Roommates (Soulmates #1) (13 page)

Chapter 25: Jenny

I knew Ethan was right.

I couldn't give up just because one horny asshole tried to get
in my pants, or rather, tried to get me interested in his.

If anything, someday it would be nothing more than a story to
put in the name and shame section of my tell all book.

But as far as today was concerned, I had work to do.

I set myself up on the couch and got ready to hunker down. If
there was any truth to what Ethan had said, there were loads of casting calls
going on that I could check out, maybe even today.

Or perhaps tomorrow as I was still a little hungover.

Regardless, I figured doing some research would help take the
edge off- maybe not quite as well as that Irish coffee had- but still. And
those eggs… How were they so much better than mine?

I mean, I realize he'd been living on his own for a while now,
but they were way better. Maybe he used more butter. After all, more butter was
always the answer.

Anyway, I wanted to have good news for him when he got back from
collecting the car or going to the gym or whatever the heck he mumbled on the
way out.

If he was going to be supportive and let me stay a bit longer, I
didn't want him to think I was a completely useless slouch.

Besides, I didn't need my former professors to make my luck. I
could do it myself. Heck, for all I knew, that shit yesterday happened for a
reason, and I was never supposed to be Marilyn.

The perfect role might be waiting around the corner for me.

All I needed to do now was decide whether I could do better research
if I nursed a small whiskey on the side.

Then again, if impressing Ethan was one of my goals, sticking
with water was probably the way to go.

My phone rang as I opened my laptop, and I prayed it wasn't my
mom calling to hear about yesterday.

For once, my prayers were answered.

"Hey."

"God, you could sound happier to hear from me," Brandi
said. "Is it my Midwest accent that's grating on you now that everyone's
calling you dahling?"

"I wish."

"You okay?"

"Yeah."

"Really?" she asked. "Cause you don't sound okay,
and you blew off my calls like a mean girl yesterday."

"Sorry." I leaned back on the couch. "I'm just
hungover."

"From drinking with Amy Schumer?"

"No. From drinking with Ethan."

"Even better!"

I winced. Her squealy tone was a bit more than I could take in
my delicate state.

"Did you go out to celebrate your big break?"

I sighed. "Not exactly."

"If you're telling me some idiot failed to recognize your
obvious talent then I'm going to have to come out there and kick some
ass."

"Stay put. Ethan already offered."

"What happened?"

I bounced my crossed leg. "It wasn't that the director failed
to recognize my talents."

“Go on.”

"It was that he was interested in talents I wasn't willing
to demonstrate."

"Like what?"

"Like giving blowjobs."

She gasped.

I waited for her to play my words over in her head.

"Wait, so he-"

"Yeah."

"And you-"

"Got the fuck out of there faster than you can say Hail
Mary."

"Jesus."

"I know. How fucked up is that? I was so pathetically keen
to impress him, too, ya know?"

"Did he just ask, like, point blank would you mind-"

"He got in my face and unzipped his zipper."

"Eww!"

"And said if I did him a favor, he'd do me one."

"I don't know what to say."

"Yeah. I didn’t either. Which is just as well because it
meant I wasn't at risk of opening my mouth and giving him the wrong idea."

"So you're okay?"

I shrugged. "Yes and no. But it's not like I'm the only
woman that got sexually harassed in New York City yesterday."

"True, but that sounds like the kind of lottery I wouldn't
be in a hurry to win again."

"No shit."

"I'm so sorry, Jen. That's hideous."

"Not as hideous as it would've been if I'd sucked his
weasel dick."

"Obviously." She exhaled into the phone so hard it
sounded like she was holding it out the window of a moving car. "So now
what?"

"Now I'm going to see if I can find another audition to go
to."

"Maybe bring mace next time."

"Not a bad idea."

"How long are you going to stay out there?" she asked.
"I mean, I know you were planning on getting discovered and never coming
home anyway-"

"That's not true."

"Oh please. You were too big for this town by sophomore
year."

"Everyone is too big for our town."

"Are you going to keep staying with Ethan?"

"To be honest, I didn't want to impose, but he seems cool
with it. Supportive even."

