Rebel Roommate: A Brother's Best Friend Romance Read online

  “Don’t worry about him. He’s just a weirdo. It’s the other guys who will be strolling in here I worry about. I’ve given them so much shit about you coming that they won’t touch you with a twenty-foot pole.”

  I open the zipper of my duffel bag and wonder why I have a pang of disappointment at Chad’s statement. “Good,” I state.

  He takes a swig of his beer. “You hungry?”

  My stomach growls at the thought, and Chad laughs.

  “Come on. We can get you settled in later. Let’s get some food.”

  “Only if it’s Chinese. I’m jonesing for some dumplings.”

  I use the bathroom and freshen up a bit. I’m happy to report neither my brother nor Wes are slobs in the bathroom. In fact, the toilet is clean, and there isn’t a spec of toothpaste in the sink basin. Color me surprised.

  I exit the bathroom, and Wes is standing in the hallway, dressed in jeans and a fitted Los Angeles Angels T-shirt with his hair tucked under a baseball cap. I stare up at him, and it hits me.

  He’s taller.

  That’s what it is. I mean, besides the new chiseled physique, Wesley grew a lot over the years.

  “What’s the look for?” he asks, and I realize I’m rudely staring at him—again.

  “I was just going to comment on how clean your bathroom is.” I thumb toward it rather awkwardly.

  “Did you think we pissed all over the toilet or something?”

  “Or something.” I shrug. “I’m gonna have to get used to living with guys.”

  “Ah, yes. The living-together arrangements.” Wes rubs his hands together in front of him. “This is going to be fun. Let’s see.” He holds up a hand with his pointer finger in the air. “First rule: don’t even think about bringing a boy back here unless you want us to beat his ass.”

  “I don’t date boys. Now, men—”

  “No perfume is to be sprayed anywhere but in your bedroom.”

  “Afraid your lady friends might find out you live with a woman?” I challenge, but he ignores me.

  “No horrible mom music is to be played.”

  “I don’t listen to mom music!”

  Chad interrupts from the living room, “I most definitely heard Celine Dion coming from her truck when she pulled up.”

  I scrunch my face in Chad’s direction as Wesley continues, “We divide the grocery bill. No labeling whose is whose bullshit in the fridge. Laundry day is Tuesday, clean up after yourself, television is for sports only—unless it’s your dad’s new show—and most importantly, I take my eggs over easy.” He says the last part with a twinkle in his eye and a tilt to his lips.

  I place my hands on my hips and tap my foot. “You can get your own damn breakfast, and I’ll make sure to spray perfume directly into your room.”

  “Just make sure I’m dressed before you enter. I sleep naked, especially when I have company.”

  “Hello, double standard. Meet the twenty-first century. You can have girls over, but I can’t have guys?”

  He holds his hands up. “You’re the one who chose to move in with your brother. Don’t blame me for being a cockblock. Wait, no. Blame me. I’ll easily crush any guy who comes here and thinks he’s getting into that bed of yours.” He points toward my door.

  “You’re cute when you try to play badass dominant, Wesley Delmont Knight.” I nudge him with my shoulder as I walk past, knowing he hates that I know his middle name. I thought we’d be past this childish behavior, but obviously, we aren’t.

  “Oh, and the bedroom isn’t the only rule. No guys in the apartment. Period.”

  “You’re annoying.”

  “Funny. I’ve been told I’m surprisingly irritable or unexpectedly calm.” He holds his arms out wide like he’s proud of the statement.

  Chad is so used to our antics that he doesn’t even bother to chastise us or tell us to grow up. Three years apart, and we’re acting like it’s only been a few hours since we saw each other last.

  Chad’s phone rings loudly from his pocket, so he slides it out and holds it to his ear. “Hey, babe. Are you joining us for dinner?” he asks into the phone, turning his back to us and walking to the kitchen.

  Babe? I mouth to Wes while pointing in the direction Chad just walked in.

  Wes’s eyes bug out as he leans in. “You didn’t know? Our boy here has it bad.”

