The Roommate Agreement(16)
Jay finished his breakfast, even going so far as to lick the spoon clean. “You know that’s counter-productive to a run, right?”
I shrugged, grabbing my water. “I’m not running to lose weight. I’m running to sweat out a hangover. Oreos are a perfectly good post-run snack.”
“Yeah, well, don’t complain at me when you can’t fit into your pants!” he called after me.
“I won’t have to! My pants have a stretchy waist!”
“Leggings aren’t pants!”
“Wash your filthy mouth out with soap!” I shouted back, slamming my door for effect.
Still, I heard his laugh.
His stupid belly laugh that rumbled across my skin in goosebumps.
Ugh.
Crushes were for schoolgirls and movie stars.
Not your best friend.
CHAPTER SEVEN – SHELBY
Always Apologize With Pizza
Running while hungover was not for the faint-hearted.
I was safely ensconced in the library with a hundred years’ worth of papers and magazine articles, a packet of double-stubbed Oreos, and a bottle of water, and I was still hating myself for agreeing.
Jay could run. Fast.
Me?
Not so much.
I couldn’t have been much slower. Despite the constant side-eye he gave me for my fitness, which resulted in me thinking about which pair of shoes I should wear when I ram my foot up his ass, I just didn’t want to be there.
It was warm but raining. Not even real rain. That stupid light drizzle that feels foggy and not all that wet, but ultimately turns you into a drowned rat after five minutes.
It was horrible.
I wouldn’t admit that it’d gotten rid of my hangover, but it had. Mostly, anyway. The horrible tight feeling in my forehead had gone, and I did feel better for pushing my body a little. I was still dehydrated, but since it was past lunch and Brie still hadn’t replied to my texts, I was pretty sure I was in the better shape of the two of us.
The papers that were in front of me were all copies. There were several reports of what the media called genuine hauntings, but there were also several theories that it was all a marketing ploy.
I had the horrible feeling I’d have to spend a night there myself in their most “haunted” room to get any objective answers.
I didn’t have the money for this, and I doubted the paper would dig into their pockets for a hotel stay.
Maybe I could convince Brie to come with me. Hmm.
Then again, she was a big baby who’d once been spooked by her own shadow, so that probably wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.
I’d have to think about it. Maybe calling the hotel themselves would get me some results.
For now, I filed the copies into a clear file and tucked it into my backpack to take home. There were a ton of things to go through, and it’d take far more than one day.
I zipped up my backpack and made my way out of the library, waving at the elderly librarian, Viola, who’d been here as long as I could remember.
It was only a couple of blocks to my apartment, and the rain had stopped, so I set out into the dreary, dull Texas afternoon and turned the corner to step onto the road that would take me back to my apartment.
I stopped at my favorite café on the way to get some pastries and ready-made sandwiches because there was no way Jay had cooked—he’d either gone back to bed or was playing video games and scratching his balls.
Why did I have a crush on him again?
It was a great mystery.
After adding some pie to my order, I paid and took my bag full of goodies the two blocks to the apartment.
As I’d suspected, Jay was sitting on the sofa, bent forward, jamming his thumbs onto the controller in front of him. He didn’t look at me as I came in, but he did jerk his head in my direction in acknowledgment.
I set the bag on the island and unloaded it, waiting until he’d groaned in frustration to speak. “Did you eat? I got lunch.”
The sound of buttons tapping filled the air, then he got up. “What did you get?”
“I got you a tuna sandwich.” I handed him his and grabbed my BLT.
“Yeah? What’s the rest of it?” His green eyes sparkled as he looked at the other boxes in the bag.
I murmured something under my breath, but I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of knowing that my diet really was worse than my fitness.
He laughed, pulling out the clear cartons and locating the apple pie. “If my sweet tooth wasn’t as bad as yours…”
I jerked my leg out, going to kick him, but he’d already moved toward the cutlery drawer and grabbed himself a fork.
“Day off. Hungover. I can do what I want.”
I eyed the sofa as I opened my sandwich. “At least you’re wearing pants this time. The last time I came home to you on that stupid thing, you were scratching your balls like a two-year-old just discovering his penis.”
“Discovering your penis is a highlight of a man’s life. Discovering how useful it is, is even better.”
“That’s far more information than I ever needed to know.” I took my sandwich over to the sofa and sat next to him. “And I don’t want to know anymore.”
Laughing, he saved his game and shut the PlayStation down, making it so the TV came back on. We scrolled until we found a show we both agreed on—in other words, a rerun of The Big Bang Theory that I wanted to watch—and set the remote back on the coffee table.