Bitter

Chapter 3

My feet ache as I walk in my house back from my shift. I’ve been working at Mancino’s for two weeks now. Luckily they gave me a chance even though it had been so long since I worked anywhere. I was so grateful when I got the call to come in for an interview.

Reed and I have started settling into a routine. I usually see him first thing before he goes to work when I make breakfast. I used to do it for Jake, so I am used to waking up early. Reed’s hours are not quite the same though since he works in the construction industry instead of the finance industry.

After he leaves, I usually work on things around the house until the lunch shift or dinner shift. I usually get home late since I’ve been doing mostly dinner shifts, and so I haven’t really made those dinners I promised him. If he isn’t gone when I get home, then he’s usually in his room unwinding for the night, so I don’t see much of him in the evenings. We mostly each stick to our own thing, so he’s really a great roommate to have.

The house is dark when I walk in, so he must be gone. It is Friday night, so that makes sense. I head straight for my room to grab my kindle, and then I head into the bathroom for a bubble bath. Hopefully it will help my achy feet.

After soaking for so long that my fingers and toes are shriveled up, I finally decide to get out. The heat from the tub made me incredibly thirsty, so I quickly wrap a towel around myself and walk into the kitchen for a glass of water.

I open my fridge and grab the pitcher, but when I turn around, there’s a man staring back at me. I scream out in surprise until I realize that it’s just Reed. “Jesus! You scared me! When did you get home?” I ask while I try to catch my breath.

He ignores my question. “What did I say about no pants?” he asks as he looks me up and down again.

I pull my towel around myself tighter. “I didn’t think you were home.”

He narrows his eyes. “So the rules don’t apply as long as the other person isn’t home?” he asks angrily.

I roll my eyes. “Stop being so dramatic.”

I don’t understand why he’s so upset. It’s not that big of a deal.

He turns abruptly. “I’m going out. Don’t wait up.”

I’m not sure what time Reed got home last night. I fell asleep and never heard him come in. His bedroom door is shut though, so he must still be in there sleeping. I don’t have to work today, but I still woke up at my normal time. I decide to make breakfast.

Right as I am pulling the ingredients out of the fridge, Reed comes out of his room in nothing but black shorts. I cock an eyebrow at him, and he grumbles as he sits. “Rules don’t apply when you’re hungover,” he jokes.

His voice is still sleepy, and his hair is sticking up in funny angles. I smile back. “Don’t worry. You look awful. I wouldn’t even notice if you were completely naked.”

I slide a coffee across to him, and he smirks as he takes a sip. “I don’t remember you ever giving this much sass to Jake.”

I turn back around and start cooking the food. “Well, you’re not my husband, Reed,” I say sarcastically.

His voice mocks me from behind. “You wouldn’t be that submissive bitch you were with him if I were your husband.”

I whip back around and stare at him. I set my cutting knife back on the counter loudly. “You know, you can be a real asshole,” I say angrily as I walk out of the kitchen.

The stool screeches as he stands and chases after me. “Wren, wait!” he calls out as he grabs my arm gently to stop me from going further.

I turn and look at him, and his face looks apologetic. He gives me a half smile. “Just because it’s one hundred percent true, I shouldn’t have said it.”

It takes me a second to realize that he did not apologize even in the slightest. Somehow though the non-apology works on me. I shove at his chest playfully. “Well at least I know I’ll never have to worry about running into any of your hookups in the morning. No way any of them would stick around after seeing that bedhead of yours.”

He smiles with all of his teeth. “Admit it. You think I’m sexy,” he jokes.

“You’re sexy.” The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them. I was trying to keep the joking mood going, but that was not the right thing to say. The tension in the air went from zero to a hundred the moment I said it.

He doesn’t say anything. He just stares back at me. I know it’s wrong, but before I can stop myself, my eyes begin to wander. Wander down from his face to his neck. To his shoulders. Down his chest. To his abs. Lower.

My perusing is cut short. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” he shouts.

My eyes shoot back to his. His face is furious. “Jesus Christ, Wren! You can’t fucking look at me like that.” He turns and goes back into his room, coming out a few minutes later fully dressed.

“You working today?” he asks as he walks back into the kitchen, trying to make it seem like nothing weird just happened between us.

“No, I’m off,” I respond while also trying to ignore that I was totally just checking him out.

He sits back down at the counter again. “I’m having some guys over tonight for the game.”

“Single guys?” I ask.

He narrows his eyes back. “What does it matter to you?”

“So I can sleep with one of them,” I halfway joke.

He lets out a disbelieving laugh. “Absolutely not.”

I purse my lips. “Why not?”

He changes the subject. “How about you focus on more important things right now? Like what do you want to do long term?”

“Like as a career?” I ask.

He nods, and I look away and plate our food. I shrug, “I don’t know. Why? Are you sick of taking care of me already?”

I glance back up at him, but his face is still serious. “I’ll gladly take care of you for the rest of your life, but you don’t need another person to take care of you, Wren. You want to be free.”

I set his plate in front of him. “Exactly. Free. Like free to sleep with any guy I want.”

He grabs the plate and stands abruptly. “You’re being ridiculous.” He turns and brings the food back into his room.

“You know, you’ve gotten real moody ever since you moved in here!” I call out after him, but he just shuts his bedroom door and doesn’t respond.