Off-Limits Roomates

17. Ella

17

***Ella***

F isher was in the middle of kicking a pile of clothes under his bed when I stepped into his open doorway. He looked back at me and grinned. Standing up straight and making sweeping arm motions towards his bed, he laid out his vision. “I stole some of the couch cushions to transform my bed into movie quality seating. I brought up your favorite ice cream, popcorn, and drinks. There’s a list of action movies for you to pick from. Oh, and you can change the thermostat to whatever temperature suits you best. It’s Ella’s night at the movies in Fisher’s room. Welcome.”

I tried to fight a stupid grin but it was useless. All of my anger vanished instantly. Walking over to him, I hugged him briefly and then pointed to the bed. “Which side?”

He walked over to the door and looked back at me. “Is it okay if I close this? And whatever side you want. I usually stretch out in the middle, but I’ll keep to myself for movie night.”

I nodded for him to close the door but as soon as he did, my pulse jumped. I was alone in Fisher’s room with him and we were closed in. Those danger bells kept ringing in my head.

“Do you want it warmer in here? I keep the AC turned down low so it might freeze you out. Lucky for you, the bedding was all changed today, so if you need, you can curl up under the blanket.” He stopped. “The bedding wasn’t disgusting before it was changed, or anything. I promise.”

Laughing, I climbed onto the side farthest from the door. “I like it colder, too.”

He passed me ice cream and popcorn before turning off the lights and hopping in the bed next to me. “Okay. Pick whatever movie you want. It’s your night.”

“Are there any you haven’t seen but want to? I’m not picky.” I saw him hesitate over one and nodded. “That one.”

“Do you need anything else before it starts?” He saw me shake my head and hit play. “Popcorn me.”

I shifted closer to the middle and put the bucket between us. “There. Do you want some ice cream, too?”

For the first half of the movie, we shared snacks, even eating from the same spoon, and watched the movie in a comfortable silence. When we’d finished everything, Fisher cleared off his bed and stretched out next to me. I stayed upright until Fisher noticed me shiver and grunted.

“Get under the blanket. I’ll do it if you do it. I can’t be the first one to admit they’re cold.”

I laughed and we both got under the covers. We were closer somehow, but we kept watching the movie without issue. After a few minutes, Fisher turned his head to watch me.

“Still cold?”

I wasn’t freezing but I wasn’t exactly toasty. “I’m fine.”

He lifted the blanket and nodded at his body. “Come here. I’m a great furnace once I’m in bed.”

Hesitating for just a moment, I glanced at the door and back at his face. After adamantly denying that I was doing anything with Fisher, it felt a whole lot like I was doing something with him. “Do you offer all your fake girlfriends cuddles for warmth?”

He rolled his eyes. “Since you’re my first, I guess the answer is yes.”

Throwing caution to the wind, I scooted across the bed and right up against his side. He was right. He was so warm, especially when he wrapped his arm around me and held me closer.

“Okay?”

I wanted to laugh. I was a whole lot better than okay. It would’ve been a slippery slope if he’d been interested in me. “Yeah, I’m okay. This is really nice. Thank you, Fisher.”

“Don’t thank me too much. I have a few ulterior motives.” His hand moved up and down my arm, gently stroking me. “I knew you’d be a great cuddler, for one. Another is that I wanted to watch this movie, of course. And…”

I glanced up at him and saw that he was staring down at me with a serious expression on his face. “And?”

He smiled. “I wanted to spend more time alone with you.”

My stomach erupted in butterflies. “Because I’m your fake girlfriend?”

He shook his head. “No. I have a confession to make, Ella.”

I went up on my elbow to see his face more clearly. “What is it?”

“I didn’t kiss you to play a part.” His eyes moved back and forth between mine. “I played the part to kiss you.”

Nerves unlike anything I’d ever felt threatened to squeeze my throat closed. I swallowed around a lump in my throat. “You wanted to kiss me?”

“You didn’t know? Ella, I want to kiss you. There’s no past tense to it. I’m an asshole for not telling Vaughn the truth, but selfishly, I didn’t want him getting in the way.”

“You want to kiss me.” I sat up and stared down at him, trying to decide if he was serious. “I thought you didn’t find me attractive.”

He sat up and shook his head. “What the hell gave you that idea?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know! I just assumed.”

“You assumed wrong. That first day when I saw you, I blew off the rest of my run to circle back to you. I was so focused on your car that I nearly ran you over.””

I scooted closer. “I thought you were just finishing your run. I made an ass of myself!”

“I guess I just have one question, Ella.” Fisher reached up and pushed my hair over my shoulders. “Do you want to kiss me?”

I nodded fast enough that I was worried he would think I was desperate. “Yeah. Like, a lot.”

His slow grin turned my blood to lava. Slowly closing the distance between us, he pressed his lips to the side of my mouth. “This isn’t why I asked you to come over, though, Ella. I don’t want you to think that so I’m going to lay back down and finish this movie.”

I let out the breath I’d been holding and nodded. “Yeah, that’s fine. I really wanted to finish the movie, too.”

I didn’t. I laid back down next to Fisher, not quite touching him. I wasn’t sure about the rules of what we were doing so I kept my distance. Nerves had already settled in and I shivered.

“Come back over here.” Fisher assumed I was cold and tugged me into his side again. “Good?”

My pulse could’ve replaced the drums in the school’s band. My palms were sweaty. I wasn’t sure I was good, but I wasn’t moving. “Yep.”

He wrapped his arm around me and let his hand hang over my shoulder. His fingertips came so close to grazing my chest with each breath I took in. I was painfully aware of each almost touch. I gingerly rested my hand on top of his stomach and felt his sharp intake of breath. Knowing he was as affected as I was gave me a sense of boldness. Not a very big one, but still. It was enough for me to relax into his hold and lightly rub my thumb over his abs.

I didn’t have a clue what was happening in the movie. I was too aware of Fisher’s body and every place it touched mine. The warmth and strength I felt under my hand was alluring and I let my strokes grow wider as I waited for him to react or stop me. I rested my head on his chest and let the sound of his pounding heart encourage me as I trailed my hand lower, until my fingertips bumped into the waistband of his jogging pants.