Love Chaos
Love Chaos
Roommate up for Grabs
Ute Jackle
Love Chaos – Ute Jackle
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Copyright © 2020, Ute Jackle
c/o Barabara’s Autorenservice
Tüttendorfer Weg 3
24214 Gettorf
Email: ute.jaeckle@yahoo.com
Cover: NK Design (Nadine Kapp)
all rights reserved
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Co-Editor: Rachel Hildebrandt Reynolds
Co-Editor: Leanne Lockwood Cvetan
Proofreader: Erin Toland (Edits by Erin)
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All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or establishments is solely coincidental.
Contents
About the book
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Epilogue
He has a constant string of casual hook-ups. She is in desperate need of a break from men.
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Making a fool of myself in front of the hottest guy on campus – check
Then getting stuck as roommates with that same womanizer – check
And being completely humiliated by him on the very first night – also check
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Why, among all the possible mix-ups in the world, is Luca, who’s recently been kicked out by her cheating ex-boyfriend, assigned to a shared dorm suite with the biggest lady-killer of all mankind? Ben Nowak is not only brazen, he is brazenly sexy. He and Luca are like dogs and cats, like fire and gasoline. A real test of her nerves. The jerk seems to think he can do whatever he wants and is badly in need of being taken down a notch. One evening Luca sneaks into Ben’s room—a slip-up that sets her heart racing, but for completely different reasons…
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This novel has received acclaim from three booksellers as “incredibly funny and captivating.”
1
“And you’re sure you’re not a man?” The secretary, a woman in her late forties, eyed me in confusion as she leafed through her file, all the while wetting her index finger with the tip of her tongue. Her desk was flanked to the left and right by floor-to-ceiling filing cabinets, and next to it stood a sad-looking yucca with drooping leaves like the wings of a depressed hen in a cage. For a fraction of a second, her snooty gaze dropped to my chest, and I spontaneously flinched. From the way she raised her left eyebrow, it was clear that the words boob job and silicone were going through her head. A faint smirk played around the corners of her mouth, and I had to fight the impulse to cross my arms over my chest. I gulped and pulled myself together. After all, I’d come to the University of Erlangen’s Office of Student Housing on a very important mission.
“As you can see, I’m not a man,” I replied sullenly. “And yet, your office put me in an all-guys suite.” As evidence, I held up the letter I’d received today; my hand shaking terribly. I could hardly believe the awful news this morning when I went to my mailbox and read the letter—and I still hadn’t quite recovered, which was why I’d headed over here right away.
“But it says here Luca Vogt,” she insisted blankly.
“Yeaaaaah. That’s me,” I said, drawing out my answer as I tapped my sternum. “My name is Luca.” This wasn’t entirely the truth, but she didn’t need to know that. In fact, no one was supposed to know that.
“Oh.” She looked up as if she’d just had some sort of an epiphany. “I always thought Luca was a boy’s name.”
“As you can see…” I gave up. What was the point? I mean, I was standing right in front of her.
She was still smirking at me; tiny creases in her tanned skin formed around her eyes. As a matter of fact, she seemed very fit for her age, which immediately filled me with guilt. As an absolute couch potato myself, I could barely make it up the two flights to my apartment without panting like crazy. To be more exact, my old apartment. The one my ex-boyfriend was now living in alone.
“I understand your situation.” The lady nodded at me with the angelic look of the Virgin Mary on her face. “Sadly though, all the rooms have already been assigned. Some of the students applied as early as last year.”
The way in which she said last year didn’t give me a very good feeling, but there was no way I was going to move in with a bunch of guys! I’d just as soon join a convent and take a vow of chastity instead. I’d had my fill of men for at least the next couple of decades. Just when I was beginning to seriously contemplate the advantages of becoming a nun, the bearer of bad news went on. “To be honest, you’re lucky that somebody’s dropped out at the last minute.”
“And I’m grateful for that,” I lied with a heavy sigh. Behind me I heard a creaking noise, but I didn’t let myself be distracted. I thought I’d adopt an extra sorrowful tone instead and leaned over her desk. Maybe playing the pity card would help my case. I spontaneously decided to embellish my breakup story with Ringo just a little bit. It’d really hit me hard when I came home to find him with that bleached blonde in our living room. Especially since Ringo was the first guy I’d taken a chance on a good four years after the worst night of my life. I’d finally given into his advances, but only after he’d chased me for months and months. Woman of his dreams and all that. Yadda, yadda, yadda. What a hypocrite! That was never going to happen to me again!