  I squish my face. “Seriously?”

  “For a couple weeks now.”

  “Stop it. Are they, like, in love?” I do a little shimmy dance as I use those words, which makes Wes curve his brows.

  “I hope not. I already lost one roommate for being pussy-whipped. I’d like to keep this one until we graduate.”

  I never thought my brother would settle down with anyone. For Chad Brightmore, life is baseball, and nothing is more important than practice or working on getting better. Both he and Wes are here on scholarship, and this is the final season of their senior year. I figured his dating life would be even more nonexistent—at least until he settled down into a career.

  We enter the kitchen, where Chad is leaning against the wall, talking on the phone. The smile on his face catches me off guard. Wes wasn’t lying. He’s absolutely into this girl.

  “Okay, good. We’ll see you there. Love you too,” he says before he hangs up, turning to us while we’re both staring at him. “Don’t say it.” Chad points at Wes.

  Wes holds up his hands in defense. “I didn’t have to say it. She heard it with her own two ears.”

  “You’re seriously dating someone?” I don’t even try to hide the shock in my voice.

  “Come on. It’s not like she’s my first girlfriend.” He makes his way into the living room, trying to blow us off.

  “Right, but Trina was more of an off-and-on, friends-with-benefits thing. And you’ve never brought someone home for the holidays or summers,” I say, following behind him. “I never understood your relationship with Trina, but it seemed to work for you guys. Now, you’re saying ‘love you’ to this girl?”

  He grabs his keys off the table. “I’m not discussing my sex life with my little sister.”

  “A sex life would mean you’re venturing out, trying some strange. You, my friend, are entering the boring zone,” Wes teases as he locks the door behind us.

  Chad looks like he’s going to make a retort but thinks twice about it, probably because I’m standing right here. “Better than being a man-whore like you.”

  Wes holds his hand to his chest, like he’s insulted by this assessment. “I just happen to make friends easily and unintentionally make people fall in love with me often.”

  His words are said with such candor that even I end up giggling. “You’re incorrigible.”

  He smirks like it’s something he’s proud of as we walk down the stairs.

  With their building being on a main strip, there are plenty of bars and restaurants to choose from, so we head on foot down the street to a Chinese place on the corner. A girl with long blonde hair, wearing a plaid shirt and jeans, is standing outside, and when she sees us approach, a smile crosses her face as she lifts on her toes.

  Chad grins, and I know without a doubt that this is the mysterious new gal in his life. He takes quicker steps than Wes and me to get to her before we do. They kiss their hello before turning to us.

  “Stacey, I’d like for you to meet Nicole,” Chad says with his arm wrapped around her.

  She extends a hand, and I take it, still shocked to see my brother introduce me to a girlfriend. I have to call Mom and see if she knows our Chaddy boy has met someone.

  “I’m so excited to meet you,” she says with a beaming smile. “Chad has been talking nonstop about you moving in. Welcome to Berkeley!”

  “Thanks. My first day is already full of surprises,” I respond with a grin.

  “Oh, yes, it is,” Wes chimes in as we all walk inside.

  We order our meals at the counter and make our way to a table, where we all sit. Chad and Nicole are on one side while Wes and
I sit on the booth side.

  Even though Chad and Nicole are on chairs, they’re pushed so close that they might as well be joined at the hip. They chose to split their entrees, so the entire meal is filled with, “Want more of this, honey?” and, “Take the last spare rib. I know you love them.”

  It’s so adorable.

  Watching my brother be so caring to Nicole is a breath of fresh air. I’ve been kind of on a finding a good guy will never happen for me kick recently, so seeing that decent guys do exist gives me some hope even if it is my own blood.

  While I’m batting my lashes at their sweet exchanges, Wes tries to stab his plastic fork in one of my fried wontons.

  I slap him away. “Dude. Get your own chow.”

  He shakes his head. “Man, you are territorial of your food.”

  “I don’t share.”

  “Clearly.” Wes stabs the wonton successfully, quickly popping it in his mouth and chewing with gusto. My mouth is open in annoyance, but he just gives me a closed-mouth smile.

