Air Kiss

by L.H. Cosway

  “Piss off,” I grunted.

  “Seriously though,” James said. “What was with you? You were a total arsehole to Leanne and she was only trying to be friendly.”

  “It’s not your job to give me a lecture, James, so leave it out.”

  “He just wants to know why you showed us up like that,” Trev said. “Leanne’s a badass. My buddy Dan said he saw her running in Hyde Park one day and she blew everyone out of the water. We’re lucky to have her. Plus, we need a bird on the show so it’s not a total cockfest.”

  Great, now they were tag teaming me. “Fine, I’ll be nicer next time,” I allowed. He was kind of right about the cockfest thing.

  “See that you are,” James said just as we reached Trev’s car.

  Several days went by and when Saturday came, I had a spring in my step. I hated to admit it, but I was looking forward to seeing Leanne. With her tough exterior, pretty face, and stubborn personality, she intrigued me. I kind of liked the fact that she took my shit and gave it right back to me.

  “You off out today?” Mum asked when I emerged from the bathroom, dressed and showered. She sat by the table in the kitchen, nursing a cup of tea and a smoke, which was her usual Saturday morning habit. Weekdays she left early for her shifts at the nursing home. I was determined to see the day when she didn’t have to clean out bedpans just to make ends meet.

  “Yep. Heading to Crystal Palace for a run with the lads. You need me to bring anything back on my way home?”

  She checked her cigarette box. “Could you grab me a pack of ciggies?”

  “Sure. See you later,” I said and gave her a quick kiss on the temple before I headed out. I wasn’t the biggest fan of her smoking, but she’d tried quitting several times and always went back on them. I tried encouraging her to give it another shot, but she told me sometimes you just had to leave people with their vices.

  I ran down the stairs two at a time, grunting irritably when I saw someone left their works lying on the lobby floor. I mean, come on, kids lived here. Remembering I had a spare plastic bag in my rucksack, I pulled it out, picked up the drug paraphernalia without touching any of it and threw it in the rubbish bin outside.

  See, I wasn’t lying when I said this place was a shitbox.

  We’d all agreed to meet at the Italian Terrace in Crystal Palace Park, one of my favourite places to practice. It had a bunch of stairs and inclines to jump between, not to mention there weren’t usually many people around, so you could run without being gawked at.

  I got there a little early, but I wasn’t the only one. Leanne sat on a step staring down at her phone, oblivious to my presence. She was wearing black trousers and a dark polo shirt, which I realised was her Starbucks uniform. She must’ve come straight from a shift. I had a moment of indecision, as I decided whether to approach her or wait for the others to arrive.

  Knowing it’d be weird to just stand there and not say hello, I walked towards her and called out, “Nice uniform.”

  Her finger paused on the screen of her phone and she glanced up, doll-shaped lips flattening in a straight line when she saw it was me. Obviously, she wasn’t my biggest fan and I didn’t blame her. I hadn’t made the best first impression. It also irritated me that I was attracted to her, because the feeling clearly wasn’t mutual.

  “Thanks. Some of us have to work for a living, pretty boy,” she shot back and I resented the assumption.

  “I work,” I replied and her mouth formed a smirk.

  “Let me guess, you’re an underwear model. It must be real tiring getting snapped in designer jocks all day long.”

  “Assistant manager at Urban Outfitters, actually,” I fired back, annoyed by how defensive I sounded. Leanne barked a laugh.

  “No offense, but I’m not sure that’s better. You sell overpriced Ramones T-shirts to twenty-somethings with more money than sense.”

  “Coming from the girl who slings overpriced coffee to douchebags in suits.”

  She laughed again and I grudgingly appreciated the sound. “Okay, you got me there. We’re both complicit in everything that’s wrong with the world. Have a seat,” she said and patted the step beside her.

  I sat and pulled my phone out to check the time. Ten minutes before Trev and James got here. Guess it wouldn’t be so bad to have a conversation. I did need to atone for the shitty first impression I made.

