Chapter 19 Henry
NINETEEN
HENRY
MY FUCKING GOD, I WAS GOING TO THROTTLE MY BEST FRIEND.
“How’s it going with Kenny?” Hayes asked as he sat on the couch and handed me a beer.
My eyes instinctively looked for her when he asked, and I found her in the kitchen, animatedly talking with Val and Owens. She tilted her head back with a laugh, and my gaze settled on her pretty neck.
I wondered how my hand would look wrapped around it as I fucked her into the very kitchen counter she was leaning against. Vivid images of her thighs wrapped around my shoulders as I feasted on her pussy invaded my mind.
I bet she tasted sweet, with just the perfect amount of bitterness to match her personality.
I took a hefty sip of beer, hoping it would settle my dry throat and the painful need spreading through my body.
“We kissed,” I mumbled, my eyes still following every single one of her movements. I was a greedy fucker and couldn’t keep my eyes off her. How could I? The woman gave the word beautiful a whole new meaning.
Hayes’s eyes widened in pure shock. “And you’re telling me this now?! When was this? Why did you do it? Did you like it? Do her lips taste as sweet as they look?” His questions came in rapid-fire, barely giving me time to think.
The last one caught my attention, and a rush of jealousy clouded my senses.
“Don’t you dare ask me something like that ever again.
And stay away from Kennedy,” I said through a low growl as I slapped the back of his head.
“But, if you must know, it was a few weeks back. I ended up spending some time with her friends and Ken Doll.”
“That’s the ex, right?”
I grunted without a word. Every time I thought about that asshole, I wanted to punch a fucking wall.
“And you kissed her to like, what? Stake your claim?”
The question made my head tilt. “I’m not sure what happened before I arrived, but when I got there, I heard him say he was going to drop the topic if she admitted she wasn’t dating me.
I assumed he was talking about us. It pissed me off, so I kissed her to seal the deal and make them believe it wasn’t fake. ”
“First kiss in front of her ex.” Hayes let out a long whistle. “Ballsy.”
“I was doing my duty as her fake boyfriend,” I replied in a weak attempt to convince myself. It didn’t work. It was frustrating to know how real and charged that kiss was. And how the tension still lingered between us.
I was trying my best to ignore it and be respectful…until tonight. I may have pushed a bit too far when we were in the pantry, but fuck. This wasn’t in my head. I knew she felt it, too.
“Get out of here with that shit.” He leveled me with a what the fuck? look. “You wanted to kiss her and took the opportunity. And I get it. I don’t blame you. Kennedy is a beautiful girl. I probably would have done the same thing,” he remarked casually with a halfhearted shrug.
I flicked his forehead this time. “What did I just say? Stop.”
Hayes barked a laugh so loud, it caught Parker’s attention. “Why are you laughing?” he asked, sitting on the coffee table and leaning forward.
“Anderson is in looooove,” Hayes crooned playfully, batting his lashes as he fanned his face.
With my quick reflexes, I found one of Hayes’s nipples through his shirt and twisted it. We used to do that a lot when we were kids to mess with each other, good to know I hadn’t lost my talent of finding his small-as-fuck stupid nubs.
Hayes hissed. “Motherf—”
“Everything okay here, boys?” Kennedy asked as she approached us.
I wrapped an arm around Hayes with a nervous chuckle. “Everything’s fine, Kenny baby. Just here talking—”
“About how much he’s looking forward to going line dancing at the new bar they’re opening next weekend,” Hayes interrupted with a malicious grin.
Parker was in the middle of taking a sip of his beer, so when he snorted a laugh, beer came pouring out of his nose. “Shit,” he mumbled, though he kept chuckling.
Kennedy frowned. “What?”
“Did I hear someone say line dancing?” Val asked excitedly, joining the conversation. “We should totally go to that new bar when it opens! A college friend of mine is their social media manager, and the place looks so fun.”
Owens groaned, “Pecas*, no. That’s not fucking happening. We get enough of that when we visit back home.”
Val pouted. “Oh, come on, Nico. It would be fun. Like the good old days.” She made a show of grabbing her imaginary cowboy hat and placing it on top of Owens’s head.
“So fun,” Hayes quipped. “Anderson was just talking about it.”
My fucking God, I was going to throttle my best friend. That was it. He deserved it. He had a good run. Slept with lots of women and had a good career. I’d be ending his life on a high note.
Kennedy scrunched her freckled nose, and cute lines formed at the top of it. My fingers twitched, itching to trace the lines. “You line dance?”
“Of course, he does. We went all the time when we were freshmen in college,” Hayes said.
Kennedy’s eyes sparkled with humor. “Is that true, pretty boy?”
I fought the grimace that wanted to take over my face this time. “Yeah, it’s true,” I said, my shoulders deflating.
Listen, I was an eager, brand-new college student looking to score with some hot college chicks. Unfortunately for me, they happened to always be hanging out at country bars. My college town wasn’t big on the college scene. We had to make do with what we had. Sue me.
She cocked an eyebrow. “Guess we found the perfect date night for next week.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Someone needed to kill me, because I couldn’t believe I had agreed to yet another ridiculous plan, all because I was dying to spend more time with Kennedy Jones.
* Freckles.