Roommates Ch. 08

"Alex! I dare you to spend seven minutes in heaven with your girlfriend!" The dare was thrown by one of Alex's friends. Patricia giggled. Involuntarily, I looked back over my shoulder at Alex. He was looking right back at me, expectantly. He was waiting and watching to see if I would bristle. I rolled my eyes, grabbed Elliot's hand and began to leave. Just as I got up I heard, "And your roommate!"

"Oh no, we are heading out," I mumbled, deeply uncomfortable, "It was great to meet—" I started.

"Don't be a party pooper," Patricia said. I fumbled with a response. She glared and quickly grabbed my wrist. She yanked me away from Elliot, then reached back and grabbed Alex by the belt and dragged us both towards Alex's room. I tried to signal to Elliot over my shoulder, to tell him not to worry. To try and comfort him, but before I could see his reaction, the door was slammed in my face me.

Patricia threw both of us into Alex's room and shut the door shut behind us. Alex settled on the bed. I, awkwardly, leaned against the wall. The tension could be cut with a knife.

"I love it when I get the chance to say this, but, ladies there is more than enough of me to go around," Alex started. His laugh was met with silence.

"She knows," I breathed.

"Yeah, it was pretty fucking obvious," Patricia spat.

"Well, this is not how I imagined this would go," Alex mumbled.

"Seriously?" Patricia asked, her eyes narrowing on Alex. He shrugged. "So now that everything is out in the open, why don't we get Elliot in here—" Patricia said.

"No!" Alex and I both yelped in unison.

"Oh? Why not?" she cooed, happy with her power.

"I haven't told him yet," I whispered.

"No moment like the present," she replied as she reached for the door. I ran in front of her.

"No, I have to be the one to tell him," I insisted.

"Will you tell him?" she asked.

"Yes," I said.

"You promise?" she asked as she searched my eyes.

"Yes," I said back, nearly pleading for mercy.

"Oh..." she breathed. Her mind seemed to be going to a million places as she stared into me. "Fuck! Erica! Just fuuuck," she groaned as she backed away and beat the air with her fists. "Its not like you to lie! I'm the one who lies. I'm the one who has affairs and comes to you to fix it. You're the one who reminds me to look at my life and look at my choices. We can't both be the messy one."

"I know. I know," I mumbled as I sat down on the bed next to Alex.

"What are you doing?" she asked as she reached out, as if she was going to shake me to my senses. I looked back at her and my face sank. She looked back somewhat sympathetically. "Don't get me wrong, I'm still mad at you," she said, "In fact, I'm pissed. But, right now you need someone to talk some sense into you and it looks like its going to have to be me. So...fine...lets do a role reversal." She sat down between Alex and I on the bed. She grabbed my shoulders and faced me. "OK, Erica, I need you to look at your life and look at your choices." The look in her eyes stunned me. She was using every cell in her body to wake me up. To shake me to my senses. It looked like she was about to cry. My eyes began to tear up.

"Maybe I should leave," Alex said, noticing the shift in the room.

"Sit!" she barked. He froze. Her eyes dug into me. I began to cry.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," I whispered.

"Thats right girl, let it out," she said as she put her arm around me.

"I don't know what I was thinking. I'm an awful person," I cried.

"You're not an awful person," she said as she held me, "You're a being a lying bitch right now. You're being a lying heinous bitch, but you're not awful, you're human, which means you get to make mistakes."

"Okay," I whimpered.

"Has he made you cry?" She asked, suddenly protective of me. I nodded.

"Maybe," I whispered.

"Good," she nodded. Then she turned and punched Alex in the shoulder. "Don't you ever do that again, asshole, or you will have me to answer to. Understood?

"Understood," he said, holding his hands up, asking for mercy.

"Also, I hope this goes without saying, but, fuck you," she snapped in his face, "Good luck ever getting a girl like me again. Asshole."


"Also understood," he mumbled.

"Now, you," she said as she turned back to me, "when you're sober, tell your boyfriend the truth but don't go into details, no guy even needs to know the details. Then, give him time. Got it?"

"Yes," I nodded.

"It's gonna suck," she admitted, "but, I know you Erica. You can't live with a secret like that in you're heart. Not if you really care about Elliot."

"I know," I admitted.

