As I lean closer to adjust the pillows behind his back, Troy’s good arm snakes around me, pulling me in bed with him.
“What the hell, Troy? What do you think you’re doing?”
He reaches for the back of my head, tangling his fingers in my hair. Damn, it feels good.
Too good.
“You smell like strawberries, Charlie. Do you taste sweet too?”
Grabbing a fistful of my hair, he pulls me to him and covers my lips with his. I should resist, but the moment we touch, a current of electricity spreads through my veins, sending tingles down my spine. His tongue teases my lips, prying them open. I don’t fight, just completely surrender to the moment, to the fire that ignites in the pit of my stomach. I’m kissing the enemy, the bane of my existence, and it feels fucking amazing. It’s a toe-curling, knee-buckling, panty-melting kind of kiss, and it’s short-circuiting my brain.
A needy moan escapes my mouth, eliciting a throaty chuckle from Troy. My mind finally snaps into action, reminding me that this is a mistake of epic proportions. I pull back, ending the kiss abruptly, and jump off the bed as if I’d been electrocuted. My lips tingle, and my entire body is humming with desire.
Damn everything to hell. I can’t believe I let this happen.
“You taste delicious, Charlie,” he says lazily, right before he lies back down and closes his eyes.
I don’t move from my spot, too stunned about what just happened. Troy kissed me, and I let him. Even though the kiss was a product of his medication, I still loved it. What does that say about my sanity? We don’t like each other, we don’t get along, and worse, we’re roommates. That’s a recipe for disaster.
He’s high on drugs, but what was my excuse?
You have none, Charlie.
All I can do now is pray he doesn’t remember a thing about tonight.
14
TROY
I wake up early thanks to my burning shoulder. My head feels like it’s filled with cotton candy though, and I don’t recognize where I am right away. This is definitely not my bedroom. When my nose catches the faint scent of strawberries, I remember that I slept in Charlie’s room. Then the memories begin to trickle down.
Son of a bitch. I kissed Charlie last night.
Groaning, I press a closed fist to my forehead. I had to go and do something stupid besides getting my shoulder dislocated. I can’t believe she let me get near her. Maybe she doesn’t hate me as much as I thought.
A plate on the nightstand catches my attention. Instead of finding the sandwich I didn’t eat last night, there are pieces of oranges and grapes on it. My prescribed painkillers and a bottle of water are next to it. A strange warmness spreads through my chest. It seems I like the fact that Charlie is taking care of me. I must be the stupidest moron on campus.
The ping of an incoming text sounds in the quiet room. I try to pinpoint its location, but it’s only after a second text comes in that I discover where it’s coming from. My phone is on Charlie’s desk. I’m not sure how it ended up there. It’s not until I get out of bed and come closer that I see it’s connected to a charger. She must have done that since I have zero recollection of doing it last night.
The texts are from Andreas and Danny, asking if I’m meeting them at the gym. I said I would yesterday, but that was before my accident. I have to call the coach and tell him what happened. He’s not going to be happy about it, but Danny is ready to take my place. I won’t be letting the team down, only myself. I can’t go back in time and not dislocate my shoulder though, so there’s no sense in worrying about it now.
I take another pill and then eat a couple grapes before I head to my room. Bracing for the stench of chicken poop, I’m surprised when I smell vanilla instead. There’s a scented candle burning on my dresser. Charlie cleaned the whole place, and she opened the windows to let fresh air in as well. Once again, a fuzzy feeling spreads through my chest, though I’m not sure why I’m so pleased that she cleaned her own mess.
I put on a pair of sweatpants and then head downstairs.