Tilting my head, I went into full-on attack mode. “Look, it’s like this. I really have to move out of my old apartment. My ex had sex on our coffee table—with another woman.” My voice was actually breaking, and I cleared my throat. In reality, it cost me a good deal of courage to share this humiliating experience. Plus, this part of the story had honestly happened.
“Why don’t you just kick him out?” the secretary suggested indifferently as she studied me over the edge of her glasses. “Let him worry about finding a new place to stay, not you.”
“I would, but it’s his apartment. I’m the one who moved in with him.”
The woman’s features softened a little, so I decided to kick things
up a notch. It actually felt pretty good to get it all out and off my chest like this. My best friend, Caro, had had enough of an earful the last few days with all my griping about it.
“It all began when I caught him in the bathroom one night… You know…” I made a vague pumping gesture with my hand, to which the office manager gave a hectic nod.
“And then?” she asked with big eyes while I was beginning to sweat bullets. I secretly scanned her face for signs of suspicion, in the hope she was buying my ridiculous sob story. But there was absolutely no way I could live with two guys, not after everything that had happened. I needed a break from men.
“Well, he tried to talk his way out of it. ‘Babe, it’s not what it looks like’,” I said, imitating Ringo’s raspy voice. “Yeah, right.” I snorted. “I guess he just had his hands full.”
She giggled. The pity angle was working better than expected, and my brain was churning out one horror scenario after another. The woman seemed eager for more, so…
“He actually told me a little ‘manual labor’ from time to time was good for his immune system, and that he felt like he was coming down with something.” I was giving her what she wanted.
“And then?” She was practically hyperventilating.
“He had one of his ‘migraines’. I think they were why we kept having so many dry spells.” Was she really buying this garbage? With her mouth slightly agape, she was gobbling up every word I said.
“So, I went shopping the next day, hoping to give our love life a little boost, and bought some sexy lingerie and a pair of handcuffs at a sex shop. We even watched a porn film together.”
At this, the secretary grimaced in distaste, and I was quick to nod in agreement. Oops, I might have gone too far.
“I know. It’s not my thing either,” I said.
“Did it help at all?”
I gave a bitter laugh. This was starting to get a little uncomfortable. I hoped I’d never have to see this woman again for the rest of my life. Best to just forget this bizarre conversation ever happened. To wrap it up, I added one last detail. “Well, it seemed to. I got home one day last week and found this blonde bimbo handcuffed to our table with the porn film running in the background.” If this wasn’t enough to get me reassigned, I didn’t know what else to do.
She gasped at me, then added, “I hope she wasn’t wearing your lingerie!”
Whaaat? A little doubt was beginning to gnaw at me, like a mouse on a piece of cheese. Had I gone too far in my pathetic attempt to gain her pity?
The woman reached for her puke green coffee cup and took a sip. I could’ve used some coffee too, preferably laced with something really strong. Sweat dripped from every pore, and my shoulders ached with tension. But it was too late to back out now. I needed to see this through to the bitter end. “No. She was naked, and he was deep inside her.” This part was actually true again.
She glanced at my application once more while I held my breath.
“What a creep,” she mumbled, turning to her computer and typing furiously.
It felt so good to hear someone else say that. I nodded. She was so right. How could I have been so blind these last two years?
“Hmm, maybe…” she mumbled thoughtfully, rubbing her chin absently.
For the first time in days, I felt a bit of hope pulse through me. She’d bought my story. I was a bad girl, but I didn’t care. A new room was as good as mine.
“Yeah, what a creep,” a deep voice behind me said. Whirling around, I found myself looking into a pair of midnight-blue eyes; a rich dark blue tinged with black. They belonged to a guy with tousled brown hair. His mouth twitched in an effort not to smile. Where had he come from?
“And you never suspected a thing?” he asked in disbelief. His eyes swept across my chest and lingered there a little longer than necessary. “He obviously didn’t appreciate what you have to offer. You’re better off without him,” he added with a wide grin.
That made the woman giggle. I watched in bewilderment as her hand fluttered in front of her mouth.
“God, you’re really naïve, girl. That kind of gullibility only gets you into trouble. Men need to be kept on a short leash.”
“Don’t take it personally. Every cowboy needs to polish his Colt every once in a while,” the guy behind said me, laughing, and I whipped around and glared at him in disbelief.
