“Okay, then!” She clasps her hands together, as if she can’t stand the small moment of silence. “Hope to see you around more. Might even introduce you to my roommate, Alex, if we ever bump into each other again. I think you’d like her a lot.”
“Sure,” I say awkwardly.
“Bye, Sienna.” Her eyes crinkle with joy as she waves good-bye, her fingers wriggling like a posh socialite’s.
I walk in the direction she pointed and face the door in front of me. I haven’t even knocked on Kayden’s door yet and he already makes me nervous.
Mustering up the courage, I tap my fist against the door.
I hear shuffling inside the apartment and footsteps growing closer before the door flies open and a tall, dark-haired man steps out.
I’m immediately startled by how good looking he is.
His form is magnificent: broad shoulders, huge arms, and a lean, ripped body with swirls of tattoos peeking out from the edges of his black shirt. My gaze then gets pulled up to his strong collarbone, hard jawline, and angled cheekbones, and finally lands on his eyes. They’re a deep shade of grey—intense and quiet and magnetic. I’ve seen those eyes before.
I’m not well acquainted with them, but I have a feeling I’ve felt them watching me, stealing glances, though it’s hard to remember where.
Kayden’s thick eyebrows rise in mild annoyance as he waits for me to say something.
I clear my throat and straighten myself up.
“Hi.” I plaster on the widest smile I can muster. Smiling feels so weird after how dead I’ve been feeling inside since last evening. “I’m Sienna. Brent said that you were renting out a room. Is that right?”
He looks at me warily. “Yes.”
“You mind if I take a look around?” I’m already moving forward but Kayden blocks the doorway with a strong arm.
“No.”
“What?” I say, confused. Did I miss something from him between the first and second question I asked? “I don’t understand. Is the room already rented?”
“No.”
“Okay. Then, can I come in?”
Kayden pauses for a while. Glowering. Then, the dreaded word arrives again.
“No.”
The skin between my brows crease with confusion.
What the hell is going on?
“Is no just, like, your favorite word or is there another reason why I can’t rent a room from you?” I ask, annoyance flaring up my skin.
Kayden shakes his head. “None that you need to know about. Just find somewhere else to live.”
He starts to close the door but my quick reflexes propel me to wedge my foot between it and the door frame.
“Wait, please,” I say desperately. “Maybe I caught you at a bad time, but . . . “ I swallow hard, my voice lowering in embarrassment. “I’m in a really tough spot here.”
I expect at least some form of hesitation, but to my surprise, the decisiveness remains.
“Not my problem,” Kayden snaps. His eyes scroll up and down the length of my body and he swallows hard, Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat as he does. “I don’t want any complications.”
“Complications?” I take a step back, pausing to let his words sink in for a bit. Then my eyebrows relax when I figure out what he means. “Oh. I mean, I get that I’m hot, but trust me, you’re not my type either.”
“That’s not what I mean,” he says sharply.