SEVEN
After our short-lived tolerance for each other this morning, Kayden has returned to being his usual cranky self, avoiding any kind of conversation with me. I finally decide that it’s useless to be so affected by his indifference since I barely know the guy, so I let him do his own thing. A part of me suspects that he’s suffered a great deal in his life, as it feels like he carries a heap of sadness around with him that drags my mood down as well.
I don’t want to pry because it’s clearly not my business.
As long as it doesn’t affect the deal that we have, I’ll just learn to live with it.
And unsurprisingly, when I get up the next day, Kayden has already left the apartment. I check to see if he’s left a note for me since I placed a paperweight on the spot where I left him my note yesterday, but there’s nothing there.
I assume that he’s gone off to Breaking Point, since before we went to bed, I had laid out an extensive six-week schedule that involved a grueling session in the gym around this time. I should be checking up on him later this evening after I finish with my classes for the day.
I lock up the apartment and head downstairs. When the elevator doors swing open on the ground floor, I spot Cara waiting by the entrance, her laptop wedged between her arm and hip as she taps away on her smartphone. She has on a cute pink, long-sleeved dress underneath her black trench coat and knee-high leather boots that make her already spidery legs appear even longer. When she senses a presence walking toward her, her head swivels in my direction, and a warm smile spreads across her mouth.
“Hey, Sienna!” She beams at me. “I’m headed to central campus. You walking there too?”
“Yep.”
“Awesome. Come join us.” She waves me over excitedly.
“I’m just waiting for Alex to show up.”
Cara’s best friend. I wonder if she lives in this apartment block, too, and just as I’m about to ask, my curiosity is confirmed when Alex bursts out of the elevator, her long, dark hair in disarray and her fingers fumbling with the top few buttons of her pink silk blouse.
“Sorry I’m late,” she mumbles as she stumbles over towards our direction. “Overslept.”
“Sure you did,” Cara mutters softly, enough for me to hear. “The insanely thin walls of our apartment would argue otherwise.”
“Huh? What did you say?” Alex asks.
“Oh nothing. This is Sienna, by the way,” Cara muses as she introduces me to Alex. “Met her the other day when she was looking at apartment 4-B.”
“No way.” Alex’s mouth gapes open. “You moved in with the weird, hot guy?”
“Yeah, I did,” I say as the three of us cross the road. At least I’m not the only one who thinks Kayden is a dangerously gorgeous mystery. “Is he like infamous in this apartment building or something?”
She leaps onto the sidewalk, her hair whipping in the wind like that of a model taking an candid shot. “I don’t know about the whole building, but to us, yeah. We try to be friendly with our neighbors, and most of them are usually nice and welcoming back,” Cara explains as she pulls her laptop to the front, now cradling it in her arms. She frowns when she adds, “Well, except Kayden.”
Alex falls into step beside her, letting out a groan. “For months Cara made it her mission to get him to open up a bit more. Countless party, dinner, and hangout invites rendered meaningless. He won’t even open the door for Cara anymore.
Takes one look through the peephole and scrambles.”
“I’m pretty sure he’s actively avoiding me at all costs. He never comes out of his place the same time I leave ours,” her best friend adds miserably.
“If it means that much to you, I’ll talk to him for you,”
I offer, and she immediately perks up. “I highly doubt he’ll listen to me, but I can give it a try.”
“Kayden’s being difficult with you, too, huh?” she says, her interest piqued. “It’s a shame. He’s so yummy looking.
Every time the guys see him they get weird about it because Kayden’s physique makes them feel really insecure. Alex’s boyfriend, Daniel, always puffs out his chest and talks in a deep voice when they’re stuck in the elevator together. It’s hilarious.”
“Wait a minute.” I stop in my tracks abruptly, holding a hand outward as the gears in my head stop winding and click into place. “Daniel as in Daniell Kerrington? Of Daniel Kerrington and Alex Woods?” I snap my head toward Alex, my jaw dropping when she nods quietly in confirmation.
“Holy shit, the two of you are like celebrities.”
Toward the end of last year, it was nearly impossible to not hear about Daniel and Alex on the news. Daniel Kerrington is the son of Harry Kerrington who runs Kerrington Enterprises, one of the biggest developers in all of Boston. His family is practically swimming in wealth. It was announced sometime last fall that Daniel was engaged to Alex, and it seemed almost too good to be true given that it was never reported that they were even dating in the first place. Of course, it was later revealed—by Daniel himself on the Charlize Matson Show, a notorious Bostonian talk show—that the engagement was an elaborate ruse engineered by Harry to clean up Daniel’s playboy reputation in exchange for pulling Alex’s parents’ company, Woods and Co., out of bankruptcy.
I guess despite the rocky start to Alex and Daniel’s relationship, it worked out well for both of them since they’re still together even after the truth was exposed.