"Good," she smiled. "Don't ever make me do that again!" she groaned as she got off the bed and opened the door.

As the three of us made our way back to the living room, everyone could tell that nothing fun happened. A few guys ragged on Alex for not being able to make anything happen, but it was clear that he was not in the mood. Patricia buried herself in her phone and began to make her exit. I searched for Elliot. He had retreated to the kitchen. He looked livid.

"Elliot!" I yelled. He just shot me a look and made his way to the door. "Wait!" He ignored me and left. I followed him, nearly running to keep up with him. "Nothing happened!" I said as I followed him down the stairs. I chased him as he burst through the front door. "Elliot! Wait! I yelled. After I had followed him half way down the block he, finally, turned to face me.

"You know what Erica?" he started, "I had a lot of time to think while you were doing whatever the fuck you were doing in there and...do you think I'm an idiot?"

"What? No of course not!" I yelped.

"Because I must be if I couldn't see it before. But tonight it was so fucking obvious..." he rambled.

"What's going on Elliot?" I asked, worried. I'd never seen him this angry before.

"I think I'm the one who needs to be asking that question," he said.

"What?" I asked.

"I should have know by the way he was touching you at the club, but there was just something about the way he was looking at you tonight, it made something click and it all made sense. What's going on with you and Alex, Erica?" he asked. My eyes shot wide open and my heart stopped.

"What?" I squeaked, barely able to force my voice above a whisper.

"Is there anything going on between you and Alex?" he repeated, refusing to let me off the hook.

"No," I breathed.

"Ever?!" he barked.

"What?" I asked, stunned.

"Has anything ever happened between you and Alex?" I was shocked by his directness. Before I could think, I responded.

"Yes," I breathed. The moment I said it I wanted to take it back. I clasped my hands over my mouth. I looked at Elliot, terrified. He froze.

"What?" he asked, "I can't believe—" he started.

"Not anymore, its done!" I blurted out. Elliot began to pace.

"When?" he asked.

"Elliot—" I mumbled, trying to backtrack.

"What did you do?" he asked as he stared me down.

"What do you mean?" I asked, trying to avoid him.

"With him!" he shouted, "What did you do with him?!" I froze, suddenly scared of what he was capable of. Seeing the fear in my eyes, he backed off. "With a guy like that I can only imagine," he mumbled.

"Elliot?" I asked.

"I trusted you," he spat as he started to move towards the street, trying to hail a cab.

"I'm sorry. Please Elliot," I begged as he ignored me.

"No," he said, refusing to look at me.

"Elliot!" I cried as I wrapped myself around him. I felt his body tense, "Its over I swear!" I wept into his sleeve.

"Oh really?" he asked as he looked down at me. His eyes were cold.

"I swear," I cried. He turned his body to face mine. He took my face in his hands.

"Get away from him," he commanded.

"What?"

"Get away from him or we're done," he said as he held my face so I couldn't turn away or avoid him anymore.

"I live with him," I whispered.

"Then move," he said. I pushed myself out of his grasp.

"Unlike you, I don't have the disposable income to just up and move whenever I feel like it!" I yelled. A cab finally pulled up to him on the street. He looked over his shoulder as he got in.

"You can stay with me if you need to. Just get away from him!" he shouted. He slammed the door and the cab sped away. I watched him leave. I felt heart sink into my stomach. I knew what I had to do.

***

"So you do what again?" Alex's voice echoed from the living room. He was interviewing roommates. I offered to help, but he insisted. He was the one who would have to live with them after all. I heard a mumbled response and a tell-tale sigh from Alex. He had been having rotten luck. As the interview wrapped up, I continued to pack my boxes. Elliot had offered to pay all the costs and let me stay with him in the meantime. I only came to the apartment to meet with the landlord and pack.

Later the night I began to move the boxes out of my room and into the hallway for the movers. Alex sat in the living room, watching me struggle. After I nearly dropped a box of my foot he finally said,

"Do you need help?"

"No!" I said as I began to push a box of books across the floor. I felt him watch me as a loaded box after box into the hall way. After awhile, I took a break. I bent over a box to plug in my phone. As I searched the wall for the outlet, I felt Alex behind me. He ran a finger on the skin between my shorts and my shirt. I shot up.

