Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 88656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 443(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 443(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
I smiled. “This is so un-fucking-believable. I can’t wait to take a million pictures of you. If this thing does what he says it does, we’ll be able to see every drop of sweat on your body.”
“Wow.” The camera guy took an exaggerated breath. “I’ve just got to tell you, this is a really nice piece of equipment. You are a really amazing guy, and you obviously care a lot about him. Everyone should be so lucky.”
“Yeah? You think?” Kage gave me an amused look, then got up out of the chair and joined me on the sofa. He took the camera from me and examined it for a few seconds. “Pretty nice,” he said.
The camera guy smiled like we were two puppies playing in a cardboard box rather than a couple of jocks on a couch. “Call me if you guys need anything, okay?” Then he left.
As soon as he was out the door, Kage set the camera down on the coffee table and leaned back onto the opposite arm of the sofa, clasping his hands behind his head. “So… why does that guy think we’re fucking?” He didn’t look angry, only extremely amused.
I felt my cheeks flush bright red. “How should I know?”
“Oh, you know alright.” He bit his lip on a cocky smile, which clued me in to the fact that he was enjoying yanking my chain. “What did you say to him? I mean besides that you’d like to take a million pictures of my hot, sweaty body?”
“Hey, you know what I meant!”
He laughed. “I do. But he obviously didn’t.”
I took a deep breath. “I may have also mentioned that you were an amazing guy.”
Kage nodded, waiting for me to continue.
“And that you were spoiling me silly. And…” I covered my face and groaned. “And that I dreaded going back to my old life at school.”
“Well, I guess that sounds vaguely suggestive.”
“That was after he asked if I had a sugar mama.” I started laughing then. “I didn’t think about how it sounded. Just started going on about this amazing guy. God, what an idiot I am. I was just excited about the camera.”
Kage had one leg bent up on the sofa, and he nudged my thigh with the toe of his sneaker. “I’m glad you like it.”
“I know it’s not a gift, that it’s just something for me to use while I’m working for you, but it’s still great. Most people wouldn’t even get to borrow something this nice. I promise I’ll take good care of it.”
“Well, I had actually meant it as sort of a work-related gift. You’ve got a birthday coming up, and what better gift than one I can write off as a business expense.”
I shook my head in disbelief. “Are you serious? I get to keep it?”
“Before you give me too much credit, remember my uncle is loaded. I have nothing. So really the only credit I can take is for knowing how to use the company expense account.”
“Thanks for being enterprising, then.”
I got the camera packed up in its case with its three fancy lenses and stood the tripod behind the sofa. Then we went down to meet Marco for the morning session.
I sat on the sidelines and watched as usual, snapping all manner of still picture and video with my new camera. But my mind kept going back to that hug. How strange that I did it in the first place, and how awkward that he hadn’t returned it. It was a possibility that he was just grossed out that I was touching him, but it didn’t seem that way. It seemed like he welcomed the attention in a shy way, but he didn’t know how to show it. It reminded me of Mark Gladstone’s thoughtless comments about Kage being an outsider.
There was an unexpected tenderness growing inside me for the mysterious fighter, getting stronger with every day and every surprising thing that he did. I found myself wanting to make friends, but as much time as we were spending together, I got the distinct impression that we weren’t actually getting any closer at all. That Kage merely allowed me to be near him, hovering like a tiny satellite around his brilliance. In this case, it was I who was the outsider.
KAGE said he had plans to meet a friend that night, so we all skipped the afternoon session. I went back to the office and did some work on my laptop.
I couldn’t pretend it wasn’t driving me crazy to know the identity of the mysterious friend. It must have been someone important for Kage to ditch practice. Marco had been surprised, so it obviously wasn’t a normal occurrence.
At quitting time, I followed the meandering herd of Alcazar employees toward the front door. My suite was beckoning with its endless stream of TV and free Wifi, and its luxurious bathroom, and its river rock soaps that had eroded down to smooth pebbles. Another mind-numbingly uneventful evening in Vegas lay sprawling before me.