roommate

"Virginia."

I heard my name being called, but it sounded so far away. It can't be important. I'll just ignore it.

"Virginia."

Not important. Not listening.

"Virginia.

Crap. It's closer this time. Maybe they'll go away.

"Virginia."

This time the voice was clear, and coming from extremely close to me. My eyes snapped open and I glanced around quickly, registering my surroundings. After a second I realized I was still in Derek's Jeep, and I felt a sudden wave of embarrassment. Had I seriously just slept through the whole 45 minute car ride? Great first day impression, Ginny.

"Ugh," I groaned, dropping my head back against the headrest. "I fell asleep."

"Yes you did, Virginia," Derek's voice came from my right, which confused me a little. I tilted my head to squint into the dark, finding him leaned against the open passenger door of the Jeep.

I blinked at him, still sleep-addled, and didn't respond.

"Oh-kay," he said slowly with a chuckle. "Let's get you inside."

Reaching across my body, Derek unfastened my seatbelt and picked up my purse, slinging it over his shoulder before reaching both hands towards me, palms up.

"Take your time," he said, his voice full of amusement.

I did as he told me, stretching my arms and legs out in front of me for a few seconds before sliding my legs to the side and placing my hands in his. He supported me easily as I slid off the seat and landed in the dark parking lot of my apartment complex.

Letting him lead me up the short walk to my front door, I vaguely thought about my keys and started to ask him for my purse, just as the door flew open and my roommate Sadie appeared, backlit in the doorway.

"Ginny!" she shrieked, running barefoot down the walk. "I have the most amazing news! Oh." Spotting Derek, his hand on the small of my back and my purse over his shoulder, Sadie stopped short and eyed him suspiciously.

"Hey Sadie, what's up?" I yawned.

Sadie narrowed her eyes at me and didn't answer right away. I could tell she was trying desperately to read my mind so she didn't have to ask questions, but her manners won out in the end, and she reached a hand out towards Derek.

"Hi! I'm Sadie, Ginny's roommate. And you are?"

Derek shook her hand politely. "I'm Derek Galloway, Virginia's new boss."

Sadie's eyebrows shot up into her hairline and she gave Derek and me an "oh really?" kind of look that suggested all kinds of naughty things. I rolled my eyes and grabbed her shoulders, turning her back towards the front door.

"What did you want to tell me, Sadie?" I asked as I marched her into our apartment. I noticed Derek had followed us to the door, so I turned around to invite him inside, but he had stopped at the threshold and was holding my purse out to me.

"Thanks," I said, grabbing the bag and tossing it onto the table by the door. "Do you want to come in for a bit?"

Derek hesitated for a nanosecond before shaking his head minutely and gesturing back towards his Jeep.

"I better get going. Since we skipped "work" today, we'll have a lot to catch up on tomorrow. I'll call you in the AM." As he spoke, he grabbed my hand and placed a chaste kiss on the swollen knuckles of my right hand, which had developed a blueish bruise since this morning.

"See you tomorrow," I breathed, my voice high and girly.

"Nice to meet you!" Sadie called from the kitchen, where she was popping a bottle of sparkling wine.

I watched Derek walk back to the Jeep and pull away into the night. I couldn't deny the darkest parts of me that wanted him to come inside. Or how much I would rather enjoy this wine with him instead of my long-time best friend.

With a sigh, I closed the door and turned back to Sadie, who was holding out a glass of wine for me.

"Spill," she commanded, plopping down on the couch, expectantly waiting for me to give her the details of my day.

"Not so fast, lady!" I giggled, dropping to the couch next to her and kicking off my wedge booties. "You're the one who came prancing out into the parking lot to tell me something. What is it?"

"Oh! That! Tate and I finally found a place in the city! I'm moving out next week!" Sadie squealed excitedly. Clinking her glass against mine, she tossed back the contents and got up to go refill it.

"Wow! Sadie! That's amazing! And kind of perfect timing actually, because I'm going to be moving out soon, too..." With that, I dove into a full description of the last couple days, from my interview with Derek, the unconventional job offer to be an assistant to all four partners of the business, and the killer package I had secured.

I left out the part about being the guys' concubine, and the details about my salary. Sadie's eyebrows had long disappeared into her hairline as she listened to my recounting of the situation.

"But yeah, so I'll be moving into my new, company-provided 'housing' next month, if the first 30 days go well." I realized I didn't know where or what that housing would be, but I felt myself buzzing with excitement... or maybe alcohol.

"Holy shit, Gin," Sadie mused, sipping her second glass of wine. "Are all the guys as hot as the one I met tonight?"

The question made me laugh out loud, but I answered honestly.

"Oh yeah."

Sadie grinned, then got quiet as she took another sip. Her eyebrows slid back down her face slowly, coming to rest in a furrow over her nose.

"What is it, Sadie? You've got that look." It was true. She had this look on her face like she was uncertain about something.

"It's just, ya know, if he--or they--provide you an apartment... does that mean they have access to it as well?"

I hadn't thought of that, but as I contemplated it now, I found myself hoping the answer was yes.