Page 18 of The Roommate Game

“We’re not.”

“Ah, well, that’s good.”

Rafe narrowed his eyes. “Why is that good?”

“ ’Cause he was totally flirting with me.”

“Oh?”

“For the sake of transparence, I flirted too.”

“Did you?” Damn it, he looked pissed.

“Yeah, but it was innocent and I have zero interest in butting into your action or?—”

“Stop,” Rafe hissed. He held a palm in front of my face. “Just…stop. Has anyone ever told you that you’re a real turd? A super shit, a monumental dump of epic portions…like a rhinoceros-sized poop floating in a pristine pool. You might have everyone else fooled, but I see who you really are.”

My face heated on cue. I’d been beating the crap out of myself for a week, and I fully agreed with almost every word that came out of his mouth.

Except…

“I don’t think rhinoceros shit would float, man. It would sink for sure.”

Rafe gritted his teeth, his nostrils flaring angrily. “Go…stick your head in a toilet.”

CHAPTER 7

RAFE

My cute albeitineffectual attempt at creating space for myself and reminding the hockey player that he wasn’t the only one living in this house was a bust. I should have known better.

I’d thrown a party and made it everything I’d assumed my idiot roommate would hate, and the whole ridiculous thing had blown up in a big ball of stupid. A wellness gathering was an original idea, but I didn’t know most of the people who’d actually shown up.

Penny had recruited her yoga regulars, Harmony had invited a few clients, and Jackson had encouraged his friends from the bakery to stop by.Myfriends mostly stood outside, sipping berry spritzes they’d spiked with contraband vodka, gossiping about fellow skaters…same as any other day of the week. Jeremy’s short program was a disaster, Kenzie’s choreography was so 2022, Isabella needed a new partner, stat.

Oh, yes…and I was sure they had a lot to say about me sneaking pinky snogs with Eli, who’d later been seen flirting with my terrible, horrible roommate.

Ugh. This was what I got for trying to change the status quo.

I stayed as far from Gus as possible for the rest of the evening. If he was outside, I went inside to whisper-chat withJackson and watch strangers contort themselves into pretzels in the living area or morph into human statues in the family room. And because I was a glutton for punishment, I couldn’t help noticing Eli hovering in Gus’s orbit like a gnat.

Okay, maybe I was overreacting. Eli had sought me out for one more pinky moment before he left. I wasn’t sure what that meant. Probably nothing, ’cause that was the last I saw of him.

I was counting on Gus to disappear early. With any luck, Kelsi might entice him to leave with her. The night was young and according to Celine, there was a must-see band playing at The Tavern tonight. Everyone was going.

“Leave the tidying for later,” Celine had cajoled. “Come with us. This was fun and everyone loved it, but let’s go have another kind of fun now.”

“You go. I’ll join you later.”

She gave me a stern once-over, made another plea for my immediate riveting company, but finally gave up and told me to change and text her when I was on my way.

Not happening.

All I wanted was for everyone to go home so I could sulk in peace and quiet. I had big plans for aSex and the Citymarathon on my laptop under oodles of covers in a completely empty house with me, myself, and?—

“I checked outside for trash, but there wasn’t any. And I moved the sofa and the coffee table back, so everything is where it’s supposed to be,” Gus reported. “Let me do the dishes. You can chill.”

I did a double take.