Page 18 of Roommate Wars

A pulse in my temples throbbed. Jealousy tasted bitter, and I was pissed that I knew.

Elise would be out all night, looking gorgeous, with some man she barely knew. How would I know she was safe?

The urge to put a tracker on her came to mind. Then I realized how fucked up that would be and tamped down the desire.

This was going to be a long night.

* * *

At some point,I’d fallen asleep with my clothes on. But that didn’t prevent me from waking immediately at the sound of Elise getting home.

I glanced at my phone. It was midnight, so not too late. I stumbled out of bed and caught her walking down the hallway, head down and yawning.

She finally saw me standing near my door and lurched back in surprise. “Hey. What’s going on?”

Clearly, I wasn’t keeping my emotions in check. I leaned against my doorframe and forced my limbs to relax. “How was your date?”

“My date?” She looked like a deer caught in the headlights. “Oh, fantastic. He was really…muscular.”

Interesting description. “So, not smart?”

“What? No, he was just, you know—he works out.”

“Mm-hmm.” I glanced down her body. She looked to be all in one piece. “You okay?”

She tilted her head to the side. “Yes, why?”

I’d never worried about a woman out on her own at night, and I suddenly realized I absolutely should have. There were male predators just waiting for a beautiful woman to get within reach. And sleazy men who trolled dating apps. It wasn’t safe. Elise could have been hurt or kidnapped.

I puffed out a strained sigh. “Just, you know, be safe out there. Don’t hesitate to call me if you get into trouble.”

“Trouble?” Her eyes lit with anger. “You don’t think I can handle myself? That I’m incompetent?”

“What? No. Nothing like that—”

“Well, I can handle myself, Jackson.” She stormed past me and into her room.

I stared at her door in confusion. I’d never been good at reading women, but it seemed I was even worse at reading Elise. “That went well,” I murmured and returned to my bedroom.

Elise was home, and she was safe. That was all that mattered.

ChapterNine

Elise

Last nightI’d agreed to go out to dinner with a guy I met on a dating app in order to get out of the house. The key to survival while living with Jack was to not spend too much time together, where we could fight, or worse—where I could experience lingering longing. So when some guy posted a photo of his cute dog, I’d decided to give him a try.

Here was how that went:

The guydidn’thave a dog. False advertisement on his part, though he clearly understood the female psyche and was willing to use our weaknesses against us. Point one to him.

He brought a one-gallon bottle of water on the date and refused to drink the restaurant water because “it was contaminated.”

An hour into dinner, he talked about how we’d celebrate our first anniversary.

Hell to the no.

And then Jack had added insult to injury when I got home and suggested I couldn’t handle myself on a date.