Dating My Roommate

Bang! A car door slammed somewhere outside, causing Darcy Perkins to wake with a start. Cursing her neighbors, Darcy glanced at her alarm clock. 2:46 AM. The green light from the clock glowed softly, illuminating the mostly empty water glass, a cell phone, and a small decorative bowl filled with odds and ends. Spare change made up most of its contents, but you could also find a spare name tag, an earring back or two, buttons, a receipt, and a set of car keys. Next to the bowl was a picture of two young girls swinging on an old tire swing. Flicking on the lamp behind the clock, Darcy picked up the picture and smiled at the two girls. It had been taken nearly ten years ago when Darcy had visited her grandmother in Pennsylvania over summer break . Her grandmother's neighbor also had had her grandchildren visiting that summer, and one of the girls had been her age. That was the summer Darcy met her best friend. She smiled and lightly touched the blonde girl with her arm around a younger version of Darcy. Only three more hours and she'd get to see Rachel again. It had been a long summer without her and Darcy couldn't wait to tell her everything that had happened since they last talked; the new roommate, who had been fired at work, last Friday's date, and the upcoming semester. Carefully, Darcy put the picture down, stood up and flipped on the ceiling fan before lying back down. The Arizona heat was a killer, especially at night when all Darcy wanted to do was snuggle under her covers. She half wished she had decided to go to school in Philadelphia instead of Phoenix, but Phoenix was home. She had been born and raised here. Her family was here. Surprisingly, Rachel was even from Arizona. Yuma, to be precise. She remembered when she found out that Rachel didn't live too far away and the party that they had had when they had both been accepted into the same school, Arizona State. They had been dorm mates freshman year and they had found an apartment in Chandler for sophomore year where they still lived now going into their senior year. Rolling over, Darcy snuggled her head into her pillow after turning it over and punching it back into shape a few times. She would be driving to Sky Harbor Airport to pick up Rachel soon and would be going during rush hour. It would take at least an hour to get there and, at the moment, there was no way she would be able to focus well enough to drive safely unless she got at least another couple of hours of sleep. She hadn't crawled into bed until just after midnight because she had had to close the diner that night. Her eyes started to close when her phone rang. "Dammit," Darcy grumbled as she blindly reached for her phone. "This better be an emergency." Glancing at the phone before answering to see who it was, she noticed it was an unknown number. Hesitating, she debated ignoring it, but a little voice in the back of her head told her that it could be important. "This better not be a robocall or a damn telemarketer," she muttered as she accepted the unknown call. She got at least a dozen or more of those a day, all about some stupid extended car warranty or some bullshit. "Hello? This is Darcy." "Oh, thank God you answered," Rachel breathed, her voice staticky over the line. "For a minute there, I was afraid you wouldn't. I know how much you hate answering unknown numbers." "Rach?" Darcy said, puzzled, as she frowned into the dark. Rachel was one of those incredibly punctual people. She hated being late, so much so that she always gave herself plenty of time to get to her destination, which often resulted in her being there close to half an hour early or earlier. Darcy knew she couldn't be making the call from the plane, so something had to be wrong. "Aren't you supposed to be on a plane right now? Why aren't you using your phone?" "Um... Yeah," Rached giggled nervously, sending imaginary alarm bells off in Darcy’s head. "I missed my flight and my phone is dead." "What?" Darcy exclaimed in disbelief, pushing her covers off her and sitting up in bed. "There's no way you missed your flight unless traffic was that bad. So, are you stuck at the airport then, or did you manage to get another flight? Do you need me to send you some money to buy a new ticket?" "Yeah, it was the traffic and my family," Rachel laughed. "I had to wait for my cousin and then there was a really bad accident. The police had all but one lane closed. It was a nightmare. And the accident... God, it was bad. I sure hope everyone is okay, but with how many ambulances there were, I'm not sure." "How sad," Darcy said. "At least you weren't involved. But, Rach, why did you have to wait for your cousin? Was she driving you to the airport? I thought you were going to take an Uber. And you didn't answer my question. Did you get another ticket or do you need me to send