"Maybe he's grown up."

"He's definitely beefed up."

"Don't torture me."

I smiled.

"Has he tried anything?"

I furrowed my brow. "What do you mean?"

"Don't be stupid."

"I really don't know what you're talking about."

"I'm talking about the crush he's always had on you."

"He never had a crush on me."

"Oh please. No teenage boy is that mean to a teenage girl
unless he's too sprung to know what's good for him."

"Or unless he's a bully."

"Which Ethan isn't. Except to you."

"That was a long time ago."

"It's not a theory, Jen. It's true whether you want to
acknowledge it or not."

"So what?" I thought of the kiss, thought of how long
he held me and made my lips feel like the center of the world. "Even if it
were true, it's not like he would do anything about it. Not like he
could."

"Why? Cause of all the respect he has for your parents?
Yeah right. I think he definitely could."

I swallowed.

"And I think he would too if-"

"If what?"

"If he thought you were up for it."

"Which I'm not."

"Hey. Lie to yourself all you want, but don't fucking lie
to me. You liked him before your parents got together and that never went
away."

"Says you."

"Whatever. All I’m saying is that I think if all you do out
there is investigate your career options, you're missing a trick."

"I'm not sure what you're getting at."

"Look. Don't get me wrong. If Ethan ever looked at me the
way he looks at you even once, I already would've thrown myself at him so hard
I would’ve stuck, but he never did. And he's a cool guy and insanely hot-"

"And my stepbrother, remember?"

"So what?"

I squeezed my eyes shut. "What do you mean so what?"

"I mean, I get why that stopped you before so many times.
But you're not trapped in this nosy little town anymore. You graduated, and
you're probably never going to live with your parents again."

"Fingers crossed."

"But you're always going to wonder about him," she
said. "You're always going to wonder if the one that got away is the same
one that's been within arm’s reach this whole time."

I sighed.

"And if you aren't ready to admit that out loud, that's
okay. But you need to realize that this is your chance to finally find out if
there's something there."

"Why didn't you say any of this before?"

"Because," she said. "What good would it have
done? You were thousands of miles apart and still living in fear of your folks.
But you’re not now. And even if it's just for five minutes, aren’t you curious
to know if that intense anger he has towards you is really just mutated passion?"

"And what if it is?" I asked. "What if you're
right and he's crazy about me and doesn't give a shit what anyone has to say
about it?"

"Then I'll envy you even more than I already do."

Chapter 26: Ethan

She was falling all over me last night.

Not that I minded.

On the contrary, she was so jubilantly drunk that I had half a
mind to spill my guts, especially when she started repeating herself so much
that I knew she wouldn't even remember.

Just the idea of confessing that I'd never had a sisterly
thought about her in my whole life made me feel relieved. I couldn't imagine
how freeing it would be to get the secret off my chest.

Unless, of course, it made her uncomfortable. Because that was the
last thing I wanted. I’d rather take my feelings to the grave then upset her.

In fact, the thought of her being upset made me so unhappy I can
only assume it was the reason I ended up drumming my fingers on the steering
wheel outside Apple Seed Studios, trying to decide if I was going to pay the
criminal casting director a visit.

So far, all I'd seen were young dancers and actors going in and
out of the building. Or at least I had to assume that's what they were because
I'd never seen so many people in leg warmers reading stapled pages while
walking in all my life.

I took a deep breath, glanced at the clock, and leaned back in
my seat.

Jen was so much prettier than the girls disappearing into the
building ahead. She had a timeless grace about her that I never tired of.

She could hold your attention like a flower in a gentle breeze.
Delicate, but strong. God I was so proud of her for telling that guy where to
stick it yesterday.

When we were walking home last night, she bent over in the
middle of the sidewalk and took her shoes off. I suppose that's when I knew she
was a few margaritas past memory recall.

And as soon as we got in the cab, she curled up into a ball and
laid down in my lap. I pulled her hair out of her face with my fingertips and dragged
them gently across her temple.

I couldn't help it.

It would be like holding one of my favorite paintings from the
MoMA in my lap and not touching it.

