Constructing Us (New Adult Romance) Read Online Free

stepped into the apartment, Tragan was hit with an insanely enticing aroma.  Better than a wood-burning stove or fresh coffee, this was a scent that had never filled 3B as long as he’d lived there: home-cooking. 
    Lights shone from the kitchen straight ahead, at the back of the apartment, and also from Andy’s open bedroom door. 
    Instinctively, he sniffed the air as he walked toward the light.  He knew he had to clear the air with his new roommate, if only to erase the weirdness of their initial meeting.  Like Matt had said at the Billiard Grill earlier, Andy was here now; no sense in making a thing about it.  Besides, after what Ethan had told him just now…
    W ell, Tragan couldn’t help but feel bad for the girl if she had a medical situation--but again, he wasn’t going to dwell on that.  Tragan had never been one to get into other people’s business.  His mother had chastised him more than once over the years, because of his lack of interest in “human news,” as she called it.  It was like she saw that as a bad thing--maybe a sign that he was too self-centered--but he just saw it as letting people have their boundaries.  What was so bad about that?
    Now he approa ched the open bedroom door.  When he glanced in, he stopped short.  Andy had her back to him and was bent over, unpacking a box.  Words failed him for a moment as his eyes zeroed in on her behind.  It was an automatic reaction.  He didn’t mean to stare, but the sight of her shapely, jean-clad ass locked his gaze for a moment.
    Until, abruptly, she stood up straight, snapping him out of his lusty trance.  When she turned around, she jumped, startled.  “Oh!” she said on a breath then pushed a few loose strands of hair away from her face.  Since seeing her earlier, she had put most of her thick, honey-blond hair up into a ponytail.  Seeing her face again, Tragan noted that her eyes were even bluer and prettier than he’d first noticed, and her face appeared warm--sweet.
    Mentally he shook himself before he got muddled by an odd combination of feelings.  On the one hand, he still wasn’t thrilled about having a female roommate.  Yet, he also felt a pocket of compassion for her.  Now add to that: an undeniable stirring of physical attraction.
    See, this was why girls made living situations too damn complicated, he thought , but forced an easy smile anyway, as he leaned on the door jamb.  “Hey,” he said.  “How’s the unpacking going?”
    “Good,” she replied .  “I’m almost done.”
    As she said that, he eyed her room.  It was the smaller of the two rooms and at the moment, seemed particularly overcrowded.  Piles of books were stacked all over the floor.  Hardcover books, paperbacks, all different sizes, were layered on top of each other, making a collection of shaky-looking towers that stretched from the floor to the window sill.  “Just got a few more cases of books and you’ll be all set?” he asked, giving her a sardonic grin.
    Following Tragan’s gaze, Andy laughed.  “Yeah, pretty much.  I guess I would be called a ‘book junkie’ in some circles.”  Then she tilted her head.  “Or ‘book hoarder’--if you want to be all judgy about it.”
    His grin deepened.  “Never,” he said, holding up his hands.  “Do your thing.”
    When Andy giggled, the sound relaxed him a little.  Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.  For all he knew, Ethan had been exaggerating about her condition anyway.  She sure didn’t look sick.  “Where were you living before this?” Tragan asked out of curiosity.
    “My mom’s house in Chestnut Hill,” Andy said, stepping a few feet closer to him, still carrying some books under her arm.  “I finished school in December, and after that moved in with my mom for a while, but…”  Her voice trailed off as she restlessly bit her lower lip.  Ripe, pretty lips...
    “Where did you go to school?” Tragan said, keeping his tone casual.
    “ University of