Just Roommates

Chapter 7

Ian seems to be at a loss for words. Even though I've only known him for a handful of days, I know this is not usual for him.

Finally, he sets his glass on the coffee table and brings his left knee up onto the couch so he is facing me entirely. "I regretted it the instant it happened . . . well, kind of." Ian runs his hand through his hair, tugging on it once he reaches the back of his head. "Shit. You must think I'm some kind of barbarian."

"What?" I ask incredulously. "Not at all. I'm just . . . confused." I laugh, scooting a little closer to him. "What happened?"

"After you left, I tried to go back to gathering your things," Ian begins. "The minute my back was turned, he started in on me about you. About us. I had no interest in speaking with him—he's a twit." My lips twist up into a smirk, and I fight a snicker. "I'm sorry, but he is."

Shaking my head, I hold my hands up in surrender. "No. No need to apologize. I can clearly see that now. But, obviously you didn't hit him just because he's an idiot?"

Ian chuckles, relaxing a little. "No, that's not why I hit him." Ian pauses and looks me in the eye, likely gauging my reaction to everything so far. "I had already deduced that he'd been unfaithful, so when he started calling you out for being . . . unladylike . . . " Based on his brief moment of silence, I have a feeling that Ian is uncomfortable being crass, because Adam probably called me a slut or something equally insulting. "Well," he continues, "I felt this deep desire to protect you.

"I know we've only just met, Stephanie, but to hear him talk about you like that? Well, forgive me, but it pissed me off."

I swallow thickly and try to control the impulse to pull his face to mine and kiss him senseless. It's really the most self-restraint I've ever shown in my life. "So you hit him," I say in a raspy voice, knowing already that it happened.

"Well," Ian responds, his nose scrunching adorably and his eyes narrowing. "Would it be terribly juvenile to say he started it?"

I can no longer hold back my laughter. "While I think that defense only works in six-year-old court, I can totally relate."

It's Ian's turn to be confused, so I don't wait too long before I go into a few of the details from my afternoon. "My friend, Ali, and I were in the food court at lunch when Adam showed up." Ian inhales deeply, his eyes widening, but he lets me continue uninterrupted. "As soon as I saw his newly acquired shiner, I suspected that something more went down between the two of you, and I raced to the dorm to see if maybe I was right."