Page 24 of False Play
“I’m paying rent one way or another, Anderson.”
I raised an eyebrow at her with a cheeky grin.
It took a moment for her words to register, but when they did, she grabbed one of the pillows and threw it at me. “Get your head out of your ass.”
I caught it with ease. “Too slow.”
“Stupid athletic reflexes,” she muttered.
“Already getting sick of me? That must be some sort of record,” I taunted as I tossed the pillow on the bed. “What a shame.”
Her nostrils flared as she took a deep breath. “I know this must be very amusing to you, knowing I’m in your debt and all, but know this—I hate when people try to have something over me. I will be paying rent, end of discussion.” Her eyes bored into me, and while most people would have said this was her menacing side coming out, there was a certain vulnerability underneath that shocked me to my core.
“Kennedy.” Her eyes sparkled with surprise. It was rare when I used her full name. But I wanted to drive the point home and make sure she understood how serious I was being. “I’m not trying to play any tricks here. I genuinely want to help,” I said softly.
I knew Kennedy didn’t like me very much. And what happened with Holt certainly hadn’t won me any points with her, either. But there was this need in me that wanted nothing more than to help.
When she avoided my gaze as her bottom lip quivered, my resolve started to crumble quicker than sand.
“I don’t mean to offend you, but I need to do this. For myself,” she managedto say.
I pulled on the back of my neck with a reluctant nod. I could hold out against a stubborn and confident Kennedy, but this was new territory. “Fine. How does five hundred a month sound?”
She tilted her head with furrowed brows. “Does that even cover any of your bills?”
Nope. But I wasn’t about to admit it.
“Don’t push it, Jonesy. I’m already charging you rent against my will. I’m willing to lend a hand, so take it.” I gulped, my eyes meeting hers. “Use me.”
Could you have sounded any more desperate?my brain mocked.
I’m sure I could have if I tried.
A beat of silence stretched between us as she kept staring at me. All she had to do wasorbitaround me for my heart to want to skip a whole fucking beat.
Kennedy wasbreathtakinglybeautiful. She had no makeup on, and freckles danced across her brown skin like hundreds of tiny stars kissing her face. I loved how chestnut curls framed her soft jawline, and how the light brown of her eyes looked almost like honey melting in sunlight, warm and golden.
I wondered if she knew how beautiful she was.
What was I thinking? Of course, she did. Kennedy was the kind of woman who walked into a room and grabbed everyone’s attention like it was her natural calling.
“Thank you,” she replied, her voice taking a surprisingly soft edge.
With a triumphant smile, I nodded. “Give me your car keys and I’ll get your stuff while you get settled.”
“I can go with you. I parked at a meter.”
I shook my head and made a grabbing motion with my hands. “The keys, Jonesy.”
She sighed while she reached for her purse and grabbed the keys. “I need you to stop calling me that.”
“Call me by my first name a few more times and maybe I’ll stop,” I quipped, grabbed her keys, and turned around.
“I have a?—”
“A blue Honda Civic. I know,” I replied without glancing back.
When was she going to figure out I knew everything about her?
