The Hardest Fall by Ella Maise

Chapter Five

Dylan

Two hours had passed since I had settled into my new room and Zoe had disappeared into hers. So far, I had been attacked, and with a rolling pin, no less. I’d been flashed (granted, not voluntarily) and stereotyped, all by the same girl—the same girl who had intrigued me so much the two times we’d bumped into each other. I was still intrigued, maybe even more so, and I knew I shouldn’t have been. I’d mistaken a few girls for her a handful of times, which meant my eyes had been searching for her ever since our last run-in and I wasn’t even fully aware of it. That same girl was my new roommate.

Life was a tricky bitch sometimes.

Lightly knocking on her door three times, I relaxed against the frame and waited.

Zoe opened the door—only slightly—and her head peeked through the opening.

“Yes?”

“I thought we should talk.”

“About?”

“About this whole thing. If we’re going to live together, we should get to know each other. At the very least, I should know more about you than just your first name—your last name to start, perhaps?”

“What do you need my last name for?” She looked back over her shoulder. “It’s eleven thirty, getting a little late—maybe we could do that tomorrow?”

I bet she’d have loved to just avoid me altogether. Unfortunately for her, I wasn’t going anywhere.

“Are you going to bed?”

Holding on to the door, she worried her bottom lip with her teeth. For the first time since answering the door, she looked up at me as she grudgingly answered. “Not yet.”

Taking my hands out of my pockets, I straightened. “Come on. I’ll ask you a few questions, you’ll ask me a few, then we’ll both go to bed and rest a bit easier about our new situation.” Already walking away from her, I added over my shoulder, “Not to mention, I’ll be reassured that you’re not going to try to attack me with a rolling pin in my sleep.”

Hearing her mutter something under her breath, I let her follow me at her own pace. When I glanced back over my shoulder, she was pulling on the hem of her shirt, looking down at her feet.

“Clarke,” she mumbled, her gaze still fixed on the hardwood floor as she stood in the middle of the living room. This time, she spoke loud enough for me to hear.

I turned back. “Sorry?”

“My last name…it’s Clarke.”

“See, that wasn’t so bad, now, was it?” I gave her a quick grin, which she chose to ignore. “Mine is Reed.”

“I know. Everybody knows your name.”

“Oh? I remember you telling me that the second time we met. You a football fan? Come to any of our games?” Since she and her family were close to Coach—close enough that they shared an apartment, apparently—I thought maybe she’d attend the games with them.

“Not really.”

Her gaze briefly met mine then darted around the room as she tried to decide where to move to.

I had to be quick before she rounded the couch and saw the object of my first official ‘getting to know my roommate’ question. “My first question is…” I reached down to grab the unexpected find and turned to face Zoe. “Should I prepare myself to find more stuff like this innocently laying around the place? Or is this the only one?” Her jaw slowly dropped open, and even though I was trying my best to sound as serious as I could, the horror on her face was too much. I lost it and laughed. “You should see your face, Zoe Clarke.”

Her gaze was locked on the pink, ten-inch vibrator held loosely in my hand, which seemed to have all the bells and whistles. “Oh my God,” she managed to say, all breathless. “Fuck.”

“Yeah, I believe that’s what it is generally used for.” I was already having more fun than I’d expected to have on my first night with her. “So, I’m gonna take a wild guess and say you forgot you dropped it between the couch cushions and that’s not your usual hiding place?”

“It’s not mine,” she croaked out, walking toward me in quick steps. The familiar pink had risen in her cheeks again. I handed her the embarrassing item before she could start a tug of war and watched her carefully pluck it from my hand with two fingers.

My smile grew bigger. “There is nothing to be ashamed of. Masturbating is healthy.”

The light flush on her cheeks seemed to spread more by the second. After giving me a death glare, she walked away without a second glance.

