Page 14 of Roommate Wars

Jack stood silently, his green eyes observing me, assessing, as though I were some peculiar specimen.

“What?” I said.

He shrugged, moving his eyes past my face to the other shoppers milling around. “Nothing. You’re just—different.”

“And awesome, I know.” He frowned, and I grinned. “Come on, let’s head over there.” I pointed at another section. “I need underwear.”

“Underwear?” His expression was pure gold.

“Can you handle it?”

He wiped the nervous look off his face and strutted behind me. “I’ll even help you pick.”

I grabbed a lavender bra that would give my small bust a little boost and tossed it in the basket, ignoring the fact that Jack might be watching. Then I walked a few feet to the underwear section, searching for the exact right pair.

“What do you think of these?” I held up beige granny panties.

His face was horrified. “You’re joking.”

“Lucky for you, I am.” I snickered and put the panties back on the rack.

“Lucky for me?” he said. “You mean lucky for whoever you plan on dating.”

Jack moved to a round table with pizza-slice-shaped bins on top and picked through a bunch of thongs. He held up a bedazzled chartreuse pair. “How about this?” His expression was so bland, I thought he might be serious.

“Jackson, that’s not my style.”

He tossed the panties back in the bin. “Good, because I’d burn them if they made it through the laundry.”

“You know,” I said, gesturing at the panties he’d just discarded, “women try those on…”

For a moment he didn’t seem to get it, and then his eyes widened, and he looked down at his hand.

I laughed, tears coming to my eyes. “Since when did you become squeamish?”

“I blame Max.”

Max was more fastidious, though according to Sophia he could be dirty in the bedroom—a piece of information I’d been trying to scrub from my brain ever since she shared it.

I went to a row of panty multipacks and reached for a six-pack of cotton, no-fuss bikinis that were supposed to have minimal panty lines. I tossed them in the basket.

Jack glanced in. “Very practical. Let me know if you ever want to upgrade your underwear game. I’d be happy to donate to the charity.”

“So I can wear sexy underwear for my future boyfriends?”

He frowned again. “When you put it like that, maybe you should stick to the big ones…” He started toward the granny panties, and I grabbed his arm.

“Come on,” I said, laughing. “Let’s check out.”

I had just enough in the bank for the black pants, two tops, and new underwear. I’d also grabbed shampoo and conditioner because I was out.

On our way to the exit, my gaze zeroed in on an impulse buy that looked too good to pass up and was sure to annoy Jack. I stopped and held up my hand. “Hang on.” I pointed at an apron that saidHot Stuff Coming Throughand turned to him. “I’m supposed to cook for you in exchange for boarding, right? Well, I need that. Consider it my uniform.”

He glanced at the apron. “Is the hot stuff supposed to be you or the food?”

“Me, of course.”

He sent me a tired look. “You’re only cooking three nights a week.”