Kiss Me Again (Kiss Me 3)

HALLEY: Also, I’d rather live with a horny raccoon or an underwear eating dog instead of the guy I’m in denial about my feelings for.

ME: Wow. Thanks for your support, asshole.

REAGAN: Calm down, children. We’ll meet for lunch where we can discuss this over cocktails and chocolate ice-cream like adults.

ME: Done.

Yes. I was that easy to please. Chocolate ice-cream was good for the soul, and cocktails were good for simply no longer giving a fuck.

As far as giving fucks went, I was a fan of not giving any at all.

Big, big fan.

Something clattered against the doorframe, and I jerked my head up. Ethan was carrying a small animal carrier, and my eyes narrowed at the sight of it.

“What is that?” I asked, eying it as he brought it into the kitchen.

“It’s an animal carrier,” he said, eyes flashing with laughter.

“I can see that. What’s in the animal carrier, genius?”

“That will be Mr. Prickles.”

“And who, or what, the fuck is Mr. Prickles?”

He set the small carrier on the kitchen island. “He’ll be a hedgehog.”

My eyebrows shot up so far I think they went into orbit. “A hedgehog? You have a hedgehog?”

He had a fucking hedgehog?

I peered into the carrier. A small ball of blonde needles was attached to a little body, and when it unrolled, a little dark, pointed head stuck out. Black beady eyes blinked at me, and fuzzy little ears twitched.

He had a fucking hedgehog.

I glared up at him. “Did you think to mention the fucking hedgehog?”

“Leo said he told you.”

“Leo didn’t tell me a damn thing. It’s not like I asked, either. I never expected you to show up with a fucking hedgehog.”

“You can just call it a hedgehog, Ava.”

“I’m gonna call you something in a minute!” I put my mug down a little too hard, sloshing coffee over the granite countertop. “You should have told me you had a pet!”

Ethan shrugged. “I checked the lease and called the landlord. He said it was okay.”

He was also a balding sixty-something man who hated me because I’d refused to date his son, so he probably would have said yes even if it wasn’t allowed.

“I don’t care. It’s not unreasonable to be pissed off that nobody thought to tell me at the very least.” I folded my arms and focused my best glare on Ethan. “It’s rude and inconsiderate. I didn’t have to let you take my spare room. I did it out of the kindness of my heart—”

“Oh? So you have some kindness in there? You hide it well.”

“—and I am not afraid to come into your bedroom and break your nose while you sleep,” I finished.

“Oh, Jesus,” Leo muttered, dropping a box by the coffee table. “Are you still fighting?”

“You can shut up! You’re on my shit list!” I pointed at him and stormed around the island. “A hedgehog, Leo!”

“Ah.” My brother almost stumbled over the box as he backed up. “I didn’t know he was definitely bringing it. I thought he’d take it to his mom’s.”

“And why didn’t you?” I rounded on Ethan, hands on my hips.

He shrugged, completely unbothered by my rage. “She refused to take it.”

“So if I refuse? Is that fair game?”

“No. This is my apartment, too.”

“No, it’s not!” My voice reached a pitch only dogs could hear. “This is not your apartment. You’re renting my spare room for a few months until you pack up and piss off again.”

His lips tugged to one side. “Actually, I don’t know if I’m leaving yet.”

“Why?” Leo muttered, rubbing his hands down his face. “Why today?”

I jerked my head between them both. “I’m sorry? Did I just hear you right?”

“I don’t know what you heard,” Ethan said. “But if you heard me say that I don’t know if I’m leaving yet, you heard right.”

I opened my mouth to yell at him, but the anger and shock that fizzed through my body were too strong. I said nothing, so I clamped my jaw shut and ground my teeth together.

My hands waved, and it was all I could do to stop myself from reaching out and slapping Ethan for this. My brother, too, for that matter. I didn’t know what kind of shit Ethan was pulling, but first the hedgehog, and now this?

No.

I was pissed, and I had to leave.

I stormed past them both into my bedroom and quickly changed out of my pajamas into jeans and a tank top. I grabbed a hair tie instead of brushing my hair, along with a sweater, my keys, my phone, and my wallet. I stuffed everything into my pockets, then headed back out while I swept my hair into a topknot.

Ignoring them both completely, I walked right out of the front door and slammed it behind me. It echoed through the empty hallway, and I looked up and down it before I headed for the stairs.