I chuckled to myself. I wouldn’t have put it past her to lock herself in her room and not come back out. It seemed plausible at the time since it was kind of our thing—her blushing and promptly running away. It didn’t matter that I didn’t know anything but her name. When she did actually emerge from her room—which I had not expected her to do—there were no vibrators in sight, but that pink flush was still clinging to her pale skin, making the bright green of her eyes stand out more.

“It’s not mine,” she repeated as she took a seat and tucked her hands under her thighs. “I’m an art major focused in photography. I take photos to make extra money. It’s my job, and that was one of the five vibrators I had to take pictures of for a girl who has a blog. I have no idea how I managed to leave that one behind.” I must have given her a look that pretty much conveyed what I was thinking—bullshit—because her eyes narrowed on me. “Don’t look at me like that. Look around—there are no drapes in this place, so if that was mine, I’d have to…use it right where you are sitting. I’m not an exhibitionist. I’m not about to do it right in front of an open window—not that it’s any of your business if or where I do it at all…” She sighed and rubbed her eyes with her fingers. “I’m just going to shut up now so you can ask whatever it is you want to ask to feel safe in your bed tonight. Then when it’s over, I’ll run back to my room so I can scream into my pillow and pretend tonight never happened.”

Facing the windows was the big brown couch where I’d found the vibrator in question after it poked me in the thigh. There was another two-seater that was a dark mustard color to the right, where she was sitting, wary and pretty much ready to flee. I took my time taking a seat on the far end of the brown couch.

“I don’t want you to do that,” I said softly. When she mustered the courage to look up, I gave her a small smile. “I mean, I don’t want you to run back to your room. I was serious when I said I wanted us to get to know each other.” Her eyes connected with mine for just a second then she was looking at something behind my back. She was so shy, but it only made her more attractive and interesting in my eyes.

I cleared my throat. “Okay, this is good. See, I’ve already started to learn things about you. Your name is Zoe Clarke, and you’re not an exhibitionist—noted. I will sleep easier knowing I’m safe from walking in on you doing God knows what. You’re an art student and you’re into photography. You make your own money—props to you on that one. This isn’t so bad, is it?”

“Maybe for you it isn’t.”

“I’m going to ignore that because now it’s your turn. Ask me whatever you want.”

She let out a long breath and tucked her hands back under her thighs again. “I don’t have a question right now.”

“Come on. It could be something as simple as my favorite movie.”

She shot me an exasperated look, and her expression said everything that needed to be said. I wasn’t giving up though—not yet.

“What’s your favorite movie, then?”

I leaned back in my seat and got comfortable. “Oh, I can’t answer that. I have too many to choose just one. My turn.”

She raised her brows and her lips parted in disbelief. “You just told me to ask you—”

I cut her off before she could finish her sentence. “No, you’re gonna have to wait for your turn. Don’t be a bad sport. Do you still have that boyfriend of yours?”

Her response came out as a squeak. “What?”

“You know, the boyfriend who prevented us from kissing that last time. Still seeing him?”

Her brows drew together and she turned her body toward me, finally pulling her hands out from under her thighs in the process. It was exactly what I wanted her to do—forget about being shy and just be herself around me. If we were going to live together for however long, it would make things easier for both of us. Getting her to actually look into my eyes when we were speaking would be a nice bonus too. If making her angry was necessary to achieve my goal, I was fine with that.

“I don’t think that’s something you need to know to sleep safe in your bed.”

“I think it is, actually. I know we decided you’re not an exhibitionist, but I could still come to your room to ask for a cup of sugar and end up walking in on you two and have it scar me for the rest of my life. If I know he’ll be around, I’ll make sure to not come knocking for sugar.”

Her lips were twitching when she gave me an answer. “Don’t worry, you’re not going to walk in on anyone. Your delicate feelings are safe. Mark doesn’t want me to have friends over, so you won’t be seeing anyone around at all.”

That perked me up, so I scooted forward and focused all my attention on her. “Mark?”

Looking away, she reached for a colorful pillow and started to strangle it. “Your coach…Mark. He’s not my coach, so I can call him by his name.”

