The Roommate Arrangement

by Jae

  “I don’t want that either. I’m not saying I want us to jump into anything headfirst.” Rae sighed. “Most days, I’m not even sure I deser—”

  “Shit, hold on!” Steph had nearly missed the turn into the club’s parking lot. She stepped on the brake and swung the wheel to the right.

  The Mini Cooper bumped across the curb and then neatly slid into one of the few remaining parking spaces.

  “Sorry.” Steph loosened her death grip on the wheel and turned off the engine. “You were saying?”

  Rae rubbed the pockmark-like scars on her forehead. “Let’s talk later, at home. I have to go. Mr. Hicks is waving me over.”

  Steph glanced toward the club’s front door.

  Mr. Hicks stood at the entrance with Brandon and made a “come here” gesture.

  God, their timing really sucked. Why were they constantly being interrupted? But maybe that was a good thing. She needed to think this through. For once in her life, something was too important to make any hasty decisions. “Okay. We’ll talk later.” She reached across the middle console and lightly touched Rae’s arm. “Be careful please. The late show on Christmas can get a little rowdy sometimes, maybe because people are happy to have escaped their families and want to let off some steam.”

  Rae put her hand on Steph’s as if wanting to keep it resting on her arm for a moment longer. “Will do. Good luck with your gig, and please drive carefully. No more stunt maneuvers.” Her tone was fierce, but her fingers on Steph’s were gentle.

  “Aye, aye, officer.”

  Neither of them moved for several seconds, then Rae sighed, climbed out of the car, and closed the door. Through the glass of the passenger-side door, their gazes met.

  Rae raised her hand, and when Steph returned the gesture, she nodded and walked away.

  Steph slumped forward and rested her forehead on the steering wheel. Oh my God. What am I doing?

  A knock on the driver’s side window made her jerk. She straightened and looked up, expecting to see Rae. The mere thought made her heartbeat speed up.

  But it was Mr. Hicks who stood in front of her car. He waved his index finger in a circle.

  Steph pressed the button to roll down the window. “Hi, Mr. Hicks. Merry Christmas.”

  “Merry Christmas.” He bent to peer through the window and gave her a disgruntled look. “Didn’t you see me waving at you?”

  “Oh. I thought you were waving to Rae.”

  “No. I’ve been meaning to talk to you, but the holiday season keeps me busy at the club. So I was wondering… Do you still want that chance you’ve been begging me for?”

  “Of course I do!” Somehow, Steph managed not to stammer. “When?”

  “Are you free on New Year’s Eve?” he asked. “I need someone to headline the late show.”

  Oh my God! Steph struggled not to bounce up and down. She had made plans to spend New Year’s Eve with Claire and Lana, but they would just have to understand. Headlining one of the biggest shows of the year at The Fun Zone was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Maybe Claire could finally make good on her promise to see one of her shows. “Yes!”

  “Are you sure you can handle it? New Year’s Eve can get pretty rough.”

  Steph knew he was right. People were drinking more, and for many of them, it was their first visit to a comedy club, so they had no idea how to behave. She looked him in the eyes. “I’m not a shrinking violet. I can handle it.”

  “All right. I’ll email you the details.” He walked away without waiting for a reply.

  “Yes!” Steph managed to pump both fists in the cramped space of the driver’s seat.

  Mr. Hicks turned around. “Did you say something?” he called back to her.

  Shit. She had forgotten that the window was still down. “Um, no. Nothing at all.” She sent him a hopefully professional, not over-the-top elated smile and rolled up the window. Once he had disappeared into the club, she bobbed up and down several times.

  New Year’s Eve was big. If the show was a success, it would open doors for her in other clubs. Maybe she would even manage to get a TV booker’s attention. This might lead to the breakthrough she’d been waiting for.

  After a while of sitting there, grinning like a lottery winner in the middle of the parking lot, the wave of euphoria ebbed away. Steph sank against the back of her seat and blew out a long, jittery breath. Wow, what a day! It seemed as if the universe was conspiring to see what all it could throw at her. None of the things that had happened today were bad, but what were the odds of them happening at once? It left her mind spinning like an out-of-control carousel.

