The Enemy - Kelsey Clayton Page 0,41

staying with your grandparents. Lennon and Cade, I trust you two are responsible enough to stay home alone?”

We both nod, but the tension raises a couple notches at the thought of having to spend a whole month alone with him.

I'm not a very confrontational person. If I'm honest, after Cade caught me going back on our plan, I purposely avoided him for a full twenty-four hours. But, we have to live in this house together, at least until I leave for New York. I'd much rather it be a peaceful experience than having to look over my shoulder every other second. That's why, as soon as we're all done with dinner, I follow him into the kitchen.

“Go away, Lennon,” he says without even needing to turn around.

“No.”

He glances at me and his eyebrows raise. “No?”

I straighten my shoulders. “You heard me. No. Not until you hear me out.”

Chuckling softly, he looks down at the ground for a second, and I'm momentarily stunned by how beautiful he is. The shape of his jawline. His perfect smile. Even the fire in his eyes, as his gaze finally meets mine. It's unfairly gorgeous and could render me defenseless without a moment’s notice.

He steps closer and gets in my face. “That's the thing. I don't want to hear anything from you. Not an apology. Not a plea. Not a fucking word.”

My chest tightens as he pushes past me and walks away, giving me no choice but to watch him as he goes.

I knew he was going to be pissed, especially after seeing him on the stairs after I left my dad's office, but I never thought he would be this furious. It's like he would rather die than have to even look at me, and I don't know how to fix it.

ONE OF MY FAVORITE parts of this mansion is the ballet studio my dad had built for me in the basement. The whole wing is split in half—one side being my studio and the other being a gym. They're separated by a wide hallway, but both have glass windows filling the upper half of the walls. It was my dad's way of being able to watch me practice as a child while still being able to work out.

I grab my water bottle from the fridge and make my way down. After dealing with Cade's attitude earlier, I need to dance it out. It's the best way I know to relieve stress and let things go. A coping mechanism of sorts.

I walk into the studio when a reflection in the mirror catches my eye. Cade is in the gym, lifting weights and looking like a fucking god while doing it. Droplets of sweat roll down his back as all his muscles tighten. I know I should look away, but I can't. My eyes are glued to him and the way those basketball shorts hang low on his hips.

Change of plans, because I know I won't be able to focus on dance when he's across the hall looking like that. I go into the gym and get on the treadmill. It wasn't exactly how I intended to work out tonight, but I guess I could use a run.

The room is filled with the scent of his body wash and deodorant, but not in a gross way. In an intoxicating way. A pair of AirPods sit inside his ears, telling me he has no idea I'm even here right now. That is, until he catches me staring through the mirror on the back wall. He's in the middle of a rep, and his gaze stays locked with mine as he continues to flex. Thank God I'm only walking, otherwise I'd probably fall flat on my face.

He drops the weights onto the ground and the sound of them clattering makes me jump. I pull my attention away from him and down to the treadmill, pretending to mess with some of the settings. Cade slams his hands on the front of the machine.

“Oh, how the tables have turned. Look who's wanting who now.”

My brows furrow, but he doesn't give me a chance to ask him to elaborate before he's walking around to the side and stepping up next to me. He places his mouth by my ear.

“Enjoy the view, Len,” he growls, spewing my nickname with venom. “You could have had me in Malibu, but that ship sailed the moment you turned into a traitorous bitch.”

I'm stunned completely into silence as he turns around and walks out without