Chapter 12 #2
“No. It’s the number from the phone my father pays for.
” I say. “I don’t use it anymore, but he keeps paying the bill, so I kept the number.
” It’s not a lie. I hardly use the phone, always keeping it shut off.
I got a new phone with a new number that he doesn’t know.
Once in a while, I’ll turn it on, text him I’m alive, and then shut it off again.
I know I could have just gotten rid of the phone altogether, but it came in handy when I needed a way to text people from the dating app without giving out my personal number.
Not that it matters anymore. I’ll never need a dating app again.
“Oh.” His shoulders slump. I don’t like that. But, he’s also not pissed, so that’s good, right? “I knew this was too good to be true,” he sighs. “Guess I’m back to looking for a place to stay.”
“Why?” I ask, cocking my head to the side.
“Why what?”
“Why do you need another place to stay? Why wouldn’t you stay here like you were planning?”
His mouth opens, then shuts, then opens again. “You want me to move in?”
“Why wouldn’t I? I was looking for a roommate, and I accepted your offer.
I don’t see why I’d turn you down now that I know who I agreed to let move in with me.
” I chuckle. “If anything, it’s even better.
Now I don’t have to live with a stranger and get to room with someone I actually like and get along with. ”
“I don’t know.” He rubs the back of his neck. “You sure this wouldn’t be weird?”
“Why would it?” I raise a brow.
“Because we’re friends.” He shrugs.
“Even better.” I grin.
“And because we’re dating?” he says it as a question. “Well, fake dating. Wouldn’t that complicate things?”
“I don’t see why it would.” My smile grows. “Plus, I think it would make the whole friends with benefits thing go a lot smoother.”
I bite my lip as my eyes grow heated, and Levi blushes.
“Come on.” I step closer. “What do you have to lose? What's the biggest issue we have with being friends, or finding time to explore that friends with benefits thing?”
“Our schedules,” Levi answers.
“Right. So, think about how much more we would get to see each other if we were living together. We can hang out and study together on your days off. And when you're too tired after a shift, you don’t have to feel bad about not wanting to hang out, because we can just chill in the living room and relax before bed.”
“True,” he says, but doesn’t sound convincing.
“Come on. Pleaseeee.” I stick my lower lip out and bat my eyelashes.
“And you're okay with Snicklefritz living with us, too? The flyer said "pet friendly.”
“Of course.” I nod, fist pumping on the inside. “There’s a spot in the laundry room for his litter.”
“And you know this is only temporary, right? I only need a place to stay until my apartment is ready to move back into.” Not if I have anything to do with it.
“Of course." I nod.
He thinks about it for a moment. Come on, baby, just agree. I promise you won’t regret it.
“Okay.” Fuck yes! “Okay. I’ll give this a try.
And I really do need a place to stay. This is the only place I could afford.
" That's because I put the rent lower than the place he was at before. I don’t even want to take his money. And I don’t plan on it.
I know he would insist on me taking it, but I plan on putting it away and giving it back to him later on.
Or, make an anonymous donation towards his student loans.
If that's even a thing. I’m sure I can find a way.
“Then welcome to your new home.” I wave my arm, gesturing inside my apartment.
A smile kicks onto his lips, and my heart skips. “I have to go to my car and grab Snicklefritz and some of my things. The room is furnished, right? Because I only have a few boxes.”
“Yup. Bed, dresser, and everything.” I say. “Give me a second. I’ll come help.”
“Okay, good.” He nods. “Austin?” His voice sounds so vulnerable as he says my name.
“Yeah?”
“Thank you. This is helping me a lot.”
“Of course.” I smile. I’d do anything for you. You just don’t know it. “What are friends for?”
Friends for now. But soon, I’m gonna make this man fall so hard for me, he’s never gonna want to leave.
***
After we grab everything from Levi’s car, I get him and the cat inside. We take his boxes to his room, then let Snicklefritz out of his carrier as Levi sets up his litter in the laundry room. He’s shy about coming out and gives me a suspicious look.
“Hey, buddy.” I crouch down and hold out my hand for him to sniff.
He does before nudging his head against my hand. I smile. If I’m gonna win his daddy over, I've got to win him over first.
“It’s okay. You’re safe here.” I give his head a scratch.
“Well, this is good.” Levi chuckles when he comes back out to see Snicklefritz rubbing against my hand, insisting on more pets. “I was worried he wasn’t gonna like moving again. He’s normally good with people, but a lot of change in a short amount of time can be hard for animals."
