by Sarah Carter
“What a neat job to have, though,” Kayla sighs. “To know all that stuff. Have you thought about doing what your mom does?”
“Oh, no. I find it horribly boring,” Claire replies. “I’m a fighter, not a book worm.”
Damien says, “Though you do like to write.”
Turning around, Claire glares at him. “Yes, but that’s fiction, an entirely different thing, and no one really knows about that.”
“Oops,” Damien whispers. “Sorry.”
“What do you write?” Kayla asks. “I love to read.”
Exhaling, Claire answers, “Short stories. Horror for the most part.”
“Interesting,” Kayla responds slowly. “Do you like horror movies?”
“Yeah, but nothing really scares me. I just like to write it,” Claire states with a blasé attitude. “Crazy things just pop up in my head and I have to write them down.”
With a smile, Kayla asks, “Can I read some of it?”
“I asked first,” Damien noted.
“I don’t know…” Claire murmurs. “No one has really read my stuff.”
“She’s a great writer, but a shy writer,” another voice says. They turn to see Alex.
“Shut up Alex,” Claire growls.
“Whatever, Claire.” Looking at everyone, Alex declares, “Her stuff is awesome and you should definitely read it.”
“Email it to me!” Kayla exclaims. “I’m a total book nut.”
“You’re just a nut,” Jackson mumbles with a smile.
Kayla turns to him. “You be quiet. You read more than I do.”
“That’s true,” Jackson replies.
“I don’t like being laughed at,” Claire whispers. “So, I don’t let people read it.”
“Why in the world would we laugh at you?” Kayla gasps. “That’s horrible.”
Shaking her head, Claire says, “I have no faith in myself in that area. I have enough self-esteem for ten people when it comes to physical stuff and my fighting, but none when it comes to other aspects of my life.”
“Well, let me read it. I’ll give an honest opinion,” Damien interjects. “You should try to get published. I can help in that area.”
“No. I never really thought about getting published. Having you read it is a scary enough thought. Other people reading it isn’t even an option.”
Damien smirks. “You just wait. I bet I’ll love it.”
“We’ll see,” Claire replies. “On a different note, who’s hungry?”
“I want to go swimming,” Kayla declares. “But food sounds good too.”
“We can go eat now and swimming afterward,” Damien suggests. “How does that sound?”
Kayla smiles. “That sounds perfect.”
“I can join you to eat, but can’t do the swimming,” Alex states. “I’m technically on duty right now.”
“Who are you securing?” Claire asks.
“Damien,” Alex replies.
Claire arches her eyebrow. “Is there reason to worry about him?”
A curious expression passes over Alex’s face. “No. He always has security on him. You just never see it.”
“Creepy,” Claire replies. Turning to Damien, she asks, “Is there security outside our room at night?”
Obviously trying not to smirk, Damien says, “Yes. Actually, there is.”
“Why don’t I ever see them?”
“They shift,” Alex whispers.
“Weird,” Claire retorts.
Shrugging his shoulders, Damien sighs, “You get used to it.”
“But you have no privacy,” Claire states. “Do they listen in on your conversations?”
Damien shakes his head. “No, not at all. I’d never let that happen.”
“That’s good,” Claire mutters to herself. She then turns to Alex and smiles. “You know, I’m probably better security for him right now.”
Alex narrows his eyes. “That’s not funny. There’s serious training that goes into this.”
“Yeah, but if I can whip you, who’s going to stop me from doing something to Damien?”
“And exactly what are you going to do to me?” Damien chuckles.
Claire turns to him and smirks. “I don’t know, but it’ll be good.”
“And what if I like it?” Damien asks, mischievously.
“Then I guess there’s no reason for security, but privacy may be needed,” Claire replies.
A glint forms in Damien’s eye. “Well then, maybe I need to talk to security.”
“Excuse me,” Alex says. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. On all fronts.”
Rolling her eyes, Claire looks at Alex. “Really? We were obviously joking. Stop being so uptight.”
“Okay, let’s go eat,” Kayla exclaims, starting to walk forward with her eyes wide.
Claire tenses as Alex puts his hand on the small of her back. They start to walk, but he doesn’t remove his hand. When they finally get in line, he has to. The whole thing makes Claire a little uncomfortable.
As everyone moves, Alex bends over and whispers into her ear, “You shouldn’t be flirting with Damien.”
“Excuse me,” Claire retorts, as everyone gets farther away. “Who says I was flirting? We were joking around.”
“He’s going to take it the wrong way,” Alex hisses.
Giving him an annoyed look, Claire retorts, “Who do you think knows him better right now? You or me? I’ve been with him almost nonstop for two days. How much interaction have you had with him? Barely any. Besides, we were joking. I can really start to flirt with him if that’s what you want. I’m really good at it.”
“Please, just stop it,” Alex exhales.
“You aren’t my boyfriend,” Claire quietly spits out. “So, stop acting like it.”
“We still need to talk, and then you can say that,” Alex whispers back. Claire’s eyes widen and she doesn’t know what to say. A shocked expression sweeps across Alex’s face. He quickly stutters, “I mean, maybe we should have that conversation now.”
Barely breathing, Claire says, “I’m hungry. We can talk later.”
