Page 85 of The Reluctant Roommate

“I try.” Heidi relaxed back against the cushions again. “No road trip to New Jersey?”

“Not this time. Which I’m quite happy about, to be honest. My parents are there.”

“And you’re still all buttoned-up and happy-veneered in front of them,” Heidi finished.

“I am, yes. But look at me now. It’s past ten on a weeknight, and I’m not in bed. My less-rigid life is already starting.”

“I’m happy to hear it.” Heidi’s hand came to land on Morgan’s leg again and curled around to her inner thigh. “I met Lula for drinks after work. She’s been promoted to assistant manager.”She snuck a side-eye to Morgan. “A career path in the service industry. She’s very happy. Also… She said there’s a vacant room in her share house. She asked if I wanted it.”

Morgan forced herself to keep breathing steadily. In, out. Rinse, repeat. “What did you tell her?”

“I said I was happy where I was. With you. And I am. But, Morgan, if anything has changed for you, if Linda’s surgery costs less than you expected, if you’re uncomfortable now that we’ve had sex, if you’d rather find a tidier roommate, then I can move in with Lula.”

“Do you want to? I mean, you might want cheaper rent, ifyou’reuncomfortable now that we’ve slept together. If you’d rather find a more relaxed roommate, I don’t want you to feel obligated to remain here.”

“I don’t. I like living here. I love not having to share a bathroom—”

“Glad to know it’s bathroom time that’s the decider.”

“I don’t mean that! You’re the decider, Morgan. I love living with you.” She moved closer and placed her lips near Morgan’s ear. “And I love sleeping with you. I’m more comfortable with you than I’ve been in a long time.”

Heidi’s breath whispered over Morgan’s ear, and she shivered. “That’s good,” she forced herself to say. “So, you’re staying. I’m glad. And not just because I’d have to go to the trouble of finding another roommate but because you’reyou. And I love having you here. Particularly as I don’t have to share a bathroom with you.”

“That would be the deal-breaker,” Heidi agreed.

“What about sex?”

Heidi sat back and sucked her lower lip. “Actually, that’s more of a deal-breaker than the bathroom.” She fixed Morgan with a stern glare.

Hadn’t she just said she loved sleeping with her? Morgan sifted through Heidi’s words, wondering what she’d missed.

Then Heidi’s stern face cracked, and her laugh rang out. “Your face!” She moved closer to Morgan’s side and lifted Morgan’s arm to drape it over her shoulders. Her thigh pressed against Morgan’s, and her breath tickled her ear when she said, “Not having sex with you would make me sad.” Her fingers walked up Morgan’s thigh, and she placed her palm over the junction of Morgan’s legs. “Did you wait up for me for other, more nefarious reasons? Like you want to see me naked?”

“Maybe. Or maybe I want to carry you up the stairs, throw you down on my bed, and lick you hard until you come.”

“Good luck carrying me up the stairs. I’ll walk up and throw myself on your bed so you don’t break your back before you’ve made me come. Twice.”

A hot throb started in Morgan’s clit. “And what will you do to me?”

“Whatever you want,” Heidi’s voice purred in her ear. “However you want. As often as you want. Starting now.” She took Morgan’s hot chocolate and set it with her own on the coffee table. A wicked glance, then she reared up and straddled her, pressing Morgan’s head against the back of the couch, holding her face between her palms and kissing her hard. Kissing her fiercely so Morgan’s lips pressed painfully against her teeth until she pressed back and fought for room. Her tongue met Heidi’s, and the dance softened, gentled. And then there were sweet kisses, no less heated and hot. Heidi’s thighs gripped Morgan’s hips, and Morgan thrust up, her center throbbing with the need to be filled.

She didn’t carry Heidi upstairs; of course she didn’t. They both hurried up and into Morgan’s bedroom with the bigger bed and the softer sheets. Morgan did make Heidi come twice, and,in between, Heidi fucked Morgan hard, filling the empty ache inside her.

They left the blinds open, and although the moonlight shone through the window, the way it glistened off the snow-covered peaks of the Front Range was worth the light.

Morgan stroked a hand over Heidi’s back, feeling the soft skin, the slight indentation that Heidi had said was caused by a collision with a steel fence post as a kid, and turned her face to see the snowy mountains.

She sighed—a contented, sated breath. This was good. What she had with Heidi was good.

And that was good enough for her.

For now.

~ ~ ~

The next day, Heidi’s phone pinged with an email. She glanced at it on the bedside table but continued putting away her clean laundry. Most likely it was just the weekly grocery specials. It was a few minutes before she looked. The subject line jumped out at her:Your Admissions Application.

She fumbled the email open and scanned the first few lines. She was in! Starting in September, she’d be a first-year student studying for a BA in psychology. For a second, the negatives piled on top of her: the cost of tuition, the demands on her time, would she get enough work to get by, could she manage the study? And the big one: Would she stick out a four-year course?