The Roommate Equation

“What about Vinnie? He ever hit on you?”

Ash gives me a confused look. “Yeah, right.”

“He also has a reputation for being a total sleaze-ball.”

She wrinkles her nose. “He’s old enough to be my dad.” Ash flips through the scripts and then hands one to me. “Start with this one. Nico might like it. Well…” She bites her bottom lip. “I’m not sure what is good for him anymore. He hasn’t responded well to anything I’ve given him. It’s like he doesn’t want to work… But according to Vinnie, Nico is bleeding through his money. So, I don’t know why he’s wasting his time drinking and sleeping all day.”

“We’ll find something,” I promise.

“I hope so.” Ash leans back against the cushion and kicks her feet up on the coffee table.

Don’t say anything.

I turn my head away from her feet on my table and act like a normal person.

“Do you want me to read the entire script?”

She shakes her head. “You’ll know within the first few pages if it’s good.”

I glance down at the first page, already bored from the start. After scanning a few more pages, I drop it onto the table and pick out a new one.

Ash’s eyes lift from the page to meet mine. “What are you doing?”

“That one sucked.”

“How could you possibly know that? You read like two words of it.”

“I have an eidetic memory.”

“Ahh,” she groans. “I forgot about your freaky nerd superpowers. We’ll be done these in no time.”

We read in silence for a few minutes, and I can feel Ash staring at me. I’m usually the one watching her.

“What?” I ask without meaning to sound as rude as I do.

“You look so intense when you read.”

I lift my head, and our eyes meet. “Shouldn’t you be reading?”

“I need a drink,” she says.

Let me guess. She wants me to get it for her.

I drop the script onto the couch and push myself up, staring down at Ash. “What do you want?”

She presses her red lips together, and I get the urge to taste her. I bet she smells like cherries.

“Stoli and cranberry juice.”

I can’t help but laugh. “You’re a lightweight. How do you expect to get through the box if you’re wasted?”

She rolls her shoulders, giving me the most adorable pouty look. “I’m good at delegating.”

I shake my head, almost impressed by her sneakiness. “You think I’m going to do your job for you?”

She curls up against the cushion and tips her head toward the kitchen. “That drink won’t make itself.”

Ash drives me so crazy that I act without thinking through my next move. I drop my knee between her spread thighs and lean forward, caging her body against the couch with mine. Her chest rises and falls with each breath she takes. She drags her teeth along her lip, peeking up at me with her lips parted.

Ash doesn’t stop me when I push her back against the couch. Instead of telling me to fuck off, she spreads her legs wider. She wants this as much as I do. But what am I doing? Sloan could check the security camera, and then I would have to tell him the truth.

Slipping my fingers through her hair, I crush her lips with a kiss that sucks the air from my lungs. Ash hooks her legs around my back, squeezing her thighs so tightly I wish she never had to let go. Because being this close to Ash only makes me want to keep her.

I wish I could go back to the day I chased her away and start over. Ash might allow me to have her body one more time, but her heart isn’t up for grabs. So, how do I go about this? How do I keep her this time?

A door slams in the distance, snapping me back to reality. Sloan said he would be out all night, but I’m not taking any chances. I peel my lips from Ash’s and sit on the cushion next to her, slightly out of breath.

Ash opens her mouth to speak, and then the front door flies open.

Chapter Twelve

Ash

After that hot kiss with Dylan, I needed a long shower. We lucked out that Sloan brought a date home from the party. Otherwise, he would have questioned us to death, considering the state of the living room that was a mess from our little make-out session.

I turn off the water and wrap myself in a fluffy towel that smells like Dylan’s laundry detergent. His scent invades my nostrils, and I can’t help but take a few more whiffs. It’s like being enveloped by Dylan and his warmth but without his strong arms closing around me.

Dismissing the thought from my mind, I wipe the fog from the mirror with my hand. The dark circles beneath my eyes could use a few coats of concealer to hide them. Even my skin looks paler than usual. I rub some moisturizer into my cheeks, making slow circular movements, before lathering my arms and legs with the vanilla-scented lotion.