Roommate Wanted

Chapter 6

5 days later

Shelby's Point of View

After spending the weekend taking care of Karlie and relaxing with her, I was having some mixed feelings. I know that women who are emotionally close to other women can sometimes be physically close and it still be platonic. But something about this weekend felt different than a normal friendship. It reminded me of my relationship with Charlie, well back when it was good.

Thankfully my best friend from back home, Sam, was flying in today for a visit. She wanted to fly in back when Charlie broke up with me, but her son is still pretty young and her husband is always traveling for work, so it just wasn't the right timing. To be honest, I am glad she is here now instead of then because I could really use someone to talk to about Karlie. Sam and I have been friends since middle school. She was outspoken, while I was typically more quiet, but somehow that only made our friendship stronger. I think she thought it was her job to look after me, even though I never really needed looked after.

After work I texted Karlie to remind her that Sam was coming in town and would be staying with us and that we won't be home until after dinner. I then drove to the airport to pick up Sam and we went to a restaurant near the airport for dinner. After we ordered our meal Sam jumped straight into the drama in my life.

"So how are you holding up after the breakup?" Sam asked.

"Honestly, I am doing perfectly fine." I said.

"Shelby you don't have to pretend to be strong for me. I know there's no way you are perfectly fine after 3 months, you were head over heels for Charlie and were convinced she was the one." Sam said annoyed.

"I mean, it definitely hurt, but things have been going really well in my life, and I met someone who didn't make me feel like I lost my entire world when Charlie broke up with me." I explained

"Woah, you met someone, who?! And why is this the first I am hearing about this?!" Sam squealed.

"Before you get ahead of yourself it's not like that. The person I am talking about is my roommate, Karlie. And we aren't seeing each other. We are just becoming really good friends." I explained blushing a bit.

"If you two aren't seeing each other then why do you look so smitten?" Sam asked.

"Well... I may have a little crush on her. But she is straight, so it's irrelevant." I told her about how I realized that I had a little crush on her when she held my hand the night at the bar with Jenny and Elliot. And about how I took care of her and she slept in my bed with me after getting sick in hers. 

"I even had a dream the night that she slept in my bed that we were cuddling, it felt so real." I told Sam.

"Well maybe she's not as straight as you think she is. If she knows you are gay and slept in your bed with you and is holding your hand, she may be trying to hint that she likes you." Sam suggested.

I didn't even think about the possibility of Karlie liking me, Sam had a point. Wait...

"Well, Karlie doesn't know I am gay." I admitted.

"Oh, well it's still possible that she likes you. But yeah, if she doesn't know you are gay then it could also just be normal friendship stuff." Sam said.

"Yeah, it's hard because part of me wants to tell her I am gay to see how she reacts and maybe to find out if she feels the same way I do. But another part of me is scared if she reacts badly that I will lose my best friend in this city and potentially have to move again." I explained.

Sam admitted it was a predicament, but suggested that I tell her the truth. She also offered to help feel her out while she was here and gauge where she stood. 

"I can pretend I am gay, see how she reacts to that. Have you told her I have a husband?" Sam asked.

"No, I didn't tell her you were married or anything, just that you were my best friend from back home and super awesome." I said. I'm not sure how I feel about this plan, but its better than nothing and it would be a good way to gauge how she feels about other people being gay before I admit it.