11. Ben
ben
T he couch is heavier than it looks. Jason leads the way as we maneuver the leather sleeper sofa off the moving truck. Emily pops her head out the door to greet and open the door for us.
“Morning, roomie,” I shout as I pretend that the couch weighs nothing between the both of us. I don’t hear her response as we make our way up the walkway.
We pause in the doorway, setting our load down carefully as we catch our breath. I know it’s heavy if Jason is struggling with it. He’s half a foot taller than me and built like a linebacker. We severely underestimated our ability to deliver our own furniture.
We stare up at the spiraling staircase, both of us wondering how the hell we are going to do it without taking out a chunk of the wall or hurting ourselves. I can’t help but laugh at the situation. Jason looks over at me in confusion.
“Let’s do this.” I tilt my chin at Jason in a move that’s meant to be encouraging. I wipe a hand across my brow at the sweat already gathering there despite the chilly weather.
Emily is hot on our heels as we wind our way up with our heavy cargo. I’m trying my best not to grunt as the couch snags a corner. With some angling, Jason and I are able to get the couch the rest of the way up the stairs.
Emily gestures to where she wants to place the couch, and I let out a quiet sigh of relief that it’s not much further before I can drop the damn thing.
Thank goodness it will be a while before I have to move it again.
If all goes well, we have at least a year in the apartment before we have to worry about moving.
We place the couch in the corner of the living room, and I wipe my hands on my jeans and turn toward Emily, who is a vision in her tight black leggings and loose top.
“Are you guys good without me? I have to leave in a minute for my hair appointment.” I glance over her face and nod, and she warns me about her ex-boyfriend stopping by with her furniture. “Just tell Logan to leave it in the corner of my bedroom for now.”
“You got it, boss.” I give her a mock salute at her command.
She laughs and turns away. I try not to pay attention to the way her butt looks in those tight pants. It should be illegal to have her prancing around the apartment wearing them. How am I supposed to keep things platonic when I just wanted to take a bite of her perky bottom?
It seems I may have underestimated my attraction to her.
“Dude, you’re in so much trouble,” Jason’s voice breaks through my dirty thoughts.
I shoot him a glare and grab my water bottle. I don’t bother answering him as he chuckles.
Jason and I discussed the implications of the move.
I’m trying to ignore my attraction to my new roommate, and I know staying just friends won’t be easy.
Even though Jason is glad I moved on, it was fun to be his roommate again.
It reminded me of our college days, but he is married and having a baby soon.
Jason’s life is on the verge of a transformation, and I won’t interfere with his future.
I follow him back down the stairs to continue bringing in the rest of the furniture.
A few minutes later, as I’m setting up my bedroom for my new mattress, there’s a loud knock on the door.
“Coming!” I shout as I make my way across the apartment and down the spiral staircase. Jason had just left. Thinking he had forgotten his phone or something, I yank open the door with a mocking smile on my face.
Only, it isn’t Jason standing in the doorway, but a face I’ve come to loathe.
Logan.
I cross my arms across my bare chest and lean against the doorway.
“Can I help you?” My tone is mocking. I know why he’s here, but it doesn’t mean I have to make things easy for the spineless prick.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Logan’s face reddens, his tone one of both shock and anger.
It looks like Emily didn’t tell her loser ex-boyfriend who her new roommate was. I feel a genuine smile spread across my face.
“I live here.”
“You live here?” His screech grates on my nerves.
“Yeah. What do you want?” I cock my eyebrow at him, wanting to get him off my property before Emily gets back.
Logan sputters for a moment before he regains his composure and gestures to his truck. I eye the large dresser on the back of it.
“Emily asked me to bring her dresser. Is she here?”
Logan’s hopeful words at seeing Emily ignited a fire of rage inside of me as I recalled the way Logan had dumped her.
Frustration burned as I clenched my fists against my chest, my arms and shoulders tensing, desperate to punch Logan.
Logan was unworthy of sharing Emily’s space, much less breathing the same air.
“No.”
“I thought she would be here.” His look of dejection pleased me.
“Sorry to disappoint. You can bring it upstairs.”
I leave the door propped open as I make my way back up the stairs. I wasn’t about to lift a finger to help the douchebag.
“Are you serious?” Logan yells at my retreating back.
A few minutes later, I hear the sound of two male voices. Looks like Logan called in for some help. I walk out into the living room to supervise as they bring in the dresser.
Taking a swig of my water, I gesture for the bumbling duo to bring the dresser into Emily’s room. It sets me on edge seeing Logan in Emily’s private space, but I will not make his life easier. No, the asshole deserves far worse than what is happening.
I chuckle at the sweat dripping down their faces as I lean casually against the wall. Crossing my arms as I direct them where to put the piece of furniture. Finally, when the dresser is where Emily requested, Logan and his buddy head toward the door to leave.
I’m hot on his tail when he stops at the top of the stairs.
“Joe, thanks for the help, man. I’ll catch you later.” Joe turns around and gives Logan a nod before disappearing down the stairs.
Facing me, Logan puffs out his chest, attempting to make himself seem bigger. I fight back a laugh as his attempt at intimidation falls completely flat.
“I don’t know what your game is, but you better watch it,” Logan spits his words out through clenched teeth.
Game? A moment of confusion gives way to clarity as I suddenly understand Logan’s conclusions of the situation. His expression says it all. Though it is the wrong conclusion, I wanted to fuck with the dipshit.
“Your loss, my gain.”
If the thought of Emily being with me makes Logan mad, then I’ll play this game. After all, Logan is the idiot who dumped Emily. He deserves to sweat a little.
“That whore moved on fast.”
“What did you call her?” My voice came out in a snarl.
A smirk plays on Logan’s lips as he silently slips away, the shadows swallowing him whole.
I listen to the click of the door as it echoes in the ensuing silence, clenching my fists as I wrestle with the urge to chase him down and punch him for what he said about Emily.
The insult burns in my chest like an inferno.
The only thing keeping my feet pinned to the floor is the thought of spending the rest of my life behind bars for attacking a police officer.
What a shame Emily couldn’t see how her ex-boyfriend behaved. She still believes he is a good person despite how he’s treated her. But, to me, he’s just a jerk who treated her like his possession. Logan discarded Emily like a broken toy after he was done with her. A toy only he could play with.
Emily is more than just a possession.
I’ll make sure she always knows that.