you money? I can buy you a ticket really quick if you need." Silence. Frustrated, Darcy fidgeted with the edge of her comforter, twisting it this way and that. "Rachel?" Darcy asked in annoyance. "Did I lose you?" "Yeah, I'm here," Rachel said quickly. "Sorry, I just bought a ticket before I called you and I was reading it really quickly. I needed to see what gate I need to be at because I board in about half an hour or so." "Oh, okay," Darcy sighed in relief. "So you're fine then? What time do you land? "Um...I should be there around nine," Rachel said slowly. "I'll text you the rest of the details as soon as I charge my phone. I just have to find my charger first. It's in here somewhere..." Darcy could hear her rummaging through what she assumed was a backpack. "Hey, so I know it's super early there and you're probably pretty tired, so I'll let you go back to sleep," Rachel said, sounding a bit distracted, the rummaging sounds getting louder. "I'll see you soon, okay?" "Yeah," Darcy replied. "Um, before you go, do you want to stop and get breakfast on the way home so we can catch up? There’s this new place that I think you’d like." "I'd love to," Rachel said enthusiastically. "It will give me a chance to tell you about your surprise." “Oh no,” Darcy groaned. “You know I don’t like surprises very much. Just tell me now and put me out of my misery.” “Absolutely not,” Rachel laughed. "You can't just show me with a picture then?" Darcy asked, amused. "I could, but you are going to have a ton of questions," Rachel explained, her voice excited. "Is it a good surprise?" Darcy asked warily. If Rachel had to explain it, it probably wasn't something small, like a t-shirt or a new book. She hoped it wasn't Rachel telling her that she was going to go somewhere else next year for her graduate program. She wasn't sure she was ready for her and Rachel's shenanigans to end quite yet. However, she had said she could show her her surprise, but wouldn’t, so it couldn’t be anything like that. She breathed a silent sigh of relief. "I think it is," Rachel said slowly, as if she were choosing her words carefully. "I'm not sure what you will think, but I'm hoping you'll like it. Just promise me something first?" "Sure," Darcy said. "Keep an open mind about it," Rachel requested. "It's not anything you would expect, and I don't want you to make any snap judgments because of that." "I can do that," Darcy promised, bewildered. Why would she need to keep an open mind? Had she adopted a puppy or something? "Great," Rachel gushed. "' I’ll see you soon. Night Darcy." "Night," Darcy said in return, setting the phone down with a weird look on her face. Out of all the conversations that she’d had with Rachel over the years, this one was one of the weirder ones. Sighing, she stood up and slipped into the bathroom before returning to her room to refill her cup of water. At least she had a few hours to sleep before getting up, she thought wearily as she took a sip of the tepid tap water and climbed back into bed. Lying down, she shut her eyes and focused on the cool air washing over her, cooling her hot skin. Before she knew it, she was fast asleep, snoring lightly. Not even four hours later, Darcy was awakened yet again. This time, instead of a car door slamming, it was her new roommate, Danny, knocking frantically on her bedroom door. "Hey, you awake in there, chica?" Danny's soft voice called. "Aren't you supposed to be at the airport right now, or at least on your way there?" "Yeah," Darcy called back groggily, sitting up in bed and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "There's been a change of plans." "A change of plans?" Danny questioned. "What does that mean?" "Give me a minute and I'll explain," Darcy said, grabbing a fuzzy blue robe and slipping it on over her ratty t-shirt before opening the door to reveal a short Hispanic girl with a mass of dark curls. "Rach missed her flight. Guess there was some accident on the freeway and she had to wait for her cousin before they could leave or something like that. So, anyway, she had to buy a new ticket and her new plane doesn't land until nine." "Ooohhh," Danny said, pursing her full lips, "so that's why you haven't left yet." "Precisely," Darcy replied, shaking her head. "I don't have to leave for at least an hour, so I have plenty of time to get ready. Would you like to come with me?" "I don't know," Danny said, suddenly uncomfortable, a frown on her face. "I haven't even met Rachel yet. Are you sure she'll like me?" "Absolutely!" Darcy said enthusiastically, trying her best to calm Danny’s nerves. "How could she not?" "If you say so," Danny grinned. "Let me go shower and when I'm done, I'll let you know whether I'll come with you or not." "'Kay, enjoy," Darcy responded as Danny walked back to her room to grab her towel before heading