“Okay…” I head back to the stove, motioning for him to be quieter. “What happened?”
Roger plops down on the stool across the counter from me. “Well, I ran into Val last night in the hallway. She was knocking on your door, but I guess you’re too good to answer or whatever but we got to talking and long story short—”
“You banged her?” I ask, sensing where this is going.
“Like a screen door in a hurricane, my friend.”
I nod as I crack a few eggs into a bowl. “Well, congrats.”
“I railed her like a freight train.”
“I bet you did.”
“I was so deep inside of her, my cock popped out of her mouth.”
“That one isn’t physically possible, but okay.”
He smiles. “We’re seeing each other again this week.”
“Good. I’m happy for you. Maybe she’ll leave me alone now.”
“Speaking of, how did you do it?”
I pour the scrambled eggs in, careful to keep the mixture away from the pancakes before flipping them. “Do what?” I ask.
“Reject her!” he says. “She’s just so…”
“Filthy?”
“Yes!”
I chuckle. “It’s easy when your heart belongs to someone else.”
He scoffs in annoyance. “Oh, please.”
“It’s true, Roger.”
“Gag me.”
“You’d only enjoy it.”
“You’re probably right.”
The bedroom door opens. Melanie steps out, fully clothed and surprised by the second person in the kitchen with me.
“Oh, sorry,” she says, slinking back a step. “I wasn’t sure if someone else was here or if it was the TV or…” She pauses, her disheveled hair falling over one shoulder. “Hey, Roger,” she greets with confusion.
Roger nods. “Hello, Ms. Rose.”
His head jerks in my direction, his devious eyes full of shock and awe.
Melanie shuffles forward. “Bathroom on the left, right?” she asks me.
“Right,” I say. “I mean yes, the door on the left. That’s… right.”
“Right,” she says with a nod. “On the left…”
She hurries out of the room, her feet brushing the floor as she disappears and the bathroom door closes behind her.
Roger’s jaw drops. “What the fuck?” he asks.
“What the fuck,” I repeat.
“She’s why you stood me up and got me laid? How dare you!”
“She just showed up here last night,” I explain. “I could tell there was something up, so we got to talking and—”
“Like a screen door in a hurricane?” he interrupts, smirking.
I ignore it as I give my stiff hand a quick flex. “She remembered everything about the other night.”
“You mean the one where you didn’t take advantage of her in a drunken, vulnerable state?”
“That’s the one.”
“Gasp. Whatever shall you do?”
“She remembered the part where she came onto me and then she responded by coming onto me again.”
“Is there a twist to this story?” he asks, bored.
I lower the heat on the stove. “I don’t know, man. It really seems like she might be coming around.”
“Well, if you’re not sure if she’s coming, then you’re doing something wrong.”
I nod. “Walked into that one, didn’t I?”
He grins, dumb and proud. “Hey, so what are the odds you and I came together last night?” he asks.
“I refuse to speculate on that.”
“Damn.” He shakes his head. “We could have been best friends, but you blew it.”
I sigh. “Is there a reason you’re here?”
“Just friendship, apparently one-sided. And pancakes.”
I slap a pancake onto a paper towel and drop it on the counter in front of him. “There. Now beat it. I have to seduce a woman for morning sex.”
He pouts. “No bacon?”
I give him two strips and he folds them into the pancake like a taco.
“Thanks,” he says, taking a bite as he hops toward the door. “I’ll see you Sunday?”
“Yeah. Assuming the roads clear up.”
“Why?” he asks, confused. “What’s up with the roads?”
“We had a major winter storm last night, man.”
He glances at the windows and chortles. “I didn’t notice. I was too busy nailing your hot neighbor.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Oh, you heard? Did you hear about how I bent her over and—”
“Go home, Rog.”
“We’ll chat later.” He takes another bite with one hand and uses the other to open the door. “Bye-bye,” he says.
I raise my spatula, giving him a salute as he disappears outside. As the door closes, I hear the bathroom door open down the hall, followed by the light tapping of Melanie’s bare feet on the floor.
“You know Roger?” she asks.
I look at her lingering in the entryway. “Yeah,” I answer. “He’s, uh… a friend. Kind of. He’s my sponsor, actually.”
“Really?” Her brow furrows. “That guy?”
“That guy,” I repeat.
“Aren’t sponsors supposed to, like… have their shit together?” she asks. “I once saw him try to talk Nora into a threesome with him and an everything bagel.”
I laugh. “He’s wiser than he seems at first.”
“I’ll take your word for it.” She eyes the skillet as she slides onto the stool by the counter. “You’re making me breakfast again?”
“Hey, you suck my dick, you get pancakes. House rule.”
“I didn’t do that last time,” she points out.
“Hey, you don’t vomit on my jacket, you get toast and eggs. House rule.”
She bites her smiling cheek. “We probably shouldn’t make these overnight stays a habit…”
“We could always bang over my lunch hour instead,” I say. “I’ve been known to whip up a mean BLT.”
“Wow,” she says. “You’re so culinary now.”
I scoop the scrambled eggs onto the plate next to the pancakes and bacon. “I started getting into it around week three of my sobriety. Needed something to do with my hands. First, breakfast food. Simple, easy, delicious.”
She playfully licks her lips as I set the plate down in front of her. “I’ll be the judge of that, sir,” she says, grabbing the nearest fork and stabbing her eggs.
“Then, grilled chicken and steak dinners. Baked goods, though. That’s my favorite. It’s easy to resist the call of whiskey when you’re too stuffed from eating your feelings.”
“And when did you get the gym membership?”
“Week four.”
She covers her mouth as she laughs. “Well, the apron life suits you. This is good.”
“Thanks.”
“Is that why you got into construction, too?” she asks. “To keep your hands busy?”
“Sort of,” I answer. “And it was the only place that would hire me.