  Could she really handle it? Not the comedy show. She had trust in her skills as a comedian. But her romantic relationship skills were a different matter altogether. Comedy had always been her true love, and none of the women or men she had been with had ever been able to compete. She had never expected or wanted them to. Now that her career might finally be taking off, shouldn’t she focus on that instead of letting herself be distracted by something that might never work out anyway? What would happen if she got her big breakthrough and had to travel? Wouldn’t that mean her tentative relationship with Rae was doomed?

  The silence in the car held no answers.

  Sighing, she turned the key in the ignition and started the engine.

  Adele’s voice drifted through the speakers, singing some heartbreak ballad. Of course.

  Steph turned off the radio and drove to her gig in silence.

  Steph hadn’t been kidding when she’d said the late show on Christmas could get rowdy. Rae scowled at the waitresses and door staff members who had gathered around her, but the expression was rendered less effective by the ice pack she held to the spot above her left eyebrow. “For the hundredth time, I’m fine. Go home, people. Nothing to see here.”

  Mr. Hicks pushed through the circle of people surrounding Rae in his office. “Give her some space, everyone.”

  Finally, they dispersed, leaving behind only Carlos and Mr. Hicks.

  “I’m so sorry,” Carlos said for what felt like the hundredth time too.

  “Not your fault.” Rae knew she had only herself to blame. Her head hadn’t been in the game all night. In her mind, she had replayed every little touch and every word she and Steph had exchanged today, and she’d been thinking ahead, to what would happen when she got home later.

  Would Steph say that it was a bad idea and they should stay friends instead of trying for something they were both not ready for? Or would she—Rae—be the one to say it?

  Those thoughts had accompanied her all through the early show and most of the late one.

  She’d been glad when the headliner had signaled for them to step in and remove the heckler in the back.

  At first, the guy had followed them, docile like a puppy, but as soon as he caught sight of the front door, his eggnog-dampened brain seemed to get that they were about to kick him out, and he started to resist.

  In the ensuing chaos, Rae had been focused only on him, and when she and Carlos had tackled him at the same time, she had taken an elbow to the face.

  “Are you up to filling out the accident report?” Mr. Hicks asked.

  Rae lowered the ice pack. “Do we really need a report? This is just a little bump. It’s not even bleeding.”

  Mr. Hicks shook his head. “That’s not how I run my business, you should know that by now.”

  “All right. Where’s the paperwork?” She wanted to finally get out of here—and home, where Steph was probably waiting.

  It seemed to take ages for Mr. Hicks to find the correct form and for her to fill it out, all while Carlos hovered next to her.

  Finally, she handed over the filled-out report and heaved herself up from the short couch in Mr. Hicks’s office.

  But instead of dismissing her, Mr. Hicks looked at Carlos. “Ca
n you give us a minute?”

  “Sure, boss. I’ll wait outside and drive her home when you’re done.”

  Rae shook her head, glad when it barely hurt. “I don’t need you to—”

  But Carlos was already gone.

  Jesus. Every bit of control seemed to slip through her fingers today.

  Mr. Hicks waved her back down onto the couch and lowered himself onto the edge of his desk. “Listen, Rae. I want you to be completely honest with me. I know you and Carlos both said it was an accident, and I don’t doubt it, but…”

  Rae gritted her teeth. She knew what was coming—the same bullshit she had heard from LAPD brass when they had told her she wasn’t fit for patrol duty anymore and offered her a goddamn desk job instead.

  “…are you sure you are up for the job with only…you know?” He gestured at her eye.

  Rae’s fingernails drilled into her palms. “You hired me back in October. Isn’t it a little late for these doubts?”

  “I’m not doubting. I’m asking.”

  “The answer is yes. I am up for the job.” Rae labored to keep her voice calm and professional. “Or have there been any complaints?”