“Sure you can. So you didn’t really answer my question—do you have a boyfriend or not?”

“No.”

I was in the process of trying to decide if that was a good or bad thing for me and was heavily leaning toward bad when she grunted and sighed.

“Okay, I lied. Let’s say I have a boyfriend and it’s complicated.”

“You lied?” Was she telling the truth now? I couldn’t tell, but if she was, I was guessing she wasn’t good at keeping secrets and I’d end up learning everything about her complicated relationship either way. “That’s actually okay, I think. It’ll make things easier.” I leaned back again. “I don’t have a girlfriend at the moment, but I can behave.”

She gave me a questioning look, eyes narrowing, head slightly tilting to the side. “I got you—I know that’s a lie. Maybe you were right and this getting to know each other thing isn’t a bad idea.”

“I’m the liar?” I asked, pointing at myself as my brows drew together. “I believe you’re the one who admitted to lying—twice, so far. What makes you think I’m lying to you? And about what?”

Copying my move, she scooted forward in her seat. “Because I happen to know you actually do have a girlfriend, and before you accuse me of stalking you, I’m not—I didn’t. I saw your Snap on Campus Stories. After I saw the way you were kissing her, I’d say she is the definition of a girlfriend, but I guess with so many girls throwing themselves at you, you can’t bother to label someone as your girlfriend and bind yourself to only one person. Why stay with one when you can sample so many more, right?”

“I don’t use social media.”

“Then it was her account, I guess.”

“Huh.” She was still looking at me expectantly, so sure she had me cornered. “Is this how you are to all people, or is it just me that brings out this side of you? First the desk comment and now this—do you have something against athletes?”

Her expression faltered. “What?”

I rubbed my neck and sighed. I was the one who had insisted we do an impromptu Q&A, but I hadn’t thought she’d start with all the hard questions. “It’s true, I did have a girlfriend a week ago, or maybe it’s been longer…I haven’t really kept track, but it doesn’t matter. I walked in on her getting fucked by two of my teammates, so that was pretty much the end of our relationship, which is also why I need a new place to stay. By the way, not all athletes do what they do just so they can have their fill of girls. It doesn’t work like that. You can’t put everyone in the same box. Some of us choose to stay away from distractions at all costs, and some of us like the attention. You can’t decide which category I fall into before you make an effort to know me. I’m not a liar, and I have a very hard time dealing with them. Me being an athlete doesn’t make me any less than some guy you’d fall for.” Why did I have to put it like that? Fuck me… Nobody was going to do any kind of falling. “Again, I’m a little disappointed. I didn’t figure you to be judgmental. My bad.”

Maybe this getting to know each other thing wasn’t one of my best ideas. Maybe I should’ve kept my head down and just co-existed.

I stood up. “This wasn’t a good idea. Good night, Zoe—”

“No,” she burst out, jumping up. “No. Please, don’t go. I’m sorry, Dylan. You’re right. I’m not like this. I’m being a judgmental bitch, and I’m not like that, trust me. I have no idea what’s wrong with me tonight. I think after what happened earlier, thinking I was about to be killed by a clown and then the shock of realizing you were the intruder…anyway, the reason doesn’t matter anyway. Sometimes when I’m nervous I talk too much and it’s just a bad case of word vomit.” She gestured at herself with her hand. “See, I’m still talking, aren’t I? I should stop, I know I should, yet I can still hear myself talking, but you know what? You’re right—if we’re going to share an apartment, we should at least know a few things about each other.” She came to stand in front of me, rose up on her tiptoes to reach my shoulders, and pushed me back down on the couch.

Then she was off walking toward the kitchen area that overlooked the living room. “I’m gonna make us coffee and we’re going to talk until you’re sure you’re in a safe place and not living with a bitchy lunatic who will attack you in your sleep.” She looked at me over her shoulder. “Though, I have to point out, you did scare the living shit out of me by walking in unannounced and all creepy like, so I’m just putting it out there that the rolling pin thing shouldn’t be on me. That one was all you.”

