Page 54 of Hooked On Him

His brows furrow, eyes flicking between me, the number, and back to me. “I don’t understand...” he says slowly. “I’m here because I’m renting a room. This was the address they gave me.”

“Then yup.” I laugh again. “You got the right place.”

“Wait, you’re the one with the room for rent? How come I didn’t know you were looking for a roommate?”

“I could ask you the same thing.” I raise a brow, unable to keep the smile off my face. “You didn’t tell me you were looking for a place to stay.”

I should feel bad about the guilty look on his face, but I think his pink cheeks are cute. He shoves his glasses up his nose with his finger and shifts from foot to foot.

I’m not the only one keeping secrets. Although I’m pretty sure his are less meddling than mine.

“So you were the one I was texting about the room...” he says, sounding confused. “But that wasn’t your number on the flyer.”

“No. It’s the number from the phone my father pays for.” I say. “I don’t use it anymore, but he keeps paying the bill, so I kept the number.” It’s not a lie. I hardly use the phone, always keeping it shut off. I got a new phone with a new number that he doesn’t know. Once in a while, I’ll turn it on, text him I’m alive, and then shut it off again.

I know I could have just gotten rid of the phone altogether, but it came in handy when I needed a way to text people from the dating app without giving out my personal number.

Not that it matters anymore. I’ll never need a dating app again.

“Oh.” His shoulders slump. I don’t like that. But, he’s also not pissed, so that’s good, right? “I knew this was too good to be true,” he sighs. “Guess I’m back to looking for a place to stay.”

“Why?” I ask, cocking my head to the side.

“Why what?”

“Why do you need another place to stay? Why wouldn’t you stay here like you were planning?”

His mouth opens, then shuts, then opens again. “You want me to move in?”

“Why wouldn’t I? I was looking for a roommate, and I accepted your offer. I don’t see why I’d turn you down now that I know who I agreed to let move in with me.” I chuckle. “If anything, it’s even better. Now I don’t have to live with a stranger and get to room with someone I actually like and get along with.”

“I don’t know.” He rubs the back of his neck. “You sure this wouldn’t be weird?”

“Why would it?” I raise a brow.

“Because we’re friends.” He shrugs.

“Even better.” I grin.

“And because we’re dating?” he says it as a question. “Well, fake dating. Wouldn’t that complicate things?”

“I don’t see why it would.” My smile grows. “Plus, I think it would make the whole friends with benefits thing go a lot smoother.”

I bite my lip as my eyes grow heated, and Levi blushes.

“Come on.” I step closer. “What do you have to lose? What's the biggest issue we have with being friends, or finding time to explore that friends with benefits thing?”

“Our schedules,” Levi answers.

“Right. So, think about how much more we would get to see each other if we were living together. We can hang out and study together on your days off. And when you're too tired after a shift, you don’t have to feel bad about not wanting to hang out, because we can just chill in the living room and relax before bed.”

“True,” he says, but doesn’t sound convincing.

“Come on. Pleaseeee.” I stick my lower lip out and bat my eyelashes.

“And you're okay with Snicklefritz living with us, too? The flyer said "pet friendly.”

“Of course.” I nod, fist pumping on the inside. “There’s a spot in the laundry room for his litter.”