Roommates

A cheesy romance novel featuring my idealistic partner "Nilly Bean"

            I had just finished my game half an hour ago when I looked at the time and was taken aback by how late it already was. I wasn’t ready yet! I logged off and put music on my speakers. I started grilling meat for dinner. I was making my signature chili. The hot dogs are in the fridge, just waiting to be cooked. As I’m measuring out the chili powder, I hear keys outside the apartment door. “It’s open!” I call out.

In walks my best friend of 7 years. The most beautiful girl I’ve ever met, in every way. Physically, emotionally, you name it.  I rush over to her and embrace her like I do every night. I plant a quick kiss onto her cheek. “Hey Nilly, how was work?”

“Not too bad, Chef was being an a*****e though.” She goes on a small rant about her s****y boss, and I listen intently to every word as I continue seasoning my chili. “�"But it wasn’t too bad, I survived.”

“Sometimes that’s all that matters” I say with a smile. I had never believed that this amazing woman was my roommate. Every day never ceased to amaze me. It makes my s****y desk job worth it. But I know that every night when I come home I have her and my show to look forward to. One would say it makes life worth living.

            Nilly sets down a few bags on the counter. I give her an inquisitive look. “It’s a surprise” she whispers to me with a smile.

            I hear footsteps enter the living room and the TV flicker on. “About 20 minutes” I call out. I hear her respond with recognition and resume focus on my masterpiece. Misplacing one gram of spice can ruin the entire dish, as I’ve done countless times in the past. My chili recipe has been ten years in the making, and is a family secret that I learned from my brother, bless his heart.

            As I’m adding the final touches I hear the angelic laughter I’ve loved since the first time it reached my ears. I bring the spoon to my mouth to taste the final concoction and the spoon is met with a smile. My heart fills with joy as my brain recognizes this fact and remind myself how lucky I am. After I lower the spoon, pleased with the taste, I place the cover on the pan and let it simmer. I walk into the living room to join Nilly on the couch.

            I sit down on the couch apart from her and she instantly crawls up to me and snatches my arm. “B***h..” I whisper playfully under my breath. She scowls at me, barely hiding a smile. I elbow her in jest. She pushes back. I give her the commanding look I always do to end our sparring and she submits, happily laying her head onto my chest. I stroke her cheek and rest my head onto hers.

            I breathe her in deeply, letting her comforting touch fill my soul. I absentmindedly let out a deep, contented sigh and look down to see her eyes meeting mine. I look deep into her bright blue eyes and give my loving, reassuring smile.

“Oh, right, did you beat that boss Despy?” she asks suddenly.

“We got that f****r down to half a percent today before our raid wiped, man I was pissed. The tank had to go, then half the DPS ducked out, b******s. We’ll get it next time. I know it.” I am our guild’s best raid healer, I decimate the meters, as I always have. I’ve followed this guild for almost a decade, I’m great friends with the guild leader and his wife and Nilly and I visit them occasionally. Snapping back to reality, I cockily add “But it sure wasn’t my fault” with my favorite s**t-eating grin.

She giggles and buries her face into my chest. I stroke her hair a few times while my mind wanders again. I haven’t told many people this, but my gaming is simply a distraction for me, a time-killer. I love it and it’s fun, but sometimes there’s just nothing else to do and it’s stimulating enough to keep my brain happy. Yeah, the people are great and it’s great fun, but I’ve never shook this feeling. I never tell my guildies this nor most everyone I meet. Sometimes the only reason I play is to kill the time before she returns.

An alarm rings in my head and I throw Nilly off playfully while giving her my patented grin. I mock-sing typical boss battle music and dash into the kitchen. I stir my concoction and grab the dogs out of the fridge. Damn I love this meal. I throw open the deck door to the waiting hot grill and slap the franks onto the grill. I get out everything else we need to eat. Even though she’s a chef, she loves my chili. Sometimes I muse to myself that that’s the only reason she keeps me around, although I don’t have much room to talk. Rooming with a gourmet chef has some pretty damn good perks.

A loud yawn followed by a thump is heard. I chuckle loud enough for her to hear. “Shut up, a*****e.”

“Oh f**k off, you know I love you.” Sometimes our destiny is not to marry the ones that we hold most dear and love the most. There are different kinds of love, you see. Romantic, emotional, and spiritual. I have never cared for someone more in the latter two, and have gladly sealed off the first one. I would not have it any other way.

I walk out to the grill to take the meat off the grill and give her a light kick on the way. She doesn’t even move. “You ready, Nilly?” I call out to her.

“Yeah.. I guess” she says in her typical non-deterministic fashion. I feel like I saved her life by getting her out of that abusive relationship that nearly destroyed our friendship. I had to get over my jealousy and anger to see past my own desires and look at what she really needed. It took almost a year and a half, but I managed to pull her away from that sociopath. I told her that if I ever see him again he’ll never be able to use his silver tongue again. Even though I’m an empath, I’ve built an immunity to psychopaths and can see directly through their deceit.

I guess that’s always been my gift. I see into people’s souls. I see their most inner and pure desires, and do my best to give them what they want. It’s tiring and thankless work, but I know that every life I improve makes it ten-fold worth it. My beloved Nilly Bean was number 5. The previous four have moved on from my life, as is tradition. I helped them become self-sufficient and able to live their lives free of the corruption plaguing their souls. It hurts, but I know that my work is done, so I don’t mind it too much.

“F**k that’s hot!” While my mind was wandering I idiotically tried to grab a dog off the grill with my hand. I hear my favorite sharp laugh from inside. Hearing that laugh from her is why I wake up in the morning. It’s what gets me through my depression. Knowing that I’ve genuinely made her laugh with my idiotic antics brings solace to my mind, body, and soul. I successfully retrieve the meat from the grill and bring it inside. I bump into a chair and stumble hoping to get her to laugh again, but she wasn’t watching.

I stealthily slide the franks onto the table as she sets down the chili. I sneak up behind her and start tickling her sides, making her squirm and squeal. “I’m not ticklish you a*****e!” she screams out between rushed breaths and laughs. I stop the motion of my fingers and bring my hands around to her front. I embrace her tightly and press my lips into her hair. I feel a flow of energy rush into her from me and I feel the warmth it brings her. “Let’s eat,” I whisper into her ear and throw her into the nearest chair.

As we eat we make idle conversation. My chili turned out perfectly, much to my pleasure. As we finish eating I am reminded of the bags she brought. “What’s my surprise, Nilly Bean?” releases from my lips with my persuasive charm.

I see her internally squirm as she blurts out “Cheesecake, your favorite.”

I nearly squeal in excitement then immediately loose a loud belch that turns into a coughing fit. I hear the chair fall and assume it took my roommate with it. “MAN DOWN!” I shout as I rush over to her, knocking over every chair on the way. I give mock CPR as she continues dying of the laugh I love so much. After she calms down I embrace her then help her to her feet. She kisses me on the cheek and places her arms around my neck, holding me lovingly.

“I’ll get started,” she mumbles into my chest. She begins to pull away but I refuse, strapping her to me. As our hearts beat together and souls intertwine, I am once again reminded that life is good, everything will be okay, and that I will always love her.