Chapter 8 - Henry #2
Kennedy hugged him back awkwardly. Knowing she didn’t pay any of the guys any attention gave me a sick sense of satisfaction. If only I could successfully find a way for her to give me attention, it would have been even better. But beggars couldn’t be choosers.
“How are you settling in?” he asked.
“Good. I fell asleep longer than I planned. The bed is so comfortable.” She laughed.
It better be, I thought.
When I knew Kennedy was possibly moving in, I bought everything I could think of.
I hadn’t set up a guest bedroom because when my family visited, which was rare, they always stayed at hotels.
I wanted Kennedy to feel welcomed and comfortable.
The room was minimalistic enough; I didn’t want to decorate it in case she wanted to give it her own touch.
Hayes frowned. “Bed? But I thought the room was—”
I interrupted him, not wanting to be thrown under the bus. “What are you doing here?”
He dropped onto the couch. “I’m bored,” he whined. “Wanna go work out?”
“We literally worked out this morning,” I deadpanned. “Will you ever learn how to sit still?”
I didn’t know why I asked. I knew the answer already. Wesley Hayes was the epitome of a high-energy dog. The man couldn’t sit still, even if his life depended on it.
He grabbed Captain Sushi and hugged him. “Fine. Then I’ll stay here and hang out with my favorite nephew. Isn’t he the cutest, Kenny?”
She nodded with a soft smile. “He is.”
“Too bad he has this one”—Hayes pointed at me with his thumb—“as a cat daddy.”
Her eyes bulged. “Did you just say cat daddy?”
Hayes laughed. “Has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?”
“What do you think, Henry? Do you think you’re a cat daddy?” Kennedy asked with that raspy and sweet voice of hers.
The word daddy rolling off her lips went straight to my dick, and I had to bite the inside of my cheek before I asked, “Can you please call me daddy again?” or something else completely inappropriate.
“Do you guys think cats are a babe magnet? Should I get one?” Hayes scrubbed his jaw, pondering.
“Why do you need a babe magnet?” Kennedy asked as she dropped herself on the couch. Captain Sushi was quick to get off Hayes’s lap to get on hers. “You’re a hockey player. I think that’s enough.”
“Into hockey players, are you, Jonesy?” I raised an eyebrow.
I wanted her to say yes. Moreover, I wanted it to be me. Calling pathetic, party of one.
Yup…that’s me.
She scratched her nose with her middle finger to flip me off. “In your dreams, pretty boy.”
“With the way you keep calling me pretty, I’m inclined to believe you only like one hockey player.” I smirked.
“How does it feel to be so full of yourself?” she asked with a tilt of her head.
“Pretty good, thanks for asking.” I smirked.
“Can we get back to me, please?” Hayes asked, looking at her. “Where did we land on the cat? Should I get one? Maybe I can also get a hot roommate like you.”
“Hayes,” I warned. “Watch. It.”
Kennedy glared at me. “Relax, macho man. I can handle myself.”
I couldn’t help but grin at her reaction. Hell, there was no explaining how much I liked her feisty personality.
“And please don’t get a cat, Hayes,” Kennedy said dryly.
“Fine. I’ll just have to cuddle with this guy instead,” he said, bopping Captain Sushi’s nose. The cat lifted his head and shot him a glare with a low hiss. “Whoa. Since when is he a feisty little thing?” Hayes asked, frowning. “What happened to you, Sush? I thought you liked me.”
“Sush?” I asked with a frown.
“His name is too fucking long, so I gave him a nickname.”
I almost gave him a retort to remind him he had named the fucking cat in the first place, but I caught myself. At this point, if Kennedy were to find out the real reason Captain Sushi was in my apartment, she wouldn’t have believed it. Because let’s face it—the idea was certifiably insane.
I gave him an unimpressed look as I pointed to the door. “Get out.”
“So now that you have a roommate, I’m not welcome?
” He gave me a mischievous smile before looking over his shoulder to where Kennedy was sitting.
“Do you see this? You should move in with me. I’m way more fun than this guy.
” He grinned. “I mean, my apartment is way more fun. And you do know about naked Thursdays, right?”
Kennedy raised an unimpressed eyebrow at him. “Let’s calm down now, Joey Tribbiani.”
“So, that’s a no?” Hayes asked.
“You’d be correct,” Kennedy replied.
“Get out, Hayes,” I repeated through gritted teeth.
He raised his hands in defeat as he stood and walked backward to the exit. “Fine, jeez. You’re no fun anymore.”
“And you’re a pain in my ass,” I said.
“As if you’d have me any other way,” Hayes shouted before striding out of my apartment. Once I heard the entrance door close, I relaxed my shoulders.
Who knew having a female roommate was going to be so damn stressful?
It’s not the fact that she’s a female. It’s the fact that you have a big fat crush on the woman, my brain practically shouted at me.
“Is he always like this?”
I dropped onto the couch with a sigh. “Pretty much.”
“You guys have been friends since you were teenagers, right?”
My eyes found hers, and a playful smirk tugged at the corner of my lips. “You’ve been stalking me?”
“I work in public relations, it’s my job to know everything about all of you.” She rolled her eyes. “Hey, I need my car keys. I gotta go to the store.”
“I’ll go with you,” I said before I could stop myself.
She scrunched her nose. “Why?”
Yeah, Anderson. What could you possibly need from the store?
“Socks,” I blurted.
“Socks…” Kennedy repeated, unconvinced.
“I ran out of socks. You know, athlete feet and all.” I laughed weakly.
Nice going, idiot. Now she thinks your feet stink.
She tilted her head as her eyes studied me like I was some sort of puzzle. “You’re weird.”
“Thank you?” I replied more as a question.
“What about the cat, though? Won’t he get stressed?”
“He’s usually fine for a few hours.” I shrugged. “We’ll take my truck, come on.”
She rose from the couch and shrugged. “Okay. Let me go get my shoes.”
My eyes narrowed in her direction. “It was way too easy to convince you.”
She laughed. “Honestly? I hate driving, and my favorite store is not within walking distance from here.”
“Ah, so you’re using me.”
She grinned. “You told me to use you. I’m just taking you up on your offer.”
It took everything in me not to reply with, “Oh, you can use me, alright. For everything and anything you’d like.”
Instead, I laughed without a word.
This was fine. No reason to be nervous. We were going grocery shopping. Total normal roommate behavior.
And, come on, it was only a store. What could possibly go wrong?