Her Creepy Roommate (Toxic Tryst #2)

Chapter One

“I don’t know how I feel about you moving in with a boy, Jules,” my dad said, looking around the living room of my new home.

“Come on, Dad,” I replied. “It’s a good deal, and Ben seems like a nice guy.”

Dad harrumphed, while Mom patted his shoulders. “Ignore your father,” she told me with a wink. “He’s just protective.”

I nodded because I understood where he was coming from.

I’d be alarmed if one of my sisters was moving in with a total stranger, especially if that stranger was a man.

But Ben Hudson was a friend of a friend who lived in a huge two-bedroom apartment right near campus.

When I’d heard through the grape vine that he was looking for a roommate, I jumped on the opportunity.

I was starting my junior year of college, and there was no way I was enduring another year living in the dorms.

I’d met Ben a few times, and he was, well…

he wasn’t very threatening. He was tall, but slim, always wearing oversized baggy clothing.

His brown hair fell into his eyes, and he wore rectangular black-framed glasses.

I’d met him a few times at parties and other college events, but he’d never spoken much.

He’d been polite, but he’d mostly stared at the floor or avoided eye contact. I figured he was a massive introvert.

Well, that worked for me. I wanted a quiet housemate, and he was the last person to throw a house party. Besides, the rent he was asking was really affordable.

“Well, I think that’s all the unpacking I need to do for now,” I said.

My parents nodded and I gave them both a goodbye hug. They’d need to leave early if they wanted to drive back home before it got too late.

“Don’t hesitate to call if you need anything,” Dad warned me.

I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Ben wouldn’t attack me or anything.

“I will,” I promised.

Mom reminded me to take care of myself and then they left, closing the door behind them. I was left alone in a silent apartment.

For a second, I felt panic, but I quickly pulled myself together. Sure, it was my first year at college away from the dorms, and it was my first year without my older sister, Ella here — she’d graduated last May — but it was fine. I’d be fine.

I spent the next hour organizing my bedroom and putting all of my toiletries in the shared bathroom. Thankfully, Ben was one of those rare twenty-one year old guys who cleaned up after himself and kept the bathroom spotless.

Afterwards, I checked my phone. Ben had let me know he would be working all afternoon — he had a part time job at the student help centre — so he hadn’t been around to help me move in. According to the time, he would be here in half an hour.

I sat on my couch, feeling a bit antsy. In the end I decided to kill some time watching TV.

I looked around for the TV remote. It wasn’t on the coffee table or on the couch. I looked under the cushions, but it wasn’t there either. I wandered around, checking the kitchen and even the bathroom.

Huh. Maybe it was in Ben’s bedroom?

I walked over to his door, and tentatively tried the handle, expecting it to be locked. To my surprise, the door swung open, revealing a king-sized bed, a nightstand on either side, a desk, and a bookshelf packed with textbooks and novels. I hovered in the doorway.

I didn’t want to invade his privacy. It was extremely rude to look around someone’s bedroom. But surely he’d understand that I was only looking for a remote, right?

And also…

My dad’s warnings echoed in my mind. I was pretty sure Ben was a good guy. But there was no harm in having a quick look around to make sure he wasn’t a serial killer.

Besides, he’d never know I was here.

I took one step into the bedroom, then another. A quick survey of the room didn’t reveal the TV remote. I opened the closet and glanced around. No weapons — just hoodies and sweaters hanging up on the rack and a pile of neatly folded jeans.

I glanced under the bed, but there was nothing strange there either — it was completely empty, and clean too. He was the type to remember to vacuums underneath furniture.

That’s when I caught sight of his nightstand. There were two drawers and the bottom one had a keyhole.

I drew closer. That was odd. Was it a safe or something?

I tried pulling the drawer open, but it was locked shut. I peered closer at the silver keyhole, wondering what kind of key was needed to unlock it.

That’s when I heard the front door open. I quickly stood up and ran towards the door, but I was too late.

Ben appeared in the doorway, and I faltered to a stop.

He was wearing a t-shirt that hung loose from his shoulders.

“Juliet,” he said. I’d told him everyone called me Jules and he could too, but for some reason, he hadn’t.

Now, he looked down at me. He was almost a foot taller than me.