  “Not at all. You’re pretty no-nonsense, and the guys respect that. Even the comics, jaded as most of them are, seem to like you.” He paused, then added, “One of them in particular, or so I hear.”

  That unexpected direction of their conversation hit Rae like a punch to the gut. Did he know anything? Were people talking about her and Steph? She didn’t want to lie and deny it. Not that there is anything to deny yet. But she knew that wasn’t quite the truth. There was undeniably something going on between Steph and her, even though they hadn’t yet figured out where it was headed. So she snapped her mouth shut and waited for what he would say next.

  “I don’t know what’s going on between you and Ms. Renshaw.” He lifted both hands. “And frankly, I don’t want to know. But whatever it is, keep it out of the club, or one of you walks.”

  Rae had expected a wave of panic at his threat but instead felt only a quiet determination not to let herself be distracted by thoughts of Steph at work again. A couple of months ago, she would have been desperate to keep her job because it was all she had left. But somewhere along the way, she had regained the trust in herself that she had lost. If Mr. Hicks fired her, she’d just move on and look for a new job, probably something bigger and better. She now trusted herself to do more, even with one eye. “Understood, sir.”

  “And one other thing.” He leaned forward, and his gaze drilled into hers with an intensity that reminded Rae of her former lieutenant. “If I find out you recommended her because the two of you are—”

  “I recommended her because she’s good,” Rae said more sharply than she had intended.

  “She’d better be. If she bombs on New Year’s Eve…”

  Did that mean he would give Steph the coveted spot? “She won’t,” Rae said firmly.

  He fixed her with his sharp gaze for a few moments longer before finally nodding. “All right. Take the day off tomorrow, and if you have any problems, go see a doctor.”

  “Yes, sir.” She made a beeline to the door and didn’t break her stride as she passed Carlos in the lobby. If he insisted on driving her home, she would let him. The sooner she got home, the better. She couldn’t stand this uncertainty one second longer.

  Steph had been pacing the apartment since she had gotten home from her gig. Every time she sat down, that restless energy buzzing through her body made her jump back up and resume her pacing. Half a dozen times, she had reached for her phone to call Penny or Claire and ask them for advice, but then she had put it away again. What if they talked her out of it…or into it?

  She wasn’t sure which one would be worse.

  One a.m., the time she had expected Rae to return, came and went. No Rae. Was she roaming the neighborhood, trying to clear her mind and figure out what she wanted instead of going straight home?

  Finally, the sound of a key being slid into the lock made Steph freeze in the middle of the living room. She turned and came face-to-face with Rae.

  They stared at each other like a hippo and a lion who had run into each other at the watering hole and didn’t know whether to carefully approach or to turn tail and run.

  Then Steph’s gaze fell on a red, swollen area above Rae’s left eyebrow. “Oh my God!” She rushed to her and reached out to tenderly touch the bump but then pulled back at the last second, not wanting to hurt her. “What happened?”

  Rae offered her a crooked smile. “I zigged when I should have zagged.”

  But Steph’s sense of humor deserted her at the moment. She gave Rae a look that demanded a real answer.

  “We had to kick out a guy who didn’t want to be kicked out.”

  A roaring started in Steph’s ears. She curled both of her hands into tight fists. “Did he hit you?”

  “No. This,” Rae tapped the bump with two fingers, “is courtesy of Carlos’s elbow.”

  “Jesus! That could have been really dangerous with your prosthesis and all.” Steph slung her arm around Rae’s hips to support her and slowly walked her over to the couch.

  Rae laughed. “Steph, I can walk just fine.” But she didn’t pull away from Steph’s supportive grasp.

  As soon as Rae was safely seated, Steph rushed to the fridge, pulled out the first frozen item she could find—a package of peas—and hurried back to her side with the peas and a dish towel.

  “I’m fine. I already put some ice on it at the club.”

  “Humor me.” Steph sat next to her and wrapped the peas in the dish towel.

  Rae held still as Steph pressed the improvised ice pack gently to her forehead. “Looks like we’re making a habit out of this.”

