12
“WAKE up, sleepyhead,” the text from Kage said. “It’s time to go.”
“Shit.” I texted back. “I’m not even packed.”
“Open your door for me,” he replied.
I rolled out of bed and stumbled to the door of my suite. The day of our road trip had finally arrived, and I’d overslept. Kage was waiting outside with an energy shake in his hand.
“This will wake you up,” he said as he handed it to me. Then he glanced down my nearly naked body and back up again, taking in the sight of my morning wood. “Something you need help with?”
“Very funny. I just need to go to the bathroom. You just dragged me out of bed.”
His brows shot up and he laughed. “I meant like with packing or something, genius.”
“Oh. I thought you were making a joke about… never mind. I’m just an idiot.” I turned and went to the bathroom without another word.
Kage chuckled from behind me. “I’ll just grab a few things out of your drawers. You don’t need much. Two changes of clothes, I guess. I’ve got deodorant and stuff.”
“Yeah, you definitely better not forget the deodorant.”
He let out a grunt and moved up close behind me. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were trying to tell me I smell bad.”
“Of course not.” I turned around and found myself standing face-to-face with him. “I just meant that you’ll probably be sparring or working out or something at the gym. And hell, I need deodorant, too. I don’t want to smell. Do you want me to smell?”
“I don’t care. Do you think I smell bad, though? You’ve got me paranoid.”
“You smell fine.” I had to look away. Not because I was lying, but because I was telling the truth, and I didn’t want him to see how true that truth was.
“Would you check me just to make sure?”
“I guess, if you want.” I leaned in close, my face hovering about an inch from his chest. At least he had a shirt on. I don’t think I could have taken it if he hadn’t. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and got a nose full of Michael Kage pheromones. Those pesky little things that were increasingly causing bad things to happen to my body and mind.
Just when I got my nose right next to his armpit, he raised his arm, grabbed the back of my head, and shoved my face into his armpit.
“Jesus Christ, Kage!”
The guy laughed harder than I’d ever seen him laugh— by far. I liked seeing him that delighted, even if it was at the expense of my pride. However, that didn’t mean I was going to let him get away with it.
“Wow, I didn’t think you actually had a sense of humor. Glad to see I was proven wrong.”
His laughter slowed, and he rolled his eyes at me. “Keep it up and you just might lose your surprise.”
“Surprise?” I couldn’t help the goofy grin from taking over my face.
“Just go downstairs and get in the car. If we leave now, we may be able to get there early enough to check in somewhere.”
“Do you really think it’s necessary to get a hotel room? It’s only a few hours’ drive.”
“I don’t want to feel rushed,” Kage said. “What fun is a road trip if you’re in a hurry to get back home?”
I had to agree when I saw Kage’s car. He had a killer black Corvette convertible with black and red interior, and I spent the first hour of our three hour drive admiring every inch of it. It was a beautiful day for riding with the top down, and we took full advantage of it. After a while, I took my shirt off.
“Make yourself comfortable,” Kage yelled over the sound of the wind.
“Why thank you, I will.” I reclined my seat back so that I could get sun on the entire front of my torso. I even rolled the band of my shorts down and pulled the legs up to expose as much skin as possible. Then I just laid back and closed my eyes, enjoying the feel of the heat and the movement of the air over my skin.
“You don’t play fair,” Kage yelled.
“Tell you what,” I yelled back without opening my eyes. “Let me drive back tomorrow, and you can get a turn.”
He laughed. “We’ll see. I don’t let just anybody drive my baby.”
“Who has gotten to drive it?” I peeked at him out of one eye, noting that he’d stripped his own shirt off. He looked summery and free and unnaturally handsome, with his gleaming skin and his chocolate-and-caramel hair blowing in the wind. He was too perfect.
“No one but me has ever driven this car. Yet.”
I closed my eye again and grinned. “You should let me be the first.”
He didn’t say anything more on the subject. In fact, the rest of the ride was so comfortable and quiet that I fell asleep. After a while, he reached over and shook me awake.
“You’re getting a little pink, man. Your skin is fairer than mine, so I think you should put your shirt on. And you’re gonna have a white mark in the hollow of your throat where your necklace is.”
I sat up and pulled my t-shirt over my head, feeling disoriented. “Where are we?”
“About twenty-five miles away. We’re supposed to be at the gym at one, so we’ll go there first and do our thing, then check into a hotel later this afternoon.”
“Whatever. Sounds like a plan to me.” I checked my appearance in the mirror.
Kage laughed. “We are so fucking unprofessional.”
My heart sank, and I think my entire job flashed before my eyes. “You think I’m unprofessional?”
“No. I said we are unprofessional. I happen to like it that way, don’t you?”
“Yeah, not everybody gets to smoke weed with their boss, have slumber parties with them, or lay out in the seat of their convertible. I guess I’m pretty lucky.”
“So I’m your boss now? What happened to client?”
I threw my hands up in the air. “I don’t know. I give up trying to figure out our dynamic. It is what it is, no matter what we call it.”
“True. Though technically my uncle hired you.”
I pondered that for a moment. “Kage, do you find it odd that I’ve been here for over three weeks and still haven’t met the guy who hired me?”
Kage’s mouth pulled into a bleak line. “My uncle is not the kind of man you just pop in to meet. If he wants to meet with you, he’ll make it happen. Otherwise, it won’t.”
“So you think there’s a possibility I could work here all summer and never meet him?”
“I doubt it. You’ll probably meet sometime. Do something he doesn’t like, and I can almost guarantee he’ll come find you.”
I gulped. “That sounds terrifying. Why you gotta say shit like that?”
He chuckled, but he didn’t say anything to try to put my mind at ease. That was not a good sign.
THE gym was a great success, if I do say so myself. I hadn’t had a clue what to expect, so I was pleasantly surprised that we pulled it off without a hitch. Of course, some credit had to go to the gym owners and employees.
When we got there, the owners ushered us to a private sparring room where we briefly discussed what we wanted to happen. Kage conducted a mini class on MMA techniques and answered a lot of questions about his philosophies of fighting. I set up my camera and took tons of pictures and video.
In attendance were MMA students and gym regulars, many of whom had come in specifically to see Kage, and they all seemed to love him. The gym printed out copies of the front of my flyer, and Kage signed his autograph on the backs. I made a mental note to bring pictures for autographs next time. It was a rookie mistake, but as Kage said, we were winging it.
“I felt like a fraud,” he said when we got back into the car.
I started laughing. “That is exactly what I told my professor after I posed as a reporter the night we met. But that was the first time I’d ever done anything of the sort. You are an expert on fighting, so I don’t understand how you could possibly feel like a fraud.”
His expression was unusually vulnerable. “You presented me as some sort of celebrity. Those people think they’re going to see me fighting on TV or something. They have no idea that the only place I fight is a secret place, and it’s by invitation only. They would never be welcome there.”
“It’s okay, Kage.” I wrapped my fingers around his wrist and swung it back a forth a few times, a playful gesture to cheer him up. “Look, you hired me for a reason. I’m doing my job, and I’m going to get you on TV. It’s only a matter of time before you’re a legitimate celebrity. You’ve got the talent, now I’m getting you the exposure you need.”
That seemed to appease him, thank goodness.