Standing behind the island that separated the small kitchen area from the living room, she stopped speaking. When I just kept staring at her instead of answering, she tucked her hair behind her ear and waited expectantly.

I relaxed in my seat and threw my arm over the back of the couch so I could watch her do her thing. “I can’t have coffee this late because I have an early practice, but I’ll have milk if you have it.”

“Just milk?”

I nodded.

“Okay, see, I’m not even gonna make fun of you for drinking milk, though from the size of you, I can tell you’re not a growing boy anymore. Hell, you know what? I’ll even drink some with you.”

Unexpectedly, she drew a laugh out of me, and I won a smile from her. Just like that, it struck me that she would stand out no matter where she was, and I was stupid for mistaking other people for her. A few seconds passed as we smiled at each other.

“Right…milk.” She lifted a finger and checked the fridge, her head disappearing from view completely. She shifted a few things around and leaned farther in until all I could see was her ass.

“It’s fine if you don’t have it. I don’t need to have a drink to chat with you.”

“Got it!” she yelled as she came out with a box of milk held high. “Just let me check the expiration date. And…we’re good.”

After filling two glasses, she offered me one and went back to her seat. Resting her glass on the armrest, she sat cross-legged and took a sip of milk with a shy little smile on her face. I just stared.

“Sorry, I don’t have any of those fancy milks—soy milk, almond milk, oat milk, or whatever other new kind I don’t know about. I make extra money to get by, but it’s not that much.” She nodded at my untouched glass. “It’s okay if you’re not used to cow milk or something. You don’t have to drink it.”

I settled back and drank half of it. “What makes you say that?” I asked as calmly as possible.

“I just assumed since you’re a football player you drink healthier stuff like green juice, or other fancy milks…” She took a deep breath and blew out her cheeks, all the while keeping her eyes somewhere over my shoulder. “I’m doing it again, aren’t I?”

I grinned at her and took another gulp from my glass.

She groaned and covered her face with her palm. “I think you should do all the talking for a while. I’m acting like a complete asshole. So, please, ask anything you want…please.”

I drank the last of the milk and set the glass on the coffee table in front of me. She held her own glass between her palms and took a small sip. I watched her discreetly licking her upper lip to make sure she had no milk mustache.

“Let’s start small—how many siblings?” I asked, deciding not to dwell on the fact that she was the first person to make me smile since that night.

“Ah, siblings, huh? None. You?”

My smile grew bigger and I relaxed. “I have two monsters that happen to be my brother and sister. Amelia is the middle child. She just turned fifteen this summer and she’s the princess in the family, Daddy’s girl through and through, shy and sweet as can be.” I watched Zoe duck her head and take a few more sips of milk. “And then we have Mason. He’s seven, and he is the main monster, the most inquisitive kid you could ever meet. If you think you talk too much, wait till you meet him.”

Not that there would be an occasion where she would meet my brother, but…you never know.

“He’s seven? That’s a big age difference.”

“He is the surprise baby. Can’t imagine not having him around though. It was weird when Dad sat me down and told me I’d have a baby brother, and to be completely honest, it’s a little embarrassing for a fourteen-year-old to know his parents are still doing it, but they did good with him. Now I don’t even know how we survived without that kid. He’s the best.”

I grinned and watched her lips slowly tip up as her gaze focused on my lips. I didn’t want to ruin our moment, especially when she wasn’t acting like she wanted to collapse in on herself, but I needed to know and this was the best time to ask.

“That first night…”

She groaned and let her head drop back on the couch. “You’re killing me.”

I chuckled. “No, listen—just one question. I need to know.”

I couldn’t identify the expression on her face, but I could tell saying anything about it was pretty much the last thing she wanted to do. I forged on anyway.

