem. Rejections roll right off his back. I guess that’s what happens when you have a five percent success rate.
She twists a lock of hair around her finger and stares at her lap, her head low, earlier exuberance gone. Peering closer at her, it even looks like she might... cry. Uh oh.
“All right, we’ve gotta get back to work,” I announce suddenly, wanting to take the attention off Samantha. “I’ll see you both at home later?”
“I’m going out with Jessica tonight,” Audrey says distractedly, looking concerned at her too. Why’d she shut down like that? I’ve never seen her unhappy, not even the day after I yelled at her.
I stand up and Samantha follows suit, her bracelets softly clinking in time with the bell over the door as she darts outside. “Will you make sure she’s okay?” I whisper to Audrey.