We fall into a comfortable silence for a while, just enjoying the food and each other’s company. “I was telling my best friend Paige about you,” I remark after a bit.
“Good things, I hope?”
“Enough so that she’s sniffing around your roommate,” I laugh.
The smile on his face is a bit strained. “Well, she’d probably be disappointed. He doesn’t really get out much.”
I’m tempted to ask more, but something about the look on his face makes me opt not to. “Ah. Well, I haven’t told her about your brothers yet,” I joke.
I’m relieved when this time, he laughs. My curiosity about this roommate of his is growing, but I care more about my relationship with Elliot than I do about being nosy, so I try to push my questions out of mind.
We end up chatting for a while, and when we’ve finished dinner, he offers to put on a movie. “Sure,” I get to my feet and start gathering plates, but he stops me and collects them himself.
“I can help,” I protest, but he shakes his head.
“You’re my guest tonight, I’ve got this. You go pick something to put on. We’ve got all the DVDs in that shelving unit, or we’ve got access to most of the streaming services, although I think we changed the password on the HBO and need to change it to get into it.”
“I’m sure I can find something,” I assure him, and I head out to the living room to pick out a movie.
“So,” I call while I’m looking, “Is this another personality test? I pick a chick flick and you’ll decide I’m too high maintenance, or a horror movie means I’m trying too hard?”
I hear him chuckle. “Nah, I watch everything.”
I end up choosing a comedy I’ve seen once or twice, popping it into the DVD player and settling onto the couch. After a few minutes, Elliot joins me. To be honest, I’m not really expecting to watch much of the movie, and once it begins, it’s not long before I’m proven right.
I don’t really know who kisses who first, but we’re probably not even twenty minutes into the movie before we’re making out like a pair of horny teenagers and he’s on top of me.
He runs a hand up my hip, skimming under my top, and the sensation of his bare skin on mine makes me tremble. My heart beats faster and his hand moves further north.
As he’s skimming the underside of my breast, I suddenly hear the scrape of a key in the door and I freeze. “Elliot, wait-”
The door swings open and Elliot springs up, blocking my view. I hastily tug my shirt down and sit up. “Hey, sorry, man, it’s just me, had to come get my laptop.”
That voice.
The heat that had been coursing through me dissipates in an instant. It can’t be, but that voice…
My blood feels like ice as I peer around Elliot, and even though I only catch a glimpse, it’s enough, and I know that I’m not imagining…
“Shaun?”
Elliot turns to look at me, and in moving, exposes my ex-boyfriend in full. I never thought I would see Shaun Whelan again, let alone see him here.
He stares at me like he’s seen a ghost. “Lena, I…”
But I can’t. My head is spinning, my stomach is rolling, I feel like I might faint or be sick, and I need to get away. I think I’m hyperventilating, I’m not sure. All I know is that I need to get control of myself before I can even begin to start dealing with this.
“Excuse me,” I mumble, and I practically run down the hall to the bathroom, locking the door behind me and letting my shaking legs give out underneath me.
Chapter Five
Elliot
I’m completely baffled. What the fuck just happened?
Shaun looks completely shell-shocked, staring down the hall after her with his face white as a sheet. “What the hell was that? You two know each other?” I ask.
Shaun just nods, silent for a long moment until I try again. “So…what was that?”