I Belong With You

by Ashelyn Drake

  “You’re his roommate?” she asks.

  I nod. “Is that a problem?”

  “I don’t know. I saw you flirting with him when I left the back room earlier.”

  “We’ve always been close.”

  “How close?” She’s squeezing the edge of the bar, and I’m not sure if she’s using it for support or to keep from punching me in the face.

  “You should probably have this conversation with David.”

  Her mouth drops open at that. “Are you implying—?”

  “I’m not implying anything. You and David are dating, right?”

  “I don’t know. I thought so, but...” She lowers her head.

  “Then you should talk to him. I don’t think things are as bad as you’re assuming right now.” Why is everyone so touchy about exclusivity?

  “Lonnie,” a man from the bar calls.

  She turns and raises her hand in acknowledgment. “I’ll be right there.” She looks at me again.

  “Seriously, you shouldn’t be worried. David’s a good guy.” The best. “Go back to work. I don’t want to ruin your tips. I’ll tell David to call you,” I add before turning and walking to the back room.

  Aria is with Nate again, but she eyes me when I reenter the room. I smile to let her know everything is fine. So I slipped up and told Lonnie I’m David’s roommate. It’s not the end of the world. I could have slipped and said we slept together recently or that we used to date. This isn’t that bad.

  I sit next to David, who looks green. “Here you go.” I slide a beer toward him.

  “Thanks.” He taps his finger against the glass.

  “Yes, I talked to Lonnie,” I say, answering the question he’s too afraid to ask.

  “You did?”

  “I might have accidentally told her we’re roommates, but I also told her you’re a great guy and that you’d call her. I don’t think it will be a problem.” I take a sip of my beer.

  He lets out a long breath. “Did she seem upset? I don’t want to hurt her.”

  I place my hand on his thigh. “I know you don’t. I think she’ll be fine. You two never talked about being exclusive, right?”

  He shakes his head.

  “Then you didn’t do anything wrong. You’ve only been on one date with her. Go out for drinks this week and tell her straight up that you aren’t looking for a relationship but that you’d love to continue to see her.” It’s simple. Why people have to complicate it is beyond me.

  He nods. “You’re right.”

  I smile and squeeze his thigh. “See. Everything’s great. Now drink your beer and relax.”

  He does. Within a few minutes, I have him talking and laughing like nothing ever happened. And when everyone starts to leave, he says, “You ready to head home, too?”

  I’m a little tipsy from all the beer I drank, which makes me grateful he drove. “Yeah, take me home,” I say. Even in my alcoholic haze, I can hear the suggestive tone that slipped out with that comment.

  He eyes me for a second before looping his arm around my waist and helping me up. “You okay to walk?”

  “Yeah, I just should have eaten something.” Beer on an empty stomach is never a good idea. I should have been smarter than that.

  “We’ll stop and grab you some egg rolls on the way home,” he says, knowing that’s my favorite food when I’ve been drinking.

  “You’re the best, David.” Without thinking, I lean forward and press my lips to his.

  He’s stunned for a moment because some of our coworkers are still here. He brushes my hair from my face and smiles at me. “Come on, lightweight. Before you go kissing every guy in here.”

  “I don’t want to kiss anyone else,” I say, and the true meaning of my words becomes clear to me. I don’t want to kiss anyone but David. Not Sebastian. Not anyone.

  “I think it’s best if we don’t kiss anymore here.” He looks over my head. “We’re drawing attention to ourselves, and you know what the newsroom will be like tomorrow.”

  He’s right. I love our coworkers, but they are a gossipy bunch. I let him lead me out of the back room. He pauses to wave goodnight to Lonnie, who gives me a look when she sees David’s arm around my waist. Hopefully, she’ll chalk it up to me being drunk. She didn’t witness the kiss in the back room, and I already assured her David would call her.

  David brings me to the car and opens the door for me. “In you go.”