  “Listen, I’m sorry for being a dick the other day. You didn’t deserve that.”

  She gave a casual shrug. “No worries. It’ll take a lot more than a bad attitude to put me off. This TV show is the gig most of us have been waiting for. You could call me a lesbo bitch every day of the week and I still wouldn’t walk away. I don’t scare easily.”

  Hold up, she was gay? Not to sound conceited but it’d certainly explain why she wasn’t giving me any interested vibes. I arched a brow. “You like girls?”

  She shook her head. “Nah, it’s just an assumption a lot of people make because of how I dress.” She paused and chuckled. “Wow, you look disappointed. Were you hoping to see me snog my hot girlfriend or something?”

  That wasn’t disappointment she saw. It was relief. Still, I didn’t correct her as I shot her a flirtatious grin. “Something like that.”

  “Well, too bad.”

  I was about to reply when Paul approached us, his smile wary. “Are my eyes deceiving me? Are you two actually having a civilised conversation?”

  “I’m trying to make up for the other day,” I answered and glanced at Leanne. “How am I doing?”

  Our eyes connected and her cheeks got a hint of colour. Wait a second, was she blushing?

  She looked away as she replied, “So far so good.”

  “Well, that’s a relief,” Paul said. “I was worried I might have to break up some fisticuffs if you both went at it again.”

  His wording made my mind wander. I wouldn’t mind going at it with Leanne. Not at all.

  “Hey man, I don’t hit girls.”

  “Yeah, besides, I’d beat his arse from here to Sunday,” Leanne added cheekily. Cute.

  “Now, why doesn’t that sound like a bad thing?” I replied with a lopsided grin.

  Again, with the cheeks. She was blushing. Maybe my attraction wasn’t so unreciprocated after all…

  “Oh, please don’t tell me you’re one of those blokes who likes women to wear PVC and punish them with whips and chains,” said Paul, feigning horror.

  I glanced at him, then focused on Leanne as I answered, “Nah, but I don’t mind a bit of roughhousing every now and again.” I grinned happily when I saw how my words made her breathing shallow. She seemed relieved when Trev and James showed up.

  “Hey, you lot, ready to get moving?” Trev called as they approached.

  “Ready as we’ll ever be,” Paul answered.

  “Good to hear. We thought you and Leanne could do some freestyle stuff for us to start and then we’ll join in,” James said. “We want to see how you move together, then how we all move as a unit.”

  “Sounds good to me,” said Leanne as she stood and began to stretch. She drew one arm up over her head, and I swear to God she had the cutest little triceps muscles. She was small, but every part of her was in perfect shape.

  She stepped over to Paul and they exchanged a few words, then Leanne led the way as she ran up a set of steps before leaping onto a pillar. Paul followed behind her as she jumped from one pillar to the next, her execution perfectly controlled. I pulled out my phone to catch some video, thinking it’d make for a good YouTube upload later.

  Then they reached the other side of the terrace, where there were two large Sphinx statues adorning either side of the steps. Paul climbed atop one and Leanne the other. I caught it all on camera as they shared a nod, then in perfect synchrony completed a backflip down onto the grass.

  “That was fantastic!” Trev enthused as he hurried over to meet them.

  I stood in place, frowning down at my camera as I tapped the button to end the recording. H
e was right. It was fantastic. They both were, but Leanne especially. She had something unique, a natural flair that you couldn’t achieve through practice.

  I was both jealous and a little turned on.

  And that was why her being a part of the show was going to be a serious problem for me.

  Chapter Three

  Leanne

  Paul and I trained with Trev, James, and Callum almost every day for the next month. Aside from the odd flirtatious or intentionally antagonistic comment, Callum mostly kept his distance. And that was a good thing, especially since I didn’t know how to feel about his flirting.

  It was difficult to tell whether he was being serious or taking the piss.

  Since his comment about whether or not I was a girl still niggled at me, I was inclined to believe the latter.

