Troublesome Roommate

by Chloe Grey

“Kev, your hand.”

  I gestured to our linked hand, which he was squeezing way too hard.

  “Oh.” He dropped his hand. “Sorry.”

  I heard movement inside, and moments later the door opened, revealing a woman in her late fifties. Her smile widened when she saw us, and Kevin stepped forward to hug her. That was a moment—Kevin hugging someone.

  “Babe,” he said, giving her the roses and turning to me. “This is my Mom, Anna. Mom meet Audrey.”

  I waved at her and gave my best smile. “Hello.”

  But she was having none of it. She stepped forward and wrapped me in a tight hug.

  Stepping back, she addressed her son. “Put the flowers on the vase, will you?”

  Kevin took the roses and disappeared inside.

  Anna squeezed my hand. “So you’re Audrey.” She gave me a warm smile, and I immediately liked her. “Kevin has told me a lot about you.”

  “Really?” Then I remembered him mentioning his mother a few times. “He told me about you too. You’re a chef, right?”

  “I used to be.” She pulled me inside. “Come in, dear. It’s cold outside.”

  The condo wasn’t huge like I had expected, but it was nice and comfortable—which was my preference. There was a small fireplace in the living room, and the whole place was decorated with art, mostly oil paintings that seemed to have no significant value to me, but what did I know? Compared to our crappy apartment, this place looked like the grand palace.

  Kevin was sitting in the middle of a leather couch when we came in. He gestured for me to sit beside him. I did, and his mother sat on the opposite couch, facing us.

  “That’s a nice necklace, dear,” she told me as she sat down. “I see it looks good on you. Kevin had a hard time choosing a necklace. He kept sending me pictures asking which one—”

  “Mom.”

  I touched the diamond coin and smiled. So, Kevin had put a lot of thought when choosing this.

  Anna leaned forward, looking at me with kind eyes. “How has work been treating you, dear? I trust Kevin hasn’t been giving you a hard time?”

  I laughed when my boyfriend made a face. “No, he hasn't. He has been nothing but lovely to me, and work has been great so far. It’s hard and tedious, but it’s rewarding. You feel like you have accomplished something at the end of every day.”

  “That’s good.” She nodded, then perked up. “Are you hungry? I made some pasta.”

  I was starving, but to be polite, I nodded, my smile fixated in place.

  Anna started to stand up, but Kevin was quicker. “I’ll get it,” he said, rounding the couch and heading to the kitchen.

  “He’s a good son and a good man,” Anna said once Kevin was out of earshot. “But sometimes, I worry about him.” Her face dropped, making her look a lot older. “He pressures himself too much and keeps things to himself rather than share his problems.”

  I nodded, knowing exactly what she was talking about. If he keeps secrets from his mother, what chance would I have?

  She looked at me with clear eyes, the sadness gone. “Nevermind that. I’m so happy to finally meet you. All Kevin does when we text is to talk about you.”

  I straightened. “Really?”

  “Yes!” She started looking for something. “Where is the damn thing? Oh, there it is.”

  She grabbed her iPhone and sat beside me on the couch, opening her messaging app and clicking on the top of her recipients, which was Kevin.

  I felt a bit uncomfortable, since this was private stuff, but she was showing it to me, and I was curious.

  His last message was an hour ago, reading, ‘I’m coming. See you soon.’ She scrolled all the way up and handed me the phone.

  With wide eyes, I started reading the conversation between them.

  Me: So how is the new apartment? Is it comfortable?

  Kevin: You could say that. How are you? Sorry I couldn’t visit last week.

  Me: Don't worry about it. I’m fine. How much is the rent? You said you will have roommates, right? -thinking emoji- I never knew you were the type to have roommates. Why not get one of those condos close to work?

  Kevin: Remember Zane from middle school?

  Me: Of course! Why? Is he your roommate?

  Kevin: Yeah, lucky bastard. You should have seen his girlfriend. She is wayyyy out of his league.