"Are you serious, Alex?!" I snapped. I whirled around to face him.

"Honestly, I can't help it," he grinned, "Your ass is perfect." I frowned at him. He refused to back away. He leaned into me, putting his hands on either side of me, backing me against the wall.

"Stop it," I said, holding my ground, "That's how this whole mess got started. Neither of us could keep it in our pants."

"Really Erica?" he whispered as he tried to kiss me. I turned away and slid away from him on the wall.

"Yes Alex," I said as I sat on a box and watched my phone charge. He ran a hand over his face and through his hair.

"So," he started, "That was all it was. Sex?"

"Yes," I quipped, "Great sex, but just sex." I added, refusing to look at him. I felt him perch on a box next to me. I ignored him.

"Erica, look at me, please," I put my phone down and glared at him. He flinched, but continued, "Can't you see what you do to me? What you've done to me? I feel like its so obvious."

"What's obvious Alex?" I asked, genuinely confused. I rarely saw him like this. His eyes were soft, his body was hunched almost like he was afraid that I was going to hurt him. I lessen my glare. "I'm listening," I said as I let myself open up to him.

"I want you," he confessed.

"What?" I asked, I couldn't believe what I just heard.

"I want to be with you and only you," he said simply, I could feel those words pierce my heart. I looked away.

"Why?" I mumbled.

"I don't know why. But I do." He said as he searched for my face, "You have to look at me Erica, I can't say this to your back." Carefully, I looked back at him.

"What happened to friends with benefits?" I asked, "And not doing relationships?"

"I knew you wouldn't leave Elliot for me. You'd never date a guy like me. So, if sex was the only way I could have you, I'd take it." He looked heartbroken.

"Alex," I said as I let my hand rest against his, "if you felt that way you shouldn't have done that. You should have just asked me out."

"You're intimidating, you're hot and smart—" he rambled as he interlocked his fingers with mine, happy to that I was letting him touch me.

"You date actresses and models, there is no way that I scare you," I cut him off. He stopped and just held my hand. He didn't seem to be taking it any farther than that so I let him. We sat together in silence for a long moment, neither of us sure of what to say.

"Erica, you terrify me," he whispered.

"Why?" I breathed. But some part of me already knew the answer.

"I..." he started, "I don't say these words lightly. I don't say those words at all, unless I absolutely mean them. And its not just because I don't want you to leave but..." he trailed off and turned away from me I pulled him back.

"What?" I asked.

"I...I wish i could say I'm wasn't, but I'm in—"

"Stop! Don't say that!" I snapped. I pulled my hand away from his and got up. I began to walk away but he grabbed my arm.

"Why not?" he said as he turned me to face him, "You drive me crazy. Just. Erica. Please, don't leave me," he begged. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and held me against him. He rested his head on my shoulder and held me as hard as he could. I felt my heart in my throat. I'd never seen him like this before. He nuzzled his face into my neck and inhaled my scent. Then, almost reflexively, he sighed, "I love you." I was completely disarmed. I froze in his embrace. I felt my eyes burn with tears.

"No," I whispered. I put my hands between us and slowly, but firmly pushed him away. I felt tears running down my face, "You don't get to say that to me. Not after all you've done." After one last push, he, finally, let me go. I turned away, walked down the hallway to my room and slammed the door.

***

I watched as the movers took the last box. I stood in the kitchen and signed the paper work. Alex lurked in the living room. He was silent, but his eyes said it all, he was upset. Elliot was perched in the door of the apartment. He had a shit eating grin plastered on his face. It was clearly for Alex more than it was for me. As I rolled my suitcase to the front, Elliot pulled me in for a kiss. I flinched.

"What?" he asked, searching my eyes. Could he tell that I had cried all night? I smiled and quickly pecked him on the lips.

"I'll meet you downstairs," I said, "I have to give Alex the keys."

"Don't be long," Elliot said. It wasn't a cute thing that would usually be said between a couple, it was a very clear warning. I nodded.

When I heard the door close, I turned to Alex. He looked up at me from the couch, his eyes were cold and hard.

"Here are the keys, and my forwarding info. Once you find someone let me know and I'll work out a deposit situation with them." I set them on the coffee table.