“Did you cry? I thought I saw you crying when you were trying to get away, but I wasn’t sure.” When she didn’t lift her head up, I kept going. “I kinda looked for you that night, you know. I mean, I was seeing this girl at the time and it was new…but still, after the way you ran out, I guess I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Trust me, it wasn’t about you. Any of the other guys would’ve taken you up on your offer, but—”

“Oh, please, please, let’s just forget it happened, all right? Yes, I kind of started crying at the end because I was embarrassed and I do that sometimes, but it wasn’t about you. I cry all the time. Okay, maybe I don’t cry all the time, but it doesn’t take much for me to shed a few tears. Show me a video where a dog reunites with its owner and I’m a goner. I’ll cry all over you. Plus, it wasn’t like I was bawling my eyes out because you didn’t want a stranger to kiss you in the middle of a freaking party. I was just embarrassed. If you haven’t noticed, I’m painfully shy. It happens. I cried today when you scared me out of my mind and I thought I was going to die.” She lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “To be honest, it wasn’t because you rejected me. I was pissed at my roommate for putting me in that position and pissed at myself for playing along. I was fine…mostly.”

It was fun to watch her rambling. “Define mostly.”

She slumped in her seat. “Oh man. Well…I might’ve walked the other way whenever I saw you around campus after that…which wasn’t often, just a few times, but I still did it. Again, like I said, it was only because I was embarrassed. Now, you’re right here and I don’t have anywhere to run to, so I won’t be doing that this time.” She gulped down her milk and leaned forward to set it on the table between us, unknowingly giving me a brief view of the swell of her boobs. I looked away, because she was off limits. Any girl was off limits, but Zoe Clarke was even more off limits. I was sticking with my decision to be distraction-free for my last year.

It was the worst fucking timing to meet her.

“Let me save you and get back to easier questions,” I said softly. She exhaled and soundlessly mouthed her thanks. “Favorite movie?”

“I’m not gonna be vague like you, but…there really are a ton of movies I enjoy watching. Shia LaBeouf’s Eagle Eye—can’t even count how many times I’ve watched that movie. Speed—I love Keanu Reeves, both on screen and in real life. What else…Transformers, Lord of The Rings, Mean Girls, 2012, and The Holiday because Jude Law and Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet…just to name a few that come to mind.”

I parted my lips, ready to get to my next question, but she jerked her hand up, stopping me.

“Oh! Also, I basically love all animated movies.”

“A little bit of everything, huh? That’s good. I’m like that, too. Not really into romance movies all that much, but if you have an action movie on, I won’t say no.”

“Noted.”

Why did I get the feeling I wouldn’t be at the top of her movie-buddy list?

“My turn. What do your parents do?” she asked, cutting into my thoughts. “I’m thinking your dad was…a pro athlete? Maybe?”

“Hmmm,” I hummed, pinching my bottom lip between two fingers. “As far as I know, my dad never played football, at least not while he was in high school, so that rules out him being an athlete like you imagined. He is actually a plumber, and my mom is a kindergarten teacher.”

“Wow,” she said as she exhaled after a few seconds of awkward silence. “Wow, I really am an asshole, aren’t I?”

“I wouldn’t put it exactly like that.”

She laughed, and I had to grip the back of the couch tighter. “I would. So you’re not some rich kid, then? Not that being rich is bad or anything, I just assumed, you know, because…who the hell knows at this point—obviously not me.”

That soft pink started to spread over her cheeks again, and this time it was me who was laughing.

“I’m not rich, no. My family isn’t rich either, but we’re not doing that bad. Like you, I try to make extra money whenever I have time. Plus, I have an athletic scholarship, so that helps.”

She tucked her hair behind her ear and looked down at her lap.

“What do your parents do?” I continued so we could get back to how we’d been a few minutes earlier before she started to hide herself from me.

“My dad is an investigative journalist. He used to write for The New York Times, but after he married my mom, they moved to Phoenix. He writes for a local newspaper now. My mom…” She cleared her throat and averted her eyes. “My mom passed away a few months before I came to college. On top of everything that came with her sickness, we had other issues as well. We weren’t the closest mother and daughter, but she was still my mom. So, crying at the drop of a hat when I was a freshman might have had something to do with that too. New city, new people, and when you add in everything else, it wasn’t a good combination for me.”

