Chapter 1
Houston
“Alright. We’re going to get the hard stuff out of the way first. If you’re still interested afterward, I’ll show you around. Because it’s a good-size apartment, and I’m not asking an arm and a leg for the rent.” I hadn’t even given the guy a chance to say anything as I opened the door. I’d just charged right in, doing my best to ignore his big brown eyes and startled expression.
Reminding myself that I didnotneed to get distracted by the sexy teddy bear of a guy before I even knew how crazy he was, I kept going. “I work from home, so I’m here nearly all the time. I’m a little OCD, so if you’re messy, that’s going to be a problem. I’m gay. So if you’re a homophobe, or something crazy like those morons with the signs, I don’t even want to hear it. I’ve gotten the insanity from a dozen different people over the past week, so keep that shit to yourself.” He hadn’t run screaming like the uptight accountant, or crying like the short guy who’d started losing it because evidently,all the good apartments were gay, so it was a good sign.
Too bad I wasn’t done with the speech. “And there’s a washer and dryer in the unit, so that means you don’t have to schlep things down to the laundromat, but that also means we’re going to see each other’s clothes. Well, I wear women’s underwear, and I don’t plan on panicking every time I do my goddamned laundry. If that’s a problem, you already know the way out of the building.”
His mouth was open, but nothing came out. Had I broken him already? It’d taken six months before the last one lost it. “Hello? You still interested?”
He finally blinked, long eyelashes drawing even more attention to his sexy brown eyes. “You weren’t asking for a security deposit. Just the first month’s rent?”
Not what I was expecting him to say, but okay. “Yup.”
“Then I’d like to see it, please.” His voice came out slightly stiff but even.
Looked like I might have found a keeper.
Well, roommate anyway. Finding anything beyond that would just be ridiculous, considering how hard it was to find a decent roommate. If I couldn’t find a reasonable stranger to ignore what I liked, how could I expect to find a date who would?
“Come on in, and I’ll show you around.” I stepped back from the door, trying to seem a little friendlier. If he wasn’t scared off by everything else, I didn’t want to make him think I was an ogre. I was usually pretty reasonable as long as I didn’t have to deal with day after day of morons and idiots.
There was a reason I worked from home and not with the average customer.
The new guy was a short little thing but broad enough that his frame hinted at muscles under his clothes. Not that I was looking. Statistically, he was probably straight, but with the increasing number of people who defined their sexuality on less rigid terms, there were reasonable odds he was at least curious.
Not that it mattered.
“The living room is this way.” The condo actually had a lot of space for a place so close to downtown. The location and size were just some of the reasons I’d grabbed it up. But they were also the reasons I usually had a roommate.
I was financially sound enough in my career that I didn’t need to have someone else to split the mortgage and utilities with, but it made my budget a lot easier. I didn’t have a lot of crazy expenses, but I liked to travel, and having someone around to watch the apartment as well as let me save more worked out perfectly. And with my goal of paying off the mortgage early, it meant I didn’t have to compromise.
Usually.
I hadn’t been so lucky lately.
When I’d first started looking for roommates, I’d ended up with women, and that’d worked out fairly well. Until the last one turned out to be a bit off and didn’t believe I was actually gay. After she’d only been living in the condo a month, I’d found her naked in my bed.
After that, everything had gone downhill. Fast.
I’d finally managed to get her out, but it’d been an awkward couple of months. When I’d started looking for another roommate, I’d ended up with a straight guy who couldn’t manage to understand that every look wasn’t a come-on. I’d never been more grateful when he’d gotten transferred to the Midwest somewhere.
The next one only lasted two days until he found my panties in the laundry. So I wasn’t even sure I could claim him as a roommate. Whoever the hell the new guy was, at least he didn’t seem to be easily fazed.
He simply walked around the living room, calm and curious. “Will I have enough space in the kitchen? My last roommate had issues with giving me a reasonable amount of room. I don’t mind sharing, but one small shelf in the fridge and one in the pantry isn’t enough to cook anything.”
“I don’t mind making as much space as you need. I don’t have a lot of kitchen gadgets, so there’s plenty of empty shelves. I also don’t mind you borrowing stuff as long as you replace it and clean up after yourself.” I gave him a careless shrug and pointed toward the kitchen. “Take a look.”
He nodded and headed toward the archway that separated the two rooms. Looking back at me, he paused and stretched out his hand. “I’m Reece, nice to meet you.”
“Houston. Same.” I wasn’t going to get overly friendly until I knew he was actually staying—and sane.
I waited at the door while Reece walked into the kitchen, opening cabinets and going through it in more detail than anyone else I’d ever had living there. Could he actually cook? I wasn’t bad, but when it was just me, I didn’t always see the point.
I tried to look at the space through his eyes. I remembered the real estate agent talking about the amount of counter space and the upgraded appliances, but I’d tuned it out after making sure it was on par with everything else in the neighborhood.
Kitchens and bathrooms helped with resale value, but beyond that, I didn’t really notice them. Granite counters, well-made cabinets, and a good layout meant I wasn’t going to have to replace much if I decided to sell sooner than I’d planned.
