Surprise roommate

Excitement was buzzing all around her, brother and sister excitedly getting their luggage down, parents trying to fit everything in their car, and Reese was watching the chaos of their excitement, sitting on the porch, her own luggages waiting next to her. She was not eager to go on this cruise, not when it was organized for her elder sister’s wedding. All the family would be there, and all of them were going to judge her and her lack of a boyfriend. She hated family gatherings; it was such an inconvenience to her. They were always on her back to get a boyfriend or get married, always asking her if she wanted to have a guy or two presented to her. Weirdly enough, they always had an available friend who would like to meet her, and she hated this with a passion. And now she was doomed to spend a month with all of them on a cruise to celebrate her sister’s wedding. She would rather jump in a pit leading to hell than be stuck on a boat in the middle of the sea with nosy family members.

“Alright! Space for one more!” she heard her father call out.

She sighed and stood up, bringing her single suitcase to him.

“That’s all?” asked her mother, confused. “We’ll be gone for a month, you sure you have all you need in there?” she enquired, visibly concerned.

“I made it efficiently packed so I don’t have to carry multiple suitcases. I’ll be fine, Mom.”

“You did take some formal wear, right?”

“Yes, Mom, I did.”

“And a skimpy bikini?” chimed in her little brother from the back seat of the car.

“I’m going to drown you in the pool when we get there, Archer.”

“Oh, so it’s a yes!” teased Archer.

“It’s a no, dumbass!” snapped back Reese, annoyed.

She hated her brother’s improper teasing, and the fact that their parents never scolded him for it.

She sighed and grabbed a backpack, climbing in the back, sandwiching her little sister in the middle seat. She didn’t say a word, focused on a book.

“Packed some good ones, Wren?” she asked.

“Yeah, there’s one about zombies and dragons. If you’re too bored, I can lend it to you. I think you’ll like it,” she answered, her eyes still glued to the pages.

“I think that would be a welcome distraction,” Reese muttered under her breath.

“Okay, let’s go!” exclaimed their father, way too excited about this.

The car started to roll out of the driveway, and Reese suddenly felt the need to flee.

Seeing the road pass by the car window in a blur, she was reconsidering her life choices. Maybe she should have sat this one out, even if she was going to be blamed for it at the next gathering. At twenty, she couldn’t understand why everyone was on her back for her to get a boyfriend and get married. Because her older sister moved in with a boy at eighteen and got knocked up the year after, then got married two years afterward, didn’t mean that she wanted to do the same. Reese wanted to study in peace, to get her degree and get a job. She didn’t care about boyfriends or romance and all that boring jazz. She wanted to finish college, get a job, find a house, and never go to another family gathering ever again! Yet here she was, deprived of some studying time to go on a freaking cruise with the most annoying people in the world.

She glanced at her sister Wren. She seemed unfazed by it all, when she was the shyest person she knew. She didn’t even care about the multiple aunts questioning her about a potential boyfriend—yeah, even at barely fifteen years old she was asked this question.

Her brother, Archer, Wren’s twin, had it easy. He was a boy, and as such his very existence was just pure delight. He could never do any wrong, despite being a little shit. All his doings were just put on the “boys will be boys” saying, and no one ever corrected him or told him he was wrong—no one except Reese, of course. She was an older sister, and as such, she felt bad that her brother would turn into the worst type of person possible. So she took it upon herself to scold him, punish him, or make him regret all his bad choices. Like the time he was dating four girls at the same time. When Reese found out, she reached out to the four girls, talked to them, and made them meet him to teach him a lesson. Needless to say, he didn’t date anyone after that. He tried to smoke weed one time; Reese caught him and made sure he got the worst trip out of it, and he didn’t touch it since. And tormenting Wren—at that point, she went physical with him. He got beat up so badly that he went to cry to their parents. Of course, Reese got punished and scolded, but at least Wren was now safe from his bullying. She was doing her best to humble him, and despite talking like a little asshole most of the time, when he went too far he always turned to her and looked at her like a kicked puppy, expecting punishment. Sometimes a glare was enough for him to shut up or say sorry. And she was proud that he learned from his mistakes, even if she wished the parenting job was done by her parents and not her.