When we got back to my building, I carried her from the elevator
to the door, setting her down against the wall so I could make sure she didn't
stumble as I let us in.

And as soon as she stepped inside, she turned, put her hands
against my chest, and leaned into me.

I held her against me, kissed her forehead, and inhaled. Her
hair smelled like candy apples.

She didn't put up a fuss when I grabbed her pajamas and brought
her to my room.

Then I closed the door and lied awake on the couch for hours,
wondering how the hell I was going to tell her that being around her was
torturous for me and that I desperately wanted her to stay.

Somehow I'd managed that last part this morning.

But when she asked if anything happened, I didn't tell her the
whole truth.

Cause if I had, she would already know that I'd fallen for every
sexy, brave inch of her, and that I didn't give a fuck what anyone else had to
say about it.

Least of all my dad.

After all, he'd had two loves in his life.

Just like me.

Except I'd always believed I had to keep my affections for both
hidden… though I was starting to think the real source of my shame was the fact
that I'd put off pursuing them both for so long.

I leaned forward, rested my forehead on the steering wheel, and
clenched my jaw, knowing that if I got within two feet of the motherfucker who
came onto her yesterday, there was a very good chance I wouldn't waste the
trip.

Once my fist made contact with his face, I'd be off, just like I
was in all those fights I got into on the playground after my mom died. Except
I was a lot bigger now.

And while I was giddy at the thought that I could send that guy
to the hospital with two wrists so broken he'd never touch a hair on another
trusting young woman's head again, the longer I sat there, the more I realized
that not only was I not that guy anymore, but that I didn't want to be.

Plus, what would it accomplish?

Sure, he'd get a fraction of what he deserved, but Jenny would
probably be disappointed in me considering she knew how many fucking anger
management courses I've been subjected to in the past.

What's more, it wouldn't help her get ahead. Nor me. I could
jeopardize my job and my relationship with my friends, including my own boss.
Worst of all, it might make Jenny uneasy, and she didn’t deserve that.

Besides, she wasn't a nerdy kid anymore. My rage was no use to
her.

What she needed was my support, which I'd tried to lend her this
morning. And I thought I'd done a decent job, too, whereas punching this guy's
lights out would probably be a step backwards.

I flipped my visor down to block the view of the studio's
entrance and pulled out my phone.

Christophe answered on the third ring.

"I need some advice."

He laughed. "Legal or sexual?"

I rolled my eyes. "Legal."

"Shoot."

"How do you go after a sexual predator?"

"I need more information."

I sighed. "My stepsister got assaulted on a casting call
yesterday. The guy basically whipped it out and asked her to open wide."

"Jesus. Even I'm smoother than that."

"I've heard mixed opinions."

"So what do you want to know? How to see justice
done?"

"Pretty much."

"Can I assume you're calling because you've wisely decided
not to take matters into your own hands?"

"You know me so well."

"Right. In that case, there are two options."

"Go on."

"We can get a bunch of testimonials from individuals who've
suffered the same injustice."

"And if that's not an option?"

"You can file a complaint with the police," he said.
"Which is useless, but it might help you sleep better at night."

"Uh-huh."

"Not the information you were looking for, I take it?"

I shrugged. "I thought you were more legit than that. I
thought you'd have a plan to bug the guy's office and set a trap."

"I don't play a lawyer on TV, Ethan. I really am one."

"Mmm."

"Sorry to disappoint."

"So no full scale investigation?"

"Cause some asswipe looked at your sister funny?"

"Stepsister."

"Regardless, no can do."

I sighed.

"Though you should file a complaint with the police, if
only to get the guy on their radar."

"Will do."

"Anything else I can help you with?"

I was about to say no when I had an idea. "Actually, there
is."

"Shoot."

"You know how you were saying your uncle has a talent
agency?"

"Yeah."

"Think you could send me the details?" I asked.

"Would you consider it a personal favor for which you'd owe
me one?"

"Sure."

"No problem," he said. "Give me till the end of
the day, and I'll give him a heads up."

"Thanks, clown."

"Anytime."

I turned the phone off, feeling even better than if I'd done
what I went there to do.

Now I was just two more calls away from another epic afternoon.