Out of Love(58)

“Dad’s.”

“He seemed quite invested in your life. Your college career. Your roommates. Your sex life.”

“My dad died when I was three. Abe was a father figure of sorts. He’s just protective.”

“Does he know what you do? That you don’t need anyone to protect you? Does he know what’s in your dungeon?”

“Do you know that I have a test tomorrow and some of us have to study?”

I grinned, pulling the drain on the tub and grabbing a towel while standing. “I’ll help you study.”

“I don’t need your help.”

“If you have to study, then you need help.” I flipped my hair to one side, squeezing it with the towel. After slipping on my cotton lace-waist panties and a crop top, I tied the towel around my head, brushed my teeth, and stepped around the corner.

He paused his studying to make a full inspection of my body. “I said I have to study.”

I shrugged. “My teeth are brushed, and I’m ready for bed. The light doesn’t bother me. Stay up as late as you want.”

“Do you have something against flannel?”

I chuckled. “If we’re going to live together, you need to get used to me being here, wearing what I like to wear to bed, leaving soap rings in your bathtub, and the lid off the peanut butter. And I’ll have to get used to whatever it is you do on the regular, the parts of your daily routine.”

“I watch porn and jerk off before I go to sleep.” He scratched his neck, tipping his chin up.

My eyebrows climbed up my forehead. “O-kay. I …” I had nothing. I knew he said it to get a reaction from me, but I didn’t know what reaction he expected, mainly because I had no clue how to react. Clearing my throat, I removed the towel from my head, flipped off the bathroom light, and padded to my side of the bed. “You don’t need porn; you have me.” I plugged in my phone.

“My own personal porn star?” He closed his laptop over his outstretched legs and lifted his arms, linking his fingers behind his head.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, I grabbed my bottle of lotion and rubbed some on my legs, ignoring his comment. When he didn’t say anymore, I glanced over my shoulder while continuing to moisturize. “What’s that look?”

After a long pause, he whispered, “Nothing.”

“It’s something. I’ve noticed that contemplative look a lot in the past twenty-four hours. Are you regretting this? Me? Here?” I capped the lotion and faced his side of the bed, legs crisscrossed, arms loosely hugged to my waist.

Another slow head shake. “It’s just weird.”

“Me?”

“Kind of.” His lazy gaze stuck to my face, but it seemed far from focused. “You … as in a roommate. You … as in a woman.”

“You’ve never had a roommate? Or lived with a girlfriend?”

“No. Have you lived with a guy before me?”

I nodded. “Well, unofficially. I guess I’m unofficially living with you.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means my dad doesn’t know. It means I don’t get mail here. It means I left a few things at the other house, like my bed and some clothes I don’t wear.”

“This other guy …” He twisted his lips and narrowed his eyes a fraction.

His curiosity gave me a little high. I didn’t want to be controlled by Wylder or anyone for that matter, but a little jealousy wasn’t all bad.

“Patrick. Sophomore year. I unofficially lived in his apartment for three months.”

“What happened?”

With a one-shoulder shrug, I scraped my bottom lip with my teeth for a few seconds. “A curly-haired brunette happened. I wasn’t feeling well, so I skipped my afternoon classes. I just wanted to crawl into bed and die for a few days. My body ached everywhere. I swear even my hair ached. When I opened the bedroom door, Patrick was just … pumping away.”

I laughed, a sad one, but I had to stick to the humorous side of the situation to keep my sanity. “She was on the bed … all fours … and he stood at the end with his naked backside to me. And I just watched.”

A grin played on Wylder’s lips. “Perv.”

My faraway stare snapped up to meet his gaze, and I couldn’t hide my own grin. “Right? It’s when I noticed for the first time just how hairy his ass was. And the girl had a solid future as a porn star. She just kept chanting, ‘Yeah baby, yeah baby, yeah baby …’”

“How long did you watch?”

My grin swelled a little more. “Until the end.”

He laughed. “Seriously?”

I nodded. “She lurched forward, collapsing onto her stomach, and he ran his fingers through his hair and turned as if he finally sensed my presence.”

“What did you say?”

“Nothing. My body ached too much, and I needed to vomit. Lucky for me, brunette girl’s fancy handbag was right by the door, so I emptied the contents of my stomach into it, wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, and told Patrick I’d be back for my stuff later. So there you have it. Just another case of me getting my heart broken. Have you had yours broken?”

He shook his head slowly, as if the whole concept was foreign to him.