  I avert my attention back to the couple, propping my hand under my chin. “I’m dying to know, how did you two meet?”

  Nicole brushes her hair over her shoulder. “We’ve actually known each other since freshman year.”

  “She tried to cheat off me in Algebra I,” Chad adds.

  “When we saw each other in the bar that weekend, he totally called me out on it. I bought him drinks, and we’ve been friends ever since.”

  If my face were an emoji, I’d be the heart-eyes one. “Friends who became lovers. What was the turning point?”

  Nicole raises a shoulder and looks at Chad. He gives her a small shake of his head.

  “That’s our secret, babe,” he says, which makes them both blush.

  Wes leans a warm knuckle to my chin and raises it to a closed position. His breath tickles my ear as he leans in and says, “Told you, it’s bad.”

  I can’t disagree. These two are deep into each other. It makes me a little nervous. If they break up, my brother could walk away with a broken heart. The idea has me rubbing my chest.

  “When Chad said you were transferring to Berkeley, I was surprised. What made you leave your old school?” Nicole asks me.

  “It was always the plan. College is so expensive; I didn’t see a reason to graduate with a tremendous amount of debt, so I went to community college for the first two years and transferred for the Berkeley degree.”

  “Squid is the most fiscally responsible person you’ll ever meet,” Wes chimes in.

  “Well, not everyone gets to go to school on an athletic scholarship. I applied for grants, but they wouldn’t give me one. Trust me, I tried. But in the end, I knew this was the cheaper way to do it.”

  “Wait, did he just call you Squid?” Nicole asks, squinting and pointing at Wes.

  Wes laughs, and I roll my eyes. “Don’t ask.”

  Nicole takes my cue and goes back to our conversation. “Well, you’re a smart girl about the school thing. Wish I’d thought of it.”

  “It almost didn’t happen, and it’s not lost on me how valuable this is. I won’t be messing it up. So”—I point my fork at Wes—“please keep any wild nights at the apartment strictly to weekends. I have a lot of studying to do.”

  He nods. “Not a problem. Between classes, workouts, and interning, I’ll be swamped.”

  “Interning?” I ask.

  Nicole answers for him, “It’s an elective. If you do an internship, it counts as a course requirement.”

  “A lot of the guys chose the Boys & Girls Club because it’s sports-related and you can just play with the kids. Except for this fool,” Chad says as he thumbs over at Wes. “He chose the nursing home.”

  Intrigued, I turn to Wes. “Why?”

  He’s looking down at his food. There’s a slight smile on his face as he pushes his chicken around the plate and shrugs. “I just like old people.” The comment warms my heart a little. That is, until he adds, “The old ladies think I look like a young John Travolta. It’s good for my ego.”

  I shake my head and laugh, as does Nicole, who lets out a snort-like sound.

  “Of course they do. Women young and old fall head over heels for your charm. Speaking of … what happened with Natasha the other day?” she asks.

  “Who?” Wes asks, not even bothering to look up from the food he’s stuffing into his face.

  I see his appetite hasn’t changed much.

  She tilts her head, as if she can’t believe he doesn’t know. “The girl you went home with the other night.”

  “Correction.” He holds up his finger while he finishes his bite. “The girl who wanted me to take her home the other night.”

  “You didn’t?” Nicole seems confused.

  “Nope. Someone will get her pregnant one day, but it won’t be me. Not my type.”

  I have to cover my mouth from almost spitting out my drink, his nonchalant words catching me totally off guard. Wes has always been beautiful, but he’s far more brazen as a college man than he was back in high school.

  “What did you just say?”

  He shrugs. “He might call me a man-whore”—he crumples up a napkin and throws it at Chad—“but I do have standards. I need a challenge, not a girl who will drop to her knees just because I bought her an Amstel.”

  “Wes!” Nicole blasts, trying not to laugh. “You’re so crass sometimes.”

  “You thought that was crass? I just tamed it down from what she actually said that night, which was, ‘I heard you have a huge cock, and I want to suck it.’ Glad I changed course.”

