Chapter Thirty-Six
A bout a week later, Gabe’s voice calls from behind me in the early-readers section at the library: “It’s too bad about your roommate.”
My hand freezes around a copy of Honest June . “What are you talking about?” I ask, turning away from the bookshelf to face him.
“He quit so now we need to hire another page.” Gabe’s eyes scroll the handwritten list of books I’ve leaned against the shelf and he wrinkles his nose. “Children’s books with June in the title? Not the most creative display idea and a little premature, but not bad.”
“I’m not sure if I should defend myself or say thank you, but what is this about Adam quitting?
I had no idea.” I scan the entirety of the second floor over the four-foot-tall bookshelves looking for him, but if he’s here now, I don’t see him.
I hadn’t wanted to ask about his next steps since, as the last one standing, I figured I’m probably the last person he’d want to discuss them with.
I sort of hoped things between Adam and me could go back to the way they were prebattle, at least until he moved out.
Now that Marcia has proclaimed me the winner—although she didn’t put it that way—we could be friends again, commute to work together, revive our book club, et cetera.
And maybe we could resume our friends-with-benefits activities as well.
But he’s mostly kept to himself since that night and hasn’t given off any horny vibes at all.
Worst of all, he’s suddenly pro-shirt, and I rather miss his bare chest.
“I know nothing beyond what Jenny just told me about him quitting. I figured you’d have the gossip,” Gabe says, an eyebrow raised.
I chew my lip. “This is the first I’ve heard of it.
” I never told Gabe about our battle because I didn’t want to hear him say, “I told you so,” since he predicted Adam would want the second bedroom for himself from the very beginning.
I figured I would reserve his help for when and if Carley’s creative well ran dry and I needed fresh ideas to get the upper hand. But it never came to that.
Gabe pushes a book that’s sticking out until it’s even with the others on the shelf.
“Didn’t you say he took this job while figuring out what he wanted to do with his life?
Maybe he figured it out. You live with the guy…
and more.” He grins knowingly. “Ask him and report back. Lane wants to know too.”
Not bothering to refute the “and more” part, I say, “I will.” I don’t know when he’d have had time to do all this “figuring out” over the last few days, but Gabe doesn’t need to know this.
In typical friend-to-senior-colleague whiplash, Gabe says, “Now get back to work,” before heading downstairs.
I finish pulling the books for the display and leave them behind the desk for later. Then I search the first floor for Adam but he’s not there. Finally, I break down and text him.
Sabrina: You quit?
Adam: The library is too long a commute from Philly
Adam and Marcia are out to dinner for his last night when I get home, because as I quickly learn from text messages from both of them, he’s moving back to Philadelphia… tomorrow .
I didn’t think it would happen so quickly.
I don’t know why, but I assumed he’d stay in New York City when he left Marcia’s.
Even when I teasingly sent him links to ads on the RoomBridge app, they were apartments in the boroughs.
Maybe it’s because he barely mentioned Philadelphia during his time here aside from casual references to sports teams and cheesesteaks.
Now that I’ve had a few hours to let it sink in, it makes sense that he’d want to go back to his home city.
At the same time, he talked a convincing game about not wanting to lose his grandmother again.
Yet he’s choosing to move out of the city where she lives rather than find an apartment nearby so he can see her on a regular basis and continue building their relationship.
On the plus side, if I held any guilt over his leaving instead of me, I don’t anymore.
I lie back in my beanbag chair and look up at the white painted ceiling until the bulb from the light fixture threatens to give me a headache and I close my eyes.
Adam is moving out. He’s moving on. We won’t be roommates anymore.
Or colleagues. Or anything else. No more accidental naked encounters outside the bathroom or risqué ones in the elevator. No more sex.
I open my eyes. It’s not a big deal. It was all supposed to be temporary anyway.
We had fun, but it’s not like we were a couple or anything.
I’m sure all those things he said about really liking me were true, but also embellished as part of the game…
to make me doubt myself. We weren’t on our way to becoming anything real.
Our hookups will always be a little secret between us…
a good memory… but that’s all, and I’m okay with that.
I’m sure he and Marcia will figure out where to go from here in terms of their grandmother-grandson relationship, and in the meantime, I’ll have the bathroom to myself again.
