Page 6

Chapter six

Keala

T he pair just missed the start of a thick storm as they walked a block down the street and rode the private elevator up to Landon’s penthouse apartment. It was bigger than Ikaika’s, with an open floor plan that allowed her to see the large kitchen, where Landon stood, on the left and the larger living room to the right. Boxes littered the floor.

A wave of anxiety crept over her, though Keala couldn’t put her thumb on why. To try to shake off the feeling, she asked, “Moving?”

Landon gave her a lazy smirk as he tossed his keys onto the kitchen counter. “I’m impressed you noticed. Most people wouldn’t catch on that quickly.” He leaned back, clearly enjoying himself. “I like an observant woman.”

My god, he’s an ass.

Still, as he pulled his hood down and the dim overhead light hit his face, it took monumental effort not to inhale at how beautiful he was. His cheekbones were so stunningly defined, and his lips were still swollen from their session at the bar. She wondered how he would want her to respond, how the women he usually took home would have responded.

Not important. She wasn’t supposed to be caring about that. This night, this hook up was for taking what she wanted, not caring about his impression of her.

“I’m a lot of things, most of which are not relevant right now,” she murmured.

Landon’s eyebrow raised, but he nodded, stepping toward her. “One of those things is a great kisser, which is both relevant and incredibly exciting.” His voice dropped, more gravelly. “I wonder what other things you can do.”

He picked her up again in an instant, her back against the door and his lips on hers. Resuming where they’d left off, he nipped and sucked. Keala tried to keep up with him, but her brain refused to turn off.

What would he like? Should she drop to her knees first? Did she look like his usual hookup? She doubted it. What if she did something wrong? And on and on and on it went—far too much thinking for what this was supposed to be. She’d been so confident when they’d been at the bar, but now that it was happening, that confidence was waning. Quickly.

Landon pulled away but stayed rooted to the spot. “You seem uncomfortable. Do you want a safe word? I wouldn’t say I’m the kinkiest, but it might be more than you can handle.” Her eyes widened, and he let out a soft chuckle. “I’m kidding. All the kinky stuff happens with my regulars.” He winked.

Oh god, now I’m thinking about what his regulars look like. What would they be doing right now?

They’d inevitably do better than her in the bedroom; she wasn’t the most experienced. How could she compare? Maybe this was all a bad idea. Maybe she wasn’t cut out for one-night stands.

The look of alarm must have still been on her face, because he set her down and ran his hands over her arms, tugging on the fabric of her sweatshirt. “Hey, I’m sorry. That wasn’t the right thing to say. If you are uncomfortable, we should stop. Let me take you home.”

Keala wanted to protest. She couldn’t help but feel guilty that Landon would be let down if she stopped now. She’d gotten him riled up. She glanced at where she’d felt him against her before, then looked away.

Her mind ran for a couple more seconds, Landon seemingly growing more concerned as she thought through it all.

Instead of protesting and telling him she’d be happy to continue, she blurted, “I’m sorry, it’s just that I lost one of my jobs and my ex-boyfriend is an ass and I hate my other job but my parents think I chose to work in medicine so I can’t do anything about it and I thought I was in a place where I could do a one-night stand but I’m starting to think this was a bad idea.”

Oh, the word vomit. Keala cringed, a hand over her mouth and her eyes on the floor as she caught her breath. She couldn’t bear to look at Landon after that most utterly embarrassing confession. Warmth bloomed in her cheeks, and she closed her eyes, taking a breath in, then out.

One-night stands were officially off the table.

As was ever, ever, seeing this man again.

Keala heard Landon take another step back, and she chanced looking at him, squinting one eye. He shoved up the sleeves of his sweatshirt and fiddled with the watch on his wrist that probably cost more than everything she owned. “Ah, uh…do you want to talk about it?”

His eyebrows were drawn, and he was looking anywhere but at her, probably uncomfortable by her oversharing. Keala released a breath, stood up tall, and pulled down the black athletic shorts she’d thrown on for practice. “I think I should go.”

“Sure, I can take you. Let me just—”

“No, no. That’s alright. I can get back on my own.” The very last thing she needed right now was to spend more time with him. The embarrassment began to fester like a wound, and she hoped that the further she removed herself from the situation, the quicker it might heal. She turned, reaching for the doorknob, her hand shaking.

“It’s storming like crazy out there. I don’t know how much you had to drink, but you don’t seem okay. Let me get you home.”

“Oh, that’s alright. I don’t feel the alcohol at all. My car’s at the bar anyway.”

Keys sounded against the marble of his counter, and then he was behind her. “Again, I must insist. Let me get you safely out of this storm, and then, if you want, I can make sure your car gets to you tomorrow morning.”

She battled herself, still facing away from him, before she finally sighed. “Okay.”

Keala followed him to the garage, but when he unlocked a Rolls Royce, she stopped short. “Don’t you think that’s a little flashy? Do you have a less obvious car?”

Landon blinked at her, locked the car, then turned back and got into the elevator. Keala waited a minute, looking around the private garage. If this was just for him, the only other car was an Audi RS7, and while it was certainly less obvious, she was still worried.

He appeared again, clicking the Audi unlocked. “I’ve never met a girl who wanted so badly not to be seen with me that she wouldn’t let me impress her with my Rolls Royce.”

There was a joke in there somewhere about overcompensation, but based on what she’d felt pressing against the fabric of his pants earlier, she wasn’t so sure it would apply.