  Now, it’s Chad’s turn to throw a napkin at Wes, who gives him a shit-eating grin.

  The four of us burst out laughing.

  Chad swings his arm around the back of Nicole’s chair and leans back. “This guy dates, loses interest, and then moves on to the next.”

  Wes grins, and his dimples appear. “Some might call it promiscuous, but I call it dating.”

  “And who says romance is dead?” I tease as I take a drink of my Coke.

  “Oh, it’s dead. For you. Just remember the rules.”

  As Wes’s eyes meet mine, I find myself holding on to them a second too long and nearly choke on the carbonated bubbles. He hands me a napkin as he steals my last dumpling.

  Just when I thought this living arrangement was going to be easy, I’m reminded that it’s not just my brother I have to watch out for.

  His best friend is gonna be ten times worse.

  Chapter Two

  The first few weeks of classes haven’t been as hard as I thought they’d be. I’m getting into the groove of my new schedule. Having completed all of my general ed at the community college means my schedule is jam-packed with major courses, making them all very intense but also very interesting. Molecular Environmental Biology is challenging, Fence Ecology is fascinating, and Ethics is my easiest lecture.

  Being on campus is everything I dreamed of, yet because I’m so overwhelmed with work, I haven’t had a chance to have a social life. I just keep telling myself that the end goal of having a Berkeley degree is the only important thing.

  Luckily, my roommates make it easy for me to get studying done because they’re barely here.

  There’s a month until the fall baseball season starts, so Chad and Wes are in the midst of a rigorous schedule themselves. They wake up at the crack of dawn to work out, and then they go to classes all morning and practice in the afternoon. Add in all the time Chad spends with Nicole, and he might as well not even live here.

  I enter the apartment after my night class and am relieved to find it empty. After making myself some food, I grab my water bottle and head to my room to get started on a paper that’s due next week and catch up on some reading.

  A few hours later, I’m deep in the syllabus for Business Practices in Communication Standards when I hear the front door open. These walls are so damn thin that you can hear a pin drop. So, it shouldn’t surprise me when Wes’s deep voice echoes through t
he room.

  “I’m at the bar, and this woman walks over—tall, blonde, very beautiful …”

  I exit what was beginning to feel like my own personal cave to see three guys in the living room. Two are on the couch while Wes is standing, doing some sort of reenactment for his enthralled crowd.

  “Oh, um, hello,” I say, pulling my hair into a long ponytail and padding into the kitchen to refill my water bottle.

  “Sorry, did we wake you?” Wes asks, looking at his watch. It’s after ten.

  “No, I was studying,” I respond while turning to the fridge to grab the filtered water jug. I look down at my outfit—yoga pants and a tight tank top. I pull at the top to make sure it’s not clinging to my skin.

  Wes finishes the story, “So, she tells me she’s an assistant for a magic show. That sounds like the most awesome thing ever, so I ask her to show me a trick. She takes out a three-foot-long balloon from her pocket, blows it up … and then eats it.”

  The guys are laughing, and then one starts gagging. Then, a series of ridiculous questions follow.

  Such boys.

  As Wes takes a seat and changes the channel, the two other guys turn and look my way. I feel like an animal in the zoo with the kitchen partition like a window into an exhibit.

  With my bottle filled, I walk into the living room.

  A guy stands and makes his way to me. He’s obviously an athlete with his well-developed shoulders and upper-body muscle mass. A quick glance at his calves shows he’s just as built on the bottom as the top. When I see he has the signature C hat that represents the Cal baseball team on backward, showing me his number, I guess that he’s on the team with them.

  “You must be Squid,” he says.

  “No one calls her that but me,” Wes yells out a little aggressively from the living room.

  I narrow my eyes and want to argue with him, but the guy gets my attention.

  “Well, if you’re enough to ruffle Knight’s feathers, then I have to know your name. I’m Matt.” He extends a hand.

  He’s smooth, this one. And charming with his waggling brows and a coy smile.