Sometimes she wished they would be less lenient so she wouldn’t have to step up for her younger siblings.

But that’s how her family was: boys were sacred beings, and girls were only good at getting married and popping out kids.

She hated this backward mentality.

Her gaze fixed on the scenery outside, she was tuning out her father’s meaningless talk, her mom, brother, and sister occasionally answering him. He was way too excited about this trip, but she couldn’t blame him. The man could barely take any vacation because of his work, and now that he was too sick to work, it was his first real family outing with them. It was kind of a bittersweet trip, but it would be a memory they would all cherish in the end. Just for this, she was doing her best to be on her best behavior, even if that was a challenge in itself.

Two hours of riding and finally they reached the marina. A huge cruise boat was tied to the dock, and a sea of people were getting in. The car parked, the luggage was out, and they walked to a huge gathering, chatting loudly—the family was here in all its glory. They were welcomed with hugs, kisses, and all the debauchery of affection possible. Reese immediately went on board, avoiding the aunts’ inevitable questions. Wren followed her without hesitation; she too wanted to get this to happen as late as possible in the trip.

Setting foot on the boat deck, the two girls held their breath. Everything was big, so luxurious, nothing compared to what they were used to. The cabin areas were going up; there were probably dozens of thousands of people in there. The thought was kind of nauseating. Being in such proximity with so many strangers was making Reese uneasy.

“There you are, you two!”

They turned around to see their older sister walking toward them with a huge smile on her face. How could she still be so pretty with a two-year-old to take care of? That was beyond Reese’s comprehension.

“Hey, Sacha. Congrats again on your wedding,” Reese said with a timid smile.

“Thanks!” she beamed, all happy. “I’m glad you came, Reesy. I was afraid you were going to bail.”

“I wanted to, believe me,” she muttered.

“I’m happy you made the effort, thanks. Here,” she handed the sisters a key each. “I’m handing out everyone’s keys; that’s yours. I hope you don’t mind sharing your room with Archer, Wren.”

“Nothing that I can’t handle. If he acts up, I’ll denounce him to Reese.”

Sacha laughed, amused. “Are you still torturing this poor boy?”

“It’s called parenting, Sacha! If I didn’t step in, he would have become a little shit, and you know it.”

“Well, try to not be too strict and enjoy yourself during the trip. We are all here to let loose and have fun, after all.”

“Can’t guarantee anything, but I’ll try.”

“That’s all I ask. I have others to see; I’ll see you at dinner.”

Sacha hugged her sisters and walked away.

Reese sighed and grabbed her suitcase, rolling it to the cabin area. Wren left her, going to wait for the rest of their family; she was more courageous than her, that was for sure.

She looked at the number on her key: fourth deck, room 2004. She followed a sign and reached the fourth deck. A bit more walking, and finally she found room 2004. She slid the key in the lock, turned it, and opened the door, only to stop dead in her tracks, finding a man bare-chested, stopped in the middle of changing his shirt.

They were both frozen, eyes wide, looking at each other like rabbits in front of bright lights. Endless minutes went by without either of them moving or saying anything until finally Reese took a look at her key. Room 2004 written on it, room 2004 written on the door. She glanced down the corridor—deck 4, confirmed by the panel on the wall.

So there was an issue here.

“This is my room,” she bluntly said.

“Huh… excuse me?! This is MY room, lady!”

“Um, no.” She dangled her key in front of him. “I have the key, so it’s my room. I don’t know how you got in here, but get out.”

He reached for a set of keys and dangled them. “I have keys to this place! So it’s my room.”

“Then I think we have an issue.”

“Looks like it.”

He didn’t bother to put his shirt on and went to a phone on the wall near the door. Reese took a step back, suddenly flustered by a bare-chested man in close proximity but her eyes were despite herself drawn by the many scars he was sporting.

Why didn’t he take a second to put a shirt on?!

“Hello?” She glanced at him, his fingers tapping against the wall near the phone. “Ah yes, I think there is an issue with my room. There is this…” She saw him give her a once-over before continuing, “…this girl that came barging into my room and saying that it’s her room. Yeah, it seems she has a key. Uh-huh.” He looked at her. “Hey, what’s your name?”

