He pressed her back against the wall and bent to look her right in the eyes.
“No bullshit, Alyssa. I want you to move in here because I think it would be fun. If you don’t want to do the sex thing, we can simply be roommates. It’s an empty room. I need to fill it; you need a place to live. Take it.”
“And the price you gave me is what you would charge anyone else?” It seemed too reasonable.
“Yes. It also includes water.” He winked at her.
“You’re really serious about this?” she asked as excitement began flooding her system unwittingly.
“I’m an accountant. We think every minor detail to death.”
“And I would just be your roommate? Nothing more?”
“Nothing more.”
“And we won’t let it turn into a romantic comedy? We are vowing not to have sex with each other if we become roommates?” Kenley had seemed sure if they continued to have sex he would expect more. While she knew she was invulnerable to such things, she didn’t want to be put in a position where she had to hurt his feelings. And then lose her home. Again.
He looked up at the ceiling for a second.
“Just so I’m clear, why would we not be having the sex anymore?”
“Because people who live together and have sex are in a relationship. People who live together without sex or romantic ties are roommates.”
“I see.” He nodded. “My other roommate and I used to hang out, watch movies and things. Would that be acceptable?”
“I could probably do that.” Kenley hadn’t warned her about any of those things. She let the smile take over her face. “I can cook.”
“We can share that job.”
She thought of living there—a real apartment, with windows and an elevator. He had a washer and dryer, and real doors and bedrooms. Plus it was only four blocks from where she worked. All of it would be amazing on its own, but the best thing about the apartment was still standing in the doorway watching her reaction.
Grayson.
She had a lot of fun hanging out with him. Would that change? Would he still want more than friendship even if they didn’t have sex? Would he get sick of her and kick her out?
Even if that happened, she would be no worse off than she was at the moment. At least this arrangement would buy her a little more time.
“Okay, but I have some questions,” she said.
“Of course, I expected as much. Let’s hear them.” Gray smiled at ease.
“Since we won’t be sleeping with each other, how do you want to handle guests?”
“We each have our own room. Guests shouldn’t be an issue, so long as you don’t bring home some loser who steals my TV.”
“Okay, so we’re responsible for anything our guests steal.” Alyssa made it a rule.
“Fair enough.”
“What about groceries?”
“Trent used to pay for the groceries because I cooked. How do you want to do it?”
“We could take turns. One week one of us buys and the other cooks and then we switch.”
“That sounds like a good plan. I’m in.” He was making this awfully easy. Too easy.
“What do you get out of this?” she asked, her eyes narrowed at him.
“Well, I know I like hanging out with you and you have a job. You’re neat and I can trust you. I guess what I’m getting is a great roommate without having to do all the work of finding one.”
“Okay. I’m in.” She held out her hand to shake on the dumbest arrangement she’d ever made.
He looked down at her hand and stood straighter in the doorway. He reached for her offered palm, but then pulled back as if she had cooties.
“Before we shake hands and you officially turn into my roommate, I was just thinking maybe I’d get one more shot at Alyssa the hot girl who screams my name when she comes.”
Alyssa smiled and leaned closer. Surely it wouldn’t count if they had sex before they became roommates. He seemed to understand the rules. If they both knew it was just sex, there’d be no harm in extending the fun part a little longer.
“That is a great idea,” she said, surprising him as much as herself. “One more time, and then we turn into roommates.”
He picked her up and carried her across the hall. He set her on the bed and climbed over her. He was already pulling up the T-shirt she was wearing.
“This is mine,” he said with a rough voice.
“Roommates borrow each other’s clothes,” she pointed out.
“You have to ask permission. Make that a rule.”
“So noted.” She giggled as he ran his tongue along the edge of her ear. His fingers gripped her hair and he sat up holding out a handful of her blonde hair in front of her face.
“I don’t want the bathroom and the shower full of girly hair crap.”
“One shampoo and conditioner per person,” she agreed as his fingers moved down her stomach and slid into her, causing her to gasp. He had the best technique. He was a genius with his fingers.
“Also, one razor per person,” he added with a slow smile as he watched himself stroking her. “And no sharing.”
“Not a problem,” she squeaked when he touched her in just the right spot. They were so great together. He had her gasping in mere seconds. As soon as her last tremor faded, he was moving inside her, toward his own release. She shifted and pushed up against him, causing him to finish with a groan.
“I usually shower at night,” he told her between breaths.
“I shower in the morning.”
“Would I be able to shave and brush my teeth while you were in the shower?”
“The shower curtain is solid, so that should be fine.”
“I might want to get a new shower curtain. Clear.”
“Are you changing the rules?” She propped herself up on her elbow to look down at him.
“No, ma’am.”
“Are you ready to shake yet?”
He kissed her neck and moved to her ear.
“Just one more time,” he whispered. “Then I’ll be ready.”
She rolled over on top of him, not sure if she would ever be ready to give this up. Why had she asked Kenley for advice?
Because Kenley was a normal person with normal feelings. She would know what other regular people expected.
Grayson seemed perfectly okay with it just being sex, but she couldn’t risk hurting him. For both their sakes.
She wished she wasn’t fucked up. Maybe she could have been happy with him instead of keeping him at a safe distance, for his own sake.
Chapter 7
By late Saturday night, Gray knew he hadn’t had his fill of being with her. But since he was exhausted, he gave in and held out his hand to seal the deal.
Alyssa looked at it and kissed his palm, sending a jolt from her lips to his groin. Damn, how did she do that?
“How about we shake in the morning. I want to sleep here, if that’s okay,” she said settling in.
“It’s very okay.” He pulled her close, putting his face