That wiped the smile off my face and I straightened up, shifting in my seat. “I’m sorry for your loss, Flash.”

After a brief glance in my direction, she gave me a small smile and nodded. “She had breast cancer. We were too late.”

“My last year in high school, we lost my grandpa,” I started after a short period of silence. “We have a pretty close-knit family, pretty loud sometimes, and in each others’ business pretty much always. He lived down the block from us so he was always in our lives, a built-in babysitter. I used to run to his house every evening so I could play catch with him while he told me stories from his old days…just random, unimportant stuff.” Looking away from Zoe, I smiled. “I swear to you I was there every day. As soon as the clock hit five, I was at my grandpa’s, and every time he opened that door his first words were, You again, kid? What’s a man gotta do to get some peace and quiet around here?” Just picturing his easy smile had me chuckling to myself. “And then he’d reach for the football before I could even open my mouth. Don’t tell anyone, but I think I was his favorite. He loved that I was around so much. The effect his presence had in my life…” I shook my head and lifted my eyes up to Zoe, who was listening, rapt, her eyes sad and understanding at the same time. “You lost your mom…I know that’s different, harder, and I know nothing I can say would make it any easier, but I understand how hard it is to cope with loss. It sounds so fucking stupid and selfish since they can’t even… I’d give anything to have him around so he could see where I’m heading, or just hang out and talk, you know.”

I forced my gaze back at Zoe and caught her quickly brushing away a single tear that was running down her face.

“Yeah, I know.” She tilted her head. “We’re getting pretty deep here. You’re serious about getting to know each other, huh?”

To be completely honest…I wasn’t. Sure, I wanted to ask her a few questions, maybe get a feel for what to expect with her, but I hadn’t planned to get so deep, so soon—or at all, really. The conversation had just led us where we were. To lighten the heavy mood, I tried to steer us in another direction.

“Let’s do a rapid-fire Q&A.”

“Oh, I’m gonna suck at that. I’m not good with one-word answers but hit me.”

“Cat person or dog person?”

“Dog person. Cats…they kind of scare me, not the kittens or the cuddly ones, but I don’t like how some of them focus on you like they’re plotting ways to kill you. You know what I mean? It’s not all of them, but still. I’m a dog person all the way. You?”

I couldn’t hold back my smile. She was right, she wasn’t the best person for short answers, but I wasn’t complaining. “I’ll say dogs, too. So, art and photography, huh?”

“Yeah. Your major?”

“Political science. Your favorite movie snack?”

Her lips stretched into a smile and she played with the edge of her shirt.

“Moving on to harder questions, huh? Peanut butter M&Ms, hands down, but I don’t actually buy them—that would be dangerous. Same with chips. Usually, I have no self-control when it comes to food. Yours?”

“Popcorn. You gotta have popcorn when you’re watching a movie. And not buying M&Ms…not sure what to say about that. What’s your biggest weakness?”

“I thought it was my turn, but fine, I’ll answer.” She sighed and dropped her eyes before answering. “Pizza. It’s pizza.”

“What’s up with the face?” I asked, laughing.

“It’s bad,” she answered, looking up at me through her eyelashes. “Really bad. I can eat a big one all by myself even though I know I’ll feel miserable and have trouble sleeping because of being so full, but I can’t say no. I can never say no to pizza. I’m definitely not gonna start saying no any time soon, either. Ask me what food item I would choose to have for the rest of my life or if I was stranded on an island and I could only have one thing and—”

“Let me guess, you would say pizza.”

“Yeah. It’s a weakness. Carbs galore. I know it’s not good for you and all that stuff, but it’s so good. All that cheesy gooey goodness, and the sauce is just as important. So is the dough, and the toppings…God, the toppings. Every layer is important. So many choices. It’s magical, a circle of love. What’s your favorite topping?”

The more she talked, the more my smile grew.

