Chapter Fourteen
ROXY USED HER finger to stir the ice around her glass of Diet Coke.
She sat perched on a stool, elbows propped on top of the kitchen island.
Somewhere in the apartment, the television buzzed with studio audience applause.
Her movements felt lethargic, kind of like when she was in middle school and would to sneak into her neighbor’s backyard to sit in their Jacuzzi.
They’d won it on The Price Is Right, making them neighborhood celebrities for the better part of a year, but they’d never used the damn thing.
She’d watched through the broken fence separating their yards and waited, wondering when they’d light their stupid drugstore-bought tiki torches and sip daiquiris while the hot water swirled around them, like the bikini-clad models had done on the show.
Finally she’d gotten fed up and snuck over the fence while they’d been at church, filling it with their own hose and turning on the heater.
That first time she sunk beneath the surface and let the hot water cover her head .
.. that’s how she felt right now. Boneless, drifting, and without a single worry.
In the back of her mind, there was a ticker clicking away until reality intruded again, but for now she was content to sit and enjoy the warm fizziness she’d been walking around with all afternoon.
The front door slammed loudly, jolting her in the stool, making her slosh Diet Coke all over the counter.
Abby stomped into the apartment and wrestled with her camel-colored trench to get it off before throwing it into a heap on the floor.
She acknowledged Roxy with an unladylike grunt as she made her way to the living room and threw herself onto the couch.
O-kay, apparently not everyone had lucked out with a midday orgasm.
Wait. In order for Abby to be home, it had to be past five o’clock.
How long had she been sitting there? Since coming home from the courthouse, she must have been in a Louis-induced orgasma-coma, because she hadn’t even bothered to take off her shoes or jacket.
The subway ride back to Chelsea was just a blur of faces and voices now.
With a grimace, she remembered trying to get into the wrong apartment, one flight down.
Louis. Good. God. She hadn’t gone to the courthouse looking to hook up, nor did she get some secret thrill from getting busy in a public place.
Although that very well might have changed after this morning, because holy screaming O .
As she’d watched Louis work, watched him argue on behalf of a pack of rag-tag kids and their teachers, she’d been kind of, well, dazzled .
And Roxy didn’t do dazzled. The way those kids had watched him pace the courtroom, he might as well have been wearing a superhero cape instead of a suit.
He’d been confident, but not cocky. Even the judge hadn’t been able to hide his obvious fondness for Louis.
Before today, when she’d pictured him working, he’d been buried in books, looking for legal loopholes for corporate jerk-offs in suits.
She’d never thought to ask him what he actually did at the office, so it had taken her by surprise.
Seeing him so passionate and competent had stirred her up with a quickness.
Fine, she was also woman enough to admit that listening to him spout legal terminologies with such ease got her motor running.
Unbelievable. She was falling for an Ivy League lawyer.
Not good. Not good at all, a nasal Jersey accent chanted in her head.
As much as she wanted to forget, she’d met him the morning after a one-night stand.
A one-night stand he’d been totally blasé about, not even remembering the girl’s name.
Guys like Louis dated around. Why shouldn’t he?
He had everything going for him. A well-paying job, a ridiculous apartment, looks.
Yeah, he might be into her now, might be excited by her refusal to let their association play out his way.
What would happen if she stopped leading him on a chase, though?
If her past experience with guys served as any indication, he would be onto the next girl in a short skirt so quick she’d be choking on Armani eau pour homme–scented dust.
She hated thinking this way. It’s why she hadn’t wanted to get involved with him in the first damn place.
Now instead of being happy with one steamy session in a file room, she was worrying about more.
The beyond . The desire for it had snuck up out of nowhere.
Louis had snuck up out of nowhere. She was leaving herself open to having her heart obliterated, and it made her want to jump ship.
Now. Before it got any worse. Then she thought of how it had felt to be filled by him, over and over.
How it had felt when he’d shared her excitement over getting the part of Missy.
His asking to see her again, even after they’d had sex.
When she thought of those things, she didn’t want to jump ship.
She wanted to snuggle up in the life raft.
“What are you smiling about?” Abby grumbled from the couch.
“Ah, nothing.”
