Somewhere Only We Know

That's My Roommate

Chapter Fifteen

I knew that falling asleep with Winston was a bad idea. Why? I haven't woken up with a boner since junior year.

Getting out of bed without disturbing Winston is difficult. He's got one arm and one leg around me and I gently have to pry him away. And just when I take a moment to study his face and the way the hair falls over his eyes, he mumbles Benny's name and that's enough to get me to get out of bed. Fucking Benny.

I leave him in my bed and I go to shower. I'm feeling slightly better even if my nose is blocked. I have to shower quickly and quietly to make sure I don't wake Winston up.

No classes today, I could sleep in but not when he's in my bed. Luckily Charlie seems to want to see me so I'm not gonna be sitting around all day. A distraction seems nice.

He wants to meet up at the park. Out in the cold. I'm not keen on the idea and going back to bed seems nice. Until Winston stirs again and he takes up the whole bed. Not gonna be sleeping on top of him.

I may have borrowed Winston's scarf. It's his fault, he told me to dress warm and I don't exactly have a collection of scarves and gloves like he does. My hands are freezing but my neck feels warm and I have to admit that Winston may have the right idea about me dressing warm.

Seems like Charlie isn't the only one who wants to hang out at the park, there's a shit ton of people here and the only reason why I notice Charlie is because he's taller than everyone and he's grinning wider than anyone around here.

"Got you a hot chocolate," he says and he passes me a cup when I join him. It's good for my freezing fingers.

"Thanks," I say and then Charlie sort of puts his hand on my upper back and starts pushing me to walk with him. Okay, that's not what I'm used to.

He's taller than me, something I'm not really familiar with yet and it's awkward to look up as I talk to him. I prefer being at eye level like I am with Winston.

Charlie talks most of the time but that's good, means I don't have to add too much to the conversation.

"Hey, you haven't even touched your drink," Charlie says and I notice that I haven't, it's just been keeping my hand warm.

"Oh. Right."

Charlie laughs, says that it must be his storytelling skills that have me so distracted. Maybe. Maybe his eyes and smile have something to do with it too.

I down my drink in one long drink and Charlie is grinning at me like I've given him the world. "I could get used to this," he says and I almost choke. I try to imagine us together, like Alex and me except better because I actually like this guy.

We stop by a bench and Charlie sits down next to me. Then he smiles. He's been doing a lot of smiling. When we look over from the bench, we see the outdoor ice skating rink and then Charlie starts telling me that he used to do a lot of ice skating when he was little.

"You should try it," Charlie says and I shake my head. Probably would just trip and embarrass myself. "Seriously, you should. I could teach you."

"Maybe," I say and Charlie then moves his arm to rest on the back of the bench. He shifts closer to me and then he studies my face carefully. "What?" I ask him and he just looks down at his hands and licks his lips.

"Can I just be honest with you? I can, can't I?" He's not really the asking for permission kind of guy, if he wants something then he just takes it. "I like you, you... you're... I don't know what you are. But I like you."