I gave in just a tiny bit.My first response to Jake coming up to me was not to back further away. Instead, I slapped a hand onto his chest.Jake's eyes widened, as did mine.I jerked my hand back as if I was electrocuted. I racked my head for a response. "You… You shouldn't be this close…"The kid had a pretty solid chest.Jake whimpered, retreating to his previous spot. It was as if he had begun to wilt again.My frustration grew. Why did it seem like sixteen floors took forever that day?I stepped out the second the elevator doors opened, desperate to exit this mess.I guess I had taken too far of a stride. My left shoe got stuck in the elevator door, flying from my foot as I staggered to catch my balance.I was speechless.The tension only thickened even more. To make matters worse, I was in a pencil skirt. One wrong move trying to retrieve the wretched shoe, and I would have flashed someone.Just as I was getting into position to bend over, Jake picked the shoe up in a
I forgot about that day pretty quickly.Jake continued to keep his distance from me at work after that.I could not say that I was not relieved by that.Sometime later, my housemate decided to move out. The only thing was that she still had a few months left on her contract.Not wanting to waste her money or the space, she tried to find a new tenant but to no avail. She asked me to post about it online for her.I did as she asked, not thinking much of it.I figured that I would not get a response since most of my friends were not looking for a place, yet my phone chimed not long after.[Jake: I'd like to rent the room, Miss Johnson!]I turned to face Jake from my cubicle. He looked up at the same time, and I met his eyes. He looked down immediately, sending me another text.[Jake: Can I?][Avery: No.][Jake: Why not, Miss Johnson? I'd make a great housemate…]I rubbed my temples. That probably was not the best conversation to have over text, so I got up and walked to his de
There were no new tenants until the day my housemate moved away. Three months of rent was a pretty hefty sum to her.I sighed. I guess the gods were really on Jake's side.At last, Jake very cheerfully moved into my apartment on a Saturday.He had two suitcases and a few bags with him. Before handing him the key in the living room, I told him some ground rules I had painstakingly laid down for him to follow."First of all, we'll take turns cleaning the common areas.""I don't mind just doing it!" Jake replied enthusiastically.I startled. "That won't do. I can't take advantage of you like that!"Jake mumbled, "You can take advantage of me however you want, Miss Johnson…"I was speechless as I thought, 'What is it with the suggestive choices of language…' I cleared my throat. "Secondly, no overnight guests."Jake cut in almost immediately. "Never!"I nodded. Then, something came to me. "No walking around shirtless in common areas."After all, some men had a habit of doing t
I emphasized it once again in case it was not clear the first time. "Do not bring anyone home to stay overnight."Jake's face was red as a tomato. "I won't…""What are these for then?""Myself! I don't like wasting tissue paper," Jake addressed firmly.I was rendered speechless. 'It would honestly have been more believable if you told me that you were a small business owner and you purchased those in bulk to sell.'I gulped and nodded my head calmly, trying to keep it together. Then, I turned around and fled the scene almost immediately. My limbs were in a tangle.The door closed behind me, and I completely lost my marbles. I texted Lily and told her the whole thing.[Avery: I'm done for, Lily. He's definitely the type to bring different girls home every night.][Avery: I just… I can't. I need a reason to kick him out.]She took a whole day to get back to me.[Lily: Have you ever thought that he may have prepped those for you?][Avery: What? Are you insane?][Avery: There w
After two weeks of close observation, I slowly put my guard down.Jake had yet to bring anyone home, and he had also been keeping up with his promises.He had not been noisy, and he kept the place clean. Most importantly, he cooked for both of us.All in all, Jake was a breeze to live with.As for the latex products… I took his word for it. He just did not like wasting paper.Back in the office, I was in the pantry when Kate came in.She galloped up to me and whispered in my ear, "Avery, is it true that you're seeing that kid, Jake?"Water spurted out of my mouth when I heard her.Kate raised her brows suspiciously. "You look surprised. Am I wrong?"I was perplexed. "Who told you that?"Jake and I kept the fact that we were housemates a secret for that exact reason. I did not want people in the office to start spreading weird rumors about us. We even went as far as trying to come in and leave the office at different times. "Come on. Don't be shy, just admit it! I saw his ph
When I left the pantry, I struggled to keep my cool. Finally, I walked up to Jake's cubicle and came up with a reason on the spot. "I can't find my phone. Do you mind dialing my number?"Jake set aside his work tasks and took out his phone.He did not try to dodge me or anything. His phone screen lit up in front of my eyes as he unlocked it.I held my breath, and on his wallpaper was a picture of Bill Durr.I was speechless. Was Kate blind? Which part of me resembled Bill Durr?I smiled awkwardly. "You watch 'F is for Friends' too?"He nodded. "Yeah."He opened up his contacts and dialed my number.The phone in my pocket rang. I was speechless. Well, someone had forgotten to switch the phone to silent before executing the plan.The smile on my face became stiff. "Guess I'm getting old. Bad memory."Jake chuckled innocently. "No problem. Glad it's with you."I quickly fled the scene.'That was embarrassing. Thank God I didn't interrogate him about the wallpaper before checki
Our lives as housemates went pretty smoothly, but my romantic relationships on the other hand…I got home from work and was enjoying a face sheet mask when Lily called.The moment I heard her slurred speech from the other end of the phone, I knew she was drunk."Who are you out drinking with?" I asked."Office gathering."She paused for a long time. "Avery, that d*ck, Joshua Perez, really pissed me off."My heart stopped beating for a second. Joshua was Lily's colleague, and he was also my…Ex-boyfriend."He's so immature. We were having our office gathering, and there were so many people, but he just had to come over and talk smack to me. He wouldn't stop showing off his current girlfriend too. He kept boasting about how great she is and how happy he is right now."Lily became progressively angrier as she went on rambling."I told him that you found a new boyfriend too, and that he's way more handsome and taller than him and that he treats you much better than he did! Do you
Jake seemed confused. "Huh?"I walked over and sat down in front of him with a grin plastered on my face. "Can you do me a favor? It's really simple. I'll pay you for it."Jake blinked at me. His tone was gentle. "No."The betrayal was suffocating. "Why?"His expression was purer than that of an angel. "I can't take your money, Miss Johnson. I can't help you with a paid favor, but I can do it for free."God, what kind of angel was he? Maybe rich kids did not care what mere working-class office workers could offer after all.Jake looked at me steadily. "What can I help you with?"My voice trembled as I met his gaze. "Could you… Could you be my boyfriend?"Jake's face flushed crimson in an instant as he stared at me in disbelief.I scrambled to clear the air. "Pretend! Pretend to be my boyfriend!"Jeez, why were words failing me?Jake fidgeted as he looked deeply uncomfortable. Eventually, he asked, "Why?"His question snapped me out of any previous hesitation as I recounted