The American Roommate Experiment

Lucas is overwhelmed by the crowd at the ball, as well as his desire to kiss Rosie. He longingly watches Rosie dance with Lina, and Aaron offers his support. Rosie notices Lucas’s distance, and he explains to her, “It’s really hard not to stare, Rosie” (228). They are interrupted when a man spills his drink on Rosie. Lucas accompanies Rosie to the bathroom to help salvage her dress. He is nearly overwhelmed with lust when Rosie announces she has to remove her dress. He helps her unzip her dress and then leaves the bathroom stall. Lucas suggests he take her home, as his efforts to dry her clothing with the bathroom’s hand dryer have failed. Rosie is upset by this, so Lucas promises to have a fun evening at home. She says, “You are incredible, Lucas. And I think you have no idea” (236). Privately, he reiterates that helping her comes naturally to him.

As Rosie stands in her underwear, she begs Lucas to look at her, and he admits, “What man in his right mind wouldn’t want to see you?” (238). They begin to touch, but Lina interrupts before they can continue. Rosie leaves first so Lina does not learn Lucas was in the bathroom, and he reflects that this is the first time he has protected someone else more than himself.

After the ball, Rosie is torn, as she is close to meeting her deadline but is also at risk of falling even more in love with Lucas. While working at her favorite coffee shop, she notices a man in a tuxedo. She eventually realizes this is her landlord’s friendly contractor, who introduces himself as Aiden Castillo. Aiden tells Rosie that her apartment will be habitable that Friday and is surprised by her upset reaction; Rosie dreads the idea of losing proximity to Lucas. As Aiden asks Rosie on a date, Lucas arrives at the coffee shop, carrying takeout for their dinner. When Lucas declares that he and Rosie have plans, she is overjoyed “because he’d spoken as if [she] were his” (249). The pair head home.

Lucas realizes he disliked Aiden asking Rosie on a date, despite their own lack of a formal relationship. As he and Rosie walk, she tentatively suggests their dating experiment might no longer be necessary. She admits that while not drawn to Aiden, she might want a more conventional relationship. Lucas is overwhelmed when Rosie reminds him that the third date is for seduction and exploring sexual chemistry, which they did in the bathroom. She suggests this encounter was obligation on Lucas’s part, and he confesses, “[I]f we weren’t friends […] I would take you somewhere dark and rip your clothes off with my teeth without caring to have a good reason” (254).

Lucas promises Rosie their fourth and final date on Thursday. Their conversation is interrupted when Lucas finds his sister, Charo, and his dog, Taco, in the apartment hallway. He is astounded to learn that Rosie planned for Taco’s arrival, knowing how much he missed his dog and might need the emotional support. This intensifies Lucas’s feelings for Rosie, but he cannot act on them in front of Lina and Charo. He admits to himself that he is envious of his dog, who can openly express physical affection for Rosie.