“Well, my place is his place.”
Levi looks around, wrapping his arms around himself like he feels out of place. That, I don’t like.
“And now it’s yours too.” I point out.
“It’s... nice. Like really nice,” he says, looking around. “Are you sure the rent is only eight hundred on my end?” he asks skeptically.
“I don’t need help with the rent. That's not why I was looking for a roommate. Just wanted to help out a fellow student, and I had the room. Also, some company in this big place would be nice too.”
“I am going to pay you rent.” He points out.
“I know.” I chuckle. “I wasn’t going to ask you not to.”
“Good. Just because we’re friends, doesn’t mean I’m going to take advantage of you.”
“I’d never dream of it.”
“The only thing is,” he chews on his lower lip. “Everything looks so nice. And expensive. I can’t promise he won’t scratch up some of the furniture. I can keep him in my room if you want.”
“No. It’s fine. Trust me. I couldn’t care less about the furniture. As long as it’s still usable, that's all that matters to me.” I chuckle. Plus, it’s replaceable.
“Okay. If you’re sure.”
“I’m sure.” I chuckle softly, making my way over to him. I stop in front of him, so close he has to look up at me
“Hi,” he whispers shyly. He’s so damn cute my cock twitches. Oh, this is gonna be so much fucking fun.
“Hi.” My voice is low as arousal filters in.
“So.” He swallows hard. “We’re roommates now?”
“Yup,” I murmur, reaching up to brush some of his dark locks off his forehead. He shivers, and I can’t help but grin.
I’m about to kiss him because, god, I’ve been dying to get my hands and lips on him since the last time I saw him the other day, then his stomach lets out a loud rumble.
“Shit.” He looks embarrassed. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” I chuckle. “You’re hungry. It’s a good thing I just ordered food before you got here."
“Oh my god,” he groans. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?” I ask, moving to grab the bags I placed on the table.
“That came the same time I did. It has to be cold by now. I didn’t mean to ruin your supper.”
“Levi.” I laugh. “Relax. It’s fine. Now, get your cute butt in here and help me eat all this.” I pull the food out. “And one thing I love about getting Chinese food is that it still tastes good warmed up. If not better.” I wink.
“That is true.” He smiles. Good. I don’t like seeing him in any way but happy.
We heat up the food, and instead of eating at the table, I suggest we eat in the living room and watch a movie.
Levi agrees, and I let him pick the movie. He surprises me by putting on a horror movie.
“The Conjuring.” I grin. “I approve.”
He smiles. “I like scary movies.” He shrugs. “The thrill of the unknown.”
“Same.” I smile back.
He looks away, still smiling as he takes a bite of his food. “I still can’t believe you got all my favorites." He moans around a mouthful. “So good.”
“Careful.” My voice goes low and husky. “Keep making those noises and we’re not even going to make it to the opening credits.”
I’m just joking with him. Kind of. Not really. I’d fuck him here and now if he wanted to.
“Stop,” he laughs, chewing his food. “You're always horny.”
“Nah.” I take a bite of my own food as I press play. “Only when it comes to you,” I say after swallowing.
Leaning back, I see out of the corner of my eye the bashful look on his face.
This man deserves to know how sexy and desirable he is. He’s not just someone to be used to get off. And I hate his ex for ever making him feel that way.
Unfortunately, the flirting stopped, and no sex happened. Around the time we finished eating, the more scary things started to happen.
I have no idea why Levi liked horror movies so much when the whole time he hid behind his hands.
It was cute, and I laughed at him a few times.
“Stop!” he slapped my arm, laughing too. “It’s not funny.”
“You're right, it’s adorable.” I laughed. “Don’t worry, I’ll save you from the big bad monsters.”
As the movie went on, hiding behind his hands turned into burying his face into my shoulder. So, I wrap my arm around him and pull him close, loving how he doesn't resist.
By the end of the movie, Levi is passed out, head on my shoulder as soft snores slip past his lips.
I smile down at him, my whole damn heart full. I might have been sneaky about how I got Levi to move in with me, but I don’t regret it one bit.
This is what I want. To come home to him every night, to pull him into my arms and cuddle him.
Life with Levi sounds pretty fucking perfect to me. I just hope he feels the same way about living with me.
I guess we’ll find out. I just hope I didn’t fuck everything up.