Page 8 of Dear Roomie (Classic City Romance #1)

“Fuck off, Butler, I am playing nice,” she snaps in his direction.

“We’ve all been there.” She turns back to me with the same assessing attitude.

“He found me half overdosed on caffeine in the library last fall, and I’ve been stuck with him since.

Gage and I train at the same MMA gym, and Nathan adopted him after, like, the second class I drug him to.

The point is, we were all strays at one point. ”

“Morgan, this lovely creature is Karis.” Nathan’s voice drips with sarcasm.

“Nice to meet you,” I mumble, but the truth of that statement is still to be determined. “So you guys do MMA?”

“Recreationally,” Nathan says.

“Except for Gage. He went pro there for a while,” Karis adds. Her words make sense; Gage has the look of a professional fighter. He has the flattened nose of a man who’s had it broken one too many times, and his ears are swollen with the same pockets of blood I always got during wrestling season.

“That’s cool. I actually trained some when I was younger.” I twist my fingers in my hair and fidget with the strands. “I prefer grappling to sparring, though.”

“No shit? You need to come to Double Teep with us, then,” he says, clapping me on the back.

“Maybe once I get settled into classes.” And even then, I probably can’t afford it, but I’m not going to get into that with strangers.

“What other secrets are you hiding?” the woman asks, giving me a toothy smile. I think it’s supposed to be friendly, but her too-wide grin comes across as feral.

“Morgan Hall, twenty-four, Scorpio, about to start law school, scared of frogs, and I’m pretty sure my roommate is the devil’s daughter,” I rattle off.

“I wanna hear more about this roommate,” Karis says at the same time Nathan asks, “Frogs?”

They turn and face each other and have a silent argument with their eyes. “Fine,” he says with an exasperated sigh. “I’ve already heard the story about the bit—witch, though.” He pouts a little, putting on a show of it .

“What witch?” Gage asks as he joins us, and he hands both Karis and me a beer.

“Morgan’s new roommate. From what he’s told me, she’s absolutely crazy.”

Nathan’s friends look at me with expectant expressions. I take a sip of the beer and tell them about the roller coaster the past day and a half has been.

“Yup, she sounds like a certified psycho,” Karis concludes when I finish the story.

“Are you sure you’ve never met her before yesterday?” Gage asks. “This feels like grudge shit. Maybe you killed her cat in a past life or something.”

“No, I’m sure I’ve never met her. But get this: when I stopped by the apartment on the way here, I found a note that she left for me.”

“What type of note?” Nathan asks, instantly refocusing on the drama and the part of the story he hasn’t heard yet.

“A passive-aggressive Post-it Note reminding me to lock the door and criticizing where I keep my toothbrush.”

The three of them stay silent for a moment before Karis and Nathan burst out in laughter.

Gage places a hand on my shoulder. “You are a stronger man than me. I would have lost my shit within the first few hours.”

“I would have been throwing punches in the first five minutes,” Karis agrees. “Bring him something stronger, he deserves it after what he’s been through.”

The mountainous man grumbles at her order, but only affection shines through in his eyes as he pours four shots out on the bar.

“To Morgan’s endless patience,” he says, holding up a shot glass for a toast. I throw mine back with the rest of the group, wincing as the alcohol burns its way down my throat.

“Do you know how to play pool?” Nathan asks, guiding us to an empty table and leaving Gage behind the bar.

As it turns out, I don’t.

After two hours and a few too many drinks, I’m still barely able to hit the cue ball. That doesn’t mean I’m not having fun. I realized pretty quickly that I had misjudged the prickly woman. She’s good people—they all are. Never in my life have I meshed so easily with a group.

“Holy shit, man, do you see her?” Nathan says as he slings an arm over my shoulder and turns me toward the tiny dance floor.

The world spins for a moment as I regain my bearings.

Three women writhe together on a dance floor of their own making, drawing the eyes of every man in the room: a willowy redhead with wildfire hair, a curvy brunette who moves her body with practiced grace, and a blond angel who is blessing the bar with her carefree jubilation.

I can’t get a good look at her face, but she glows against the grungy atmosphere.

“We gotta go talk to them,” he insists and drags me, stumbling, toward them.

I don’t put up a fight, because he might have the right idea. As we approach, the angel twirls, laughing as she dances with her hands in the air, and my stomach turns to ice.

It’s James.

I freeze, pulling him to a halt with me.

“What the hell, man?”

“That’s her ,” I hiss.

“The redhead is your roommate?”

“What? No, the blond is.”

“Oh.” He thinks for a moment, and a broad grin splits across his face. “Good. Let’s go see if she’s as bad as you say.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I try to protest, but I’m already being dragged forward again.

