My boyfriend and I go to the same college, and one of the things I enjoy most is sharing a room with him. Sharing a bed. I hoped living together would improve our relationship, which has grown rocky as of late. But he's the jealous type, and I always seem to say or do the wrong thing at the wrong time. I don't mean to provoke him; sometimes I just don't think how my actions might hurt him. Unfortunately, our roommate only sees us when we're at our worst, so she thinks things are bad between us. When he's angry enough at me to kick me out of bed and I have to sleep on the couch. When he snaps at me for flirting with her, even though he knows I don't mean anything by it. She never sees how wonderful he is to me sometimes, or how perfect we can be together when we're alone. I hope her misplaced concern won't come between us. Or maybe it'll be my own stupidity that tears us apart.

I'll Take the Rain

Later, I’m lying on the bed checking my phone and hoping he texts before he leaves campus when the bedroom door opens and he’s already home. “Hey,” I say, setting the phone aside. “How’d the test go?”


He shrugs, dropping his book bag to the floor with the movement. Instead of answering, he sits on the bed and kicks off his shoes. I’m worried maybe he’s mad at something, mad at me, and it’s on the tip of my tongue to apologize but I don’t really know what for. I just know I don’t want to sleep on the couch again if I can help it. So I reach out and strum a hand down the knobs of his spine. “You okay?”


He turns and stretches out on the bed. Both of his hands catch mine, and he kisses my palm before folding my fingers down over the damp imprint of his lips, as if to keep it safe. “What are you doing all the way over there, baby?”


Anything I say will be wrong, I just know it, so I shrug and keep quiet.


Chapter 5