Page 54 of Forbidden Billionaires, Vol. 9

I peeped out my bedroom door. The girl that had been screaming Rory's name all night was standing in the kitchen. I can do this. I walked out of my room and into the kitchen.

"Hey," I said as cheerily as possible.

She turned around. "Oh my God." She put her hands over her mouth. "You have to believe me. I had no idea Rory had a girlfriend."

"What?" I laughed. I wish. "Oh, geez, I'm not Rory's girlfriend. I'm just his roommate."

"Holy shit, thank God. I almost had a heart attack."

"Wow, that would have been super awkward. But no, no, we're definitely not dating. I'm Keira, by the way." I stuck out my hand.

"Izzy," she said and shook my hand.

"Do you want some cereal? I was just about to eat."

Izzy looked at the cabinet she had opened. "Yeah, that would be great. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to go through your stuff."

"Don't worry about it." I grabbed the milk out of the fridge. "The bowls are in the next cabinet over."

"Great." She grabbed two bowls while I got the cereal and spoons.

"Is cinnamon toast crunch okay?" I asked.

"Um, yeah." She sat down next to me at the kitchen counter. "Wow, I can't even remember the last time I had this. I've gotten so used to eating bland cereal with high fiber and less sugar that I tricked my mind into thinking it was good."

I laughed. "Ew. I can't even swallow that stuff."

Izzy laughed and took a bite. "So, is it weird living with a guy? I feel like that would drive me crazy. Especially Rory. I mean, have you not seen him or something? I'd be drooling every day."

I shrugged. "We're just friends, so it's not really awkward at all. And he's not even my type. How did you two meet?"

Izzy's face turned a little red. "Um, we ran into each other at the bar down the street from here."

The way she had worded it made it seem like they already knew each other.

But the way she said it made it seem like they had only just met last night.

I figured it was better not to ask any more questions about that.

"Oh, the last time I was there they were having a karaoke night. It was so much fun."

"They were doing it last night too! It really was a lot of fun. Mostly because Rory is a terrible singer."

"Is he?" I started laughing. For some reason I couldn't picture him singing at all.

I just pictured him standing in the corner being unbelievably sexy.

It made me like him even more knowing he was willing to put himself out there and embarrass himself in public.

Especially since I seemed to embarrass myself several times a day.

Stop thinking about how much you like him. Focus.

"Good morning."

We both looked up at Rory. He was giving me a strange look.

"Izzy was just telling me that you're a fantastic singer, Rory." I took a bite of my cereal.

Izzy started laughing.

Rory continued to stare at me. "Keira, can I talk to you for a second?"

"After I'm done my cereal. So, Izzy, what do you do?"

"I'm trying to be an actress. And when I'm not at auditions, I work as a waitress."

"That's awesome! Have you been in anything I may have seen?"

"Yeah, there was this local used car commercial I was in a few months back."

Rory slammed one of the cupboards.

I smiled to myself. Befriend the women he sleeps with...check .

***

"Yes, definitely call me. We'll have to go to that bar together next time and show Rory up."

Izzy laughed. "See you later, Keira!"

I closed the door behind her. Rory was staring at me as I made my way over to the couch. I sat down and pretended I didn't notice him.

"What the hell, Keira?"

I looked up at him. "What?" I said as innocently as possible.

He sat down next to me. "She was here for like two hours. The rule is breakfast and that's it. No chatting. Couldn't you tell how awkward that was for me?"

"Oh, come on. That seems awfully rude. I promised you that I'd be nicer to the girls you bring over. I was just doing what you wanted me to do. And Izzy is really nice. You should definitely go out with her again."

"I'm not going to go out with her again."

"Why?"

"You know why."

As his words hung in the air, my heart skipped a beat. For a second I let myself believe it was because he liked me. I shook away the thought. He just meant because he didn't date. One night stands. That was it.

"Well, I thought she was really great."

"If you like her so much, you can date her."

I laughed. "You wish."

He laughed too. "Yeah, I wouldn't protest against that."

I rolled my eyes. "You're such a slut, Rory."

"A slut?" He raised his eyebrow at me.

"Oh, don't look at me that way. Guys can be sluts too."

"How does wanting to see two girls make sweet, sweet love make me a slut?"

"Sweet, sweet love?" I scrunched up my nose. "And what would you know about that? You've never made love to anyone in your life."

"You don't really know that much about me, Keira." He leaned back and put his hands behind his head.

"What, you're telling me that you've been in love? I don't even believe you." I so badly wanted to know this information. I was quickly losing my grip on the situation. Especially when he was this close to me on the couch. I swallowed hard. I wanted to know everything about him.

He shrugged. "I don't know. I went out with this girl my first two years of college."

If I had been in a cartoon, my jaw would have dropped to the floor. "So you do date?"

"No, I did date. Huge difference."

"What happened?" I tried not to sound too eager.

"It was a long time ago."

Shit. I needed to know. "It couldn't have been worse than how any of my relationships ended. Seriously, what happened? Maybe a female perspective on the situation is what you need."

"I don't really need another perspective. She cheated on me. End of story."

So that's it. He doesn't trust women. He keeps his distance because he doesn't want to get hurt again. I suddenly felt awkward, sitting there analyzing him. "Sorry, that sucks. It's definitely her loss, though. Because you're awesome to live with," I quickly added.

Rory smiled at me. "Thanks."

"So, be nice to the girls you bring home, but don't talk to them for a long time?" I needed to get out of there. He was sexy, and funny, and broken. I loved dating guys that needed help. It was my weakness.

"That would be great."

"Okay," I said and touched his knee as I stood up. "I'm going to go get some work done. I'll be better behaved next time I meet one of your lady friends." I smiled at him and disappeared into my room.