Roommate Wanted

Chapter 21

A Few Hours Earlier

Shelby's Point of View

I walked in to the wedding venue and looked for a seat near the middle. I didn't want to look like I was hiding from Karlie, but I also didn't want to be too noticeable. I was glad Sam agreed to come with me to the wedding. I really liked Jenny and Elliot, and it wasn't fair of me to not go to their wedding because I was avoiding Karlie, but I knew there was no way I could go through this alone.

"Thank you again for coming with me, Sam." I said. "I need to ask you a favor."

"Sure, anything." Sam replied.

"So I may have told Jenny and Elliot I was bringing my new girlfriend, but unfortunately my coworker who was going to pretend to be my girlfriend backed out. Obviously, Karlie knows who you are, so if she asks or anyone else asks, my girlfriend couldn't make it." I explained.

"I don't know, I don't think this is a good idea." Sam started to lecture me. "Isn't this whole not telling the whole truth and not having open communication thing what got you and Karlie in trouble in the first place? If you would have been honest about your feelings earlier, maybe things would have gone down differently."

"I don't think so. I know there were some miscommunications but I think I got the picture loud and clear. We kissed, she figured out she was gay, but wanted my ex over me. She texted me a few times after I left, and said she needed to explain some things, but then go and sells my furniture? Best case scenario, she just wants me as a friend or a roommate. But I can't just be that, not with Karlie, it hurts too much." I explained.

We stopped talking as soon as more guests started sitting down and the ceremony began. I noticed Karlie looked my way at one point, but I tried to avoid eye contact at all costs. After the ceremony I hid during the reception to the best of my abilities. I ate, chatted with Sam, gave my wishes to the bride and groom, then I went back to the hotel before I ran into Karlie.

I sat on my bed wondering if Sam was right, maybe this was a misunderstanding. Maybe there was something there. Then I heard a knock on the door. Did Sam already lose her key? I walked over to the door and opened it, not expecting who was on the other side.

It was Karlie, with a dozen roses. She looked different. She wasn't the same confident, head held high Karlie I remembered. She looked nervous, her eyes wide with what seemed to be fear. 

"Shelby, we need to talk." Karlie started. "Actually, you don't have to talk if you don't want to, but I need to tell you something."

I looked at her, confused. "Ok, what do you need to tell me?"

"Shelby, I am undeniably madly in love you with." Karlie stated.

"I don't understand. Then why did you leave after we kissed? Why did you go on a date with Charlie? Why did you post my furniture for sale online?" I asked, frustrated.

"I can explain, here sit" Karlie said, as we both sat down on the bed and she set down the roses on the table.

Karlie explained everything. How they cuddled the night Karlie was drunk. How Karlie's mom thought they were a couple. How it scared her how she felt about Shelby when they kissed, so she needed a second, but the next morning when she wanted to tell her how she felt Shelby was gone when she got back with roses and donuts. How when she went home she overheard her on the phone with Charlie, and when she came out to Shelby and was going to try to tell her how she felt again, flowers arrived. How she only texted Charlie (AKA CeCe) to get her mind of Shelby and had no idea who CeCe actually was. How the only reason she was selling her stuff was because she figured she wasn't coming back and the reminder of Shelby was hurting her.

"Oh..." I said dumbfounded. 

I realized all of the times there were misunderstandings. Sam was right. I explained my side of the story. How I was initially scared to tell Karlie I was gay. How the night I was planning to tell Karlie my sexuality, they had to rush to New Mexico for Karlie's dad's surgery. How I only left the hotel searching for Karlie the morning after they kissed, and I only answered the phone because I thought it was her. How I wasn't even getting back with Charlie until after I found out Karlie had a date with someone else. And how I was ashamed about how I handled everything after I ran away, but at the same time knew I couldn't go back to just being friends or roommates.

"Listen, I know that I don't have an amazing track record with relationships. Or any record, for that matter. But I know how I feel about you, and I know I've never felt this way before. I know that I want to be with you and that life with you, is so much better than life without you. I can't promise things will be easy, but I can promise I will never keep how I am feeling from you again." Karlie proclaimed.

"I want to be with you too. And I promise to not run away when things get tough and to talk to you about how I feel as well." 

Karlie leaned in and kissed me. I was filled with joy, when all the sudden my anxious mind brought me back to reality.

"So.... I may need some time to move back to Denver. I have six weeks left in this contract in Chicago and I can't really afford to break another contract." I explained.

"You don't need to move back to Denver." Karlie responded.

Ok, now I am confused.

"You don't want me to move back?" I asked.

"I'm all in. I'll come to you. I wasted too much time not being with you, I am not going to waste another second. My firm has another office in Chicago, I'll transfer there and move up there early next week." Karlie explained.

"You can just do that? That quick?" I asked. 

"Sure, and if not, I'll quit and find something else when I get there." Karlie said. "The logistics don't matter at this point. I'll make it happen."

There she was again, the confident, sexy woman that I fell for. And this time I wasn't the one uprooting my life to be with someone, like I did with Charlie. This time, Karlie is the one putting in all the effort to come be with me. I had a really good feeling about our future together. And hopefully this time, neither of us will be looking for a new roommate ever again.