Roommates with Benefits [18+ only]

38. Everybody leaves

I didn't know what I would find when I walked into the living room, so I hesitated as much as I could, until I absolutely had to go. I was afraid of Sheila's reaction upon seeing Lukas, and yet I was certain that she already knew she'd find him here. I guess she did see the picture on Instagram. The question was, did she really come all the way here from California for him and not me?

Taking a deep breath, I walked into the living room. I had run many scenarios in my head in a matter of seconds, and most of them involved the two ex-friends-with-benefits reigniting a spark that certainly for them had never faded. And yet, they were there, just ... staring at each other. No words. I could see irritation written all over Lukas' face, as if he wasn't happy to see her, at all.

But Sheila ... oh, I couldn't mistake that look on her face. I saw it every single day in school. I felt an enormous sense of guilt. I got carried away and never told her what was going on between me and her ex-fuck-buddy, and now I was afraid she would yell at me, tell me we're done. And yet, she seemed pretty much unaware of my presence. Be it the fact that he was still half naked, Sheila had eyes only for Lukas.

"So, uh ... how ... how are you, Sheila?" I asked, just to say anything that would save me from the awkward silence. For being such a talker, Lukas seemed dead set on not speaking and completely unabashed.

"Oh, I'm good, I'm good." She grinned, not even looking at me. "And you?" I would have answered, but it definitely wasn't directed at me. I don't think she even saw the sling on my arm. I was basically a guest in my own home. Lukas didn't reply either, though. "By the way, T, I left my bags out the door, could you be a darling and go grab them?" Yep, a guest in my own home.

"Uh ... yeah, I ..."

"You should take them to your hotel." Lukas butted in.

"Oh, why," Sheila gave out one of her fake laughs, "I'm going to be in town for a few days, I thought I could crash here." She claimed, staring at him.

"We don't have a ... guest room." I mentioned, my voice uncertain. Pretty sure I was one minute away from offering her to sleep in my room, I could take the couch or even the floor.

"I'm sure I won't need one." Sheila claimed, her smirk unfaltering. "Right, Lukas?"

I closed my eyes for a moment, something inside me aching in a weird way at the idea of them back together. At the same time, I had to mentally slap myself, because, of course, they would start over where they left off. Why wouldn't they? "Um ... how long are you staying, Sheila?"

"A week for now. But I'm considering moving to Boston." She said without ever turning to me. "We could be neighbors." That sounded like a nightmare.

"That sounds like a nightmare." Lukas echoed my thoughts out loud.

Sheila laughed obnoxiously, walking over to him. "Always the same sharp mouth, huh." She brushed his biceps. "And you're still hitting the gym regularly, I see." I would have sworn she licked her lips, her eyes raking all over his frame.

My stomach was churning, I wanted to run away, feeling back to high school, when I would be forced to witness their endless flirting in front of our lockers. I didn't want to look, yet I couldn't make myself leave.

That allowed me to see Lukas pull back from her touch. "I'm going to take a shower." He informed us, putting a physical distance between them. Then he did the worst thing possible. He looked at me, a mischievous glint in his blue-sky eyes, and wondered: "Are you going to join me, baby?"

I couldn't see myself, but I'm sure I paled so much that I might have looked dead. Because I spotted it immediately, the way Sheila clenched her fists, the way she tensed up, I knew Lukas had, quite voluntarily, just signed my death sentence. And I knew it was on purpose, because there's no way he's going to allow anything more than foreplay between us as long as I'm wearing this sling. So, he just willingly, unabashedly let his ex (in her mind, at least) know there's something going on between us.