After seeing how perfect the apartment is, I feel much more at ease. David is a great guy. He’s been nothing but sweet to me, so I’m not sure why I was so panicked. Yes, he is incredibly good-looking, but I’ve been around good-looking men before. I can handle this. Except none of those men have been my exes-turned-roommate.

When we arrive at Last Call, everyone else is already there. Nate waves us over, and I’m surprised to see Aria is with him.

“Hey, I thought you had to work late,” I say, giving her a hug.

“Nate stayed a little late and helped me get everything finished early so I could come hang out with you guys tonight.” Her eyes go to David a few feet away. “How did moving in go?” she asks, keeping her voice low.

“Fine. The place is pretty amazing.”

“And so is David,” she says.

I turn and look at him. He’s talking to Nate and Simon, one of the staff writers. David’s gaze rises and meets mine before I turn back to Aria. “This can work, right?”

“It could. But that depends on how you mean it.”

“When you and Nate were just best friends, did you...? How do I put this?”

Aria laughs. “You always say it like it is. Don’t let me stop you.”

“Okay, did you have a hard time not thinking about what he looked like in the shower? I mean, you weren’t blind. You knew he was insanely gorgeous. You had to think about him that way, right?”

Her gaze flitters to Nate, and she smiles. “Of course. Sometimes it’s hard not to picture him that way.”

“Okay, how much have you had to drink?” I ask her.

“Too much already. I assure you.”

I laugh. “My girl is getting good and liquored tonight.” I raise my hand to flag down Caleb. “Caleb, Aria needs another of whatever she’s drinking, and I’ll take an Amstel Light, please.” I love that I can drink with my boss like this.

Caleb brings Aria another drink, which looks a lot like the signature drink he made for her on her birthday. Then he uncaps an Amstel for me. “So, you came with David, huh?”

“We’re roommates now,” I say, taking a sip of my beer.

“That’s convenient.” Caleb smiles and wags his eyebrows before walking down the bar to help another customer.

“Why does everyone react that way?” I ask Aria.

“Because no one can figure out why you two broke up.”

We broke up because I didn’t want to hurt him. He was good to me. Too good at times. I could tell he was getting serious very quickly, and if I’d continued to date him, I would have broken his heart. I could never hurt him that way. It was for the best that I broke it off early on. Or at least that’s what I keep telling myself.

“Hi, Emily.”

I turn at the sound of James’s voice. “Oh, good. You got my email. I wasn’t sure when I didn’t hear back from you.”

“I replied around five thirty. I guess you were already gone for the day,” he said.

“Yeah, I was moving into my new apartment.”

“Oh? Where is it?” He steps behind Simon and leans against the bar.

“I’m going to steal Nate,” Aria says. “Emily, you can have my seat.”

“Thanks.” I take the barstool she just vacated and watch her walk up to Nate, who immediately wraps his arm around her waist. “Those two are so sweet together.”

James turns to look at them. “They’re practically engaged.”

“They’ve known each other for years.” That’s the only way I think a relationship can work. By getting to know someone for years so you know it’s going to last before you jump into a big commitment. Growing up, I wished my parents had done that. Or my grandparents. Maybe then, someone in my family would be able to say they found a way to make marriage work. Instead, it was divorce after divorce after divorce. That won’t be me.

I take another sip of my Amstel and notice David is glaring at the back of James’s head. I mouth, “What?” to him, but he shakes his head and resumes his conversation with Simon.

“So you never said where you moved to,” James says, drawing my attention back to him.

“Oh, I’m in the apartment complex on Crystal Street.”

“I know the one. Nice place. If you need help moving in, let me know.”

“Thanks. I think David and I have it covered, though.”

“David? As in David Burke, the guy we work with?”

The way he says it makes me think he has a real problem with David. Did I miss something that happened between these two? “Yes, that David. Why am I getting the impression you don’t care much for him?”

James stands up straight. “He’s fine. I just think he hits on you a lot. I mean, you broke up with him, right? It’s kind of odd for you to move in with him unless you two are seeing each other again.”

“It’s not odd at all. David is a great guy. I needed a place to stay, and he had a spare room. It makes complete sense. And we only dated for a couple weeks. We’re friends. We get along really well. If people interpret that as flirting, then that’s their problem.” I take another sip of my beer to stop the words that are spewing out of my mouth at an insane pace. Why am I suddenly getting so defensive?

“So you aren’t into him?”

I’m not sure how to answer, so I take yet another sip of my Amstel. I swallow and settle for, “Like I said, he’s a friend.”

“Good to know. Does that mean it would be okay for me to ask you out sometime?”

James is a nice-looking guy, but I’m not sure I want to date him, especially when it seems like he doesn’t care for my new roommate. “Look, James, I don’t really want to get involved with anyone I work with, you know? Now that I’m an editor, it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to date any of the staff writers. I don’t think Mr. Monohan would like that very much.”

“Do you mean that, or are you hiding behind your boss?” His tone has taken on a hardness I’m not liking in the least.

“You know, I did mean it, but now I’m thinking that even if that weren’t the case, my answer would still be a firm no.” I get down from my barstool and walk over to David and the others.

“Everything okay?” David asks me.

I look up to see James leaving. “Fine. James just got under my skin.”

David raises his gaze to James’s retreating back. “Looks like you put him in his place.”

“Always,” I say. I’ve never let a man push me around, and I don’t plan to start.

“Hey, where’s Sasha?” Simon asks. “She said she was coming tonight.”

“Oh no, don’t tell me we’re going to have yet another office romance on our hands,” Joel, our sports editor says. He’s in his early forties and doesn’t come out much with the rest of us.

“Joel, I didn’t even see you there,” I say. “Are you trying to hide or something?”