  Paul and I completed several auditions with the TV show creators and were subsequently approved to join the cast. We signed countless contracts and endured numerous meetings. It was a nerve-racking time, but it would all be worth it in the end. In just two weeks we were going to officially start filming and I couldn’t wait. I was so ready to show the world what I could do—what we could do. Because I couldn’t deny there was a special sort of chemistry when all five of us ran together. Not to sound corny, but it really did feel meant to be, even if I didn’t know what to make of Callum sometimes.

  I mean, most days I was driven to distraction by his body and pretty face, but then he’d open his mouth and irritate/embarrass the living hell out of me.

  Tonight was James’ twenty-seventh birthday and we were heading over to his flat for a small get together. He lived with his girlfriend, Diana, so I was interested to meet her for the first time. Paul picked me up at my flat at seven-thirty and we caught the Tube over to James’ neighbourhood. Since it was a special occasion, I’d dressed up in my best pair of skinny jeans, heeled boots, and a tight black halter top. I also spruced up my hair with some product. It was as fancy as I ever got, but I was in a mood to look my best.

  “What did you get him?” I asked Paul as we stepped onto the lift that went up to James’ flat. He was carrying a gift bag and I was curious to know what was in there. I, personally, had gone with the old reliable bottle of reasonably priced wine and a birthday card.

  “A clock,” Paul answered and I shot him a look.

  “You bought him a clock?”

  He shrugged a shoulder. “He seems like a clock sort of person.”

  “What exactly is a clock sort of person?”

  “I dunno. Someone like James.”

  “That makes no sense.”

  He cast a glance at my wine bottle. “At least I put in a little creative effort.”

  “Hey! I’ve known him a month. We haven’t exactly entered into the engraved cuff links stage of our friendship yet, and I wager it’ll be a few years before we reach the clock stage,” I went on teasingly.

  “Oh, go on, slag me off if you want. You’ll be eating your words when you see how much he loves it.”

  I chuckled and lifted a hand to knock on the door. It was answered by a pretty, dark-haired woman in a stylish blue dress. I guessed this was Diana, the girlfriend.

  “Hello, you must be Paul and Leanne. Come on in,” she greeted, ushering us inside. “I’m Diana, James’ other half. I’m sure he’s told you all about me.”

  Paul and I exchanged a quick look, as was our habit when someone said something curious. It wasn’t what she said exactly, but more how she said it. She sounded full of herself, like James couldn’t possibly help bragging to everyone about how amazing she was.

  “Oh yeah, he never shuts up about you,” Paul answered, a blatant lie that seemed to please her.

  “He’s such a doll,” she preened as we stepped inside the living area where Trev, Callum, and James sat chatting and drinking beers.

  “Jayjay just wanted a nice quiet little party here at the flat, so I resisted the urge to invite all our friends on Facebook,” Diana chuckled and I resisted the urge to mouth a questioning “Jayjay?” at Paul. Some people loved their nicknames.

  “Can I take your coats?” she asked and I shrugged out of my jacket.

  “Hey, thanks for coming,” James said when he saw us. “I see you’ve met my better half.”

  “Yes, she’s gorgeous,” I answered, because it wasn’t a lie, though better half was debatable. “Happy birthday,” I went on, handing him the wine and card.

  Paul greeted him next and gave him his clock, but James only set it aside to open later. I thought Paul looked a little disappointed that he wasn’t going to tear it open right away. I loved how odd he was sometimes.

  Diana returned with a tray of drinks for everyone and I took a glass of wine when I sensed someone’s attention. Callum sat on the couch nursing a beer, eyes on me. He wore a dark shirt that fit perfectly over his muscular form. He looked sexy and gorgeous, as always, which was a big source of irritation for me.

  Why couldn’t he just be hideous?

  If all went to plan, I was going to be on TV with these guys for at least the next year. Feeling horny about any one of them was a recipe for trouble.

  Diana perched on James’ lap, Paul took a seat next to Trev, which left me with just one option, the space beside Callum. I decided I was a big girl and could handle sitting next to him for a little while. I didn’t greet him when I sat, but I could feel his eyes wandering over every inch of me. Clearly, he wasn’t used to seeing me dressed up.

