Roomie Wars Box Set

“That’s why you love me. For my ability to point out the lameness in a situation.”

With tight lips, I nod my head accordingly. “Sure, and the fact that you can’t hear the word ‘anal’ without a boner.”

Drew grabs my hand strategically placing it on the crotch of his pants. He never disappoints. And somewhere down south, my body sings a chorus line as my fiancé strips me naked and takes me right there in our living room.

Chapter Three

Drew

“Teal or mint green?”

My eyes flutter open. Is Zoey talking to me or am I dreaming? I rub my eyes vigorously and manage to pull myself up. The clock beside me shows it’s just after seven in the morning. And then, I try to shuffle my body close to hers only to be obstructed with foreign objects—magazines, books, samples, and albums surround her.

“What are you going on about?” I mumble, struggling to keep my eyes open.

“Teal or mint green? The theme color of the wedding.”

“Neither?”

“Really? Because I was thinking mint green.”

“Zoey, why do you ask if you already know?”

She rests her hand on my arm calming her anxious tone. “Because we should plan the wedding together.”

My body slides back into sleeping position, rolling over and ignoring the conversation she started. It was sometime after five in the morning when I’d gotten home. It should have been an easy shift—paperwork and routine check-ups—until a fire broke out at some apartment building and then the ER became busy treating patients for smoke inhalation and burns.

My eyelids droop heavily as her instant rambling seems distant. I’m imagining us getting married, something short and sweet that takes one minute to say ‘I do’ with no planning or circus involved, then slipping away to some exotic location for two weeks of nothing but sex and the beach—my idea of heaven.

“Funny thing happened at work yesterday. Slater caught me browsing a wedding magazine at lunch and guess what? His cousin owns a bridal boutique in Los Angeles. He said he’d take me there and introduce me to her.”

My eyes open wide alarmed by the sudden need of a man I have never met taking my fiancée on a road trip to LA. I try to tame my wild imagination keeping my back toward her while hiding the growing emotion of annoyance every time she mentions his name.

“I’m sure there are other boutiques. Besides, every time someone offers a family member’s service, you almost feel obliged to go ahead. I thought you found a dress online?”

“Yeah, I did,” she sulks. “It costs ten thousand dollars. We can’t afford that.”

I cringe at the amount wishing I could tell her to buy whatever the hell she wanted to avoid hanging out with Slater at his cousin’s shop. But we have invested our money, keen on Zoey building our dream home next year. We both know it will be a costly project—a reason why both of us work our asses off and try to save every penny.

“We could afford it if we moved to your dad’s place instead of buying something new.”

She’s sly to bring this up again. Dad’s property is beautiful, but it’s Dad’s. I don’t want to make new memories there. I want to keep the old ones alive. I wish she’d understand that instead of constantly trying to make us move there.

“With some changes, the place would be great for us, Drew.”

“I said no, Zoey.” Firm and quick to change the subject, she knows me well enough to understand it’s time to back away from that subject. I don’t want to talk anymore prompting her to venture back to the wedding.

“Okay, so the date is set. Five months from today we will be man and wife. I know it’s short, but the place is reasonable and within our budget. And as an added bonus, there’s a beautiful garden view for photos.”

“Sounds great,” I say, followed with a snore.

“And the photographer… so, my Uncle Leo has been doing it for years. He’s offered his service for free, and we can pay for the printing.”

“Awesome.” I yawn.

“All right, this conversation is on hiatus.”

I feel the cold air grace the inside of the covers prompting me to turn around and open my eyes. Why isn’t her warm body beside me, naked and ready for me to pleasure?