He puts on a charming smile and slides up to their group with relaxed ease. “Ladies,” he greets the group, but his attention is on the tall ginger woman. “Mind if we join you?”

James’s bright smile falls when she recognizes me, and a look of disdain takes its place. Her two friends don’t seem to notice her discomfort, though. They are both too focused on our arrival. The redhead drags her eyes over Nathan’s body and moistens her lips.

“Not at all.” She twirls a strand of her fiery hair around her finger and moves a step closer. “I’m Chelsea.”

“Nathan,” he responds, “and this is my buddy Morgan, although I think he’s already acquainted with your friend.” He tilts his head toward James.

Both girls turn to look at James, their eyes blazing with questions.

The brunette thinks for a moment before understanding dawns on her face. “Morgan…like, new roommate Morgan?”

Her shoulders slump as she lets out a sigh.

“Evelyn, Chels, this is my new roommate, Morgan Hall.” James’s tone is pleasant, but she glares daggers in my direction. The brunette’s—Evelyn’s—dark eyes widen, and Chelsea’s mouth falls agape.

“What the hell, Jamie? Why didn’t you tell us about this?” Chelsea asks.

“It’s only been a day. I haven’t had the chance to bring it up,” she says with a shrug.

They both stare at her like she’s grown a second head, and the man beside me can’t keep the sly grin off his face.

“Let us buy you a round, and you can get to know the guy.” He slips his arm around the redhead’s waist, and she melts into his touch as he leads her back toward Karis.

James follows them with a huff, leaving me alone with the softer woman. She drops her eyes to the ground and gives me a tentative smile from under thick lashes.

“We should probably go too,” she says to her feet. “I’m Evelyn, by the way.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Evelyn. I’m Morgan, but I think you’ve already been told that at least twice.” I cringe and rake my fingers through my hair. “Yeah, let’s just go. ”

She laughs at my awkward rambling and urges me forward. Her arm brushes up against mine with every step we take, and she continues to give me shy glances out of the corner of her eyes.

Nathan already has Chelsea enthralled by his charismatic aura; he’s got his arms wrapped around her, whispering words I never want to hear against her porcelainlike neck while she lines up her shot at the pool table.

Karis looks unfazed by his blatant public display of affection, so I guess this is the behavior I should learn to expect from him.

My roommate stands apart from the group, curled in on herself, with her arms folded across her chest. Part of me wants to go check on her, but her words from earlier ring in my head, so I do exactly what she asked and stay out of her way.

“I’m going to get us drinks. I’ll be right back.” I leave Evelyn with Karis and flag Gage down at the bar.

“Who are the chicks?” he asks as he approaches.

“That would be the roommate and her friends.” I don’t bother to hide the contempt in my voice.

“No shit? How did that happen?”

“Nathan,” I tell him, and he nods like that’s the only explanation he needs. “Would you mind grabbing me drinks for the whole group?”

“Even her?”

I think it over for a second before nodding in reluctant agreement. He fills up a tray with beers from the tap, and I take them back to the group. With only one drink left to deliver, I work up the courage to face the she-devil head-on.

She has her back to the group as she stares out into the crowd. I place a gentle hand on the back of her elbow to avoid startling her. “Hey, I got you a drink.”

My attempt fails as she jumps and spins to face me. Her abrupt motion knocks the full beer out of my hand, and I’m unable to do anything but watch in horror as its contents spill out onto her.

“What the hell, Morgan?” she screeches .

“I’m so, so sorry, James.” I search around us and grab some napkins off a nearby high-top to help clean her off. Without thinking, I try to wipe the liquid off her chest, and she pushes my hands away with a sound of disgust.

“Seriously? You are trying to cop a feel right now?” The rage on her face is clear as day.

“What? No. I was just trying to help. I’m sorry.” My cheeks flush as I hold out the napkins to her without meeting her eyes.

“I’m sure you were,” she says, her words dripping in venom. She rolls her eyes but doesn’t make a move to grab them from me. “Fuck this. I’m going home.”

“James, wait.” I stop her as she tries to storm off. “At least let me walk with you.”

She barks out a dark, bitter laugh. “Fuck off, Morgan.”

“It’s dark, and you’ve been drinking. Please let me come with you.” I reach for her wrist, but she rips it from my grasp.

“What about this isn’t getting through your thick fucking skull? You aren’t my dad, and you sure as hell aren’t my boyfriend, so you can take that bullshit white-knight attitude and shove it up your ass where it belongs.” She turns away, and this time, I don’t stop her as she flees the bar.