“Reese Miller.”

“Yeah, it’s Reese Miller. Really, like the candy?” he asked her with a raised eyebrow.

“Shut up, jerk! It’s not like I chose it, okay?!”

It had been a while since someone pointed this out.

“Huh, yeah. What do you mean by that? What?! Then fix it! Put her somewhere else. You can find a room for her with the people she came with!” He groaned, more annoyed than ever. “Are you kidding me?! No…” he sighed, “…fine, I’ll inform her. You better find a solution for this mistake, and quick!”

He hung up and sighed, looking at her. “Well, looks like we are going to be roommates for a while,” he said, clearly unhappy about the predicament.

“What?!”

“It seems there was a mismatch in their system and a room got assigned twice—this one.” He pointed to the room number. “So until a room is free, we’ll have to share.”

“Are you kidding me?!”

“I wish! That’s not how I saw my vacation going! And there goes out the window my night of casual hookups and one-night stands.”

“Charming,” Reese spat. “I stumble onto the worst kind of men. That’s so great. Perfect for my vacation.”

“Hey, I didn’t ask for this either.”

“Fuck this! I already don’t want to be here!”

She pushed past him and set her suitcase and backpack down, only to realize there was only one bed. Great. Sharing a bed with a stranger—this was so what she wanted to do for a month.

“I think we have to work something out for sleeping arrangements.”

“I’m not sleeping on the floor!”

“Such a gentleman you are. I’m not either.”

“Well, we can—”

“No!” She shut the idea down immediately. She was not sharing a bed with a man searching for one-night stands.

“You didn’t even let me finish.”

“No need. You’ll sleep on the floor.”

“I just told you I won’t!”

“I don’t care!”

She walked to a small wardrobe and started to unpack her clothes, pulling out all the formal wear she could have packed, leaving the rest safely in their plastic prison.

“Well, make yourself at home, don’t you,” he muttered.

She ignored him and looked around the room, only to see he already had a mess of clothes thrown on a chair.

“You’re not the tidy type, I see.”

“Who cares?”

He walked to grab the shirt he had left abandoned on the bed and let himself fall onto it with a carefree attitude.

She was going to hate the company of this guy.

None of them said anything, both observing and judging the other. Reese could already tell that he was the kind of guy she hated the most—carefree, cocky, and a womanizer. All the reasons she never got around to dating in the first place, because men like him were always the ones she ended up stumbling upon, like it was her curse. And as if to prove a point, the universe decided to put her in the same room as one of those walking disasters.

She had to admit, though, that he wasn’t bad-looking. She could have let herself get charmed by his golden eyes and long brown hair dyed midnight blue at the ends, his delicate face and inviting smile, if he had been different personality-wise. But knowing how detestable he was, hell would freeze before she allowed herself to find him attractive or interesting.

“So, what’s your name?” she finally asked after a long silence.

“Wouldn’t you want to know.”

“Well yes, if we have to unfortunately share this room, I would like to know who is in it with me.”

“The name’s Taylor.”

She scoffed. Well, that name sure didn’t suit him.

“Hey! I know what you’re thinking about! I didn’t choose it, okay?! Like your stupid chocolate name.”

“At least my name suits me, even if it’s from a chocolate brand. Yours is like you just stole it from an unfortunate rich kid.”

“Oh, shut up!”

“Aww, can’t handle it when someone makes fun of your name?” She fake-pouted.

She wasn’t the kind to taunt, but she didn’t know why that man made her want to annoy him to death.

“How about you mind your own business, chocolate bar?”

She was ready to talk back when a knock stopped her.

They looked at each other, unsure which one of them should answer, until a shy voice called her name. She let out a sigh of relief and went to the door. She grabbed her keys, glaring at her detestable roommate before stepping out of the room to join Wren, who barely had time to see inside.

“Hey, Wren!”

“Is everything okay?” the young girl asked, concerned.

“Yeah, I’m fine, dandy and all.”

Reese wanted to beat herself for how unnatural she sounded.

“Okay. You want to come see the boat leaving the bay?”

“Yeah, sure. Let’s go.”

She followed Wren, hoping that the predicament she was in was only a nightmare, and that she would find the room empty when she got back.