The Memory of Fate (Book 4)

12. The Decision

Patrick

I couldn't stop thinking about Bennett all night. He... intrigued me, I guess was the word. He may not have said a whole lot last night, but there was still something about him that made me want to know him more.

The longer I kept thinking about him, the more that thought grew. It stopped being a want to fuck him, too. Of course, I was still interested in him that way, but for the first time I wanted to talk to him more, find out about him. It was weird.

Ultimately, it led me to the conclusion that I needed to take the room.

But I wanted to see the place one more time, without him there. He was too distracting last night for me to really take the place in. I knew moving into a place where my roommate distracted me wasn't the best idea, but how else would I get to know him?

I knocked on the door. Theresa had said that it was fine that I came now. Hopefully it was her that was here and not Bennett.

I was wrong. He was the one that opened the door.

Today he was wearing the tiniest shorts I've ever seen and a light blue tank top. It looked like he had just come from the gym or something. He smiled and opened the door wider. "Hey, come on in."

I couldn't help but stare at him as I followed him inside. He looked good, not gonna lie. How was I ever going to live here?

"Hang on one second," Bennett said before hurrying into his bedroom. He appeared a moment later with a pair of sweatpants on. "Sorry. I just got home from work. I meant to put these on before you got here."

I shook my head. "I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. You're just very attractive."

He nodded, looking anywhere but at me. "Thanks, but I'm not interested."

"I thought you were gay," I said, confused.

Bennett nodded, still not looking at me. "I am. Trust me, I'm the furthest thing from straight. Doesn't mean I have to be interested. Now can we just talk about the apartment?"

I felt bad. He seemed like he wasn't in a great mood and I just made it worse. But I didn't know how to apologize when he didn't want to talk about it anymore. "Yeah, okay. I just sort of wanted one more look before I made up my mind."

I looked around the room. It looked the same as it did yesterday, although the food containers by the couch were gone and there was a raincoat hanging up by the door. It still looked a little damp, so I assumed it was Bennett's from earlier. Thankfully it had stopped pouring, but it was still raining ever so slightly.

"My room would be this way, right?" I asked, heading towards the hallway on the left side of the living room. This really was a big place. Three decent sized rooms, a big enough kitchen for three people, and a living room? I was surprised there was only one bathroom, but it's not like we really needed a second one for just three people.

We. It's like I've already accepted it and was living here. I haven't agreed to anything yet. Although it was definitely getting easier to see myself living here with them.

I walked through the door to what could be my bedroom. It was empty, just like yesterday. But today I actually looked. There was no closet space, unfortunately, but I could always buy something to put my clothes in.

"You'd need to buy all your furniture, obviously," Bennett said from behind me.

I turned to face him. He was leaning against the doorframe, his hands tucked into the pockets of his sweatpants. "Of course." I paused, a question on the tip of my tongue. I didn't know whether it was the right thing to ask, but I went for it anyway. Sort of. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

Bennett shrugged. "Sure. What about?"

"Um, well..." This was the hard part, actually getting it out. "Are you okay with me taking the room? You seem... apprehensive about me. Is it because I was checking you out? I'm sorry for that, okay? I get that you're not interested, so I'll never think about that again."

He shook his head with a small sigh. "It's not that. And I'm fine with you. Absolutely fine. I've just had a really shitty day, is all. And I'll just make sure to wear shirts more often."

Him mentioning shirts made me remember when I first saw him yesterday. "What are those scars from?" I said before I could bite back my words. "I mean, you don't have to tell me. I just... I noticed them yesterday and they were sort of unusual."

He crossed his arms over his chest. "Top surgery. Almost a year ago."

I nodded like I knew what he meant. He said it like I was supposed to know, but I didn't want to sound stupid and ask even more questions about it when it was obvious he'd rather not talk about it.

"Sorry for asking," I said. "Are you sure you don't have a problem with me? Because I think I would like to take the room."

"As long as you don't have a problem with me, then I think we'll be fine."

"Of course not." How could I have a problem with him, other than wanting to have sex with him? But I would control that urge and try to see him only as a roommate, nothing more.

"Then welcome to your new apartment, Patrick."

I smiled. "You can call me Pat."