“No, I was just here trying to enjoy a quiet drink when the rest of you showed up, and this one started bothering me.” He jerks a thumb in Nate’s direction.

“You can pretend you don’t love us, but we all know you do.” Nate claps him on the back.

“And what do you mean, ‘another office romance’?” Simon asks. “I was merely curious where Sasha was. It’s not like I’m trying to grope her like Nate and Aria are constantly doing in her office.”

“We are not,” Aria protests, but her blushing gives her away.

“Yeah, and then there’s David and Emily, who can’t stop pawing at each other,” Joel says.

“David and I don’t paw at each other,” I say. “I don’t know why you all have to make something out of a little harmless flirting. You’re a bunch of prudes.”

David laughs and wraps an arm around my shoulders. “See? How can you not love this woman when she talks like that? She won’t even take crap from you, Joel, so don’t bother trying.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m finishing this drink and leaving you youngsters to carry on the night by yourselves. I should have taken Eliza’s lead and left after one drink.” Joel takes the last sip of his drink, which I’m guessing is brandy, and stands up. He’s a little overweight and has a bad knee, so he’s slow getting up.

Nate offers him a hand.

“It’s on me,” David says when Joel pulls out his wallet. “Consider it payment for putting up with us.”

“Keep that up and I might do it more often,” Joel says, patting David on the back.

I look up at David, and that’s when I realize his arm is still around me. I hadn’t even noticed. It just felt so...normal. His gaze meets mine, and his arm falls to his side again.

“Who’s ready for another round?” David asks before finishing the beer in his hand.

Aria gives me a knowing look but doesn’t say anything. She and Nate are the next to leave about an hour later, right after Sasha shows up.

“You invite us all out and then bail early. Nice, Nate,” Simon says, though we all know he’s only teasing.

Nate rolls his eyes, but he waves down Caleb and says, “Another round on my tab. I’ll square up with you tomorrow.”

Caleb nods. “I know where you live.”

Nate squeezes Aria against his side and says good night to all of us. As they’re leaving, Olivia and Alex walk in. I quickly wave in their direction, and Olivia smiles. She’s the newest of our staff writers and very eager to learn. She’s petite and blonde, and Alex has been eyeing her up for days. I’m not surprised they showed up together.

“Hey, thanks for the invite,” Olivia says to Sasha, and I feel a little guilty for not extending the invitation myself.

“Glad you guys could make it. I wasn’t sure what your schedules were today.” I hadn’t bothered to check either. My mind was too preoccupied with the move.

Alex looks around. “Does anyone ever invite Monohan to these things?”

A chorus of “No” rings through our small group, followed by laughter.

Alex holds up his hands in defense. “Okay, sorry I asked.”

“It’s just that Mr. M. prefers to pretend we all exist to serve his paper. He doesn’t like to think about which of his employees are hooking up with each other.” I lean toward him. “After Aria and Nate got together, Mr. M. worried the rest of us would pair up and the office would become home to all our sex-crazed shenanigans.”

Alex’s brow furrows.

“I’m paraphrasing, but he used very similar words. During a staff meeting, I might add.”

“He did,” David says. “I was there.”

Mr. Monohan had glared at David and me right after the comment, too. I do get why he worries, though. Just about everyone is paired up with someone they like to flirt with, whether it’s to make the workday go by quicker or because they’re interested in pursuing something more is still yet to be seen in many cases.

“Well, I heard a rumor that you two are shacking up now,” Olivia says.

“Nothing like that,” I say. “We’re roommates. Just because the rest of you can’t handle rooming with someone of the opposite sex doesn’t mean David and I aren’t mature enough to do so.” I finish my Amstel and place the bottle on the bar top. David’s created distance between us, talking to Simon and Sasha. I also notice he seems to have stopped drinking. “Excuse me,” I tell Olivia and Alex.

I move toward David and place my hand on his forearm. “Hey, are you finished drinking for the night? Because if you’re ready to leave, we don’t have to stay. I’m fine with heading home whenever you are.”

“Cute,” Simon says. “You two are playing house now.”

David glares at Simon. “I’m just trying to be responsible since I’m the designated driver.” He turns to face me. “You can go ahead and enjoy yourself. Don’t worry about me.”

I can’t help feeling guilty, like I’m ruining his good time. Maybe we should take separate cars from now on. David is usually the life of the party, but he’s so quiet and reserved tonight. I’m not sure I like this change, and I especially don’t like being the cause of it.

“If you don’t mind, could we cut out early? It’s been a long day, and I’d like to unpack a bit before I call it a night.”

David nods and moves toward the bar. “I’ll get our bill. I mean, our bills.”

“Did you two have a fight or something?” Simon asks me when David is farther down the bar by Caleb and out of earshot.

“No. I think we’re both just tired.” I tuck my hair behind my ear. “I should go pay for my drink. See you at work tomorrow.” I say goodbye to the others and catch up with David.

He turns toward me, his wallet in hand. “You only had one drink, so Caleb put it on Nate’s tab since Nate was buying a round for everyone.”

“Oh. That was sweet of him.”

“Nate may not think so.” He laughs and returns his wallet to his back pocket. “You ready?”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

We don’t talk on the ride back to the apartment, and as soon as we get inside, David announces he’s going to take a shower. When I don’t respond, he says, “Oh, I’m sorry. I’m not used to sharing a bathroom anymore. Do you want to shower first?”

“No. Go right ahead,” I tell him. “I haven’t even unpacked my shower things yet.” I motion awkwardly to my room and start for it, trying not to look at him—or worse, envision him naked in the shower. I close the bedroom door behind me and immediately pull up my favorite playlist on my phone to drown out the sound of the water cascading down David’s perfect body.