  “Yeah.” Steph swiped a strand of dark brown hair out of Rae’s face with her free hand. “And it’s always the left side of your face. Can we do something about that? Maybe there’s something that would help. You know, like the blind-spot mirrors on your car.”

  “Nah. All the blind-spot mirrors in the world wouldn’t have prevented this,” Rae said. “I wouldn’t have seen Carlos’s elbow coming, even if he had been on my right. I wasn’t…um…as focused tonight as I usually am at work.” She ducked her head, but it didn’t keep Steph from seeing the blush rise up her neck.

  Aww. So Rae had been unable to stop thinking about her—about them—too. Heat swirled through Steph’s body, and she had a feeling she was blushing right along with Rae. Tenderly, she traced the path of Rae’s blush with one fingertip, along her strong jaw, the corner of her mouth, which twitched like a cat’s whiskers beneath her touch, and then an incredibly soft cheek until she cradled Rae’s entire face in her palm.

  Rae leaned into the contact.

  They looked into each other’s eyes from only a few inches away.

  “I just don’t want you to get hurt,” Steph whispered. Was she talking about Rae bumping into things on her left or…?

  “I’m not hurting,” Rae murmured. Her right pupil was wide, the amber flecks around it dancing like flames that drew Steph in, closer to that tempting heat.

  “No?”

  “No. Quite the opposite.” Rae brought up her own hand and touched her fingertips to Steph’s cheek in a gesture mirroring hers.

  Steph wasn’t sure she was still breathing. She didn’t care whether she was. All she could hear was the heavy thumping of her own heart. Or was it Rae’s?

  The frozen peas dropped to the floor as they leaned toward each other at the same time.

  Steph’s hand came to rest on Rae’s hip, and her fingers curled into her shirt, drawing her closer until their breaths mingled…and then their lips brushed, light as a feather.

  Both paused before their lips met again, this time in a longer caress.

  Steph’s eyes fluttered shut. It was the gentlest
kiss she had ever experienced, yet it burned her with its passionate intensity too. Rae’s lips were warm and soft, and they moved against her own in a slow, languid exploration that made Steph sink against her as all her muscles turned into a wobbly mush.

  A soft moan escaped Steph.

  As if in answer, Rae made a raw sound in the back of her throat and gave the corner of Steph’s mouth a little flick with the tip of her tongue that felt more tentative than teasing.

  God, yes. Steph’s lips parted.

  Rae took the invitation and stroked her tongue along Steph’s, sending a tug through her belly.

  Steph slid her hand around to Rae’s neck, threaded her fingers through her short hair, and angled her head to deepen the kiss.

  Their tongues caressed, retreated, then met again, taking their time familiarizing themselves with each other.

  Rae’s taste, her scent, the heat emanating from her made Steph light-headed. As Rae continued to caress her with her lips and her tongue, the world around her faded to white noise, the only thoughts on her mind so good and more.

  Quivers started at the base of her spine and radiated outward, rushing along every nerve ending. She wanted to sink onto the couch and pull Rae on top of her, but she tamped down the urge. Slow, she told herself. But she did allow her hands to wander a little, mapping out the planes of Rae’s strong back.

  When she couldn’t stand the sweet torture any longer, she gave one last nibble on Rae’s bottom lip before pulling away.

  Rae stared at her, her breathing as ragged as Steph’s. Her right hand still rested on Steph’s cheek while her left one was bunched into the fabric at the back of Steph’s T-shirt.

  Somehow, it felt good to know that she wasn’t the only one struggling for control.

  Rae licked her lips, which immediately made Steph want to kiss her again. “We…we kissed.”

  The rasp in Rae’s voice did funny things to Steph’s insides. “Oh yeah.”

  “What now?” Rae asked. For a woman in her midthirties, a former cop who’d seen and been through so much, she sounded amazingly innocent and vulnerable.

  Renewed shivers went through Steph, and this time they were equal parts desire and uncertainty. Part of her wanted to run, but she fought the impulse. “More kisses?” She forced a lightness to her tone she didn’t really feel.