“You kinda look like you could use one,” the bartender added with a subtle wink. Was it just her imagination, or had there been a flirty undertone? Steph turned and regarded the pretty redhead. “Can I get you a drink…or anything else?” the bartender asked behind her. It wasn’t fair, and it made Steph even more determined to prove herself. No one judged them by another guy’s failure. Male comedians never have to deal with that. But now that Marissa was bombing, Steph would have to work harder to show them that women could be funny. Stand-up comedy was still such a male-dominated field that Steph was often the only woman-and the only queer person-in the lineup. She’d been happy when she had found out her opener would be a fellow female comic. Steph didn’t look forward to going up after her. Sweat gleamed on Marissa’s brow, and she started to speak faster, rushing through her set and making things worse. Not even the skin-tight top Marissa wore could keep the audience’s attention, despite its plunging neckline. Two of the men in the back got up and returned to the pool tables, and the noise level in the bar rose as people went back to their conversations. That got her a sympathy chuckle from a woman in the front row.

How was I supposed to know that mimosas don’t count?” But all I got was one hell of a headache when I woke up. They say it gives them bright skin and a flat belly.

Marissa didn’t seem to notice and prattled on. The people in the audience looked at Marissa as if she’d asked if anyone owned a pet dinosaur. A juice cleanse? Really? That was the material she had chosen for rural Idaho? “Has anyone here done a juice cleanse lately?”

Marissa clamped both hands around the mic as if about to recite a poem. The local country bar didn’t have a greenroom, where comedians could wait before going up on stage, so Steph sat at the bar and had a front-row seat to the disaster that was her opening act. The rest of her set didn’t go any better. Steph knew it the moment Marissa, the comic opening for her, pulled the microphone out of the stand and accidentally whacked herself in the nose. I hope you stay up late for The Roommate Arrangement too. Last but never least, thank you to my loyal readers for letting me keep them up at night because they need to read just one more chapter. Samuels, and to my fellow lesbian fiction authors Chris Zett and Catherine Lane, who took time from their own writing to join my team of beta readers. I’m also sending a shout-out to my editor, Robin J. They were my cheering section and my guinea pigs who provided feedback on the first draft of this book and made the writing process less lonely and more fun! A big thank-you to Anne-France, Claire, Danielle, Erin, Laure, Louisa, Melanie, and Trish. As always, I’d like to thank my awesome beta readers.

The Roommate Arrangement by Jae