Page 35 of Spark

KENDRICK

A s I pull Ruby out of the packed party and into an unfamiliar hallway in Reed’s hotel-like home, I’m euphoric.

Breathless. Dizzy. Out of my head and experiencing a kind of natural high I’ve only ever felt playing for tens of thousands of screaming fans.

Except this high is even better. Far better.

In fact, that kiss with Ruby made me feel so fucking delirious, I almost creamed my pants during the thick of it.

Damn. I thought the kiss with Ruby at my birthday party was mind-blowing. But this one blew it out of the water.

Ruby.

Ruby, Ruby, Ruby.

She’s the only girl I’ve ever truly loved.

I know that now, without a doubt, and I fully accept it.

I’m done trying to deny it or stuff it down.

Done playing games. Fuck what Savage told me to do.

I know he only wanted to help me, but fuck the games he told me to play with Ruby.

The manipulations he convinced me would be necessary to get what I want.

The truth is, I don’t want a fling with Ruby.

Not even close. And I don’t want to pretend, even for a second, that I do.

I love this girl. I’ve always loved her.

And I’m going to tell her that right fucking now.

Yes, I also want to fuck Ruby. So badly, my balls hurt.

But when I do it for the first time, I want to be able to whisper into her ear, “I love you, baby; I’ve always loved you. ” The very thought gives me goosebumps.

My breathing is ragged.

With a gigantic, throbbing hard-on in my designer pants, I yank hastily on a doorknob in the hallway with my free hand, while continuing to grip Ruby’s hand with the other, but it’s locked. “Fuck!”

“Where are you taking me?” Ruby asks with a sultry giggle as I move on toward the next door.

There’s no hesitation or wariness in her voice.

Only excitement. Eagerness. Lust. And thank God for that, because the minute I get her alone, I’m going to open my heart to her. Spill my guts. Leave nothing unsaid.

“I’m taking you anywhere I can lock the door behind us and fuck you,” I choke out. “A room with a bed would be a bonus, but that’s not required.”

At my brazen, no-holds-barred comment, Ruby squeals, sending my balls tightening and my heart racing even more.

She didn’t say, “Whoa, Kendrick. Slow down.” Or, “What the fuck did you just say to me?” Nope, the way Ruby squealed and squeezed my hand in reply made it abundantly clear she’s down to fuck—every bit as willing and eager as me to cross that forbidden line of our friendship, once and for all.

I jerk on the next doorknob, and to my relief, the door opens. There’s no bed inside the small room, unfortunately, only a washer and dryer. But that’ll do for our purposes.

I motion for Ruby to step across the threshold in front of me, but before she takes a single step, a female voice behind us in the hallway shouts my name, loudly, causing us to freeze and turn around .

Fuck me . It’s Nadine, scurrying toward us in her sparkling evening gown and heels.

Surely, she’s intending to scream at me for serenading and kissing Ruby at the party without a single camera in place to capture the sparkling moment for the show.

Well, fuck her, if that’s what she’s followed us here to complain about.

The only reason I felt comfortable enough to let loose like I just did, like never before, was precisely because I knew there wasn’t a single camera around to capture my unhinged shenanigans.

“That was incredible!” Nadine sings out as she approaches us with a bright smile on her face.

“Talk about earning those bonuses! Wow!” She motions to my bare torso.

“Kendrick Cook! Good lord! I would have written nudity into your contract, if I’d known you were hiding that kind of perfection.

” She palms her forehead. “And that kiss! Guys, it was right out of a movie. Heart-melting and ovary-exploding , all at once!”

As she’s talking, Ruby and I keep looking at each other in confusion. And when Nadine finally stops talking long enough for us to speak, I ask, “How did we earn bonuses for doing stuff off -camera?”

Nadine cackles. “You didn’t. We got everything you did on our hidden cameras.”

“What?” I blurt. I rough a hand over my face, feeling flabbergasted.

I didn’t do anything embarrassing in there, I don’t think.

So, that’s not the source of my tight belly and thrumming heart.

It’s more that I had no idea one of the best moments of my life was being filmed for capitalistic consumerism.

Did Ruby know? Was she performing for them the whole time, unlike me?

Is this my birthday party, all over again?

If so, I won’t survive it. I swear, I’ll shatter into a million tiny pieces and never recover.

I look at Ruby, terrified to ask the question. But I don’t have a choice in the matter. I have to know. “D-did you know? ”

Thank God, Ruby shakes her head, her sincerity written all over her beautiful face. Plainly, she’s as shocked as I am.

“Well, that’s on you for not reading your contracts, then,” Nadine says with a sniff.

“We always reserve the right to capture video and audio with visible and non-visible recording equipment, at our sole discretion, during any and all show-related events, promotional appearances, and official shooting days. Today is most definitely a promotional appearance for both of you, so you really should have known we’d be capturing every second of it. ”

Ruby and I look at each other like we can’t believe what we’re hearing.