Keala gave him the address and he punched it in, an odd expression on his face. The storm was far worse than she’d been expecting, and as an anxious driver, she agreed that her driving home would have been a bad idea.

The drive was quiet, and she was thankful he understood she was too embarrassed to talk. Sure she’d ruined his night, she sighed, watching two raindrops battle it out on the passenger window as he drummed his fingers against the wheel.

“I’m sorry about your job. And your ex-boyfriend. Seems like an idiot to me, but what do I know?”

Keala glanced at him. “We don’t need to talk about it. I’m sorry I said anything.”

Landon nodded once.

She’d thought that he would pull up to the front of her building, but instead, he parked by the private side entrance for residents.

When he opened his door, she squeaked. “You don’t need to come in!”

“No, no. I want to walk you up.”

“I don’t want to put you out.”

“It’s no trouble.”

Keala held back a groan but allowed him to open her car door. They dashed through the downpour to the private entrance, where she scanned her fob to get into the building and then again to get into the private elevator, waving as she passed Richard at the security desk. She couldn’t fathom why Landon wanted to walk her all the way to her apartment, but she also didn’t know how to stop him without feeling rude.

Conversation in the elevator was nonexistent, and she was sure she’d made him monumentally uncomfortable with her confession.

She still couldn’t figure out what his plan was.

“I meant what I said. We won’t be seeing each other again, definitely not hooking up again. If we do ever run into each other for some reason, we can pretend this never happened. You don’t have to prove to me that you’re a good guy.”

He smirked. “Noted.”

When they reached her floor, Landon’s eyes flicked to the apartment across the hall, then slid back to her. “Nice place. Must cost a fortune.”

Keala slid the key into the door and then slipped in, leaving only enough room for herself to enter. When she was comfortably inside, she turned to look at him. “Thanks…for this. Hope you get home safely.”

“Do you want me to take your keys and bring your car over tomorrow morning?”

Keala thought about having to see him again, having to look him in the eye in the light of day and act like she hadn’t admitted some of her most important secrets. Was he purposely ignoring what she’d just said about not seeing each other again?

She shook her head overenthusiastically. “Nope, all good, thanks!” Even though it was a three-mile walk to get it. Luckily, she didn’t have anything going on tomorrow.

Only as she closed the door did she realize he had never asked for her name and she’d never offered it. Thank goodness for small mercies.

Chowder’s screaming laid waste to Keala’s eardrums the next morning. The menace was outside of Keala’s bedroom door, and when she checked the time, Keala realized it was two minutes before the cat’s feeder would go off.

That damn cat knew exactly what she was doing. At least Ikaika would be home for a few hours to calm her before going to the hotel the team stayed at before home games.

When Keala scrolled through her notifications, she saw a text from Cora. Immediately, she sat up.

Cora

I talked to Angelica after practice and this morning. She knows she can’t cut you.

Please come to practice tonight, and I beg of you: be on time.

I know you’re struggling with work, but we all want you at the game tomorrow.

Keala sent a quick message back and jumped straight out of bed, crossing the hall to the bathroom so she could start on her skincare. She would be so early to practice, she’d beat Angelica there. Without a shift at the hospital, nothing would stop her from taking advantage of this second chance.

And she’d make sure to send another email about getting her schedule changed before the season opener in September.

Her phone buzzed as she finished splashing water on her face.

Josie

So?? You never texted me!

Keala

I’m back on the team!

Josie

That’s great! But not what I’m asking about.

Keala

Couldn’t go through with it and instead recounted all my darkest secrets!

Josie

Oh my. Was he ugly?

Keala

I wish. Hottest man I’ve ever met.

Josie

Do we think you’ll meet up with him again?

Keala

Hope not. I never want to see him again.

Josie sent back a sad face, and Keala set her phone down as regret shoved through her chest, finally letting her thoughts fall on the turn her evening had taken.

Rationally, she recognized it probably wouldn’t be an issue. Keala had been good about making sure they had stayed hidden. She’d made it clear she hadn’t wanted to be seen with him, and he seemed like a semi-decent guy based on the way he’d treated her after her little freak-out. Still, she flipped through any recent news articles about the Sentinels and Landon to see if she’d been included in any of them and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw there was nothing. At least not yet.

But what if Angelica and Cora found out? Landon did seem like the type to flaunt this sort of thing, but he’d also been hiding when he’d found her at the bar. Keala hadn’t seen anyone following them or cameras taking photos. Plus, if Cora said she could come back, she and Angelica must not have seen anything, and they were always privy to information about the Sentinels, almost before the media.

Keala set her hands on either side of the bathroom sink, resting her weight on the counter. She took a breath in, then let it out. It was probably okay. Sure, it had been embarrassing. Sure, she regretted it. But at least she’d chickened out and let him take her home instead of trying to keep at it.

Her no-fraternization clause was back in full effect, and while kissing Landon went against it, there would have been no going back from having sex with him.

Screw her doing the opposite of what I would do philosophy from yesterday. What had she been thinking, trying to take control? That sort of mentality was for the Josies of the world.

No. Keala would show up to practice early. She’d prove to everyone, but especially Angelica, why she’d made it through the rigorous tryout process and why she was an asset to the team. It would be like it never happened.

Consider it under the rug.

She would see Landon on the field tomorrow during their last preseason game, he wouldn’t recognize her, and that would be the worst of it. Once the season started, it would all be forgotten.

Because she was that lucky.