Read Bender for Free Online

“I’ve found you a roommate.”
    “Excuse me?” His hard brown eyes turned back to me. “You just gave her the contract to sign without discussing with me if it was okay?”
    The way he said ‘ her ’ made me feel like I was small and insignificant.
    “She’s just what you’re looking for. I figured you wouldn’t mind.”
    Dodger’s nonchalant attitude about the situation was putting me on edge. My brain was having trouble catching up with the conversation, but when it did, it all clicked into place.
    “Wait a second. You don’t live here?” I aimed my question to Dodger.
    “Nah, that dickhead does.” He nodded toward Mr. Tall, Dark, and Angry. “He’s my brother. I’m here a lot more than my other brothers, so I took on the role of interviewer.”
    An excited sounding Macie said, “There’s more of you?” I kicked her under the table. “Ouch!”
    Dodger’s head tilted to the side, but he smirked at my friend. “Yes, there’s four of us.” He was well-aware of what he was doing to her.
    “Wait, wait, wait. You made me think you’d be my roommate.”
    “You assumed I’d be, but I never once said I lived here.” I scowled at him. “Alright, I suppose I wasn’t exactly forthcoming with the info but my brother here can be kind of temperamental, and he’s scared off a few others who have come to see the place.”
    Yeah, no kidding. His arduous eyes watching me, I could see the tick in his jaw as he ground his teeth together. “Dodge, get your ass in here, we need to talk.”
    I glanced over at Macie, and her expression was dancing with delight. Yeah I bet she was excited. A little bit of drama with a couple of good-looking guys thrown in the mix, she lived for this stuff. Me on the other hand, my stomach was churning, and I felt like getting up and leaving. I kept playing over and over again how Dodger showed me every room, but he really never did say that it was his room, his bathroom, his apartment. My head was starting to hurt. Rubbing my temples with my fingertips, I had my elbows on the table to support me. This wasn’t going to work out. This was the ball I knew was going to drop. Nothing ever went right for me. I could hear Dodger and his brother, whose name I hadn’t yet gotten, speaking low but loud enough to catch.
    “You dumb bastard, it’s not you living with a stranger, and I need to approve of them,” the brother said.
    “You wanted a fuckin’ roommate, well I happen to think she’s perfect. She’s quiet, she’s going to school at the college, she hasn’t indicated that she has a boyfriend who will be coming over, and she has a steady job, what more could you want?” Dodger sounded like he was getting frustrated.
    My face heated up with embarrassment. I would have preferred that my singlehood stayed private and not be broadcasted. “Which chick are we talking here? The pretty one, or the chubby one?” the ice cold voice said a little louder, and I knew he knew I could hear him. My head snapped up, and I glared. He was looking right at me.
    Dodger spoke a little softer but was definitely menacing in his words toward his brother. “The blonde. Her name is Keegan, and she’s signing the goddamn papers. I’m not going through this again, brother. Go meet your new roommate and take a fuckin’ cold shower, you stink.” With that he grabbed some keys that were laying on the counter and walked toward the door. Before he left he addressed Macie and me, “I hope you like the place. We’ll be seeing a lot of each other.” He looked at his sibling and pointed. “Play fuckin’ nice.” Then he turned and walked out.
    I kept my eyes level and didn’t remove them from the guy who was still staring at the door. I could have sworn I heard him growl. Resigned, he scrubbed his hand down his face and back up again into his messy hair. When his arm dropped by his side, he turned to face me. Straightening my back, I accepted his scrutiny. I wouldn’t show him that his words