Roommates with Benefits [COMPLETED]

Chapter 43 - What now?

Knightley

It's quiet. I get my suitcase and place it on the bed. As I go to the bathroom, I spot Emma's clothes, the ones she got out of last night. I pick them up.

"Knightley." The front door flies open and I quickly shove the clothes in a cupboard. Checking for any other signs of her.

"I'm in here." I grab some stuff and stare at it as Noah comes into my bedroom. He spots the bag on my bed.

"Going somewhere?"

"Week-long tech conference." I move to the dresser and take out some underwear and a few t-shirts.

"Where's Emma?" He sits down on the bed.

"Out."

"Is she coming home soon?"

I clear my throat. "She's staying at Hannah's for a while until she finds her own place."

"What?" His eyes narrow as he studies me. "What happened?"

I shrug and try to look nonchalant as I fold a pair of jeans. "It just didn't work out."

"What does that mean?" His normally easy-going ways are gone. This is about his sister. "Did you do something?"

I flinch. "Do something? To Emma? Like what?"

"Like drag a woman home and have sex in the kitchen. How am I supposed to know?"

I relax a bit and put the pants in the suitcase. "No, it was nothing like that. It just didn't work out."

"It seemed to be working out fine." He studies me. "Is this about what happened at the party?"

"That was just a drunken mistake." I want to tell him everything. I want my friend to tell me it's going to be ok. That I'll get over her and life will move on.

"Did Emma see it that way, or did she read something more into it?"

"Look, it just didn't work out. We kept getting on each other's nerves. It's not a big deal." Icy dread runs through me at the thought of losing both of them. If I lose him, then I'll never see her again.

"Fine." He doesn't sound fine, but at least he drops it. "Did I tell you about this woman I met?"

"The one from last night?"

Noah shakes his head. "Different woman. Bea and I didn't work out."

"And you already met someone else?"

"I met her the other day at Dirty. And you should see her. The ass on this woman."

I laugh. "You're such a fuckboy."

Noah just shrugs. "And you're not? And so what if I am? I'm not looking to settle down. I'm young, good-looking and I have a whole university filled with hot women at my disposal. And with you at my side, we can rule this place. But that means you have to step up and start acting like my wingman. You can have any woman you want."

The problem is that there's only one woman I want. And I can't have her.

"When are you going?" Noah asks and checks his phone.

"Tomorrow afternoon. I'll be back on Friday."

Noah answers the text. "I gotta go. You want to come along? I'm sure she has a friend for you."

"Nah, I have some work to do and an assignment to hand in."

"Suit yourself." He gets up and leaves without another word, focusing on his phone.

When the door slams shut and the apartment is quiet once again, I can't help but wonder how badly I fucked up. What happens now? Is Emma ever going to look at me as a friend again? I'd do anything to keep her in my life.

I walk over to the closet to grab a suit, but spot myself in the mirror. How could I have fucked it up so royally? I want to scream. I want to...

Pain lances through my knuckles as my hand impacts with the wall. I never should have given in to the jealousy when I saw Emma and Frank talking. If I had just let it be, maybe she would still be with me.

Or maybe I never should have let her move in with me. Then we never would have slept together, and this fear of losing her wouldn't consume me.