“Pepperoni, or any kind of meat, really.” I could’ve sworn I heard her groan softly as she licked her lips.

“What is your biggest weakness?” she asked.

“Not to sound like I’m copying you, but if we’re talking about food here, it has to be cheeseburgers. Pizza would be a close second. Okay, next one. Tell me your biggest pet peeve.”

“This shouldn’t be a surprise, but I have more than a few. I’m fascinated by people, which is a big reason I love portrait photography, but…I hate fake people. Can’t stand them, don’t care to be around them. People who constantly talk over you as if your opinions don’t matter—just nope. It gets my blood pumping in the worst way. Entitled people. Unflushed toilets. Saggy pants on guys. People who believe they’re the shit and good at everything—they usually aren’t, and even if they are, I’d love to be the one to comment on it, not hear it from them. I could go on and on, so please shut me up.”

“Unflushed toilets and saggy pants, got it.”

There was something about her. Maybe it was how open she sounded, so honest and real, or maybe it was the way she talked like she couldn’t get the words out fast enough…the way she quickly looked away every time our gazes clashed, the way her hands seemed to be constantly busy with something around her—the pillow, the olive green watch on her wrist, the hem of her t-shirt. I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was, but something made me feel relaxed around her, like this wasn’t the first time we’d ever sat down and enjoyed a pointless, simple conversation.

“I don’t want you to shut up. I like this,” I admitted without a second thought. Why lie when I was enjoying her so much? “I’m gonna have to agree on entitled people, but my biggest pet peeve is actually people who chew loudly, especially when they’re chewing gum. I’ve come to blows with a few of the guys on the team because of it. Now they all chew gum whenever they wanna piss me off. The smacking sound…fuck no. I hope you’re not one of them. If you are, stop it, or I can’t promise it won’t get ugly.”

“Sir, yes sir,” she deadpanned with a serious but amused expression on her face.

“Another one is when people play with their phone all the damn time, like it’s glued to their hand or some shit.”

“My dad is the same. We actually have a rule about that. If we’re having dinner—and he always insists on eating together, whether it’s in front of the TV or at the table—I can’t touch my phone. The same thing goes if we’re having a conversation. He hates when I stare down at my phone while I’m talking with him.”

“I don’t like people who lie,” I said.

“I don’t like liars either.”

“People who don’t love animals.”

“Oh, yeah. I wouldn’t trust them with anything. So basically it sounds like we don’t like people very much.”

“Well, we have that in common, so that’s good.”

Resting her wrists on her crossed legs, she fidgeted in her seat. “I believe it’s my turn to ask something.”

“Go ahead.”

“Who do you wanna be?”

“I’ll be a pro football player. You?”

“I’ll be a professional photographer.”

We smiled at each other. I liked that we were both so sure about our futures.

“What’s your favorite spot?” I asked.

“As in, my favorite spot…to go to?”

“Yeah, and don’t tell me it’s the library or anywhere near campus.”

She raised her eyebrow at me, pairing it with a little grin on her face. “Now who’s being judgmental? It’s not the library. It’s actually the beach. I don’t have a long list at all, but it’s probably one of the few things I love about L.A., especially when it’s a little deserted. A few people here and there is okay, but I hate when it’s too crowded. Santa Monica can be a bit much. It’s even better if it’s closer to sunset. And yeah, fine, I do like the library, too. You?”

“The field.”

That earned me an eye roll. “You’re probably on the field all the time.”

“And I wouldn’t have it any other way. So you’re from Phoenix?”

“Yep. You? L.A.?”

“Nope. San Francisco.”

“You know, none of these questions have anything to do with us living together. If you’d asked me what my schedule looked like, if I was a loud roommate, or if I sleepwalked, or…I don’t know, anything related to this situation, I’d get it, but…” She pointed a finger somewhere over my shoulder so I turned to look and saw she was pointing at the big clock hanging on the wall. “It’s past midnight, and something else you might want to learn about me is that I rarely stay up this late, so I better…skedaddle. This was—” She paused and seemed to be surprised at what she was about to say. “This was fun, and maybe not so bad, and hopefully you won’t be scared to go to sleep now. I’m not planning on hurting you with my secret ninja skills or anything like that. I have an early class tomorrow, so…” She uncrossed her legs and pushed herself up.

