Of course I didn’t get the message. One second Kayden and I are having a heart to heart and next, he’s completely icing me out.
It’s always one step forward, two steps back with him.
I blink at the stranger. “I really am sorry for hitting you, uh—”
“Evans,” the guy says smoothly. “Although you may know me by other aliases on campus: Mr. Drop Dead Gorgeous, Bachelor-I-Wanna-Bone . . .”
“Oh God. You’re one of those.” I groan.
Brent rolls his eyes. “Don’t mind him. He has an ego the size of Europe.”
Evans clicks his tongue. “How else am I going to mask my deep-seated insecurities about my own masculinity?”
“Well.” I give a shrug as I hand him an ice pack. “At least you’re self-aware about it.”
Brent rolls his eyes. “I liked you a lot better when you were on the floor groaning in pain.”
“Wow. Way to be sympathetic to my plight.” Evans sends a dirty glare Brent’s way as he moves the ice pack down his head to where I hit him. He winces when it makes contact with the most sensitive part of his skin.
“Can I please have the keys back?” I extend my palm toward Brent, my voice terse. “Because I really think that it’ll be better if you knock on the door before you make yourselves at home. And that’ll make me feel a lot safer living here too.”
Brent shakes his head vehemently. “No way. Kayden’s my brother. I need to check up on him from time to time.”
“But it’s weird that you guys can barge in anytime that you want. I live here now,” I protest. “I’d like to have the keys back.” I lunge forward to grab them from Brent’s grasp but he recoils away from me, grinning.
“No can do, Sienna,” he tells me. “But shall I propose a truce?”
A sigh pulls itself out of me. “On what grounds?”
“That we’ll use the keys for emergencies only. Anytime we just wanna chill here, we text you and Kayden first.”
I bite my lip in contemplation. I guess it wouldn’t be very nice of me to take away their key privileges considering I just moved into the apartment.
“Fine,” I snap. “Only emergencies, you got me? As in, someone catches on fire kind of emergency. Not because you want to raid our kitchen for food.” I cut a glare at Evans.
“Sorry, we ran out of Cheetos in the dorms. And Kayden has a ton of them in his hidden stash,” Evans says innocently, returning my scowl with a sheepish smile.
The sound of the front door opening announces Kayden returning from his jog. The grey shirt he has on is drenched with sweat, and when he steps into the living room, confusion whips across his face when he notices the golf club resting against the dining table and an injured Evans sitting beside the assault weapon.
“What the hell?” Kayden hisses out.
“You have an evil roommate, Kayden!” Evans moans as he shoots out of the chair and rushes toward Kayden like a preschooler tattling to his teacher when the kids in the class aren’t treating him right. “She just whacked me on the head for no goddamned reason!”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” I mutter a string of curse words under my breath. “I genuinely didn’t know who he was. And this all could have been avoided if you’d told me they were coming over. I thought they were robbing the apartment.”
“Who the hell robs an apartment in broad daylight?”
Kayden demands. “You should have known they were my friends.”
“Was I supposed to just read your mind?” I shoot back defiantly. “Or perhaps I should have read the text you sent me telling me that they were coming over. Oh wait, I didn’t because I guess you conveniently forgot to press Send.”
“I’m not in the mood for this, Sienna. Just drop it.” His expression is fierce when he snaps his gaze at his brother and his friend. “Evans, Brent. Leave.”
Brent drops his arms to his side. “What?”
“I’m heading to the shower,” Kayden grumbles.
“But—” Evans start off.