Page 12 of The Roommate Problem
Chapter Five
August stepped into the apartment and wiped a hand over his sweaty brow. His current roommate situation might be a nightmare, but at least the building’s amenities were top notch. The small gym on the first floor had everything he needed to work out his frustration with his new living arrangement. Too bad the high from exercise only lasted so long. Once he’d showered and changed, he headed into the kitchen to make a protein shake—he really needed to hit up a store today for groceries.
He scooped out the powder into the special cup and filled it with water, vigorously shaking the container to mix the contents. As he flipped the top and lifted it to his lips, the sound of singing hit his ears. Cup poised halfway in the air, he strained to hear over the pounding water. Mo must be in the shower. An image of her soaping up her naked body filled his mind, water plastering the ridiculously colored hair to her back, suds running over her breasts. His body tightened.
“Dammit!”
Shaking his head, he slammed back half his shake, willing the unwanted mental picture to go away. He did not need to be lusting after Mo. There were so many reasons that was a bad idea. Besides, he didn’t do relationships. What was the point when everyone eventually moved on? He wasn’t the type of person people stayed with forever; his parents had proven that. Whatever. Fine with him. He didn’t need anyone. All he needed was space and solitude.
The singing got louder until he managed to make out the tune.
“Is that…‘Jingle Bells’?”
It was September. Who sang Christmas carols in September? And here he’d been thinking this situation couldn’t get any worse. He should have known. Things could always get worse.
August finished off his shake, washing and drying his cup before putting it back in the cabinet.
“Hey, you’re up.”
He turned at the unbelievably chipper voice and sucked in a sharp breath. Mo bounced—yes, bounced—into the room. She wore a long blue skirt that swished around her legs with her energetic movement. Her bright yellow halter top hurt his eyes to look at but left a lot of soft-looking skin on display. Her damp hair twisted up in some sort of intricate knot on top of her head. Her cheeks had honest to god sparkles on them, and her lips and eyelids were highlighted with a warm rose color.
He was going to blame the rise in his body temperature on his recent workout and not the vision his new roommate presented.
“I’ve been up for the past hour and a half. Went down to the gym.”
Mo’s eyes widened with shock. “We have a gym? Huh. Learn something new every day.”
He rolled his eyes but couldn’t help but grin a little. There was something uniquely charming about Mo. Even if they were as different as night and day, he had to admit she charmed him. A little.
Didn’t matter, he had things to do today before checking on Gran at the shop.
“Where’s the nearest grocery store? I need to stock up.”
“Ooooh, me, too. We can go together.”
Great. Just what he wanted. Maybe they could also find a pothole big enough to break the suspension on his car. Fun day all around.
Ten minutes later, they were in Mo’s car—because according to her, she knew her way around town better—and August was praying to every deity in the known universe to survive the trip.
“You know there’s a brake pedal to your left? Some people use it before they’re five inches away from the car in front of them.”
She laughed, ignoring his advice and slamming on the brakes just in time to avoid crashing into the truck stopped in front of them at the red light.
“Lighten up, August.”
Hard to lighten up when you were staring death in the face. How had the woman gotten her license driving like this? Though, judging by the cars around them, everyone in Denver was a terrible driver. Yet another reason to get out of the city. Life expectancy went up when everyone wasn’t driving like they were in Mad Max.
They parked at the grocery store and headed inside. August grabbed a cart and pulled out his phone to bring up his grocery list app. Mo grabbed a basket and started to toss things in at random.
“Don’t you have a list?”
She shrugged, grabbed a box of granola bars, and dropped it in her basket. They were so covered in chocolate they should have been in the candy aisle.
“Not really. I kinda just grab what I’m in the mood for.”
Under “chaos” in the dictionary was a picture of Mo. He was sure of it.
Half an hour later, they had made it through the entire store. Mo’s basket was overflowing, and his cart was sorely lacking. Unfortunately, the selection of fresh fruits and vegetables in this store left something to be desired. Meanwhile, Mo had all manner of processed crap that companies tried to pass off as food.
