I snort. “Good man.”
We finish the soup in silence, and then something occurs to me.
“Did you miss class or work these past three days?” I ask, and Whit grabs our empty bowls and places them in the sink. He rinses them out and puts them in the dishwasher. Always the good little cleaner.
“It’s fine.”
“Shit. I’m sorry, man.”
“It’s fine. I emailed our professors and let them know what was going on. I don’t work right now, so that isn’t a concern.”
“Thanks. Thanks for doing that.”
He begins wiping down the counter, his eyes not meeting mine.
“You’re welcome.”
I watch him for a moment, how he moves around a space, picking up things, putting them back where they belong.
Living with me must cause him so much anxiety.
Still doesn’t stop me from asking, “Want to watch a movie?”
“I actually have plans tonight.”
“Oh,” I say, sounding more clingy and whiney than I should. He owes me nothing. We aren’t even friends.
I just slept on him for three days and then sat on him for a few hours.
“I’ll be back in a bit.”
“Okay.”
He stops near me, those dark eyes meeting mine. “Will you be okay while I’m gone?”
“Yep,” I say, leaning back like I’m totally fine with him doing who knows what. When deep down, I’m not. Don’t want to analyze that too much. My brain is still working out of this fog I’ve been in for the past three days. I’ll get over this infatuation with my roommate soon.
“Okay, well, text me if you need me.”
“I won’t. Have fun, man,” I tell him, and he nods before grabbing his keys and leaving the apartment.
I walk over to the couch and pull a blanket over me, putting on another mindless show and counting the minutes until he’s back. It’s an incredibly long time. Forever, really.
He returns a few hours later and walks straight to me, bending down and pressing his hand against my forehead.
“I’m fine,” I grouch, and he tilts his head slightly, watching me.
“I’m fine,” I say once more and then ask, “How was your thing?”
“Fine,” he says.
It’s fucking awkward. I’m acting like a jilted lover, but I can’t help but ask, “And who did you meet up with?”
He lowers himself into the chair opposite me, and I force my eyes to the TV.
“I’m part of the speech and debate club here. We have a tournament coming up soon, so I had to meet with my team to go over a few things.”
I look over, and he’s staring at me.