“But why hide the cameras?” I ask. “Or at least not tell us about them in advance?”

“Because we’ve been shooting this show for a very long time, Kendrick, and we know what we’re doing.

” Nadine rolls her eyes. “When people know about cameras, they mug for them. They perform . And we wanted to capture people having fun tonight in a way that felt extremely real, spontaneous, and natural.” She smirks demonically.

“And, boy, did we get what we were after and more. That felt so real, I couldn’t have scripted it better myself. ”

Ruby laughs at Nadine’s word salad, but I’m too wound up to join her.

“So, what’s the plan for the footage?” I ask.

“We’ll use it for marketing, for sure. Probably also put it into a video package shown on Mentor Day.

” Nadine laughs with glee. “Add that to the press conference, and your almost-fight with Cooper just now—and him getting escorted out of the party—and we’ll have more to work with than we could have hoped for in our wildest dreams.” She sighs happily.

“This is going to be the best season yet. Great job, you two. Seriously. Bravo . ”

“Thanks,” I deadpan. “So, is that it, or . . . ?” I motion to my hand clasped with Ruby’s, letting Nadine know I’d very much like to return to my original itinerary now, thank you very much, but Nadine’s expression makes it clear she doesn’t get what I’m saying at all.

“Does Cooper think this is real?” she asks, gesturing to our joined hands. “Or did you all get together after the press conference and?—”

“Nadine, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I grit out. “Maybe Cooper knew about the cameras. Who knows? But we didn’t. So, no, we didn’t do any of that for you or the show, for Cooper, or for anyone else . ”

“ Oh ,” Nadine says, understanding visibly washing over her. “I’m sorry, guys. Eli told me the viral kiss?—”

“Yeah, well, things have changed. So, if you don’t mind, I’d like to get back to what I was about to do, before you interrupted us.”

For a beat, Nadine’s mouth forms into the shape of an “O.” But after that, she smiles and says, “Be my guest. Sorry again. I truly didn’t realize you two were actually . . .” She trails off and her smile turns devilish. “Well, I’ll leave you to it, then. Enjoy.”

She winks before turning to walk away. But before she takes more than two steps, I call out to her, “Hey, Nadine, there are no hidden cameras in this room, right?” When she meets my gaze, I gesture toward the open door—the laundry room where I’m about to fuck Ruby Connolly and make all my teenage dreams come true.

Nadine smirks. “No, dear. Our cameras are only in the main room of the party and outside on the patio. You’re good. Have fun without a care in the world.”

“Thanks.”

As Nadine walks away, I pull Ruby into the laundry room and quickly lock the door behind us.

That exchange has given me the chance to slow down and gather myself, the chance for my brain to take over the wheel from my hard-on and my heart—enough, anyway, to make me realize now isn’t the time to spill my guts to Ruby, after all.

In fact, now that I’m in complete control of myself again and not caught up in the moment, the kiss, the adrenaline, the feelings, I realize that doing what I was about to do very well might have been catastrophic.

Be a Doberman, I hear Savage saying as I turn around to face Ruby. Not a golden retriever on a leash. Not the guy who’s been in love with this girl for twelve years. You’re a fuckboy, Kendrick. A guy looking for a fling, and nothing more.

“That was crazy,” Ruby says, rubbing her forehead. “Did you see Nadine’s face when?—"

“It’s gotta be a fling,” I blurt, suddenly breathing hard.

Ruby presses her lips together and her eyebrows ride up.

“A friends-with-benefits fling,” I clarify. “I should have made myself clear before kissing you. That’s my bad. But that’s all this can be, Ruby. A fling.”

Ruby bites back a smile, making it clear she likes what she’s hearing. “Kind of like one of your tour flings, you mean? The ‘tour’ being however long I’m staying at your place?’”

Well, shit. That went easier than I would have expected.

Maybe even easier than I would have hoped, if I’m being honest. “Mm hm.” I drop my shirt and jacket onto a nearby chair, barely able to look at her.

Suddenly, every piece of me wants to backtrack.

To open my mouth and tell her I’m just kidding.

That I could never treat her like a simple tour fling when I’ve loved her for so long.

But before I ruin the plan so egregiously, Ruby beats me to the punch.

“I think that’s pure genius, KC.” She exhales in apparent relief.

“I’m so glad we’re on the same page about this.

” She sighs again. “Honestly, after the shit show with Cooper, and especially because I can’t do anything to risk our friendship, a fling definitely feels like the right call.

But only if we both swear, up and down, crossing that line while I’m staying with you won’t change our friendship.

Kendrick, we both have to promise everything will go back to normal after the fling is over, or we really shouldn’t do this. ”