  I slide into the seat and watch him as he closes the door and walks around to the driver’s side. He drags his hand through his hair, and I’m sure he’s trying to figure out how to handle me right now. I could pretend to be drunker than I am and see where it leads, but I don’t want to trick him into sleeping with me. Besides, David’s the type who will insist on putting me to bed and not touching me if he thinks I’m too drunk to know what I’m doing. Moreover, I know I’ll be fine once I eat an egg roll and have something in my stomach to absorb the beer I drank.

  He gets in and immediately calls the Chinese restaurant that we’ll pass on the way back to our apartment. He orders four egg rolls and wanton soup. He knows I love the soup.

  Once we’re on the road, I say, “Any chance you want to stay up late? We could throw a movie in and make a night of it.”

  “Like a roommate bonding night?” he asks.

  I was thinking more like a date, but if I suggest that now, he’ll think I’m just drunk. “Sure,” I say. “You don’t have to be in to work early tomorrow, right?”

  “No. Normal time. You?”

  “Same. My first meeting is at ten thirty.” One of the great things about Mr. Monohan is that he doesn’t make us keep set hours. As long as we get all our work done on time, he doesn’t care what time we arrive or what time we leave the office. He’s mellowed a lot since we all left Priority News. I don’t doubt he’s ruining me for working for any other paper in the future. Actually, I suspect that might be his secret plan to keep us all on board.

  “Then movie night it is.” David drives to the Chinese restaurant and runs inside for the food while I stay in the car.

  I tap my foot against the floor mats, counting the seconds until he returns. Maybe it was seeing David with Lonnie tonight, but I just want to kiss him. It’s all I can think about. When he returns, I say, “I’m starving.”

  He hands me the bag of food. “We’ll be home in a few, and then you can eat as many egg rolls as you can stomach.”

  “Remember that night when we went to Aria’s party and then ate six egg rolls afterward?” I ask, laughing at the memory of him trying to stuff an entire egg roll into his mouth. “Now that night was fun.”

  “I don’t think I’ve ever been that drunk in my life,” he says. “And you ate two and a half egg rolls to my three, so I won our bet.” He briefly turns his head in my direction. “You never paid up either.”

  He’s right. I was supposed to let him take me out for sushi. “Can you blame me? You were trying to get me to eat raw fish. I don’t even eat cooked fish.” I shiver at the thought. I’ve never been a seafood person. “Besides, sushi looks disgusting.”

  “Still, a bet is a bet. You need to pay up.”

  “You’re not seriously going to make me follow through on that, are you?”

  He nods. “I am.”

  I reach for his leg, placing my palm flat against his thigh. “Care to swap the sushi dinner out for something else? Please,” I add.

  “Emily Richards, are you trying to seduce me into choosing a different prize for winning our bet?”

  “Is it working?” I ask with an innocent smile.

  He looks at me and inhales deeply before turning back to the road. He pulls into the parking garage and assumes his spot next to mine. I’m not sure why he’s gotten so quiet, but I don’t want to press him. I open the door and carry our food to the elevator. When David reaches me, he takes the food from my hands, being the gentleman he is.

  Since it’s late on a Monday night, the apartment complex is quiet. Other than
a man whom I know works nights at the post office, we don’t see anyone. I open the door since David is carrying our food.

  “I’ll put on water for the tea,” I say.

  “Great. I’ll get plates.”

  Our conversation feels forced. I hate how we keep going from comfortable and flirty to awkward silence and short sentences with no real meaning. I guess hanging out at the bar where the other woman he’s seeing works was a bit too much. We’ll need to find a new bar to frequent.

  I put the teapot on the stove and turn around to grab napkins, but I collide with David as he grabs the paper plates from the cabinet.

  “Whoa,” he says, grabbing me by my shoulders. “Sorry about that.”

  The paper plates are pressed between us, held up only by our chests. I reach for them and slide them out. “Never pulled plates from my breasts before,” I say with a smirk.

  “First time for everything, right?” He’s still holding on to me, staring into my eyes.

