The Roommate

Chapter 26

*Sophie

I got home from dinner with Cas and Alex that night and found Riley sitting on the couch watching TV.

"Hey Soph!" She said happily.

"Hey," I said with a smile, trying not to sound too down about anything.

She patted the couch next to her and I went over and sat down. She wrapped her arm around my waist and leaned against me. I felt my stomach flutter but continued to feel confused after everything that had happened over the last day.

"What were you out doing?" Riley asked me.

"Cas, Alex and I just went to grab dinner," I said.

"Oh nice, that sounds fun," she responded.

"Yeah, it was alright," I said.

She leaned back and looked up at me, "you okay?"

"Yeah I'm - sorry I'm fine, just tired," I said.

"Okay," Riley said hesitantly, "if you're sure."

I looked over at her and nodded, "I am."

She grinned and then leaned in close to me. Part of me wanted to pull back, but I tried to remind myself that I still didn't know exactly what had gone on between her and Jackson.

She put her hand on the back of my neck and closed the distance between us. This might not have been a good idea, but I obviously had a hard time resisting her.

Riley pressed her lips against mine and I closed my eyes and leaned into the kiss. She slowly trailed her fingers up the back of my neck and it sent shivers down my body. I wanted to keep going, but I pulled back.

"I should go to bed, I have work tomorrow," I said quietly, keeping my lips close to hers.

"Fine," she said with a sigh.

She leaned in and gave me another quick kiss before I got up. I walked back to my room and went in and sat down on my bed.

Fuck I was confused.

I knew I needed to talk to her, but I was going to give it a few days and see what happened before I went down that road.

I went to work the next morning and stopped in to talk to Alex before I went to my office.

"Morning boss," I said as I stepped into his doorway.

"Hey Soph," he said as he looked up from his work, "figure anything out with your roommate yet?"

I shook my head and leaned against door frame, "not yet, I'm going to give it a few days."

He nodded, "sounds like a good plan."

I turned to leave but he started to say something before I left.

"So Jamie showed up when Cas and I were talking last night, right before I got in my car to leave."

"Oh fuck," I said quietly, "bet she wasn't happy about that."

"Yeah I probably should've let Cas tell you that, but I felt bad," he said.

"I'm sure she'll talk to me about it soon," I said, "anyway I'll let you get back to work."

Work dragged on as I tried not to think about the conversation I'd eventually have to have with Riley. By the time 5:00 came around, I was very ready to go home.

I got back to the house and went inside, and was unfortunately greeted by Riley and Jackson. He had his arm around her as they sat there and chatted.

Okay, now I was even more confused.

"Hey Soph," Riley quickly said, barely looking up at me.

I gave her a small wave and walked directly back to my room. Fuck she was not making this easy. Having fun was one thing, but going back and forth daily, and doing it right in front of me, was a whole other thing.

I did my best to stay in my room for the rest of the night, I had no interest in finding out what was going on out there.

A while later I was watching tv and getting ready to fall asleep when I heard a soft knock on my door.

"Come in," I said sleepily.

Riley stepped into my room and laid down on the bed next to me.

"What have you been up to all night?" She asked.

"Oh I've just um, just been hanging out in here," I replied.

Riley propped herself up on her elbow and looked at me.

"Why do I feel like you've been avoiding me?" She said.

Well maybe this conversation was going to happen sooner than I thought.

"I've only been avoiding you when you bring Jackson home," I said quietly, not wanting to look up at her.

"Why?" She asked, "because he's Maddox's friend or what?"

Damn she was adorable but sometimes she really was clueless.

I shook my head and finally looked over at her.

"No...it's not that. I just kind of feel weird seeing you with someone else after we...you know," I said.

I wasn't quite ready to admit to her how strong my feelings were, but maybe this would help her get the picture.

"Ohhh, yeah I guess that makes sense," she said.

I nodded in agreement but didn't say anything.

"Well it's not like Jackson and I are dating or anything, we're just kind of hanging out," Riley continued.

"I know," I said with a sigh, "but I just feel awkward about it."

"So does that mean you don't want anything to continue with us?" She asked as she traced her fingers along my arm.

"No, that's not what I'm saying. I think I just...need some time to get used to the whole just having fun thing," I said.

Yeah sure, let's go with that.

"Okay good," Riley said, "you had me worried for a minute."

"Do you mind if I stay in here tonight?" She continued with a yawn.

I had tried to be okay with all of this but it just wasn't going to happen. I sat up and looked over at Riley.

"I actually don't think that's a good idea, sorry," I said.

I stood up and walked over to the door and pulled it open. Riley look confused as she got up and walked towards me.

"I don't - did I do something?" She asked.

I rubbed my hand over my eyes, not sure how I was going to get out of this one.

"Fuck Riley, I actually have feelings for you, okay? I can't do this back and forth shit."

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