“I see you’ve moved in. And you’re in my room. ”

“I’m so sorry,” I said in a rush. “I was looking for the TV remote and couldn’t find it anywhere. I figured you wouldn’t mind if I had a quick glance, but that was stupid. I’m so sorry,” I said again.

He didn’t reply for a moment, and it was kind of scary. His brown eyes looked darker than usual. My heart pounded. I felt like I’d been caught doing something illicit. I kind of had.

Then his face cracked, revealing a small smile. “Don’t worry about it. I have nothing to hide. The TV remote’s over here.”

He led me to over to the TV console and opened one of the cupboards, revealing the remote.

“Oh,” I said, feeling like a world-class idiot, my face burning.

“Let me know if you have any other questions,” Ben said. “I’m gonna take a shower, okay?”

“Yep,” I said weakly, nodding fast.

Since I had the remote now, I felt like I had to watch TV, even though all I wanted to do was hide in my bedroom. Well, at least he hadn’t been angry. If I found him poking around in my bedroom, I would’ve been annoyed at the very least. It was a relief that he was so chill.

I sat on the couch and turned on the TV, deciding to watch some random reality show. My heart was still racing though.

So when Ben stepped out of the bathroom, dressed in a loose cotton shirt and flannel pants, his hair still wet, and my heart skipped a beat, it was because I was still freaked out about being caught. Not because the sight of drops of water running down his neck made my stomach do weird things.

Ben was not cute. He was shy and nerdy. But I couldn’t stop staring at him, wondering how he looked underneath those clothes.

Classes started and life continued as normal.

Living with Ben was easy. He never accidentally ate my food or left his clothes in the washing machine or forgot to wash his dishes.

It was really comfortable, sharing an apartment, though I was careful to get changed in the bathroom after a shower and always chose to wear my modest pajamas in the evenings.

One night, I’d left my bedroom door slightly ajar. I was about to meet my friends for a night out, but had decided to change into a dress at the last minute, because the weather was warmer than I thought.

I’d just slipped the floral pink-and-white dress over my head when Ben walked in.

“Juliet, I —” he cut himself off as his eyes met mine and he quickly turned away.

“S-sorry,” he stammered, eyes on the floor, the tips of his ears turning pink.

“I should’ve knocked. The door was open so I thought… ” he trailed off.

See, this is what I meant. Harmless. I wasn’t even indecent — the dress was covering all the important parts. But he was still stammering like he’d never seen a girl’s shoulders before.

“It’s okay,” I said. “It was my bad. I decided to change outfits last minute.” I turned around. “Do you mind zipping me up?”

I couldn’t see his face. “Sure,” he said after a long moment, his voice slightly strained. He walked up behind me and slowly zipped up the dress, careful not to let his fingers touch my skin. I appreciated the fact he didn’t want to cross a line. “Pretty lingerie,” he murmured.

Had I heard him right? “What?” I asked.

“Sorry,” he said quickly. “I just meant…your bra matches the dress.”

My bra would’ve been visible as he zipped me up, and my bra straps did peek out from the sleeves of the dress. I didn’t care because I thought the bra was pretty with its lace detailing. And Ben was right. It matched the light pink color of my dress.

“Thank you,” I said.

“Going on a date?” he asked, then let go of me like I was on fire.

I turned around, and was secretly amused to see he was blushing hard. “Nah,” I said with a little laugh. “Just going out with some friends. I’ll be out late, so I’ll try to be quiet when I come in. Don’t want to wake you up.”

He nodded, still looking anywhere but me. “Have fun,” he said, then walked out of my room so quickly, I had to fight back a laugh.

Like I said. Harmless .

About a week later, I was folding up my laundry, which had been sitting in the dryer for the past few days.

I should’ve gotten to it sooner, but I’d been so busy with classes, friends and family.

My younger sister, Willow, had just started her freshman year at Lacewood U, so I was catching up with her whenever I could, and last weekend, I’d visited my older sister, Ella, who lived in the city.

I’d had lunch with her and her boyfriend, Jordan, who’d given me some career advice.

Now, I’d almost finished folding up all of my laundry when I noticed something that made my heart stop. I had my pink lacy bra, but not the matching panties.

I’d definitely put both in the washing machine. So where did my panties go?