The Roomie Complex

7 - DAMON BASS

CHERYL’S POV

The next morning I woke up with a slight headache after I had nearly stayed up the whole night drinking beer with Aiden and suddenly I didn’t hate him anymore, the kiss somehow had cushioned the rippling hatred I had felt towards him. It didn’t feel like the air had been sucked from lungs anytime I was in the same room with him and all the memories of the pranks he pulled at me in school weren’t rushing to my head to knock me off my feet.

The kiss had definitely played a big factor in my shift of feelings towards Aiden, it replayed in my mind a dozen times since my eyes popped open, the softness of his lips, plump and pink met with the awkwardness, unsuspecting lips of mine. It had definitely caught me off guard, knocked the wind out of the air that it felt stuffy outside. I didn’t expect the raspberry taste of his mouth, I would have expected something more pepper minty, whiskey like or coffee even but not something so sweet – so delicious that I wanted more – I wanted him.

No –

But all that changed when Damon Bass walked into the Casino that late afternoon, tall, imposing and with eyes that resembled twelve midnight on a stormy night.

“Hello, how – how can I help you?” my words came out in stuttered a bit and I had to clear my throat “How can I help you today sir”

“VIP” he bluntly said, his voice was sharp with a deep edge. His dark eyes stilled on me, deep and unsettling and I had to pull my eyes away from him and focus them on the blank monitor screen before me. I hit the keyboard, bringing it to life before I fixed my eyes back on him

“Can I have your id?” I said and I could sense an incoming huff, but he dipped his hands inside his pockets and pulled out his wallet, handing me his id

“Damon Bass” I read to myself and of course he looked like his name. He looked like the type of guy that sat at the head of the table at meetings and called all the shots, he had the name of that type of guy.

I typed up his name on the system and his profile came up, I could see that he had a reservation in one of the VIP rooms and I shifted my eyes back to him for a second to find him still staring at me, I managed a cough at the intenseness of his eyes.

“I see that you’re reserved for room 2, straight and down and first room by – ”

“I know the way” he cut in and then stretched out his hands towards me while I stared back at him confused. Did he want my hand? Why was he stretching out his hands to me? But he wasn’t saying anything to that effect, just hands stretched out and his eyes still fixed on me. So like the awkward mess that I was, I stretched out my hands to meet the firmness of his hands and immediately he pulled his hands away.

“My id” he said and shame hit me like a wave and I pulled the card from where I dropped it in on the desk and handed it to him

“f*****g clumsy” he muttered to himself before walking away, leaving me dumbfounded and embarrassed.

When I got home later that evening, I found Aiden fully dressed and ready to leave the house but he stopped midway from grabbing his car keys off the counter.

“Going out?” I asked him, waiting for the hatred I felt for him to overwhelm me but it never came. In fact seeing his face instantly brought the kiss to my mind.

“Just to the bar to hang out with the guys” he said, I nodded and proceeded to walk past him when his next words stopped me.

“you could come with me”

“Yea – I’m kinda exhausted” I tried to say but he beat me to it.

“So what are you going to be doing all by yourself at home – sulking over your ex husband”

“I was going to say sleeping” I said and Aiden shook his head in a disapproving manner.

“Get dressed, I’ll be waiting” he said

“But – “

“Do I look like I’m going to take no for an answer” he said now, this time with a more serious voice and more firmness to his eyes that made me slump my shoulders in defeat as I muttered in agreement.

“Fifteen minutes and nothing past your knees”

Immediately I whipped around and faced him and he held my stare “I’m serious Cher”

“Fine” I muttered again and marched into my room. I took off my work clothes which was actually an ankle length skirt and some boots with a cashmere sweater. I wasn’t really the type to dress in sexy clothes, all my clothes were modest at best and the best thing I could find at that moment was a pink dress that stopped mid-thigh, I threw it on immediately, dabbed my lips with some pink lipgloss and I let my hair fall down my shoulders in cascading waves.

When I stepped out of my room to a waiting Aiden, I pretended not to notice the double take because I didn’t think there was any reason for it, I wasn’t exactly breath taking but at least I looked better with some exposed legs and my lips smeared in pink.

“Don’t say a word” I said before he had the chance to say anything, and walking past him while he strolled casually behind me.

The bar was already bustling by the time we got there, and his friends were all already at their usual spot.

“Are you always going to bring her to hang with us because she’s your roommate, in high school she’d never sit with us” Anika said first, with a nasty eye roll which surprisingly I didn’t seem fazed by.

“Well we’re not in high school anymore” Aiden said, pulling out a seat for me and I locked my eyes with Anika. Her eyeliner was a bit smudged at the edges and looking at her at that moment, she seemed normal and not the god like frenzy I wanted to be like in highschool.

“I don’t know if you noticed, but your eyeliner’s smudged and there’s lipstick on your teeth” I said, there was no lipstick on her teeth and immediately she turned to Pearl

“Fix it” she commanded “How could you let me walk around like that?”

I smiled to my self.

The chatter went on, while I sipped my drink slowly and suddenly I noticed someone at the bar talking to the bartender, the back of his head looked incredibly familiar but when he turned around and met my eyes briefly, I froze.

It was Damon Bass