  Me: Don’t be so mean! -angry emoji-

  Kevin: It’s true, though. Anyway, I think she hates me because I told her to beat it when she was blocking the door.

  Me: Why would you do that?! -teary eyed emoji- Can’t you be nice for once? Go and apologize to her!

  Kevin: Later. They just left for dinner.

  I laughed. “He never did apologize.”

  Anna shook her head. “No surprises there.”

  Our laughter mingled. I started to read more of the texts but we heard Kevin walking out of the kitchen.

  “What’s so funny?” he asked from behind us.

  I turned around and shot him a smile. He was carrying plates of steaming hot pasta that smelled divine. “Nothing.”

  He shot his mother a suspicious look, but she just smiled too.

  Standing up and massaging her lower back, she walked to her son. “Let me help you with that.”

  Chapter 29

  “It’s so good!” I exclaimed, tasting the remains of the carbonara that had just melted in my mouth.

  “You’re too kind,” Anna said. She hadn’t touched her food yet, while I was half done with mine, and Kevin was on his second helping.

  “Is this a homemade sauce?” I asked.

  Her smile was so warm. “Yes, the pasta too. I tried to teach Kevin but he has no interest in making pasta. Complains that it’s too hard.”

  Kevin didn’t look up. “It isn’t that difficult, Mom. It just takes a lot of time to make the pasta from scratch. And I don’t have the time to do it.”

  “You do have time. You just need to manage it better. Make the dough in the evening and you have enough pasta to last a week. Simple. I bet Audrey and Zane would love it.”

  Kevin looked at me and rolled his eyes. I giggled, which I shouldn’t have done with a mouthful of pasta.

  “So what do you do?” I addressed Anna to save my boyfriend. “I mean, since you’re not a chef anymore.”

  “I’m retired, darling. I had to because I got sick.”

  I frowned. “Oh. Are you okay now?”

  “I am.” She smiled. “I’m planning to go back to work once I’m fully recovered. I do love that job.”

  Kevin’s smooth voice cut in. “Babe.”

  “Yes?”

  “Your...” Kevin pointed to the right corner of his lips.

  I wiped my lips but my napkin had nothing on it. Kevin leaned over at wiped the left corner with his fingers then walked to the kitchen to wash his fingers.

  When he was out of earshot again, Anna sighed. “He can be such a sweetheart sometimes. I’m glad he has you. He doesn’t show it, but I can tell he is very happy with you. He was pretty heartbroken after Emma.”

  “What happened between them?” I tried to say it lightly, but I was dying to know.

  She shook her head. “I have no idea. One moment they were so in love, and the next moment they had broken up.” She sighed. “At the worst possible time too. I had high respect for Em, I mean I still have, but she left him when he was already down. That wasn’t so nice of her.”

  “What do you mean? Did something happen before that?”

  “I don’t like to bother people with my problems, dear. But...” She paused, lifting her fork and ate some pasta, continuing when she had an empty mouth. “It happened last year, around August. I found out I had cervical cancer after I started feeling ill. Kevin stayed with me through everything.” She paused again, and I could see she was tearing up. “He didn’t go to work. Just brought his laptop and did his work at the hospital. He stayed with me there all around the clock.”

  She sighed, wiping the corners o
f her eyes. “It was around October when Emma broke off things with him.”

  I gasped. “That’s horrible.”

  “Yeah, I thought my time in this world would be up.” She forced a smile. “But it looks like everything worked out fine. He has you now, and I’m recovering fairly well.”

  “I am glad.” My heart throbbed for Kevin. I had to find a way for him to open up with me more. We were a couple, and couples worked through their problems together.

  “Enough of this negative crap,” Anna proclaimed, just as Kevin came back and gave us both an odd look. He mouthed, “What did she say?” to me, but I smiled and shook my head.

  Conversation did indeed shift to a more positive side. We talked about work, how well Kevin’s company was doing despite having had three bad months in a row, ramblings about life. I didn't want to say much. I was more than happy being a listener, but both Kevin and his mom kept putting me in the center of attention, so I had to participate. I talked about Zane, my parents back in Georgia, my life there, my life here. Basically, everything and anything.

