Page 51 of Roommate Wars

I glanced down. “Huh?”

“My feet are cold too,” she said, grinning. “Hey!” Her expression filled with excitement. “Now that you’re my boyfriend, does this mean I get foot rubs as well as hand-holding?”

I groaned, but it was halfhearted, because I liked the idea of doing boyfriend things for Elise. Though I’d keep that to myself. “I knew you’d try to take advantage.”

Her expression was all innocence. “You call foot rubs taking advantage, yet buying me clothes is acceptable?”

I looked ahead. “Buying you stuff is easy. Wish you’d let me do it more often.”

“No.”

I glanced at her set chin. “Stubborn.”

She peered up, a megawatt smile on her face. “Back to the foot rubs. My dogs are killing me. If I had a real boyfriend, foot rubs would be a requirement.”

I stopped her in the middle of the sidewalk and turned her to face me. I tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear and brushed her cheek with the back of my hand. “Iamyour real boyfriend.”

Her eyes widened.

Message received.

Sexual tension surrounded us like a San Francisco fog rolling in over the hills, and Elise delicately cleared her throat. “Should we watch TV when we get home?” she said, changing the subject.

It was late and a work night, but I was a night owl, though I didn’t think Elise was. “Sure, if you’re up for it.” We started walking again, and I reached for her hand—and this time, she didn’t say anything.

We returned to the apartment a few minutes later and changed into more comfortable clothes before meeting up in the living room.

Elise wore my boxers and T-shirt, and I was in sweatpants and a holey tee. So, our usual uniforms.

She eyed my shirt from her slouched position on the couch. “Don’t you think you should put that one out to pasture?”

I looked down and picked at the fabric. The original emblem was faded and cracking in places. “Nope. It’s my favorite.”

She shook her head. “I can tell.”

I sat beside her. Maybe a little too close, because my weight had her tipping against me. Okay, I might have planned that. And she didn’t seem to mind.

Elise snuggled up. “You’re like an electric blanket.”

“Feel free to wrap me around you.”

She side-eyed me. “That’s naughty, Jackson. Not sure how I feel about having a naughty boyfriend.”

I leaned closer, my gaze on her mouth. “You haven’t seen naughty, Elise.”

Her body jerked lightly, and I glimpsed goosebumps running up her arms.

She lunged for the remote. “What should we watch?” Her focus was on the TV, but the tension lingered.

We surfed Netflix and settled on a political drama that had just released.

Elise yawned and lay on her side, stealthily tucking one of her ice-block feet under my thigh.

She hadn’t been lying: those things were as cold as her hands. Had they been this cold the night we slept together? I had no recollection of cold feet, but then again, I’d been busy focusing on other things…

Her small body pressing against mine, waking me. Then her tensing at the realization of where she was.

I rolled over, facing her, and she looked confused for a moment—before she leaned forward and kissed me, seemingly surprising herself as much as me.