"You're not a dude?" Harry asked her incredulously, not really sure of what to make of the situation. Apparently, his new roomie 'Freddie' was a woman. He didn't really know what to say about it; he wasn't disappointed or even angry, just... surprised. Like, should he be okay with this? He supposed he should be, but his expectations had just been completely obliterated, so he was too shocked to say much more than he did.
Freddie was used to this kind of reaction. Usually, she found it amusing, but this time, she found herself feeling kind of bad about it. She knew she should have clarified her gender on her profile, but she had been desperate to find a place and she didn't want to be turned down because she was a girl. She had made two accounts; one with her first name and one with her middle name, that way she had the maximum number of options available to her. Harry had responded to her application first, and the place was one of the best deals she could find. The one drawback was that it wasn't anywhere her new job, but she didn't really care. None of the places she could afford were, so the distance thing was just something she would have to deal with.
"I'm afraid not." Freddie could not help but chuckle at Harry's reaction, but deep inside she did pity him. She shouldn't have inadvertently lied to him like that. Hiring someone because you think they're a man is one thing, but finding an internet roommate is entirely another.
So, more out of moral obligation than actual seriousness, Freddie sighed and apologized. "I am sorry though, I should have said something. I can find somewhere else if you're too uncomfortable living with a girl you've never met before."
Harry's eyes widened, "No, no, that's okay. I don't mind, I was just... not expecting you."
"I get that a lot," Freddie grinned and walked over to the kitchen counter, leaning against the linoleum surface with a bit of troublesome smirk on her lips. "But for real, I'm a good roommate; you won't regret it. I cook, clean, and I can be really quiet during sex if I have to be, so you won't ever hear a peep from me."
Freddie watched in satisfaction as Harry seemed to squirm at the bluntness of her words. He was not expecting a female roommate, much less one who would be so open with him on the fifth sentence she ever said to him. He didn't know to respond to her.
"O-oh... That's good, I guess." Harry shifted his eyes away from her, trying not think about her words too much. Harry may have been shy, but he was still a man and he couldn't ignore the way in which Freddie had demanded his full attention. He tried to think of something else to avoid an embarrassing consequence of the thoughts that Freddie had purposefully inspired within him. It was hard, though.
Even after a flight from who knows where, Freddie was not a girl that people generally looked over, and Harry was no exception. She was taller than most girls he knew, standing proud at a solid five-foot-nine. Her build was athletic, though at the same time, Harry could tell she probably hadn't played any sports in a while. That is to say, Freddie had some meat on her, though remarkably, it seemed to Harry that it was in all the right places. Harry could tell that her hair was also really beautiful, despite its current position in a messy bun atop her head. It was dark and shiny, just like her eyes, and Harry kind of hated to admit it, but he was entirely attracted to this new roommate of his.
It didn't help that she had this confidence about her that was just so appealing that Harry could scarcely look at her without thinking things he shouldn't be thinking. And she decided to bring up her sex life, too? Well, that was just too much for Harry's weak-willed mind to handle. After all, it had been a very long time since he had slept with anyone, so the mere mention of such an act sent his brain down a spiral that he couldn't come back from.
Freddie could sense his discomfort with her little joke, so she just laughed in effort to lighten mood, "Dude, I'm just messin' with you. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable; I forget that my humor is an acquired taste. I'll try to scale it back for a bit til we get to know each other better."
Harry chucked nervously, shutting the door to his- no, their apartment, "No, it's okay. I just... wasn't expecting that." He paused, crossing his arms over his torso and keeping his eyes to the floor. "I- I apologize if I'm a little weird. I'm kind of shy."
"What on earth for?" Freddie smiled, not intending to be offensive in the least. "You're like really hot... and British, too, so like if I were you, I'd probably be an asshole."
"Good thing you're not me, then." Harry laughed to hide his embarrassment, but no matter how much he tried, Freddie could still see the redness that had risen to his cheeks. He was quite frankly adorable, and Freddie could not help but admire her new roommate's humility.
She had been serious when she said she would probably be an asshole if she looked like him. He was tall, decently built, and had this jawline that looked to be chiseled by the actual Greek gods. He had every physical reason to be a cocky bastard, but no, he was shy and stuttering like a nervous teenager who was about to give a presentation in front of his whole class. Harry wasn't the type of guy Freddie went for, but still, she found his gentle demeanor to be somewhat endearing.