to the bathroom down the hall. Stretching, Darcy headed into the kitchen and grabbed a coffee mug and a keurig pod while thinking about how Rachel would react to Danny. Darcy had invited her to live with them after their old roommate, Becca, had moved out so she could live with her boyfriend closer to the school, and she had found out that Danny was looking for a place to stay after a bad breakup. Normally, she would have waited for Rachel to return from her vacation so they could pick out a roommate together, but Darcy had been desperate for company and she already knew Danny quite well from work. They had been coworkers for a little over a year now and on their days off, they usually went shopping together. Danny was about the same size as Darcy and had excellent taste in clothes. She was who Darcy went to when she needed new clothes or wanted to borrow something cute for the night. Besides being a good friend, Danny was also incredibly hard working. She constantly picked up extra shifts at the diner while maintaining straight A's in all her classes at Arizona State and helping out around the apartment. Quite frankly, since Danny had moved in, Darcy was almost positive that the apartment had never been cleaner. She almost felt bad that she wasn't as quick to clean up. Stretching again, she grabbed her coffee and made her way back to her bedroom, making a face at the bitterness of her drink. Once there, she flipped on her flat screen TV situated on top of her dresser, settled herself on her bed among her numerous pillows, and picked up her phone. There were five messages waiting for her and all five were from Rachel. "Well, her phone is definitely charged now," Darcy chuckled to herself. Phone's charged now! I'll be in terminal 3 when you get here. So, quick question, did you tell Danny that her moving in was temporary? If not, it's okay. We can do it later. I can't wait till you see the surprise. You'll love it!!!! Darcy's jaw dropped. She thought that Rachel knew Danny would be staying for senior year, perhaps longer. She was pretty sure they had talked about it before Danny had moved in completely and that Rachel had been more than okay with it then. Why would she suddenly change her mind unless she had someone else in mind? But if that was the case, why couldn't she share her room? All of the bedrooms were more than large enough for two queens. It would be a bit tight, but it would work. Besides, Darcy hated going back on her promises and Rachel knew that, so why would she ask Darcy to do just that? Just as the panic started to set in, there was a soft knock on the door, and Danny stuck her head in. "Hey, Andrew called and said he needed me to come in and help out," Danny said with a shrug. "Guess Barb called in sick at the last minute, so they're a bit short-handed at the moment. You know how busy it gets on Fridays. Besides, it's extra hours on this coming paycheck, so who am I to complain?" "Oh, okay," Darcy said, not meeting Danny's eyes, afraid that she would be able to read the panic in her eyes. "I'll tell Rachel you said hi then." "Perfect," Danny grinned. "Want me to bring dinner home tonight or do you want me to stop at the store? I’m sure that, between the two of us, we could figure out how to cook something edible for dinner." "Umm..." Darcy shrugged. "I haven't exactly been home to eat anything except cereal and coffee the last few days, so I honestly couldn't tell you if I needed anything. Rachel will probably need something, though, but don't worry about it. We'll probably stop on the way home if she does, or maybe we'll hit the store tomorrow." "Sounds good," Danny grinned. "Remind me to take you home to my mama so she can teach us both how to cook so we aren't eating out so much. I'm getting sick of takeout, and this diner food is definitely going to kill me." "Will do," Darcy grinned back. "Have fun with Andrew." "Oh, I will," Danny winked. "Have fun with Rachel. Drive safe." Danny waved goodbye and then softly shut the door as Darcy looked back down at her phone, an ache in her chest. She could hear Danny grabbing a cup of coffee before dashing out the door, humming happily to herself. Darcy's stomach twisted painfully. There was no way she could do this. She set the phone back down, feeling sick, and resolved to talk to Rachel about it. It shouldn't be too hard to get her to change her mind, especially after meeting Danny later. Downing the last of her coffee, Darcy got up and headed into her bathroom. She was lucky enough to have snagged the master bedroom when they moved in, so she had her own private bathroom. Not that that was why she wanted the room. It just happened to be the largest bedroom and gave her plenty of room to do her pilates and yoga in private. She took a deep breath as she turned the shower on and stripped down. Coffee on an empty