“Do you mind turning it down a few notches then?” Her roommate grabbed the remote and stabbed at the buttons impatiently. “It’s stressing me out.”
Roxy raised an eyebrow. “You want to talk about it?” Jesus, when had she started making offers like that?
“Talk about what?” Honey practically shouted, storming into the room with a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos under her arm. She fell into the couch beside Abby, who was still attacking the remote. “If we’re talking about ordering Chinese food, I’m in.”
Roxy toed off her new shoes, making sure they landed on the floor gently. “I think I’m meeting up with Louis tonight, so order whatever you guys feel like.”
“Oh, fine. Sure.”
“That’s great .”
“What is up with you guys?” Roxy asked. “Did I eat your flaxseed tortilla chips or something?”
“Why does something always have to be wrong?” Honey wailed around a mouth of Doritos. “Why are we expected to smile all the time?”
Abby tossed the remote onto the couch with such force that it bounced a foot in the air. “Yes! That is exactly what I’m talking about. Maybe I just want to be upset. Can’t I just be upset ?”
Oh, shit. Roxy backed farther into the kitchen, positioning herself behind the island.
She’d anticipated this happening, but not quite so soon.
It was only a matter of time before she got sucked into the vortex that plagues female roommates the world over.
She would put it off as long as possible, though. Be the last woman standing.
Her cell phone went off inside her purse and she rummaged for it, continuing to keep an eye on her roommates. “Hello?”
“When can I see you?”
Louis’s voice traveled through the phone and punched her in the belly with a silk fist. Dammit, she wanted him standing in front of her. Wanted to touch him, see him, smell him. Why did this have to happen now? “Hey. I’m not sure I can get away tonight. I’m needed at the apartment.”
“Don’t do this to me, Rox. We didn’t even get started this morning.”
Her thighs squeezed together all on their own. This guy was going to turn her into a sex-crazed lunatic if she wasn’t careful. Even if it would be an amazing descent into padded-walls territory. “Listen, this is probably the last thing you want to hear, but my roommates ... they’ve synched up.”
A short pause. “You mean their periods?”
“Yeah.” She laughed. “You get a gold star for saying that without an accompanying gagging sound.”
“Twin sisters,” he reminded her grimly. “Why do they need you there?”
“I’m afraid they might maim the Chinese food delivery man with a remote control.”
Louis sighed loudly. In the background she heard a soft thud, as if he might be banging his head against the wall. “Don’t go anywhere, okay? I’ll be over as soon as I can.”
Roxy straightened from her lean against the island. “Are you sure about that? You might be taking your life into your hands.”
“I’m seeing you tonight.” Roxy heard the jingling of keys on the other end. “But I’ll write out a quick will and testament just in case.”
“Can I have your apartment?” She winced inwardly, wishing she could take the words back. He would probably think she was hinting about moving in or something now. Fabulous. “I mean, without you in it. Just me and that big screen.”
“If you already want me dead, I’m doing something wrong.” A door opened and closed. Locks turned. “If I could get you to stay put in my apartment for longer than a few minutes, we could watch TV together.”
“We’ll see about that. What’s your favorite show?”
“Guess.”
“ Law and Order ?” He snorted, so she thought for a moment and tried again. “You’re a rerun guy, aren’t you? The X-Files ... The Wire ... ?”
“Less aliens. Funnier.”
“ Arrested Development .”
He barked a laugh. “I’m rewatching season two. Watch it with me.”
She realized her cheeks were sore from smiling. “I’ll think about it.”
“She’ll think about it,” he mumbled. “I’ll see you soon, Roxy.”
“Okay, Louis.”
“Hey.” His voice went deeper, creating an answering thrum in her belly. “Even with your roommates around, I’m going to be thinking about fucking you. Wear a skirt for me.”
He hung up before she could answer.
BY THE TIME Louis knocked on their door an hour later, Roxy had showered and changed.
She’d yanked on a pair of ripped jeans, then cursed and put on the red wraparound skirt she’d been saving for a special occasion.
It occurred to her that wearing red around her roommates tonight might be the equivalent of waving the color in front of two bulls, but hey, what was life without risks?
Honey and Abby glared at the door from their positions on the couch, Chinese food cartons scattered around them like little white headstones. RIP Beef Lo Mein.