“I forgot to mention, that’s Jake’s bushel of bananas over there,” Ryan said. “We think he is part human, part monkey.”

“You like bananas, huh?” she asked.

“Damn straight, I do,” I said. “I fuckin’ love ‘em. Mmm.” Stuffing my face, I inhaled the last half in one big bite.

Nina started laughing as she looked at me like I was crazy. I smiled back with my mouth chock full and started to crack up. I couldn’t remember the last time I truly laughed.

When the laughter faded, her eyes lingered on mine, and I felt that strange unspoken connection again that I didn’t quite understand. All I knew was that making her laugh was addicting, and I wasn’t in such a rush to go back to my room anymore.

I grinned and reached for another banana, my mouth still disgustingly full. I barely got the words out, “Want one?”

“Huh?”

“Want one?” I repeated.

“No, thanks. I’m good.”

“I told you Jake was interesting,” Ryan said.

Wait. What the fuck was he saying about me to her?

Why did I give a shit?

The front door opened, and Nina’s attention was abruptly taken away from me when Ryan introduced her to our other roommate, Tarah. Nina and she started talking about girly shit, so I decided to head back to my room.

I tried to get my head back into the drawing I’d been working on, but in between strokes of the kohl pencil, my mind kept drifting back to my new roommate.

How the hell was she going to live in New York City if she had a fear of subways?

I’d draw a little more, and then Nina would pop into my head again.

What the fuck was an origami bird anyway?

I put my sketchbook down, opened up my laptop and typed into Google: origami birds.

I chuckled when I saw what they looked like. Then, the nuttiest idea I’d probably ever had in my life popped into my head. I walked over to my desk drawer, searching for construction paper, remembering I’d bought some to make something for my nieces once. The only colors left were yellow and black. I grabbed a few pieces of black and some scissors and went back over to my laptop on the bed then typed: origami bat.

I cut a square and folded it into various triangles according to the directions. It took a few tries, but I finally got one that looked halfway decent.

Now, what the fuck to do with it was the question. I wanted to give it to her as a joke, but what would I write in it? I couldn’t write a poem to save my life.

What could you write to someone you didn’t know? All I knew was that she had phobias and a pretty smile. I knew she was starting nursing school.

I knew she made me feel something.

Then, I thought about the Olsen twins. I didn’t really think she looked like them, but I could mess with her about the Full House thing. According to Ryan, he’d teased her about it all the time growing up, so she’d get the joke.

I grabbed a silver gel ink pen.

What the fuck were their names again? I typed into my laptop: Olsen twins.

Mary-Kate and Ashley.

Okay.

I sat there staring at the paper bat in my hand and couldn’t help but laugh at myself. It was official: I had lost my damn mind over a girl.

Scribbling on a notepad, I jotted down different phrases and finally came up with a message.

Welcome to the House, Mary Kate!

---Your Stripper Roommate

That was kind of dumb.

Maybe I would keep it simple. I opened the flap to one of the bat wings and wrote, Welcome to the “House” inside.

My door was opened a crack, and I saw her walk down the hall to the bathroom, and soon after, the shower turned on. It was the perfect time to sneak the bat into her room. I started to second guess the generic message. It would seem too serious if I didn’t write something funny. So, I grabbed the pen and added something onto the other wing then examined the final note.

Welcome to the “House”. ---Jake

How’s Uncle Jesse?

Her room smelled like vanilla. The walls were bare and aside from the pink suitcase in the corner, it was relatively empty. A picture of her and some guy sat atop the dresser and made me wonder if it was her boyfriend.

I placed the origami bat on her nightstand and quietly slipped out of the room.

An old Nirvana song played on my iPod. My door was intentionally left open while I lay on my bed. A glimpse of her wet hair caught my eye as she hurried back to her room, and a smile spread across my face at the thought of her finding the bat. It dawned on me for the second time, that up until today, I hadn’t genuinely smiled or laughed in ages. At the same time, I knew I was playing a losing game in seeking attention from someone who wouldn’t even know who I really was.

I decided to take a shower to try to get my mind off her. Once I entered the bathroom, it became apparent that forgetting about Nina wasn’t going to be possible. The leftover steam from her shower filled the room. As I ran the hot water and tried to relax, Nina was everywhere. A strand of her blonde hair stuck to the tile wall. The smell of her coconut lime shampoo saturated the air.

Then, after I stepped out of the tub, a pair of flowery panties lying on the floor caught my eye.

Fuck.

I wasn’t sure whether to leave them there or pick them up. A thought crossed my mind that I didn’t want Ryan to find them. I didn’t know where this was coming from. All I knew was that the thought of him touching her underwear irked me.

Really irked me.

So, I picked them up and took them to my room.

Throwing on some black sweatpants, I decided to bring her the underwear. I knocked on the door, and when she opened, the look on her face proved she wasn’t exactly expecting me.