  It was nice, just the three of us.

  “I’ll clear the plates,” I offered, standing up. Kevin had four helpings of pasta while I could only finish one.

  “No, dear, please.” Anna stood up and gave me one of her warm smiles. “I love cleaning. It helps keep my mind off things. You go relax with Kevin.”

  I started to protest, but Kevin was pulling me away. We passed a hallway and took two lefts, stopping at a door. It was a bedroom, I realized, as we entered. Very clean, though there wasn’t much to see. It was just a large bed that sat in the middle of two large lamps, a huge desk, two bookshelves, and oil paintings hanging on the walls.

  Kevin closed and locked the door, and then led me to the huge bed.

  “What did my mom say?” He asked me as we cuddled.

  Should I tell him? Would he get mad at his mom if I told him? I would tell him anyway because I hated lying. The only option was to dodge the question. One look at his blue eyes told me he wouldn’t let me off that easy.

  I told him everything she told me—excluding the part where I peeked into his text conversation with his mom.

  “And how do you feel about that?”

  I furrowed my brow. “About what?”

  “My mom having cancer.”

  “What do you mean? I feel sad and horrible. I wished you had told me, but I understand why you didn’t.” I brought a hand to his cheek, and he leaned into my touch. “Why did you ask me that? Did Emma feel differently?”

  He frowned. “How do you know her name?”

  Shit. “Your mom mentioned it.”

  I felt terrible about lying. Well, it wasn’t really a lie. His mom did mention her name.

  He sighed, placing his hand on top of mine. I parted my lips and tilted my head to the right as he leaned in to kiss me. His hand left mine, traveling down my sides until he found my ass, giving my cheeks a light squeeze.

  “Let’s not talk about our exes,” he said, between kisses. I had no problems with that, so I deepened the kiss and sighed when his tongue slipped in and danced with mine.

  I broke the kiss and sat up, my sex already wet and my breaths heavy. Making sure his gaze was still on mine, I started taking off my shirt, stopping when I felt Kevin’s hand.

  “No. My mom will hear us. Let’s do it later when we get home. Okay, babe?”

  I felt disappointed but nodded nevertheless. He patted the spot where I’d just left, and I lay back down on my side, cuddling with him again.

  “I’m sorry,” I said after a moment of comfortable silence. “I lied to you just now.”

  “About what?”

  “Your mom did mention her name, but I knew it after snooping around a little.”

  He chuckled. “Was this before or after we were together?”

  “Before.” There. I felt so much better telling him the full truth. The guilt was gnawing my insides.

  “You’re the jealous type, aren’t you?”

  “A little bit. I’m kind of insecure after I got cheated on three times.”

  “I won’t cheat on you.” Kevin leaned in and kissed me. I accepted it with a happy sigh. “Never.”

  WE SAID OUR GOODBYES, which consisted of loads of hugs and cheek pecking, and made the hour drive back home with music playing in the car. There was no way I would suffer an hour in the car without songs, so I had connected my phone to the car’s Bluetooth and started my playlist.

  Kevin and I didn’t talk much. We just enjoyed the music, though he kept glancing and smiling at me at every red light we hit. I returned all his smiles with my own, fingering the diamond coin I had on my neck between my fingers.

  “You should stop doing things for me,” I spoke up, remembering the conversation I had with Zane. “I appreciate everything you have done for me, especially this gift, but I won’t accept anymore. This is too much.”

  “You are worth it.”

  I looked out the window and blushed. I had to give him something back, but I was broke and I had no idea what he wanted. His own necklace with the letter ‘K’ on it? I almost laughed at the idea. What do men like anyway? I took a quick glance at him, looking so delicious in just a shirt and jeans. What could Kevin possibly want?

  His bare wrist caught my attention. I had noticed it when I first met him in the office. Men like him always wore watches, didn’t they? Hell, most of my male co-workers wore watches. A watch would look good on him. Anything would look good on him, but a watch would seal the deal.

