The Roommate Agreement(37)

Phew.

That one held wine.

All right, I’m a big fat liar. But something told me I’d be grateful for it tonight, if only so I had something to do with my hands.

I unpacked the bags, laying everything out on the countertop. I had everything I needed to butter Jay up before we tackled the hard stuff.

I put the wine in the fridge and started on the rest of it, leaving everything I needed out. By the time the shower stopped running, I’d sprayed and wiped down all the counters and swept the floor.

He’d either only just gotten in the shower when I got back, or he was taking a leaf out of my book and spending half an hour in there for no reason.

I hummed as I opened the kitchen closet and put the brush away. Then, on closing the door, I looked up.

Jay was standing in the bathroom door, eyes wide as he looked at me. He wore nothing but a black towel clutched around his waist, and much like the last time I’d seen him after a shower, water was dripping over every inch of his body.

I jerked my gaze away. I did not need to fantasize over him now.

“Shit, sorry, Shelbs. I didn’t know you were back.”

“It’s fine.” I swallowed and turned around. “I went to the store to get dinner.”

“Oh. I thought you were out with Brie.”

“Could you put some clothes on before we continue this conversation?”

“Fuck—yeah. Give me five minutes.”

He could have all the minutes he wanted. The longer he stayed away, the more likely it was that my heart would be beating normally again when he came out.

Instead of thinking about him, I shuffled into the kitchen and got started on preparing the meal. Starting with the thin steaks, I pulled them out of the packaging and cut them into thin strips.

“Sorry,” Jay said, drawing my attention over my shoulder.

He wore dark-gray sweat shorts and a white t-shirt.

“It’s fine. At least it wasn’t as bad as last time.”

“True story.”

“How was your day?” My voice went up an octave. Damn it, was I trying too hard to be normal? I was, wasn’t I?

Introverts weren’t designed for this kind of human interaction. We were more of a mumble and hide in a blanket-fort kind of people.

“It was all right. Yours?”

“Not bad.” I swallowed, tossing the last of the steak strips into the pan. “Got some work done and took on another client.”

“Awesome. What are you cooking?”

I felt the warmth of his body as he stepped up next to me and thank God I had to wipe off the board and knife in the sink several feet away from him.

“Is this Grams’ carbonara recipe?”

I nodded as I cleaned off my things, not daring to look at him. I feared that if I did, I wouldn’t be able to look away again. “I stopped by on the way to the store. She wrote it out for me.” I half-heartedly pointed at the piece of paper on top of the mushrooms.

“You went there especially to get this?”

“No. I tried to get her spaghetti one, but she was having none of it. Hit me with this one instead and told me she’d leave the spaghetti to me in her will. I figured that was the best I was going to get.”

Jay laughed, moving so that I could put the board back down again. “You’re lucky she promised that. She swore to Mom once that she’d be buried with it.”

“I’m sure it’ll only be handed over with the demand I sign a non-disclosure.”

“That sounds like Grams.” He leaned against the island, gripping the edge of the counter with his hands. “So. If you’re cooking my favorite, that means there’s something wrong.”

I filled another pan with water and set it to boil for the carbonara pasta. “Maybe I just wanted to do something nice for you.”

“No.”

“I can do nice things for people.”

“Yes, but when you cook for them, it means you have bad news.”

Sighing, I turned around. “It’s not bad news, okay? I really did just want to do something nice for you. I wanted to… say sorry… for my behavior last night.”

Jay smirked. “For getting drunk, telling me about the voice in your head wanting sex, and accidentally kissing me?”

I opened my mouth before closing it again and nodding once. “Yes. All of that.”

He dipped his chin, laughing as he looked at the floor. “Shelby—”

“No, listen.” I wiped my hands on a towel and held them up. “It was a mistake, and I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said what I did, and there was no need for me to go in and kiss your cheek anyway.”

He peered up at me through dark eyelashes, his eyes flashing a stunning green, but didn’t say anything.

“Now that’s said, we can move on and forget it ever happened, okay?”

Jay clenched his jaw, but when he still remained silent, I sighed and turned around. If he wasn’t going to talk to me, I couldn’t talk to him.

Besides, I’d said my piece now. I’d apologized, explained, and moved on.

That was it. That was all that needed to happen.

I moved the recipe and tore into the mushrooms, grabbing a handful to put on the board. Jay still wasn’t speaking, but I could feel his eyes boring into my back. He’d burn a hole through my chest if he carried on like that.