And the living room and TV. Back to normal.
There’s a knock on my door. “You decent?”
My pulse speeds up. The man himself. “Never.” Nervous laughter escapes. “Kidding. Come in.”
The door opens and Adam leans against the doorframe. “Is this a good time?”
I scooch my butt so I’m sitting up. “Sure. Come in.”
He closes the door behind him and sits on the edge of my bed. “I wanted to say goodbye now in case we don’t get a chance tomorrow.”
I rotate my beanbag so I’m facing him. “Philadelphia, huh?”
He taps his foot against the floor. “Yeah. My dad pulled some strings and got me a job at an e-learning company.”
This is the last thing I expected him to say. “You want this job?” I recall what he said about craving a job he doesn’t dread going to… one that he even has a passion for. Is a job with an e-learning company going to check either of those boxes?
He shrugs. “The education part is intriguing. Plus, it pays well. Has benefits… a 401(k).”
I snort. “What happened to good-paying jobs being overrated?” I immediately wish I could take this back. Though it’s not my fault he’s losing his free housing, it feels a little like my fault. A job with benefits and a 401(k) is certainly a step up from one without either of those things.
He flashes a sad smile. “I was in my idealistic era when I said that. I was also living rent-free.” He bites his lip.
“And this job… it’s not like the others.
My dad doesn’t want me to feel trapped again, so he called in a favor and got me a floater position at his friend’s company.
I’ll be moving through the customer service, tech support, and content creation departments to see if anything fits. ”
My stomach roils. This all sounds great except for the part about his dad. I can’t stop myself. “So your dad is a great guy now?”
He sighs. “He’s trying to understand me, and I can get him to talk to Marcia… to work things out.”
My head jerks back. “What do you mean by work things out ?”
“I said I’d only accept his help… the job and money toward a few months’ rent in a furnished apartment…
if he called Grams.” He swallows hard. “You told me you wished you had a chance to make things right with your grandmother. Well, maybe this is my chance to help make things right between my dad and Grams.”
My mouth drops open while sadness covers me like a black cloud.
It’s hard to find fault with Adam’s plan knowing one of his motives is to help Marcia reconcile with her son.
If I believed it would work, I would say bravo.
But a Dalmatian doesn’t change its spots.
I want to be supportive though. “I really hope it works out the way you want.”
Adam’s shoulders drop. “Me too. I have to try.”
“I get it.” I awkwardly maneuver myself off the beanbag chair and into a standing position.
“Well, it was fun being your roommate while it lasted. It worked out better than I expected.” I scrunch my face.
“Aside from that one week where you fed me dog treats, faked slipping in the bathroom, pointed out a sauce stain in the kitchen, and walked around without a shirt on.” My skin burns hot at that last one, reminding me of our more intimate moments.
Should I say something about those or are we pretending they didn’t happen?
He smirks. “Don’t forget the week you wouldn’t talk to me because you thought I accused you of robbing Grams blind.”
I giggle. “Yeah, that too. But otherwise, it’s been great.”
He stands. “Well, I enjoyed every second of being your roommate.”
“Right. Aside from when—”
“Every second.”
I suck in a breath. “Oh. Thanks.” My knees wobble and I wish I was still sitting down. Is this my opening to say something about “us”? Why is this so hard?
He nods. “Besides my grandma and the Strand.… and Academy Records, you were my favorite part of my short vacation from life.”
Over the lump in my throat, I joke, “I’m so happy to come in fourth place.”
His cheeks split wide open. “Well, bye, Brina. Thanks for being so welcoming.” He holds out his arms.
I fall into them and hug him hard. But he hugs me harder. I inhale his grapefruit scent for the last time… or at least for the last time in a while… and wipe my eyes just in time for him to pull back. Thankfully. I do not want him to see me cry.
“Take care of my grandma for me, okay?”
“Of course.” I consider asking him to sneak into my room later for a proper goodbye, but ultimately chicken out. It’s better this way. A clean break.
And then he kisses the top of my head, whispers, “I’ll miss you,” and walks past me into the living room. When I wake up the next morning, he’s gone.