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“Hi,” he says. He scratches the back of the neck. It’s so adorable.

“You must be the boyfriend,” says Miriam. “Matt’s told us a lot about you.”

Er.

So, I have talked with them about Jason. But I’ve never called him my boyfriend. Because he’snotmy boyfriend.

Why would she say that?

“We’re just friends,” I say, saving Jason from this epic shit storm of awkwardness.

“Yeah,” he says.

“Oh,” she says. “I thought…”

“Just stop,” I say, and I grab Jason by the wrist. “You’ve done enough.”

I throw her an eyeroll, and she smiles. She’s kind of known for talking a lot and making things awkward accidentally. I know if we stick around, she’ll just make it worse.

We reach my bedroom, and I shut the door behind us. I lock it for good measure.

Jason is grinning.

“Shut up,” I say. “Seriously, not a word.”

He smiles and looks around. My room is pretty similar to my old one. He walks up to myMulholland Driveposter.

“Your roommate seems nice.”

I nod. “I got lucky, that’s for sure.”

It’s the truth.

“Well, I’m glad,” he says. “You deserve the best.”

“Thanks. So, what’s new?”

It’s a joke, as we’ve been basically inseparable.

He looks up. “Mom called.”

“Oh shit, what’d she say?”

“Same as always. She thinks studying game design is a waste of time, and I’m ruining my life. I think she’s just mad I’m not in Florida anymore so she can’t control my every move.”

“And what do you think?”

“I think I’m exactly where I should be.”

He smiles. “Anyway, I think we should circle back to your roommate thinking we’re boyfriends.”

I start blushing. “It’s ridiculous, right?”

“I mean, I wouldn’t say that.” His voice is shaking.

“It’s complicated,” I say.

He looks into my eyes. “Does it have to be?”