Page 18 of False Play
I pushed him to the side, strode in, and shoved a cup of coffee in his hand. “We have to go adopt a fucking cat today, because thirty years ago you were born for the sole purpose of making my life hell. Get dressed. You have ten minutes.”
Hayes and I lived in the same building, except I was one floor above. Something I was going to start reminding him of to annoy him, sponsored by the mess he got me in.
“I can’t believe you’re going through with this.”
“It’s your fault!”
“You could have said you had it covered,” he pointed out before sipping his coffee.
“You put me on the spot,” I shot back.
“Please. I did you a favor.” The bastard dared to look smug while he said it.
“It sure doesn’t feel like it right now,” I retorted. “Go. Get. Dressed.”
Honestly—and I would deny this until the day I died—I wasn’t mad Hayes had cornered me into adopting a cat. I liked those cute little fuckers. I had been thinking of getting one for a few years now, but with how much I traveled, it didn’t make sense. But my apartment was too big, and most of the time, I felt lonely. Having a little companion was a nice thought.
Well, two companions. I couldn’t forget about my new roommate.
Four hoursand eight animal shelters later, we were still empty-handed.
“You just had to say the cat had white paws, didn’t you?” I scoffed.
“Seemed fitting,” Hayes said as he opened the passenger door of my pickup truck and hopped in.
I opened the driver’s door and followed suit. “Of course it did. Why did you do this? And don’t you dare?—”
“I saw an opportunity to get back at you for what you did with those puck bunnies and I took it.” The asshole didn’t even hesitate, like he had that response locked and loaded.
“This is sonotthe same,” I groaned as I rested my head against the head restraint. “Your pranks are either too small ortoo big. You’re quite literally the worst prankster ever. I might as well call you Winston fromNew Girl.”
“That’s not the insult you think it is. Winstoncarriedthat show. And he was agreatprankster, thank you very much.” He laughed to himself. “You remember when he got Jess and Nick evicted as a joke? Man, that was epic.”
“God, help me,” I murmured to myself as I hit my head against the steering wheel a few times.
I was defeated and ready to call it, but I still turned on the engine of my truck and drove to our last shelter of the day.
If we didn’t find a cat to adopt, I didn’t know how I was going to get myself out of the situation. If Kennedy ever found out we lied to her, she would probably kill me and make it look like an accident.
I shivered at the thought.
It was insane to say yes to this arrangement. But something shifted in me when I saw how uncomfortable she looked when Hayes and Val brought up her living situation. Kennedy was the type of woman who had her shit together and never showed any vulnerability. She was meticulous and a pain in the ass planner. Needless to say, seeing her so uncertain was unsettling.
After one long hour in traffic, we arrived at the last shelter. This one was in the suburbs, and the place looked run-down, with chipped paint and a sign that needed a serious upgrade. As my eyes took in the rundown shelter, the little confidence I had left flew out the window.
I pulled open the door, and the doorbell jingled. The inside, though still decades old, had a homey feel to it. There was soft rock music playing in the background, and there was an enclosed playground with beds, toys, and anything you could think of with some cute-looking pups. Some were playing,while others were chilling in their beds, not even aware of our arrival.
“Coming!” someone yelled from the back.
After a few minutes, an old, small lady came out of the back room. “What can I help you with, gentlemen?”
“Hi, ma’am.” Hayes smiled at her. “We’re looking to adopt a cat today!” he announced eagerly.
You may be wondering why I hadn’t killed him yet. And honestly, your guess was as good as mine. He may have been my childhood best friend, but the dude wasannoying as fuck.
“Anything in mind?”
“What do you have?” I asked.