  “David, I—”

  He shakes his head. “We should eat. We can talk after that.”

  “I’m really not that hungry anymore,” I say, tossing the plates onto the counter.

  “Neither am I.” His right hand rises and cups my cheek. Before I can say more, his mouth descends on mine.

  Maybe it’s the way things played out this evening with Lonnie, or maybe it’s just David, but I find myself jumping up into his arms and wrapping my legs around his waist. He cups my ass and continues to kiss me as he walks us to his bedroom. He places me gently on the bed and breaks the kiss long enough to study my face.

  “I’m not drunk. Seriously, I feel a lot better now,” I assure him. His kiss sobered me.

  “I think I am drunk, but not on alcohol.” His lips return to mine with such passion my head spins. I lean back on the bed, taking him with me. He undresses me and kisses every inch of my body. No man has ever made me feel the way David does. It’s like he pours all his focus into me. And no matter how many times he touches me, it always feels like the first time. I’m already crying out in ecstasy when he finally enters me.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  David

  The workday passes in a blur, mostly because I can’t stop thinking about last night. What started out as a potential disaster quickly turned into one of the best nights of my life. Emily spent the night in my bed, which was a first for us. Even when we dated, we never actually slept in each other’s beds. Waking up with her in my arms was like a taste of what I’ve been dreaming about. Maybe I’m crazy to think that this little dating experiment we’re participating in will wind up bringing us closer together, but last night made it seem like a real possibility.

  My phone rings at six o’clock, just when I’m getting ready to check out for the day. I see it’s Lonnie on the caller ID, and my hand hovers over the screen, not sure if I should accept the call or send it to voice mail.

  “Aren’t you going to get that?” Alex asks me, tipping his head at my phone since he’s busy typing away on his laptop.

  I take a deep breath and answer the call. “Hello?”

  “Hey, David. It’s Lonnie.”

  “Hi.”

  “Sorry for bothering you when you’re probably still at work. It’s just that I have the night off, and I thought maybe you’d want to get that drink.”

  I feel like a complete ass for not calling her today. She deserves an explanation for what happened last night. More than that, she deserves the honest truth about my feelings for Emily. I decided this morning that I can’t see Lonnie anymore as anything but a friend. I have to tell her, and I have to do it in person.

  “I was actually about to call you,” I say.

  Alex quirks an eyebrow, calling my bullshit since he knows I was debating whether to answer the call.

  I get up and walk into the break room, but on the way, I see Emily glance in my direction. She must know I’m talking to Lonnie. I give her a small smile before disappearing into the break room. That’s when I realize Lonnie’s been talking and I haven’t been paying attention.

  “Sorry, I had to get out of the newsroom. I was having trouble hearing you. Can you repeat that?” I ask.

  “I asked if you’re up for trying out Maurice’s. My roommate is bartending tonight, so we’d get a great deal on drinks.”

  “Sure. That sounds great. I’m running a little late, so maybe we could meet there at eight?” Driving separately seems like the best idea since I don’t know how she’s going to react to my news.

  “Perfect. I’ll see you then.” She hangs up.

  Alex walks into the break room. “How do you do it?” he asks, leaning against the doorway.

  “Do what?” I say, putting my phone in my back pocket.

  “Get two women like Emily and Lonnie? Though I have to say I didn’t envy you last night when you were juggling both in the same place. Do they know about each other? Are they fine with you seeing them both?” He steps into the room. “You’ve got to tell me how this works.”

  “There’s nothing to tell. Lonnie and I have gone on exactly one date. And Emily and I have been close for months.” I walk past him to the refrigerator and dig out my leftover calzone from lunch. I grab Emily’s, too, knowing she’ll want to finish it for dinner. I wonder how she’ll react when I tell her I’m going out with Lonnie this evening.

  “Fine, don’t share your wisdom with me,” Alex says.

  “What wisdom?” Emily asks, walking into the room. She comes over to me and takes her calzone from my hands. “Thanks.” Then she looks back at Alex, waiting for an answer.

