Roommates With Benefits [BL]

I wasn’t trying to hurt her; it was just the truth. We’d been together, and then we hadn’t. There was no magic phrase that could erase the rough edges of our past. But looking at her now, I realized something unexpected: I wasn’t angry.

”How about you?” I asked, surprising myself.

She looked taken aback. ”Me?”

”Yeah.”

She shrugged. ”I’m okay.”

”That’s good.”

She offered a faint smile. ”Are you asking because you genuinely care or just being polite?”

I considered it for a moment. ”Honestly? I think I do care.”

Her eyes softened. ”You’re still a good person, Oliver.”

I snorted. ”Don’t let anyone know. I’ve got a reputation to maintain.”

She laughed, but then her expression shifted.

”I don’t deserve you.”

I frowned. ”What?”

She met my gaze. ”I don’t deserve how kind you’re being.”

I had no response, so I opted for the safest route. ”Melanie...”

She took a breath. ”How’s Trent?”

I blinked, then, unexpectedly, she laughed. ”It’s Trevor.”

I frowned. ”See? I knew it started with a T.”

She shook her head. ”You’re unbelievable.”

”Thank you.”

But her smile faded again. ”Trevor isn’t in my life anymore.”

”Oh.”

I leaned back a bit. ”What happened?”

She hesitated, glancing down at her hands as she twisted her fingers together.

”A week after you and I broke up, I found out why he’d been interested in me to begin with.” I stayed silent, giving her space. ”He made a bet with his friends.”

My stomach dropped. ”What kind of bet?”

She swallowed hard. ”How long it would take him to sleep with me.”

I stared at her in disbelief. ”What?”

”He even recorded us having sex, multiple times for that matter. I had no idea he was even doing that.”

My expression hardened. ”He what?”

”Then he showed the video around to his friends as proof that I was so easy for him to get.”

For a moment, I was at a loss for words. That was unusual for me. Melanie’s fingers fidgeted. ”If I hadn’t found out when I did, he was going to leak the videos. Thankfully I was able to get him to get rid of them when I threatened to sue him to court.”

I felt sick. ”What happened then?”

”He disappeared.”

”Of course he did.”

She nodded. ”He ghosted me. Blocked me everywhere.”

I looked away, my jaw tightening. The anger that rose in me wasn’t what I had expected. It wasn’t about our breakup, nor was it really about her. It was more about how someone had taken advantage of someone who was already vulnerable.

”I’m sorry,” I said.

She looked at me. ”You don’t need to apologize.”

”I do.”

”Why?”

”Because...” I hesitated. ”Because if I hadn’t hurt you first, maybe you wouldn’t have ended up with him.”

Her eyes went wide. ”Oliver.”

”I’m serious.”

”You didn’t make me sleep with him before our relationship even ended.”

”I know.”

”You didn’t make him do that.”

”I know.”

”Then why are you apologizing?”

I looked down. ”Because I still hurt you.”

She studied me for a long moment before tears filled her eyes. ”I was the one who cheated.”

I let out a sigh. ”I know.”

She laughed through her tears, the sound a bit broken. ”You’re supposed to say something nice.”

”I don’t have a manual for this.” I said. ”But I didn’t mean to make you feel the way you did. I knew i liked someone else but didn’t want to admit it because I knew it would mean discovering a part of myself I didn’t know even existed. And by doing so, I treated you like you didn’t matter at all to me...and for that I’m truly sorry.”

That got her to laugh again, although she quickly wiped her tears.

”I’m sorry too,” she said, her voice cracking. ”I really am.”

I shifted closer. ”Hey.”

She shook her head. ”I can’t believe I did that to you.”

”Melanie...”

”You were always good to me.”

I didn’t know how to reply. She looked at me, tears streaming down her cheeks. ”And I didn’t appreciate it.”

Gently, I touched her shoulder. ”It’s okay.”

”It’s not.”

”It happened.”

”That doesn’t make it okay, god I really fucked up!”

”No.”

I sighed, for a second...I wondered if we were even talking about the same thing with how hard she cried over something that happened months ago. ”But it means we both get to move on.”

She stared at me. ”You really are a good guy.”

I offered her a tired smile. ”Don’t let that get around.”

She laughed softly. ”I mean it.”

”I know.”

She wiped her cheeks, slowly composing herself. Suddenly, she stood up.

I looked up at her. ”Where are you going?”

”I should go.”

”What?”

”I just...” She glanced toward the door. ”I needed to see you.”

I stood, too. ”Okay.”

She walked to the entrance, then paused with her hand on the door, glancing back. ”I really hope your dad gets better.”

My throat tightened. ”Thanks.”

”And Oliver?”

”Yeah?”

She offered a sad smile. ”Take care of yourself too.”

Before I could respond, she opened the door and stepped outside. The bell chimed softly behind her.

I stayed there staring at the empty doorway, motionless for several seconds. Eventually, I looked at the roses I’d left on the counter. One had fallen over. I picked it up.

”Well,” I muttered, reaching for the scissors again, ”that was emotionally exhausting.”

And I went back to work. But even as I trimmed stems and wrapped bouquets, my mind kept drifting back to our conversation.

I hadn’t expected to see Melanie again. I definitely hadn’t expected to feel sorry for her.

She really had been through a lot since we parted ways, I almost wanted to track down that Trevor guy and gave him a piece of my mind for thinking something like that was okay to do.

Maybe that’s what moving on really feels like...not forgetting or pretending nothing happened, but simply being able to remember without the memory hurting you.

I glanced at the clock. Twenty minutes until Joy’s Café and I sighed. ”Fantastic.”

Apparently, emotional healing still came with a shift schedule.