Roommates

At least until the sound of the water stopped. With that Katherine's eyes shot open and she was spurned to action. She pulled up her pants and pulled down her top, jumped up and scrambled back into bed. Her boyfriend hadn't moved from where she had left him 10 minutes earlier. She crawled under the covers, relieved that Derek hadn't woken up. She hoped that somehow Stephanie would forget the whole thing, but to her chagrin was later called out. At least Stephanie thought it was funny.

Katherine and Stephanie continued to talk and struggle naming Tony's redeeming qualities. Katherine had a hard time paying attention, as her mind wandered back to seeing them in the shower, so to break her trance she changed the direction of the conversation.

"Ok Stephanie, now what about what about the bad things about Tony?" Katherine asked. She took a long, knowing sip from her wine glass. This question would be much easier to answer. Stephanie though, did not find it amusing. The wine that had loosened her up earlier was now bringing her down. She understood where her roommate was leading her. She sunk her head a little, almost in shame. Katherine did not relent, however.

"Well, if you won't answer I will. One, he's a liar. One-A, he's a cheater. Stephanie, you know we have seen him out at bars with other women. Sure, we don't have a smoking gun, but you've caught him in lies twice. Once, he told you he was going to hang out with his work friends, and Amanda saw him out at a bar with some skuzzy looking blonde. Another time he said he was sick and couldn't come over, and Rachel ran into him at a movie with a redhead."

"Katie, we worked through that though! That was earlier in our relationship!" Stephanie protested. But Katherine was nonplussed.

"Bullshit, Steph. He's just gotten better at hiding it. Why doesn't he like having you over at his place? Does he really like it better here, or do you think..hmm, maybe he's hiding something?? Or someone??"

"C'mon Katherine, okay I get it. Let's move on." Stephanie conceded, now flustered. Katherine kept on.

"OK, ignoring his dalliances, lies and indiscretions, let's move on. He's incredibly arrogant, not terribly bright, he yells when he argues and isn't the most well mannered man on the planet. Plus, he's a pervert- how many times have you caught him looking at porn after you fall asleep?"

"Yeah but all men look at porn!" Stephanie again stood up for him, but Katherine waved him off.

"Stephanie, the guy is a total meathead. A caveman. Sure, he's good looking and makes decent bank- and ok fine- he's a good lay. But you're better than that. You can do so much better!" Stephanie was starting to tear up a bit. She knew Katherine was right, but she felt a little humiliated the moment, like she was being suddenly cross examined as the roommate with the shithead boyfriend.

"We...we.."Stephanie sniffed. "We worked through his cheating.....you know, we....we're working through it...he just..."

"He just what, Steph? Hmmm?" Katherine sensed Stephanie was getting defensive. So she stroked her roommate's hair softly to reassure Stephanie she was still on her side. Katherine watched a tear fall down Stephanie's cheek. She remained firm, but her next words were softer and less pointed. "Where is he tonight, Steph? Wasn't tonight supposed to be date night?"

Stephanie paused, then nodded.

"Yes." She choked out.

"And what is Tony doing instead?" Katherine asked.

"He's....he says he is out to dinner with a client, but that also means he's at a strip club with his buddies. Probably doing lines of coke and trying to fuck some skank. He says it's harmless, of course."

"Of course." Katherine echoed. Stephanie was really crying now. She put her glass down and her head in her hands.

"Fuck Katie, I'm so stupid aren't I! I'm so fucking stupid!" Katherine reached out to hold her friend while Stephanie continued. "That fucking asshole lies and walks all over me, and I take it. I take it because I'm stupid!" Stephanie balled for a good 2 or 3 minutes before calming down. She was still sniffling and repeating "I'm so stupid" over and over while Katherine reassured her it would all be okay.

I'm so stupid......No, you're not

I'm such an idiot...Shhhh, no

Why do I do this to myself?....Guys make us crazy

Stephanie eventually wore herself out. The combination of tears, booze and a sleeping pill proved too much. Katherine held her roommate as the sniffles quieted and her breathing evened out. She held her until she was ready to pass out. Stephanie abruptly scooted down in bed, and Katherine helped her get under a sheet before getting up. Katherine gathered the 2 empty wine glasses and bottles and went to turn out the light. She was about to flip off the switch, but Stephanie stopped her.

"Hey Katie?" she asked.

"Yeah Steph?" Katherine answered, hand on the door.

"Thanks."

"No problem. That's what friends are for, right?" Katherine grinned and went to turn the light off but again Stephanie stopped her.

"Katie?" Stephanie asked.

"Yeah girl?" Katherine smiled at her roommate.

"He does have a big dick though, am I right?" Stephanie grinned mischievously at this and giggled drunkly. Katherine's face grew bright red with embarrassment. "C'mon, at least give him that. Am I right??" Stephanie laughed. Finally Katherine cracked and laughed.

"Fine, yes- he has a nice big cock. There! Are you happy? Now dump his ass in the morning." With that Katherine shut off the light and closed the door, closing in Stephanie in for good. Katherine shook her head on the way out, knowing that her friend would of course, not dump Tony anytime soon. It would take a few more blowouts and a few more talk sessions of course, but Katherine was chipping away the best she could. Katherine felt encouraged as she made her way down to the kitchen to deposit the glasses in the sink and bottles in the trash. She looked at the clock and saw that it was almost 1am.Shit it's late.She thought. But she now had a quiet house to herself to enjoy some me time. Excitedly, she poured a full glass of water in a plastic tumbler. The wine had parched her, so she took down a full glass before pulling another. She just needed a few more sips of the 2nd glass, then absently set the remains on the counter and bounded upstairs to her bedroom to resume her romance novel. She brushed her teeth and got ready for bed, knowing full well after she was finished with her battery operated lover, she would want to fall right asleep. She was still buzzed plenty enough to really enjoy what she had been planning all evening. As she crawled in bed and opened the pages, her heartbeat began to quicken with anticipation.