Freddie laughed along with Harry before rather abruptly adding, "So, have you eaten dinner yet?"
Harry shook his head, "No, I was going to just have cereal."
"Oh, that's just sad," Freddie rolled her eyes playfully. "Can I make you a real dinner? As a thank you for letting me stay here?"
"You don't have to do that," Harry replied shyly. "You don't owe me anything... except for rent."
Freddie shrugged, "Whatever, do you want real food or do you want cereal?"
Hesitantly, Harry nodded and raked his hand through his short, curly hair, an action that Freddie would come to think about later that night. He really was attractive.
"I guess I'm not foolish enough to turn down a home cooked meal when it's offered to me." Harry's lips curved into a sheepish smile, revealing the dimples on either side of his mouth. Freddie noticed that, too. How could someone so hot be so cute at the same time?
"I will say, though," Harry added, a hint of worry laced through his tone. "I don't really have very much food here."
Freddie flashed him a smirk that made Harry nervous for just a moment before she spoke. He didn't understand how someone could be so confident.
"That's, okay," she said, turning to walk towards the pantry. "I watch a lot of Chopped, so I'm sure I can come up with something."
Harry laughed, but nonetheless allowed Freddie to take a look in the pantry at the food he had. Watching nervously as Freddie opened the door, Harry could not help but feel embarrassed as her face fell to hold an expression of disappointment.
"You really weren't kidding when you said you didn't have food here," Freddie said mockingly, glancing over at Harry momentarily before returning her focus to the nearly empty shelves in front of her. "There's, like, two cans of tomatoes, a bag of rice, six boxes of cereal and a packet of Taco Bell seasoning." She looked at him. "What were you planning on doing with that?"
Rubbing his arm as he did whenever he was anxious, Harry just shrugged, "I dunno... I didn't know I even had Taco Bell seasoning."
"Hmm..." Freddie huffed, still looking at the barren pantry before her. "Honestly, man, I had expected a little more than that, so I'm afraid my amateur cooking skills have been rendered useless today."
"I- I'm sorry," Harry hurried to apologize. He always did that; rarely was something someone else's fault if Harry had anything to say about it.
Freddie thought it was a bit odd that Harry was so panicky, but she shrugged it off, telling him not to worry about it.
"Do you like pizza?" she asked him, unlocking her cellphone and tapping on safari to search for some place that was within walking distance. "I'll buy some pizza tonight, then once my shit comes in, I'll go get some groceries so we can have a proper feast."
A moment of silence passed before Freddie bashfully looked up at Harry as she realized that she was being a bit demanding of someone that had literally only known her for about five minutes. Her parents got onto her about that a lot, and so it was a constant struggle of hers to remind herself not to expect so much of people.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly, for the first time showing a bit of a softer side of herself to him. "I'm just excited to finally be here. I've never been this far away from home before."
Though a bit surprised by Freddie's sudden shift in demeanor, Harry was quick to shake his head and brush it off, "No, no worries. I get it. Moving here from Cheshire was one the most stressfully exciting things I've ever done." He hesitated, not wanting to admit how much of loner he had been back in the day. "I- I wish someone had been there for me those first few days, so if you, you know, you need someone... I'm here."
Slowly, a smile rose to Freddie's lips as she realized that not only was her new roommate handsome and shy, but he was kind, too- way kinder than she could have hoped for, and that excited her. She did, however, wonder how in the world he could be single. He hadn't told her that part, but it wasn't hard to guess. No self-respecting girlfriend would allow her man to live off of cereal and rice; that would just be neglect.
"Thank you," Freddie murmured. "I really appreciate it."
Harry shrugged smilingly, "No worries. I could use a new friend, anyways."
She hadn't expected him to say that, but she was nonetheless very pleased by his words. Despite her confident persona, she knew she could use a friend too, and Harry seemed like a pretty good start.
"Do you want to go out tomorrow?" Freddie blurted out, not really thinking much into how it would surprise him. Harry was surprised though, and she could see the blush rising to his cheeks as he frantically tried to configure his response. It was then that she concluded that Harry didn't go out often.
"Harry, I meant as friends," she smiled, encouraging him to accept her offer. "Drinks on me, yeah?"
•••
Merry Christmas a little late!!!🎄🎄
Cutesy :) what do y'all think so far? Is anyone intrigued yet?
Thanks for reading, loves! Ily❤️
-kate🖤