Page 9 of Kayla's List
“She does like to flirt, but she wasn’t flirting with you. Is that why your panties are in a bunch on this great morning?”
“Fellas, cut the shit. It’s too early, and you’re both too old to be arguing over a chick you just met. Let the shit go. She wasn’t interested in either of you,” Brady says, shaking his head with a little smirk.
I definitely missed something.
“I don’t even want to know what happened,” I tell them both as I go into my kitchen and get a bottle of water out of the fridge. I smile at the fact that we are in my large high-rise apartment. I’m not quite in the penthouse yet, but I’ll be there soon.
I purchased this place with my own money. I was proud as fuck when I was able to write a check and pay for it outright without asking anybody for shit, especially my parents. It was a magical day when I signed the deed. I wanted this place for the location and proximity to our downtown Dallas office.
“Man, you know those two are always in competition!” Brady yells. I roll my eyes. I don’t know what started the unnecessary bullshit between Tobin and Jason, but I’m glad that they’re not often in the same vicinity of each other.
“Ya’ll have been fighting since you met. Aren’t ya’ll tired?” I ask as I walk back into the living room with my water.
The guys are sprawled out on the large, gray sofas and matching chairs. The décor in my apartment is classy, but it’s still a bachelor pad. I don’t have a lot of knickknacks or a ton of pictures, but I have a few art pieces and framed vintage posters. The interior designer I’d hired was very good at her job and she stuck to my specific requests. I have money, but I didn’t want some over-the-top gaudy bullshit in my home. I grew up with that and I will never live like that again.
“So, are you going to try to see Kayla again?” Tobin asks as he stretches lazily.
“I don’t know. You saw how awkward that shit was,” I reply, but I know the words are a lie as soon as they leave my lips.
I know for a fact that I’ll be chasing Kayla down. The connection we had wasn’t a fluke;I know it wasn’t.And the only way to prove it to myself is to date a sober Kayla. The only thing left to do is to figure out how to get a sober Kayla to talk to me without running away. The only problem was, I didn’t have any clue how I would get that to happen.
“You got her number, right?” Jason asks, and I groan because of course, I didn’t get her number. We were too busy laughing and talking and enjoying our instant chemistry. I never even thought to ask her for her number because I was already making plans for us to go out for brunch.
“Shit!” I run my hands through my hair in frustration.
“Don’t worry about it, man. I got Shelby’s number and I know she won’t mind giving up Kayla’s number,” Jason replies, smirking at Tobin.
“And if Shelby doesn’t answer, Jason, I’ll be happy to text her myself since I got her number, too.” Tobin smirks back, and Jason sneers.
Again, I shake my head at the idiots.“As long as one of you morons can get Kayla’s number, I don’t care who. And neither of you better fuck this up for me with your dumbass game,” I can’t help but warn.
If their stupid competition gets in the way of my getting to see Kayla again, I’ll kick both of their asses.
“Hey, you’re the moron who talked to a girl all night without getting her number. Don’t give us shit,” Tobin responds, laughing.
Even though it’s funny, I don’t laugh. I scowl at him because I know he’s right. It was a mistake that I won’t make again. Kayla will be mine as soon as I get her phone number. Even if I have to hire a private detective to find out what it is, I will.
* * *
KAYLA
“I can’t believeyou heffa’s let me sleep with a stranger!” I grouched at my twoex-best friends.
“Girl, please. Your ass is grown!” Shelby dismisses me with a loud cackle.
“No, really, Kayla, you were adamant about going back to Anderson’s apartment,” Emani tries to soothe me, but I still can’t believe I would insist on going back to some random guy’s apartment.
“But you guys knew that I was drunk.” I know I sound whiny, but I’ve never done anything like this in my life.
The awkwardness and tension that cloaked the room once Anderson and I entered this morning was something I had never felt before. I was so embarrassed that everyone else seemed to be so well acquainted, and I had amnesia.
Granted, I’m not much of a drinker. And come to think of it, I have never been drunk. But I didn’t expect to forget everything that I had done.
“We were all drunk,” Shelby replies to my whine. “Besides, Andy took good care of you.”
“He doesn’t like to be called Andy.” My eyes go wide because I remembered something. Flashes of his handsome face frowning when Shelby called him Andy pops into my head.
“So, I guessBucky Barnesdoes remember something,” Emani says, smiling.