Page 46 of Oblivious Roommate

I hate my own inability to get things right, but I’m already jogging to the building with desperate need in my guts. This whole mess is temporary and I will untangle it if it kills me.

By this point, I’ve been at Aaron’s many times, so I run up the stairs and go straight to his room, demanding entry with a hard knock.

I’m breathless, and as seconds tick away, I become lightheaded, but the door eventually opens, and pale eyes look at me from behind it.

“Um... hey?” Aaron mutters. He’s dressed in tight black joggers, and a T-shirt in the same color, which is not his usual outfit. Maybe it’s a stay-in kind of day for him?

All the better.

I burst into his room without asking because this is an emergency.

“Today is the day, Aaron. We need dirt on Logan by tomorrow.”

“I— what? What are you talking about? I thought you were out with Cassian,” Aaron says, closing the door behind us.

I toe off my shoes and crawl onto his bed. I sit on the plush cover with my back resting against the cold wall, but as he walks closer, my gaze strays to the book on the nightstand.

Nipples stare at me from the tattooed chest taking up most of the cover, but Aaron takes the book out of my hand before I have a chance to read the title.

“Now I know why you love reading so much,” I tease. “I hope I’m not interrupting.”

His cheeks go aflame, but his eyes turn into slits. “Did I hear correctly that you came here for my help?” He stuffs the book into a drawer. Touchy subject then.

I clear my throat. “Sorry. Yeah.”

Aaron grabs his desk chair and drags it to stand in front of the bed before sitting in it as if he’s giving me an audience. He stretches, exhales, and meets my gaze. “Okay?”

“I… I did stuff with Cass, and I need Logan gone.”

He’s more awake in an instant and his eyebrows rise. “What ‘stuff’?”

I’m about to tell him when it hits me just how intimate and private it is. I lick my lips at the memory of last night, but Aaron points to my neck as I’m trying to gather my thoughts.

“Is that a hickey?” He lets out a little whistle.

I pull up my sweatshirt, but there’s no mirror for me to look into. “Maybe.”

Aaron’s face brightens in a foxy smile. “Did he give you that hickey?”

I groan. “Who else? Levi? Of course it was Cass! But… it’s complicated. We got drunk, and I don’t know where we stand. I can’t be his friend with benefits or whatever you wanna call it. But I need Logan out of the picture to have that conversation with him. Right now, my life is a disaster, and I will owe you forever if you help me out.”

The initial joy evaporates from Aaron’s expression, and he leans forward, resting his elbows on his thighs. “What? Why are you here? You should talk to Cassian before Logan comes back.”

I rub my forehead in frustration. Why does he not understand how hard this is for me? “I can’t be the bad guy. Cass needs to see how awful Logan is and then I will come clean.”

Aaron spreads his arms. “He’s not awful! What are you talking about? He’s not my favorite guy under the sun either but what is the point of showing Cass the worst possible side of his boyfriend instead of just letting him know that you’re interested in him? Have you two even talked about this?”

I pull on my thumb. “I don’t want to make things weird.”

Aaron cocks his head and gestures at me. “This is weird. You trying to make up some shit on Logan so you can swoop in and save the day when Cass literally did... something with you,” he says with a frown. “What makes you even think there’s any dirt to dig out in the first place? Cassian clearly likes him, so either make your move or leave it be.”

“There is dirt. I’m sure of it. Just do this one thing for me, okay?”

“But don’t say I didn’t warn you that it’s a bad idea.” Aaron sighs and I notice he looks quite pretty with his curls messy as he presses his palm into his cheek. Does noticing things like that mean I’m getting gayer?

“No! We just need to talk to his actual friends, or get into his apartment or... something,” I say as the exact moment Cass pulled away from me this morning flashes through my mind, causing an ache deep in my chest.

I should have waited.