I stood up, too, and went to stand right in front of her. She rubbed her forearms as if she was itchy because I was standing so close to her. That close, I could smell the faint scent of her perfume, something fresh and sweet, but not over the top. It suited her.

I held out my hand, and she looked at me as if I had sprouted a second head.

“What’s that for?” she asked with a small frown on her face.

“We’re gonna shake hands.”

“Why?”

I reached out, gently grabbed her wrist, and put her hand in mine. “Now, we shake.”

With my help, she shook my hand. “No one does this anymore, you know that, right?”

“I don’t know what you mean, but I like that we have officially met after two years of skirting each other.”

“You think you’ll be able to sleep on your own?”

She didn’t realize what she’d said before I raised an eyebrow and grinned at her.

“Shit. I didn’t mean it like that. You’re gonna be sleeping on your own either way—that wasn’t me trying to say I’d like to sleep with you if you can’t sleep on your own, or that I would. Not sleep sleep, as in sex, but just sleep next to each other…and why don’t you just go ahead and kill me now? Please?”

She tried to pull her hand away, but I held on to it. “For you, Flash, I’ll pretend I didn’t hear any of that. It was nice getting to know you, Zoe Clarke. This was good. We should do it again sometime.”

“Sure,” she agreed, but somehow made it sound like the opposite. I let her hand go. “This Flash thing, the nickname—that’s gonna be a thing isn’t it?”

Grinning, I nodded.

She had only managed to get a few steps away from me when I called after her.

“One last question.” Reluctantly, she looked at me over her shoulder. “A year with no sex or a year without a smartphone?”

“Aaand good night to you too.”

“Come on. It’s the last question—you can’t skip this one.”

“Again, this has what to do with us being roommates?”

I sat back down. “It will tell me a few things about you. Come on.”

She stood silent for a few seconds, looked at me, then looked away, probably trying to make sense of me. I couldn’t blame her.

“I’m gonna have to go with a year without a smartphone, though not because I’m dying to have sex. It’s not like I’m having tons of—” Her eyes grew slightly bigger as if she had just blurted out something I wasn’t supposed to know. I leaned back and watched her try to save herself. “I didn’t mean it like that. I’m really not dying to have sex, and I could go without having sex for a year, because that would be easy. I just think a year without a phone would actually be therapeutic. It’s probably glued to my hand from the time I wake up to the time I go back to bed, and I think it would actually be nice to use it just for its original purpose, just to see how it goes, you know. Maybe socializing more would have a positive effect on my life, who knows. It’d definitely be good for my eyes, that’s for sure.” She let out another sigh. “I’m rambling again. All I’m saying is I wouldn’t choose sex because I couldn’t possibly go without it for a year.”

I got up again and stalked toward her as I watched her hide her hands behind her back. “You don’t have to explain your reasoning to me, but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate it. Your answer tells a lot about you. Thank you for humoring me and answering my questions. It looks like we’re stuck together for the next few months if I can’t find another place, and I should tell you I’m surprised as fuck that you’re the new roommate. Shit, Zoe, I wouldn’t have guessed it in a million years.”

Keeping her eyes around my chest area, she nodded. “Good night, then, Dylan.”

After a quick hair tuck behind her ear and giving me a small smile, she started walking.

I let her take a few more steps toward her room while I stayed put in my spot. “Flash.” She faced me but kept taking small steps backward.

“Yes?”

I tucked my hands in my front pockets. “This is the strangest thing, but I think you’re going to be my best friend, Zoe Clarke.”

When she fled to her room and was no longer anywhere near me, I sat my ass down and leaned back against the couch. Now that I was alone, I looked up at the ceiling and grinned. She had no idea what kind of trouble she was in with me.