"Okay," Alex said as got up and powered up the Xbox. He watched the screen intently as the game loaded. "Goodbye?" I said, unsure of what to do.

"Whatever," Alex mumbled as he logged in. I stood there for a moment, but it was clear, this was no longer my home and I was not welcome. I got out of there as fast as I could.

Elliot was sitting in the car waiting for me. I got in.

"So?" he asked,

"What?" I responded as the car pulled away. I couldn't shake the feeling of emptiness growing inside of me.

"How did it go with Alex?"

"Whatever," I said, "He's fine."

"Okay?" Elliot asked, clearly not satisfied with that answer.

"The Xbox was more important to him than making sure he got my keys," I snapped, hoping to shut him up.

"Wow," he breathed, "What an asshole." He reached for my hand, "We're going to get through this, don't worry." I smiled back at him, but I wanted to smack him. I also wanted to fuck him. I wanted to fill this hole that was growing in my heart. He brought my hand to his lips and kissed it. I pulled his hands to my waist and kissed him, hard, on the mouth. He tried to push me away, but I just sucked his tongue into my mouth, imitating what I was about to do to his cock. He moaned and melted into me. His hands grabbed the small of my back and pulled me against him. I needed this. I needed the comfort. I needed the escape. I began to kiss down his neck. "Erica," he groaned, he started to say something in protest until I found a spot on his ear that, apparently, made him lose his ability to speak. I brought my hand to his crotch, he was semi hard. I began to massage his cock through his jeans, he didn't stop me. I worked him over until we felt the car stop.

He grabbed my bag and dragged me past the doorman and into the elevator. He pressed me up against the wall and kissed me. I let out little moans into his mouth. We got to the apartment. He threw my bag down and slammed me against the wall. I gasped, he smiled. He put his hands around my ass and hoisted me up around his waist. He walked me into his bedroom.

Elliot laid us both down on the bed, he grabbed my wrists in his hands and pinned me to the bed. He kissed my neck and slid my dress up and off my body. I didn't have on a bra, and my panties were wet. I wrapped my legs around him and began to grind against him. He grabbed my tits and pinched my nipples, I yelped. He put his hand down the front of my panties and felt how wet I was. I gasped as he found my clit. I reached forward and began to undo his pants and get his cock out. I, clumsily, used my other hand to pull off his shirt. He let his pants fall to his ankles and dug his fingers into my pussy, it hurt, but I didn't care. I just repositioned his fingers and pulled his cock into my mouth. He tried to finger me, but couldn't concentrate with my lips around him. Feel my wetness in two places was proving to be too much for him.

Once I felt his cock get hard enough I laid back and spread my legs. Elliot wasted no time. He slammed himself into me. I moaned and grabbed his ass, I did not want him to stop. He just grabbed my hands and pinned them over my head. He tried to fuck me hard. To teach me a lesson. To hold me down. Like, a strange bizarro version of Alex, but he just wasn't really doing it. I let him fuck me for a bit, work up a sweat. Soon, I began to thrust back on him from underneath. But, as soon as I did, I saw his brow furrow and his hands went to my hips and clenched them tightly. Before I could do anything, he came. Soon after he collapsed next to me with a huge smile on his face. He began to curl up under the sheets.

I curled up next to him and waited until he fell asleep. I got up and went to the bathroom. I needed a shower. I ran the water and grabbed a towel. Elliot had one of those rain shower heads, where the water drizzles down from right above you. The thought of washing my hair got very tempting. I began to dig through the cabinets to find shampoo. Of course, there were plenty of options. I began to open them and smell them, pretty soon I found one that I couldn't put down. The moment I inhaled it I felt oddly happy. It wouldn't be until later that I realized that it was because it was the same brand Alex used, but as I took the bottle off the shelf, what I saw behind it took my breath away. There, nestled between the bottles of conditioner and shaving gel was a box. A very specifically sized box in a very specific shade of blue. I heard foot steps. I whipped around only to see Martha, Elliot's black lab. I breathed a sigh of relief and rubbed her head. Maybe it wasn't what it very clearly was. Plenty of things come in blue boxes, maybe it was some fancy face cream. I carefully removed the box and eased it open. What was inside was unmistakable. As my heart dropped into my stomach, the most beautiful engagement ring I'd ever seen sparkled back at me.

TBC...