Charlie: Is your roommate stalking me?
Furrowing my brows, I type my reply.
Me: I don’t think so? Why?
Charlie: I ran into him again. Coincidence? Debatable.
Me: Probably a coincidence. But I’ll talk to him if you want me to.
My protective instincts flare at the thought, but I wait to bust Conner’s ass in case Charlie wants to handle it herself. She’s a big girl and can fight her own battles. But I’m also not against battling them for her if she ever needs me. Especially if they involve a guy who’s sniffing around something that doesn’t belong to him.
She doesn’t respond right away, so I take a second to throw on a fresh T-shirt then hang my black towel back on the hook.
Charlie: Meh. Don’t waste your breath. Just curious. How’s your internship going? Any updates?
Me: Not really. Feeling burnt out. Want to meet for a run tomorrow or something?
Charlie: Ooo…yes, please! Want to meet at Forever Grey tomorrow?
Me: What’s that?
Charlie: It’s a dog lover’s dream, my friend. A dog lover’s dream. What time works for you? I know work is crazy….
I sort through my schedule before shaking my head.
Me: Either at the asscrack of dawn or late at night. Preference?
Charlie: You know I’m not a night owl.
Me: Ass crack of dawn it is.
Charlie: Perfect. Wanna meet at Get Baked? It’s only a couple blocks from Forever Grey.
Me: Sounds good.
Once I’m finished typing my response, I open the bathroom door to see Conner on the other side.
“Hey.” Lifting my chin, I step around him with the intention of collapsing onto my bed and sleeping like the dead. Charlie doesn’t want me to interfere, so I won’t. On my way to my room, Conner stops me.
“Hey. Can I talk to you for a sec?”
My suspicion spikes, along with a few instincts I’d rather not address when I’m so damn tired, so I clear my throat and say, “Yeah. What’s up?”
We’ve been sharing a place since our sophomore year of college. After we received our internship offers, this two-bedroom apartment showed up for rent. We figured it was a convenient coincidence and signed the lease a week later.
“It’s about Charlie.”
A sardonic laugh slips out of me.
Of course, it would be about her.
“She mentioned you were stalking her. Should I be worried?”
Grabbing the back of his neck, he looks to the ceiling and releases a low groan, but doesn’t answer me.
“Dude, you okay?” Maybe I should be worried.
“Yeah. I just…I can’t get her out of my head.”