Ollie leaned toward us from Leo’s other side. “What are you two talking about?”
“Hudson’s mean hook.”
Ollie covered his mouth and let out an exaggerated gasp. “Hudson can throw any way but straight now? Mark this day for the history books.”
“Yuk it up, clowns.”
“Speaking of clowns. How’s it going living with this Bozo?” Ollie jerked his thumb at Leo. “Ready to kick his ass out yet? If his stuff at home is as messy as his crap at work, you’ve gotta be fed up.”
I snorted. “I’ve learned to tolerate him. I mean, the mess.”
“Hey!” Leo flipped us both off.
I nudged my shoulder into his. “Leo’s room’s a total disaster, but we’ve figured out how to avoid killing each other. It’s going pretty well, actually.”
His room was far too disorderly for me to step foot in, but it could’ve been worse. Much worse. He put more effort into our shared spaces, which I appreciated.
“I wish I could find a boyfriend I got along with like the two of you do,” Ollie said wistfully. Leo nearly choked on his swig of water.
It wasn’t the first time I’d heard that. Leo and I had become fast friends when we met through bowling a couple of years ago, and I couldn’t imagine life without him.
I’d hated having roommates in college and preferred living alone before moving in with my ex, but Leo was so easy to be around that I didn’t wish for my own place. Past roommates and exes had never understood my need to keep things organized and tidy. Then again, they hadn’t been raised in complete disarray by a parent with borderline hoarding disorder and filthy tendencies. Leo hadn’t either, but he at least respected that I needed things to be a certain way to feel safe and comfortable.
As I half listened to Leo and Ollie bantering with each other, it hit me that Leo cared more about me feeling comfortable in our home than any extra work my cleanliness standards gave him. I rubbed my chest to ease the flutters.
Leo turned his head toward me and smiled. The little gap in his front teeth aligned perfectly with the divot in his chin. He ran his hand through his dark hair—short at the sides and longer on top.
“You okay?”
I nodded and looked away from his warm umber eyes to watch our teammate finish her turn.
Moving in with Leo several months ago had given me a soft cushion to land on after a stressful divorce. I’d always known I could count on him to make me laugh on tough days or leave something for me to clean when I had frustrated energy to burn.
“On that note, it looks like I’m up.” Leo stood and nearly tripped over one of his shoelaces.
I wished Leo would get his own shoes so he wouldn’t have to worry about rentals with crappy laces that never stayed tied. It was an insurance claim waiting to happen. I would rather forfeit than borrow nasty shoes from a bowling alley. Leo thought them spraying the shoes did enough to kill the funk from all the people who’d slipped their sweaty feet in before him. Leo was delusional.
When he reached for his ball, the back of his shirt hiked up to reveal a sliver of skin and the top of his ridiculous American-flag boxers he’d bought last Fourth of July. He’d worn them tugged above the waistband of his cargo shorts to the bowling alley picnic. And then he’d had the audacity to try to steal the firecracker sugar cookies I’d made, but he knew better. I always made him his own batch.
Ollie startled me by clearing his throat pointedly. I couldn’t read the glint in his eye as he looked between Leo and me.
“Been on any good dates lately?” I asked. I had no interest in getting back out there to date for dating’s sake. As someone happy enough being single, my relationships were few and far between. But I always enjoyed Ollie’s tales from the trenches.
“Achieving a ‘good date’ status requires not getting ghosted.”
I grimaced. “That’s brutal. I don’t get why people do that.”
“You and me both.” Ollie sighed and slumped in his seat.
We watched one of the librarians take their turn before Leo finished his frame.
“I wonder if Leo realizes how bad it is out there.”
I snapped my head toward Ollie. “What do you mean?”
Ollie nibbled his bottom lip. “He’s thinking about dating again. But he never had to deal with the apps, you know? He’s in for a shock.”
I frowned. Leo was ready to date again? We’d been living together since his divorce was finalized about four months ago. We’d celebrated the holidays together when we weren’t with our families and had our own I hate Valentine’s Day singles night. I hadn’t missed dating, but just because it wasn’t on my radar didn’t mean it wasn’t on his. I shouldn’t be surprised since Leo had never been alone—he’d gone from having college roommates to living with his high school sweetheart. He thrived on being social far more than me. Heck, he’d probably been holding off on dating to make sure I was settled in my new life.