  Diana started telling a story about how she surprised James with a trip to Ibiza on his birthday last year, going into detail about the beaches and the party boats, and how wonderful she was as a person for organising the whole thing. I was veering towards the conclusion that Diana had far too much of the wrong sort of confidence, and wondered what James saw in her. He was so kind and modest, so understated. I imagined him being with a demure librarian, or a sexy, intelligent scientist lady. I didn’t know what Diana did for a living, but I was willing to bet it wasn’t any of those.

  I got a surprise when Callum bent in and murmured, “You think she installed mirrors on their bedroom ceiling so she can look at her own reflection when they fuck?”

  I almost spat out the mouthful of wine I just sipped but managed to hold it down. My body shook with restrained laughter as I replied, “I have no idea, but I’m willing to take a bet on it.”

  Callum rubbed his jaw. “How will we find out though? One of us will need to sneak in their bedroom to see.”

  “I nominate you.”

  “Ah, but I could just lie to win the bet,” he whispered, leaning close. His breath hit my skin, soliciting goosebumps. “No, we need to figure out a way for both of us to go in there.”

  “We could just wait until they’re too drunk to notice.”

  He grinned, a boyish glint in his eyes. “I like your strategy. So, you don’t think it’s true?”

  “I just can’t see James agreeing to that, even if Diana really wanted it.”

  “You underestimate her ability to nag him into submission. Believe me, I’ve witnessed it firsthand.”

  “Hmmm, I still can’t see it. He’s too classy.”

  Callum chuckled. “Okay then. You’re betting no, I’m betting yes, but what does the winner get?”

  “A chocolate cake made from scratch by the loser,” I suggested with a grin.

  “Too boring. The stakes need to be higher.”

  “Chocolate is always high stakes,” I argued.

  Callum nudged me with his shoulder. “How about the winner gets to do the loser’s laundry for a month?”

  “Seriously, that’s high stakes for you? You’re really not living up to your bad boy appearance.”

  He raised a single eyebrow. “I hate doing laundry. And what do you mean about my appearance?”

  I waved a hand in his general vicinity. “I thought maybe you’d want the loser to get their nipples pierced, or have something embarrassing tattooed on their backside.”

  His mouth cur
ved into a calculating smile. “Well, now that you mention it, I’m not opposed to the idea.”

  “That’s because you’ve spent like, a million hours under a needle. I’m not so keen on marking this virgin skin,” I said in protest.

  He looked surprised. “You’ve never gotten a tattoo?”

  I shook my head.

  His gaze turned speculative. “Scared of needles?”

  “I just never got around to it.”

  “So, you have something in mind then?”

  I shrugged. “I’ve always liked the idea of getting the solar system on the inside of my arm, but, like I said, I haven’t gotten around to it.”

  Callum leaned closer, interest marking his features. “Why the solar system?”

  I heaved a sigh, not too keen on exposing my inner nerd girl, but I answered him anyway. “My favourite subject at school was science, but I particularly loved astronomy. Then I discovered Carl Sagan’s Cosmos and I became obsessed. I even had my parents buy me a telescope for my fifteenth birthday. Stargazing is a huge hobby of mine.”

  “So that’s what you do when you’re not jumping between rooftops?” Callum questioned, a fond note in his voice I hadn’t heard before. It made me feel weird and fluttery.

  “Pretty much. I think it’s a travesty more people don’t take an interest in the universe. They’re all too busy looking at their smartphones.”

  “You look at your smartphone,” he teased.

  “Not as often as some people,” I countered.

  His eyes crinkled at the edges affectionately and again my insides went haywire. What was with him tonight? He was being so…friendly.

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right about that. But back to our bet. If I win, you have to get your tattoo of the solar system—"

  “And if I win, you have to get “Leanne is the queen of everything” tattooed somewhere you actually have space left.”

  He barked a laugh at that, which solicited the attention of the others.