His expression soured, and it emphasized the drywall dust that had fallen on him during drilling. Normally I wasn’t a bitch, but he rattled me.
I was much too proud of myself, thinking I’d won this round, until he grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it up, using it to wipe at his forehead. This revealed his perfectly carved abs, and I sucked in a sharp breath at the sight of them. Why did I remember the way those notched muscles felt in such vivid detail?
He’d heard my gasp and saw the way I gaped at him, and his smirk told me I’d lost this battle too. There was nothing left to do but turn on my heel and hurry up the steps away from him.
I met my other roommate and coworker Jaquan when I was eating breakfast my first morning in the house. I’d been sitting at one end of the booth in the corner of the kitchen, my attention more on my phone than my bowl of cereal, when he’d strolled in.
Shirtless and beautiful, he’d put two eggs in a skillet before he noticed me, and when he did, he flashed an easy smile. “What’s up, Madison?”
“Hi, Jaquan.”
He abandoned his eggs and leaned over the kitchen island, resting his strong forearms on the counter while he examined me. His eyes were dark and so expressive, they were mesmerizing. It shouldn’t have been surprising that he’d be hot, but it seemed rare in the porn I’d watched that the guy’s face was even shown. And if it was? It was unlikely he’d been even moderately attractive.
But Nina had said Petal didn’t cater to the straight male gaze, and this guy? He was proof.
His black hair was short, as was the perfectly maintained beard stretching across his strong jawline. There was a playfulness about him that I instantly responded to, triggering an alarm in my head.
He seemed charming and dangerously good looking, and while I’d agreed to try all sorts of new things while I was at the house—falling for someone I lived with wasn’t on my list.
“Abbie was right.” His voice was deep and smoky. “You’re hot.”
My heart skipped. “Yeah, well . . . right back at you.”
He chuckled, straightened, and went back to the stove. “Want some eggs?”
“Oh, no, thank you.” I motioned toward my cereal. “I’m good.”
“Okay.” He turned on the burner. “You want to fuck after breakfast?”
I jolted, making my spoon clatter in my bowl. “Excuse me?”
He glanced at the clock on the microwave. “I don’t have anything going on for the next couple hours if you want to do a scene together and make some extra cash. We can shoot it hand-held, POV style.”
Oh, my God.
I stared at him, unblinking. He was gorgeous and had just offered to have sex with me the same way he’d offered to make me eggs. Was this my life now? It was both thrilling and panic-inducing. For a half-second, I considered whether to take his offer.
When I’d come downstairs, I’d made sure I didn’t look like complete garbage, but I didn’t have any makeup on. I hadn’t washed my hair since yesterday, and I was sure I didn’t have a dry shampoo powerful enough to make me feel confident on camera.
Which meant I really needed to shower, and then I’d need to style my hair and do makeup . . .
I hadn’t picked my stage name yet, either.
He’d caught me off-guard, completely unprepared for the opportunity.
“Thanks, but, uh,”—I struggled to catch my breath—“raincheck?”
My rejection was no big deal. He stirred his eggs and nodded casually. “Definitely.”
When Jaquan finished cooking his breakfast, he sat across from me, and we got to know each other while we ate. He was older than I was. A grad student in his final year in business administration. He was from Atlanta and, like me, had come to Nashville because of Davidson University—their MBA program was excellent.
His face changed abruptly, like a thought had just occurred to him. “Didn’t we meet once last year?”
“I don’t think so.” Surely, I would have remembered him. He was so handsome.
“Professor Yung had that mixer for the people who got into the international program. I swear you were there.”
My heart sank. “Oh, you’re right.” That explained why I didn’t remember him. I’d been blindly in love with Jack. “My boyfriend was one of the guys who got accepted.”
“Ah. You two still together?”
Disdain flooded through me. “No.”
“Good.” He set his fork on his plate and sat back in his seat. “Most guys who say they’re okay with their girl doing this?” He pointed back and forth between us. “They find out they have a problem with it, and especially with me.”
“Is it even possible to date someone if you’re doing this?” I mimicked his gesture, tossing my finger between us.