Oh God, take me now! Not only had he overheard every word—this horrible little shrew of a woman had obviously goaded me into saying all that stuff with him watching. The rational part of my brain told me to flee, but of course, I couldn’t. My gaze dropped to the letter I was holding, and I turned back around to face the secretary without another word. It was better to just ignore jerks like him anyway.
“So, about my application…?” I retorted somewhat belligerently in my exasperation, as this wannabe Casanova shot darts into my back with his eyes. The amusement instantly drained from her face. Evidently, she didn’t appreciate being snapped at.
“Unfortunately, as I told you before, it’s out of my hands. You can either take the room we offered, or find another solution yourself.”
“But… But.” My mind went blank. There was nothing more to say, not as long as that jerk was standing there laughing his head off at me. Damn it! He took a step closer, and I could hear him breathing right behind me. I whipped around again and snapped, “Would you mind not breathing down my neck?”
He seemed taken aback. Good.
“Are we in a bit of a bad mood today? PMS?” he inquired with feigned concern. I could only gasp.
“PMS, that’s exactly what this is. Primitive Man Syndrome, I believe it’s very contagious. Best to keep a safe distance,” I replied icily.
This earned me a laugh. I couldn’t believe it—he was actually laughing in my face.
“Wow, are you always like this? You really shouldn’t be surprised…”
“Surprised about what?” I asked, menacingly, pulling myself up to my full height, and put my hands on my hips. This asshole had just ruined all my plans. Unfortunately, I couldn’t create the effect I had been going for since I had to crane my neck all the way back to look him in the face, or I’d have been talking to his chest. On top of everything else, I could feel myself starting to blush. Desperately trying to ignore it, I glared at him instead, ready for a fight.
And it worked! He took a step back and put up both hands.
“Easy there,” he said as if addressing a rabid pit bull. “Don’t hit me, okay? I’m just here to hand in my application, and I’ll be out of your hair so you can keep chatting. Your problems are none of my business anyway.” Grinning, he held up his form for me to see, and it read “Parking Space Reservation” in all caps. He gestured at an inbox on the desk marked with the same words.
“Oh,” was all I could conjure up. None of this had gone according to my plan, so I forced a smile and pointed graciously at the desk. Meanwhile, the secretary had gotten up and gone to the window to refill her coffee cup.
Beaming at the guy, she said, “Just put the form in the tray, Ben. I’ll deal with it right away. I’ll see what we can do to get you a spot in the parking lot.”
“That’s really sweet, Mrs. Weber, thank you,” he said, giving her a once-over. “Have you been working out lately?”
She smiled, obviously flattered. “It’s nothing. I just do a little jogging in the park, that’s all.”
How nauseating. What a suck-up! He grinned as he noticed me rolling my eyes before turning back to her. “Well, it shows. You look great. By the way, I’d really love a spot in the first row of the parking garage, so I don’t have to walk too far in the mornings. If that’s at all possible.” His voice dropped an octave, and it sounded like he was propositioning her right then and there. It made me shudder, but she seemed to lap it up. With a swing of her hips, she returned to her desk.
“I think that can be arranged,” she said huskily, as if she were channeling Marilyn Monroe singing “Happy Birthday” to Pre
sident Kennedy.
“Thank you so much—I knew I could count on you.” He dropped the form into the tray, and strode past me to the door where he turned once more and smiled right at me before disappearing.
“A very nice young man,” the woman remarked while staring at the closed door with a dreamy expression. “You shouldn’t get so upset, my dear. Men don’t appreciate disagreeable women.”
Great, now, thanks to this jerk, I was no longer the poor victim who deserved sympathy, but a cantankerous hag who’d driven her poor boyfriend into the arms of another woman.
Mrs. Weber’s smile seemed as fake as the color of her hair. “I think your best option is to move in with the boys for now. Give it a try. I’m sure you’ll learn a lot about men there.”
I snorted. “You sound like you’re trying to sell me a guinea pig! But for your information, I’m extremely allergic to all animal hair. You know, rabbits, cats, men; the whole works.”
With a long-suffering sigh, she looked at her watch. “Well, it’s time for my lunch break. Either you can take the room for now and I’ll give you a call whenever there’s another opening. Or, you don’t take it and try to find something on your own. It’s your call.“ The way she shrugged and reached for Ben’s form made it very clear that she couldn’t care less about what happened to me. What was I supposed to do? I couldn’t afford my own apartment. I was in my final year here, and staying at Caro’s was only a temporary solution. We were literally stepping on each other’s toes in her tiny apartment; and there was no way I could go back to Ringo’s.