The Roommate Agreement(61)

I chuckled to myself. Jesus, we were the total opposite of each other. I was fit and liked to work out. She considered a workout writing two thousand words and reaching for the Oreos.

I could easily run five miles on the treadmill without breaking a sweat. The only place Shelby ran was to the sofa so she didn’t miss the next episode of her latest TV obsession.

And she could talk about her ‘extra fifteen pounds’ all she liked, but I was obsessed with her the way she was. I didn’t see the hang-ups she apparently had with her body.

I saw her singing into a fucking mop like she was some nineties heartthrob. I saw her ordering a salad with a pizza because she considered that a balanced meal. I saw her neglecting the things that made her feel good because she had to write right-the-fuck-now. I saw her scribbling into notebooks and sending voice messages and emails to herself because she needed to get the idea down right now.

Shelby was more than she valued herself at, and I’d die trying to show her that.

Shit.

Maybe Sean was right.

Maybe I was in love with her.

Or if I wasn’t there, I was well on my way. I already knew I was falling. Like a fucking avalanche.

It was easier to not put it into words. To say I had feelings for her was so much more manageable than putting a real label on how I felt, especially since I knew she wanted to take it slower.

She wanted a natural progression of the relationship. That was never going to happen, but that didn’t mean I had to stand under a moonlit sky and profess my undying love.

Shit. She’d probably kick me in the balls.

And the very thought of that made me laugh like hell.

“What’s so funny?” Sean asked, eyeing me with confusion.

“Me,” I replied, looking in the direction of the entrance to the pier right as two familiar figures appeared.

Shelby and Brie were walking close together. Brie’s black hair made Shelby’s brown hair look brighter than usual, and as they got closer, I could see that they had their arms linked and their heads close as they talked.

Something flipped in my stomach.

Fuck—was I nervous?

I was.

This was only our second date if you went on a technicality, and while this was a setup we’d done before, I’d never considered holding her hand or being, well, a couple with her.

Shit.

Shelby’s face lit up as she laid eyes on me.

And just like that, the nerves disappeared.

This was Shelby. My crazy, passionate, sarcastic, kooky girl. Whether she was my roommate or my best friend or something else, she’d always be that.

My girl.

It was a weird realization, but I was oddly comfortable with it. It rolled off the brain, never mind the tongue.

Brie bounded up to Sean and wrapped her arms around him, kissing him passionately.

Shelby approached me much more casually. She was almost shy with her cheeks flushed a light pink and her dark brown eyes shining but focused on the planks beneath our feet instead of on me. “Hey,” she said quietly.

I grinned.

Grinned. Like. Fuck.

“Hey,” I said back. “Good dinner?”

“It was good until my dad heard me say you were good in bed.”

Excuse me?

She jerked her head up and clapped her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide. If it were possible, her entire face was redder than just a minute ago.

I laughed low, taking a step toward her. “Must have been awkward.”

“Mhmm.” She finally met my eyes. “He couldn’t look at me until I left.”

“Can’t wait to see him next,” I drawled. “I specifically promised I wouldn’t take advantage of you.”

“Well, to be fair, I dragged you into my room.” Shelby shrugged. “Although that might not work in your favor, either.”

“I’ll take it.” I smiled and dipped my head to kiss her. Her lips were soft and tasted like chocolate and coconut, and I knew exactly which dessert she’d picked at the bar. “You had your mom’s cheesecake without me.”

“She kept you three slices.” Her lips twitched. “Apparently, she wasn’t nearly as bothered about us having sex as my dad was.”

“That’s because she’s been plotting your wedding since you were sixteen,” Brie quipped, ruining the moment. “Her and Georgina, that is.”

“What?” I raised my eyebrows.

“Oh, yeah. They’ve been plotting it for years. It’s why nobody is surprised.” She let go of Sean’s hand and walked over to us. “You’re so close that everyone assumed you had this brother-sister thing going on, right? But your moms thought there was something more, and now I think they were onto something.” She shrugged. “They had a literal bet on you two getting it on. Kinda weird, but—”

“Get to the point, Brie,” Shelby said, a slight edge to her tone.

“All right. They figured you were both so protective over the other that nobody would ever pass The Test, as they called it—capital letters and all—so they bet that you’d both get together by the time you were either twenty-five or thirty.” She paused and looked at me. “I think your grams won that one. Shelbs, your mom called thirty, but Georgina thought it’d be twenty-five. Since you’re twenty-six, Jay, Grams just won like eight-hundred bucks.”