Just what the hell was so funny?

I paced back and forth in the kitchen. Originally, I’d come in here to get a cup of coffee that I hoped would keep me awake. I’d worked late the prior night, and had almost overslept this morning for class. But all the fatigue I’d been fighting all day evaporated when I saw Natalie with that guy. Alex, she'd called him.

She’d brought a guy home.

Why does it matter? I gritted my teeth. It shouldn’t make a damn bit of difference who she brought home. But somehow, it did. Over the last week, I’d been in a state of constant anxiety. As much as I tried to avoid her, Natalie was everywhere.

Her strawberries and cream scent was in every room. Her shoes were by the front door, kicked off casually next to my favorite pair of hiking boots. Her ass was right there, in criminally tight jeans, whenever I came out of my room. The shower had become my only refuge, and I’d resorted to jacking off several times each night, just to take the edge off.

Not that it helped. Natalie was there, too. She’d left a bottle of her shampoo under the sink next to my bar soap the last time her water had run cold. Thanks to the addition done on this unit ten years ago, the two bathrooms ran on different water lines.

On the ledge of the tub, she’d placed her travel bottle of shower gel, which I’d discovered with delight was the source of her mouth-watering scent.

And yes, I’d jacked off while smelling it. Don’t judge.

More laughter floated in from the living room, and I couldn’t take it anymore. My jealousy was foolish; I knew that. My rational mind even knew that Natalie probably wasn’t trying to tease me by wearing such tight jeans and smelling so edible. But on another level, I suspected she knew exactly what she did to me with those shy smiles and longing glances of hers. Oh, yes, I’d caught her staring many times. She might pretend to be innocent, but the little vixen knew she was driving me insane, and enjoyed it.

Well, no more.

If she wanted to bring guys home and flaunt them in my face, then I could do it, too. I sent a text to my friend Jenny. She was a sophomore programming major, and had asked me to tutor her. I’d told her I didn’t have time, but, hell, I could make time. I wasn’t just going to sit in here like a loser.

About ten minutes later, I heard a knock on the front door. I smiled.

Natalie appeared at the entrance to the kitchen. Her eyes narrowed. “You have a guest.”

Jenny walked around her, giving Natalie a curious look. “Trevor, you didn’t tell me you had a sister.”

Natalie snorted. “I’m not his sister. I’m his new roommate.”

Jenny shrugged. “Oh. Cool. Nice to meet you.”

I opened the fridge and got out a bottle of water, and offered it to Jenny. She took it while looking uncertainly between me and Natalie.

“Nice to meet you, too.” Natalie’s eyes slid to mine before she turned around and left.

Jenny wrapped her arms around my neck. “I’m glad you called. I could use a little stress relief.” She licked her lips.

Nothing.

I glanced down at my dick in disbelief. What the hell? Not even a twitch? Jenny was gorgeous in a rock-chick kind of way, with spiky, jet-black hair, and dark eyes that she rimmed with a ton of black eye shadow. And that mouth? Jesus. Usually just the thought of those pillowy lips could get me hard.

Today, nothing.

“Let’s go to my room.”

Jenny’s eyes lit up in excitement. She grabbed my hand and followed as I led her from the kitchen to the living room. Natalie didn’t even look up, but the guy she was with watched us closely, his eyes locked on Jenny.

The fucker couldn’t even keep from ogling other women while he was sitting right next to Natalie. I scowled at him until he turned away. Was that the kind of guy she liked?

Once we reached my room, Jenny was all over me, her hands diving into my hair as she tried to climb me. I gently tugged her hands down and stepped back.

Jenny frowned. “What’s the matter? I thought this was why you asked me to come over.”

“I texted you so we could work on your database design. You said you needed help, remember?”

She rolled her eyes. “I just said that because I wanted a reason to hang out. I figured you knew that.” She tucked a finger into the front of my jeans, brushing the skin on my lower abdomen.

I gulped. This was about to get embarrassing, or awkward. I was totally not into this, and it wasn’t going to take long before that fact was physically apparent.

“Let’s watch a movie, then. Get to know each other a little,” I added hurriedly when Jenny narrowed her eyes.

“Okay. That’s really nice, actually. It’s nice to meet a guy who wants to get to know me.” Jenny settled on the bed, and I took the other side.

For the next hour, we watched a romantic comedy that made me want to gouge my eyes out. The soundtrack was punctuated by the occasional peal of laughter from the living room. I groaned. Now they were just being obnoxious. Nothing was that funny.

Just then, the sound of Natalie’s voice floated from the living room, followed by deep, masculine laughter. I couldn’t tell exactly what they were saying, but tried to listen anyway. Ha ha… believe it… ha ha… some women are scared of cock.

Wait, what? I pushed past Jenny, and flung open the door to my room. Before I could think about it, I stormed down the hall and into the living room. Natalie and Alex both turned to stare at me when my foot banged into the edge of the side table.

“Fuck,” I muttered.

Jenny appeared at my side. “Are you okay?”

I clamped my lips together and nodded. There was no way I would admit how much that had hurt.

Suddenly, Jenny looked at her wrist. “Crap, I have to go. I’ll call you later, okay?” She grabbed me around the waist and hugged me. “I had fun.”

“Me too.” I walked her to the door. When I got back to the living room, my toe was only throbbing a little.

“Everything okay?” Alex asked.

I ignored him. “What have you guys been doing out here? It sounded like… well, never mind that.”

Natalie stood, and Alex did as well, stooping to pick up a black backpack from his feet.

“So I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

“Bright and early,” Natalie responded.

Alex kissed her on the forehead and then passed by me, brushing up against me. “Nice tats,” he whispered.

I backed up, startled by the intimate tone in the man’s voice. I glanced over at Natalie, who was already sitting down again, scribbling something in her notebook.

I put on a strained smile as I met Alex’s eyes. “Thanks, I guess.”

Alex leaned closer. “I left my number on your whiteboard. I’d love to see how far down those tats go.”

Alex winked and then walked out of the room. A few seconds later, the front door closed.