Page 1 of Study Hard

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Study Hard

The house I shared with four other roommates had succumbed to finals week chaos and appeared ready to be condemned. It was already iffy between five guys in the first place, but now the sink looked like it’d vomited dirty dishes, and there were boxes of cereal, protein bars, and chips scattered all over the counters.

Butsomethingsmelled delicious as I walked in the back door. My roommate Jesse stood at the stove, patting something in a pan with a spatula.

“What’re you making?” Plunking my gym bag down on the kitchen table, I tried to get a peek at what he was cooking. I was starving and had a long night of studying ahead of me.

“Grilled cheese,” he said flatly, clearly trying to keep my level of interest to a minimum. It didn’t work. My stomach growled a serenade to the savory smell rising from the stove.

“Just plain grilled cheese?” When I stepped closer, Jesse angled his body to block my view, then exhaled a put-upon sigh as if I’d just asked him if the world was flat.

“Four kinds of cheese and roasted red bell pepper.”

“So…fancy grilled cheese?”

“Yep. Andno.”

“Nowhat?”

“No, I’m not making you one.”

“C’mon, man, I’m starving and we’re out of frozen dinners.” I retreated, yanking open the fridge to snag a fresh bottle of water, and then dropped into one of the kitchen chairs to unlace my running shoes.

“I’m not your kitchen bitch,” Jesse groused.

“You’re myfavoritekitchen bitch,” my other roommate Mark crooned as he bustled in from the living room, backpack hitched over one shoulder. While I watched in amusement, he deftly nudged Jesse out of the way and reached into the pan, snatching one of the sandwiches and hot potatoing it between his hands. Jesse made a noise of protest and swiped belatedly at him with his shoulder, then barked out a curse as Mark danced away and was out the back door in a flash, waving his sandwich at me with a grin as he vanished.

“God, I want to punch him sometimes,” Jesse growled.

“You should. He deserves it. I bet if you did, he’d be so surprised he wouldn’t even retaliate.”

Jesse grumbled something unintelligible, then sighed again as he pulled another couple of pieces of bread from the bag on the counter beside him to start another sandwich. “You want the same kind I’m making or just plain with cheddar?”

“Same is good. Thanks, man, I owe you one.” I capped my water bottle and leaned back in the chair, running a hand through the sweat-damp ends of my hair. Fuck, I was ready to be done with studying for a while. One more exam and I’d be free for the summer.

“You owe me many.” He flashed a seething look over his shoulder at me, and I gave him a grateful smile.

“I’ve got a case in the fridge. You’re welcome to as much as you want.”

“Pass. That’s an inequivalent trade, and I’m about to go to a study group anyway.”

Before I could respond, the back door swung open again and Eric walked in. In a movie, this moment would happen in slow motion. And he’d also probably be shirtless, his naked shoulders sheened with water droplets. He had the wet hair covered, at least. Guess he’d forgotten his umbrella because he was soaked to the bone. Slow motion or not, my heart did a tiny flip-flop in my chest as his gaze landed on me. I kept waiting for it not to happen anymore, but I’d been waiting for months now.

“It’s supposed to rain today,” I deadpanned. Jesse spared Eric a glance, then went back to his prep.

“You don’t say.” Eric started toward me and sidestepped just as I reached out for a belt loop to try to reel him in. His lips pulled into a wicked grin, and he winked at my scowl as he diverted to the kitchen island, where he set his bag down and eyed the stove. “What’re you making there?”

“Goddammit,” Jesse muttered, and I cracked up.

“He’s making fancy grilled cheeses, andno, you can’t have one,” I told him in my best imitation of Jesse’s frustrated tone.

“Fancy grilled cheeses,” Eric echoed, wandering closer to the stove and picking up one of the cheese packets on the counter. Jesse swatted his hand. “Gouda. Yum.”

“Do you want one?”

“For real?” Eric’s brows went up at the unexpected offer. “Sure, if it’s not too much trouble.”