2B or Not 2B (Roomies Series) by Stephanie Witter Read Free Book Online Page A

graduated high school , and I’ve been back since March, ma'am."
    "So what?" I blurted suddenly, my fork clinking against my full plate of chili con carne. I couldn't take it anymore , and I was beyond pissed at the thought I'd have to suffer Byron's bad mood. And this day had already been a shitty one, and I was way past my patience. "He's a soldier who now studies at UCLA. Big deal!"
    My father and mother looked at me with narrowed eyes and apologized to him about my behavior. I shook my head and glared at him when he chuckled without even thanking me for my outburst.
    "We never raised you to be so self-centered! It's unbelievable. Whenever it's not about you , you try to draw back the attention of everyone," my mother spat at me, her brown eyes flaring, but never doing their job of intimidating me.
    "Mom!" Sydney said appalled. She always took my defense when my parents were too hard on me.
    I put my hand on her shoulder and squeezed. She crossed her arms and glared at our mother who was glaring back. And my father was slowly eating, his eyes trained on Byron who was looking at me.
    “Mrs. Reed, London was just trying to help me."
    I choked on my water and shook my head for him to shut the hell up. But he never listened to me.
    "Trying to help you?" my father repeated with a frown, accentuating the wrinkles on his wide forehead, the same one I inherited.
    "She knows I don't like talking about the army."
    "Is there something between you and my daughter?" my father asked immediately, not missing a beat.
    Byron, mouth wide open, was at a loss of words. I couldn't blame him. It was hard to take in three crazy Reeds at once while the youngest of the family was still murdering our mother with her soft green eyes.
    "What? I mean no! Of course not!"
    "Why ‘Of course not?’" my father asked now glaring at him.
    It was quite funny to see a badass , scarred soldier, twice as big as my bureaucratic father, squirming on his chair. I laughed, the unrestrained sound breaking the tense atmosphere. I should have seen this one coming, but my father was always able to surprise me.
    "Leave him alone, Dad. He only meant that we're just roommates."
    "Yes, roommates," Byron echoed with relief. I didn't let him suffer from the cold wrath of my father who was still trying to protect me from big bad boys , and he should be thankful. If only my father knew that they should be getting a protection from me.
    My father nodded and resumed eating.
    "Does that mean you have a girlfriend, Byron?" my mother asked in a sugary voice, I knew too well. She was trying to mess with my father's head to convince him to bring me back home. I didn't like mind games, and it was very hard to win against her.
    Byron traded a panicked look with me. "No, Mrs. Reed." He took a sip of water to stall a little. "I don't think I'm ready to give a girl what she needs in a relationship."
    I tilted my head to one side and hid my smile by chewing on my chili, which was not as spicy as I would have liked. Nice save, but quite ridiculous once you knew the guy. He cleared his throat and checked our plates, probably wishing we would all eat faster.
    My sister , on the other hand, was giving me a mischievous smile that looked frighteningly like the one I gave Macon whenever I was getting a little crass with him. Seeing it on the sixteen year old face of my sister was really disturbing. I knew she thought Byron was hot—I couldn't blame her on that one—but now she was obviously implying I should give it a try. She even went all out by moving her head, not so subtlety, toward him. I mouthed no and glared for good measure. She just shrugged.
    "What do you study then?" My father's voice was cautious, like he dreaded the answer would kill him. It's not like Byron would say he's studying hard to be a fabulous porn star. I snorted at the thought.
    Byron arched an eyebrow at me. "Criminology. I hope to work as a cop or in the FBI if I don't go back in the army."
    "I t hought you were