Mr. Roommate: Single Dad & Virgin Romance

“Sorry…” She looked down at the plate. “I didn’t realize it was a bad word.”

“It’s okay, Melody.” I sat down and felt a bit devious. “Next time your mommy says that, ask her who his old slut was.”

“Hannah!” Brent’s jaw dropped. “Melody, don’t ask your m

other that.”

“Okay, Daddy.” She grinned and started eating her food after Brent cut the chicken into tiny little bites.

Brent couldn’t help but smile at me behind his hand as he shot me an angry glare with his eyes. I started eating my food, watching the way Brent interacted with Melody. I had started to develop feelings for him in the time we spent together, but watching him with her just made my heart melt. He was such an amazing father. It was a shame that his ex-wife had thrown that away for whoever the hell hot-dad was. As far as I was concerned, the hottest dad on the planet was sitting at the other end of the table. I wanted him—and not just as a roommate. I wanted him to be the man who took my virginity—I wanted him to be my first and my last. I had no idea if he felt anything towards me and I couldn’t even fathom what it would take to find out. The wound left on my heart from Anthony was starting to heal and Brent was responsible for every bit of it.

Brent

Adding Hannah to the household raised my expenses and I wasn’t exactly going to get half of everything paid compared to what I was paying before. I would still come out ahead, especially with the rent money. I figured I would just keep a tab and send her father the bill once I had a total. Crunching numbers was my thing anyway, so knowing that I had a check coming was somewhat therapeutic. It was going to be the first month I actually had some money in the bank without wondering how much credit card debt it would take to the next paycheck. Instead of sending the money, her father decided to visit personally, just to see how things were going. Hannah made dinner on her own and it was clear that she was a fast learner.

“You seriously didn’t just order take-out and put it on a plate?” Her father wiped the edge of his lip with a napkin.

“No!” She glared at her father. “I’m actually learning how to cook.”

“How is school going?” He pushed his plate away and folded his arms.

“So far, I’ve aced everything.” Her glare turned to a smile.

“Fantastic!” He nodded. “I think that calls for a celebration—well, for the two of us.”

“She asked for a drink the first night she was here.” I nodded to Hannah. “I told her no.”

“Hannah…” His voice lowered and he practically growled.

“He said no.” She held up her hands. “You can’t blame me for asking.”

Hannah’s father did a quick inspection of the house after we had drinks in our hand and I showed him how to work the pull-out sofa. I offered him my bed, but he declined. We stayed up much later than I was used to, but it was nice to have someone to drink and shoot the shit with. Steve didn’t visit nearly enough and he was always more concerned with gushing about how awesome my life was—or how hot my roommate was—to actually offer real conversation. I had to shut him down several times when he started making inappropriate comments about Hannah and he seemed genuinely offended by it.

“Okay…” Mr. Smith stood up and put his glass on the kitchen counter. “I need to get some rest. How does this thing work again?”

“I’ll get it set up.” I laughed and started pulling the bed out of the sofa. “By the way, I haven’t told Hannah this yet, but I’m going to have to head to Baltimore in a couple of weeks. I’ll be gone for several days, so I figured you should know she’s here by herself.”

“Thank you.” He nodded. “I would come out, but the middle of the week is not possible with my job. I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

“Yes sir.” I finished unfolding the bed and took a step back. “She’s very responsible and there haven’t been any issues at all outside of her early attempts at making dinner.”

“I’m glad she figured it out before I came to visit.” He chuckled and sat down on the side of the bed.

“Have a good night.” I nodded to him and started walking down the hallway.

“You too.” He called out and I heard his head hit the bed before I even got my door closed.

I drove Mr. Smith to the airport on Sunday and he was on his way back home after giving me Hannah’s check for her half of the expenses. I broke the news of the travel arrangements the next day to Hannah, who seemed disappointed, but understood why I would be away. I was actually happy she would be there. The previous time that I had been called away on business, I had to suck it up and ask my ex-wife to check on the house while I was gone. The trip wouldn’t impact Melody, but I made sure to tell her anyway. She didn’t fully understand at first and seemed more upset she wouldn’t get to see Hannah than me. Melody seemed to be enamored with Hannah, who showered her with attention. The job itself turned out to be a lost less intensive than it was originally presented to me, so I finished up early. I stood at the airport waiting on my flight and realized that I wasn’t just excited to get home and see Melody—I was actually looking forward to seeing Hannah as well. As much respect as I had for her father, I couldn’t deny that something seemed to be blossoming between us.

Hannah

I had four days with the house to myself before Brent was due to return. As much as I missed him, I was also looking forward to breaking a few rules and enjoying the time alone. I found a few bottles of wine that were gathering dust in the kitchen cabinet, and since Brent didn’t drink anything but whiskey, I assumed they were left by his wife. Her loss would be my gain. I poured a glass and sat down in front of the television. After the first glass, I was already buzzing and I wanted a cigarette. I started to stand up and go outside, but then I remembered that he wasn’t home. The smell would definitely be out of the house by the time he got back, so I fashioned an ashtray out of a saucer and lit one up in the living room. It was nice not having to pause my show and stand outside to smoke.

This is the life…

I finished most of the bottle and smoked far too many cigarettes before I was finally too sleepy to keep my eyes open. I walked into the bedroom and plopped down on the bed, dragging myself the rest of the way onto it until my feet weren’t on the floor. The sleep that came was dark and silent without a single dream. I woke up the next morning and it felt like I had been asleep forever. The sun was high in the sky—I was late for class! I stood up and felt my head pounding so hard my eyes were hurting. I was already late, so there wasn’t any reason to force it. I decided to just skip classes and spend the day in bed after I downed a glass of water, a cigarette, and some Advil.

Fuck everything except this pillow.