The Worst First Impression 

Luca

Sweat beads across my forehead as I lose myself in the moment, the woman’s breathless moans filling the apartment. 

I can’t tell if she’s actually enjoying herself or just putting on a show. Honestly, I don’t fucking care. I’m too close to finishing to worry about it, the pleasure building until I can barely think straight.

I’m seconds away from finishing when my phone suddenly pings.

I grab it, expecting some useless message. The moment I see the screen, my irritation spikes.

 “Fuck!”

I pull away, already reaching for the towel.

““What happened? Do you want to try something else?”

“No, darling. I need to get out of here. Right now.”

Confusion flashes across her face as she gets to her feet, gathering her clothes from the floor.

“What’s going on?”

“My new roommate is here,” I mutter, already frustrated. 

I throw my phone onto the couch and rake a hand through my hair.

“Fucking Smith,” I mutter.

“Luca, is everything okay?”

I’m already stressed, and whatever arousal I had moments ago has completely faded. Now I’m left with nothing but frustration.

“No, Irina. Everything is not okay, okay? I have a fucking roommate…” I snap, running a hand through my hair. My frustration is already through the roof, and I can’t think about anything else.

The sound of a key turning in the lock reaches my ears, and my eyes widen. Whoever it is can’t see me with a woman here.

“Go! Hide!” I urge, motioning toward the hallway.

She grabs her clothes and starts rushing in the opposite direction.

“No!” I whisper-shout. “My room. Go to my room!”

She quickly changes direction and disappears down the hallway just as the lock clicks.

I don’t have time to pull my shirt on, so I grab a towel and quickly wrap it around my waist just as the door swings open.

I’m expecting a guy—maybe someone like me, who wouldn’t think twice about the situation.

Instead, the sight in front of me leaves me completely stunned.

“What the fuck…” I mutter under my breath as I notice a tiny girl, barely reaching my ribs, struggling to drag two heavy suitcases into the apartment.

“Hi, nice to meet—”

She must notice me standing there because the words die on her lips the moment she looks up.

Her eyes widen as they take in my bare chest and the towel wrapped around my waist.

I almost sigh.

Yeah. Definitely not the first impression I would’ve chosen.

Irritation is already simmering beneath my skin, and at this point, I don’t care what she thinks of me. She can judge me all she wants.

I frown at her. “Who are you?”

“I’m Emma… I—” Before she can finish, I turn toward the couch. I’m not dealing with this shit alone.

I grab my phone to call the landlord. I can deal with women in bed; outside of that, they’re usually more trouble than they’re worth.

“Wait a minute. I’m calling the landlord. I sure as hell paid the full amount to live here alone.”

She frowns and quickly shoots back, “I also paid for this apartment.”

The landlord doesn’t answer my call, which only makes things more frustrating. I lower my phone and look at the woman standing in front of me.

Maybe there’s been a mistake.

Or maybe she really is a trespasser.

“Look, if you’re a fan, just take a selfie and leave.”

She frowns and crosses her arms over her chest. “I don’t need anything from you. I paid to live here. Now, if you’ll excuse me…”

She grabs her suitcase and starts dragging it down the hallway.

My phone suddenly rings again. Without checking the screen, I answer, already irritated.

“Smith, what the hell is this?”

Instead, a familiar voice comes through the phone.

I pull it away from my ear and glance at the screen.

Lucy.

I close my eyes in disbelief.

“Lucy, I—am not at…”

“What’s your apartment number? B2, right?”

I look around, already knowing where this is going.

Before I can answer, she speaks again. “Found it.”

A moment passes before I hear the sound of the heels clicking on the damn floor, and I curse my luck for being this damn stupid. Lucy is the last person I want to deal with right now, and I don’t have the energy left to explain anything to her.

As she enters, I catch sight of her from the corner of my eye.

Before she can say a word, I grab my new roommate and pull her closer, pressing my lips against hers.

The kiss is strange—awkward and unfamiliar—but I don’t pull away. I make sure Lucy can see it.

I catch a faint taste of pineapple on my roommate’s lips, sweet and completely unexpected. For half a second, I notice it before forcing myself to focus on Lucy standing behind me.

Then I hear a shocked gasp. My roommate immediately shoves me away. “What the hell?”

She looks genuinely frustrated, and for a second, I worry I’ve taken things too far. But I can’t back down now. If Lucy is going to believe this, I have to make it look real.

I glance toward the door, then deliberately let a guilty look cross my face before turning back to my roommate.

“Lucy,” I say, as if I’ve only just noticed her.

“Luca! What the hell is this?”

At the sound of her voice, I turn toward her, forcing an innocent, almost startled look onto my face as if I’ve only just realized she’s standing there.

“Oh, Lucy. You’re here already…” I glance at my roommate, then back at her. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

“I came here to surprise you, but you gave me the biggest shock of my life!” she shouts.

I only twitch my lips, fighting the urge to sigh. All I can do is pray that Lucy leaves before this situation gets any worse.

I’ll deal with my roommate later. It’s not like she’s going to stay here with me anyway.

I’ll make damn sure of that.

“Who is this girl? Tell me, are you cheating on me?” Lucy demands.

Emma turns her attention from Lucy to me, and I watch the anger deepen in her eyes.

Before I can say a word, she raises her hand.

The slap cracks through the room, leaving behind a stunned silence.

My face stings where her palm connects. I slowly turn my head back toward her, glaring at her as my chest rises and falls.

Anger simmers beneath my skin, threatening to boil over.

She just slapped me.

And somehow, I know this is about to get a whole lot worse.

She’s the first woman who’s ever slapped me.

I stare at her, stunned.

Who the hell does she think she is?

As if the moment couldn’t get any worse, Irina suddenly screams from the room and comes running into the hall.

“Help! Cockroach!” she shrieks, rushing straight toward us before ducking behind Emma—the first person she sees.

For a moment, all three of us just stand there in stunned silence.

Lucy’s face goes completely pale as she stares at the woman hiding behind Emma. “Irina?”

Irina freezes at the sound of her name, her eyes widening as she finally gets a proper look at Lucy. “Lucy?”

My stomach drops. 

Fuck. 

They know each other, not just casually, either. They’re best friends, which makes the situation I’ve created a hundred times worse than I could have imagined.

And to make matters even worse, Irina is still barely dressed. A single cloth is wrapped around her body. 

Tyler stands in the doorway, his eyes moving from Lucy to Irina, then finally settling on Emma. A slow grin spreads across his face as he takes in the ridiculous scene in front of him.

“Wow. What a scandal.”

I close my eyes and silently curse every decision that brought me to this moment. Between Lucy’s fury, Irina’s shock, Emma’s anger, and Tyler looking like he’s already enjoying the show, I have absolutely no idea how I’m going to survive the aftermath.

All I know is that this is going to be a fucking long year.