  I tightened the grip on my purse in my hand. I still had the emergency debit card my mom had given me. It didn’t have much on it, but it was enough to get my man a decent watch. Should I do it, though? If I did, I would surely be broke, and my mom would be furious. Not to mention how bad of a decision it was. But a watch would look amazing on him, and he needed to look amazing for the wedding we were attending in two days.

  I touched my necklace and glanced at Kevin. He was so handsome and perfect and the best boyfriend ever. He had been through so much and he deserved something in return from his girlfriend, who had given him nothing so far, other than companionship and sex. Someone like him ought to want more.

  You are worth it. His words rang in my head.

  He was worth it too.

  Chapter 30

  “How about this?” Zane asked, pointing to a watch in a glass case. “Richard Miles? That’s a weird name for a brand.”

  I squinted at the watch. “Can you see a price tag? I can’t.”

  Zane circled around the box, even peeking his head under. “Nope, no price tag, but it looks amazing. I would wear something like this.”

  “Of course you would.” I signaled to the closest store assistant, and he walked towards us.

  “How much is this?” I asked.

  He smiled at us. “Two hundred and fifty thousand, ma'am.”

  “Two hundred...”

  “... and fifty thousand.” Zane finished for me. He laughed, way too loudly. “I think we’re in the wrong shop. Sorry.”

  “May I ask what your budget is?” The man’s smile didn’t falter.

  Zane looked at me, and I shifted on my feet. “Like eight thousand dollars.”

  “Excellent,” he beamed. “There are a lot of choices for eight thousand. Mind if I show you some Rolex or perhaps some Omegas? They are great entry level watches.”

  “Okay,” I muttered, and the salesman gestured for us to follow him.

  “You’re going to spend all the money your mom gave you?”

  “No, I have about eight thousand inside. Maybe I would buy a two or three thousand one for him.”

  “Then what did you say your budget was eight?”

  “I don’t know,” I hissed, hoping the salesman couldn’t hear us.

  “Why are you getting him a watch anyway? Was it because of last night?”

  I frowned, clutching my purse as I looked at all the watches in fancy glass cases we passed. “What about
last night?”

  Zane lowered his voice. “Harder, Kev! Harder!”

  I smacked him with my purse. “What are you talking about?”

  He laughed. “You were so loud, cookie. I could hear you from my room.”

  My jaw dropped. “You were home? You said you were out with Jason.”

  “Yeah.” My best friend’s grin was pure evil. “But I came back early since Jason is still sick. You didn’t hear our noisy ass front door opening?”

  Blood seeped into my cheeks. “No.”

  “You told me he was good, but not that good. Let me tell you, cookie, your moans, they—”

  By the grace of every single god there was, the salesman stopped and cleared his throat. “Here is the collection of our entry level Rolexes.” Using a key, he slid open the glass case and took a silver watch out. “This is a great women’s watch for eight thousand.”

  “No, it’s for my boyfriend.”

  “Ah.” He started to take out another watch, but I stopped him.

  “I changed my mind. Do you have anything for two thousand or maybe one?”

  “Of course.” He placed the watch back and gestured for me to follow him, Zane trailing behind.

  We stopped at the Omega section, which had three long rows of expensive looking watches. Forty minutes passed while Zane and I tried to choose a watch that was right for Kevin. All of them looked good, but with the amount of money I planned to spend, it’d better be perfect for him. Luckily, the salesman, Jerry, was patient with us.

  “How about this?” Jerry took out another Omega and placed it in front of us. “The Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra. Unfortunately, your budget only allows for the quartz version, but it’s still an amazing piece, especially for the price.”

  I took the watch and looked it over. It was a little heavy, like the rest, but I was sure it wouldn't be a problem for Kevin. “How much is this?”

  “One thousand nine hundred.”

  “Any discount?” Zane enquired.

  Jerry smiled. “I am afraid this is the best I could do. All of our prices are fair.”

  I looked at Zane and gave him the watch. “What do you think?”

  “I like it. Your mom wouldn’t, though.”