stomach wasn’t the smartest and usually left her feeling a bit sick. Add that to her current dilemma, and she was downright nauseous. She hoped a nice, long shower would help. If anything, it would help calm her down. Stepping under the water, she turned the water as hot as she could handle and let it pound down on her tense shoulders and neck. She closed her eyes and rested her head on the shower wall as the hot water worked its magic. After about 15 minutes, Darcy reopened her eyes, now completely relaxed, and turned the water off. It was just about time to go and if she didn't leave in the next few minutes, she would probably be late. Humming nervously, Darcy pulled into a spot in one of the airport's parking garages. She fidgeted with the hem of her little yellow sundress nervously. Normally, she'd already be running inside excitedly, but now it was a different story. She dawdled on purpose, delaying the awkward conversation about Danny as long as possible. She had a feeling that there would be an argument and she really didn't want to spend Rachel's first day back fighting. Her phone chimed from inside her purse. And then again. Ignoring it, Darcy grabbed her purse, stepped out, and then locked her bright blue Chevy Spark before dashing out of the garage and into Rachel's terminal. "I don't see her yet," Darcy muttered to herself after glancing around quickly. "Maybe I should check my phone to make sure every..." "Darcy!" Darcy spun around to see a thin, willowy blonde in a light blue tank and shorts running towards her, a huge grin on her face. "I missed you so much!" Rachel practically shouted as she slammed into Darcy. "What took you so long? Did you wake up late or was there traffic? Never mind, it's not important because you're here now. God, you're a sight for sore eyes!" Rachel pulled away, still smiling. Darcy smiled back weakly before noticing a man standing a few feet away, smiling at them nervously. Darcy frowned at him before turning back to Rachel. "I don't want to alarm you," she whispered, "but there's a strange man just standing there smiling at us. If we hurry, we might be able to lose him in the crowd." To Darcy's surprise, Rachel laughed and motioned for the man to come closer. "What are you doing?" Darcy hissed. "We don't know him." "Relax, hun," Rachel laughed again. "This is my cousin Mark." "Mark?" Darcy asked, her eyebrows shooting up in surprise. This definitely didn’t count as a puppy. A puppy she could do, a man… that was another story. "Surprise!" Rachel smiled. "Surprise?" Darcy repeated weakly before turning to look at Mark. Mark was tall, dark, and handsome. He was the type of guy you fell in love with on vacation in Rome hot. Glancing over him quickly, she noticed that his black hair was tousled as if he had run his hand through it a few too many times, probably from dealing with Rachel all night. She couldn’t see what color his eyes were and would have liked to, but they were hidden behind dark aviators. If she had to guess, she would hazard that they were probably brown. He was still smiling nervously, a dimple in his right cheek as he watched Darcy inspect him. Her eyes drifted lower, taking notice of his muscular frame. Darcy turned back to Rachel, questioning her with her eyes. Is this why Darcy had to tell Danny to move out? Was he the reason they missed their flight earlier? Why hadn't Rachel told her about this before? "I'll explain over breakfast," Rachel said softly. "Please don't be mad, though." "I'm not mad," Darcy replied quietly, "just really surprised and really confused." Both girls turned to look at Mark, who was shifting from one foot to the other uncomfortably. "Mark," Rachel said, grinning suddenly, "this is my best friend, Darcy. Darcy, this is my older cousin, Mark. He got accepted into Arizona State for his doctorate." Well, that answered one of Darcy's many questions. "It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am," Mark drawled in a thick southern accent. "I'm right pleased that Rachel asked me to live with all y'all this year. And may I say, that picture Rachel showed me of you does not do you the justice you deserve. Not too often do I get to meet such a stunning creature such as yourself." "It's... It's nice to meet you too," Darcy stammered, blushing and turning to look at Rachel, who had a smug grin on her face. "I'm not sure what Rachel told you about me, but she didn't tell me much about you at all. What are you here to study?" "Anthropology," Mark grinned. "It's fascinatin’." "That's cool," Darcy forced a smile, trying to remember what anthropology was exactly before she turned to look at her best friend. "I don't know about you, but I'm starving. Are you two ready for breakfast?" "I'm so hungry, I could eat a horse," Rachel replied quickly as she watched Darcy apprehensively. "Let's go."