  Would he really talk about this in front of her? My pulse races at the thought. Sure, Emily was all for me dating other women, but discussing it with someone else is more than a little odd.

  “His secret for living with a woman,” Alex says. “I was never able to pull that off. My roommate may be moving out soon, though, and I may have to be open to having a female roommate.”

  I know he’s making this all up on the spot, so I give him a small smile of gratitude before playing along. “I got lucky, man. Emily is a great roommate. But it’s not definite that your roommate is going to move out, so don’t panic until you know.”

  “I second that advice,” Emily says with a nod. “I don’t worry about things until I know I have to. There’s no point before that or we’d spend all our time worrying.”

  “You can’t argue with that logic,” I say. “Now, it’s time to cut out. See you tomorrow, Alex.” I start for the door before asking, “Emily, are you leaving now, too?”

  “Yeah, I’ll be right behind you, roomie.”

  Despite her previous words, I’m sure she’s going to stick around for a few minutes to give Alex more advice on living with a female roommate. She wants to make sure he doesn’t stress out over it since she has no idea the potential problem isn’t real. She’s a great person that way. She tries to avert crises before they happen.

  I grab my keys and wallet from my desk and say my goodbyes before heading to the elevator. My entire drive home is spent thinking of how to break things off with Lonnie.

  Maurice’s is a small bar on the other side of town. It’s the bar most tourists wind up hitting first since they pass it on their way into Priority. The locals know Last Call is the place to be, mostly because there aren’t many tourists unless it’s a holiday weekend. Maurice’s has a touristy feel to it, too. The pictures on the wall, most of which are autographed, are all sports figures. There are shelves with trinkets from all the best shops in Priority as well. The entire bar feels almost like a gift shop, and maybe that’s because everything has a price tag on it. All the pictures and other things are for sale. When they sell, the owner replaces the items. I liken it to the gift shop in Cracker Barrel, except in Maurice’s case, you eat and drink where the sale items are instead of in a separate room.

  I look around for Lonnie but don’t spot her anywhere, so I walk over to the bar and sit down. The woman tending bar heads my way. “Wha
t can I get you?” she asks me.

  I look at what’s on tap and settle for the seasonal Sam Adams.

  “Are you waiting for someone or just stopping in for a drink on your own?” she asks once my draft is poured and she sets it in front of me.

  “Meeting someone,” I say.

  Her eyes narrow, and she assesses me from head to chest since that’s all she can see now that I’m seated. “Are you David?”

  That’s right. Lonnie said her roommate was bartending tonight. “Yeah. I take it you’re Lonnie’s friend.”

  “That’s me.” She extends her hand. “I’m Peyton.”

  I shake her hand and then immediately sip my beer. I can’t help wondering if Lonnie is intentionally late, leaving me here alone so Peyton can grill me. I don’t know Lonnie well enough to say if she’s the type of woman who would set me up that way or not.

  “You work for a newspaper, right?” Peyton asks me.

  “For the Record,” I say.

  “That’s the new one.”

  I nod even though it wasn’t a question. “I’m the news editor, and I just started writing a joint column.”

  “Oh? What kind of column?” She leans her arms on the bar.

  “An advice column, actually.”

  “That’s a far cry from news,” she says.

  “Well, there’s a reason for it, but I don’t want to bore you with the details. Besides, you have other customers to tend to.” I jerk my head to the left, indicating the man who just pushed his empty glass across the bar for a refill.

  Peyton looks disappointed to have to end our conversation. I take my phone out so I can pretend to text someone if she comes back. Or fake a phone call if necessary. Anything to keep from having to tell her my life story, which I’m sure will get back to Lonnie later this evening when Peyton’s shift is over.

  “David.”

  I turn at the sound of Lonnie’s voice. She’s wearing a sundress with blue and yellow flowers, and her hair is down, which is a change since I’m used to seeing her wear it up. I stand up and greet her with a kiss on the cheek.