“It’s always later. Why not now?” Alex asks.
“Because you’re my security,” a voice interjects. “And I expect you to not wander off. Also, I expect you to not make accusations about me.”
They turn to see Damien standing next to them, not looking very happy at all.
Alex stands up straighter, very quickly. “I’m sorry Damien, I just…this is personal.”
“Technically, since you’re on duty, you’re supposed to refer to me as Master Damien, but for now, I’ll let it slide.” Damien turns his attention to Claire. “Do you want to talk to him right now?”
She shakes her head.
“Then,” Damien starts, looking back at Alex. “We’re going to eat lunch. Please don’t make any more accusations, because honestly, if I want to flirt with her, I will. No one has a say in that, other than Claire.”
“Again, I apologize, Master Damien,” Alex stutters. “Maybe I should find someone else for your security detail.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Claire sighs. “We’re fine. You’re fine. Damien’s fine. Let’s all just relax.”
“It’s Master Damien.” Alex stares her down.
Interjecting, Damien calmly says, “Not to her. She may call me anything she wants to, and I mean anything: Damien, Master Damien, Master, snookems, love kitten, sugarplum. I probably prefer love kitten.”
“Stop it,” Claire snaps, trying not to laugh, really trying not to laugh. “Let’s just eat lunch.”
“Okay,” Damien chirps, smiling at her. He turns and starts to walk down the line.
Claire turns around to Alex and hisses, “Behave. We’ll talk later.”
He just looks at her stone-faced. She rolls her eyes.
They all get food and sit down at a round table. She sits next to Kayla to make sure that Damien and Alex aren’t on each side of her. Of course, Alex takes the other seat beside he
r. Damien sits down across the table from Claire, and just smiles at her, like he knows some hidden joke. For whatever reason, it makes Claire want to giggle, so she looks away from him.
As they eat, Kayla talks about high school and going to college, about the fun things that Jackson has taken her to do. Claire pays attention, but every time she looks at Damien, he smirks at her.
Finally, under the table, Claire takes out her phone and texts him: Stop doing that! You’re going to make my problems with Alex worse!
She presses send and looks at Alex. He obviously didn’t see her doing that.
A few seconds go by, and then Damien scoots back and takes his phone out of his pocket. Claire watches him closely. The corner of Damien’s mouth twitches, but he doesn’t look at her. She sees him rapidly type something and then he looks up at Alex. He still isn’t paying any attention.
When Claire’s phone vibrates, she opens the text. It says: But if I’m supposed to flirt with you, that means we need to make eye contact.
Trying really hard not to smile, Claire writes back: And why am I supposed to be flirting with you?
Damien responds: Please tell me that you don’t want to.
Biting her lip, Claire writes: And tell me, how exactly am I supposed to flirt with you, if you’re across the table?
A huge smile creeps across Damien’s face. He replies: I bet you could think of something.
Claire smirks, and types: Like sending dirty texts, telling you if I’m wearing underwear or not?
The retort she gets is: Yes, please. I like those texts.
She taps her phone for a second before writing: Well, I may or may not being wearing any. The NOT is a distinct option. Now, the thing is, IF I was flirting with you, I would say something along the lines of, do you wish you could find out? And your response would be… Nervously, Claire presses send.
After a few seconds, Damien looks down. He obviously can’t hide his smile now. He types really fast and then looks up at Claire. Damien raises one eyebrow, and just stares her down. When her phone goes off, she looks at it.
The response is: I’ll race you back to our room.
Trying really hard not to laugh, Claire types: And what excuse would we give?
The return text says: I don’t care J Just go and I’ll follow.
Her jaw drops a little bit, and she looks up at him. Damien only winks. Feeling a little brazen, Claire sends: Should I say I need to teach you some new “positions?”
When Damien gets the text, he sighs and says, “Do you know what I really want?”
Everyone gets quiet. Jackson looks up at him with furrowed eyebrows. “Random, but okay, what?”
“Private lessons with Claire. I want her to work on my body movements. I just feel as though I’m not working to my full potential,” Damien declares.
Claire feels her cheeks light on fire. Alex looks at her and then at Damien. “We can work on stuff in class.”
“There’s nothing like one-on-one teaching, though.” Damien gives Alex a sly smile.
Tension fills the air. Alex looks at Claire and then down at the phone that’s still in her hands. He takes in a deep breath and then says, “One of the gyms should be open, if that’s what you’d like, Master Damien.”
“Oh, I don’t think a gym is necessary,” Damien replies. “Our room is quite big enough.”
Alex clenches his jaw but doesn’t say anything. Claire interrupts and states, “Maybe later, Damien. We do have an entire week.”
The smirk doesn’t leave Damien’s face. “Whatever you want to do is just fine, Claire.”
“I want to do private lessons,” Kayla chirps. “Not today, because I want to go swimming, but maybe tomorrow.”
“Sure,” Claire replies, still feeling the heat in her cheeks. She stands up quickly. “I need to get something to drink.”
“So do I,” Damien adds, standing up also.
Claire swears silently in her head.
“Shall we?” He says to her calmly, waving his hand. She nods and they walk back into the buffet area.
When they’re out of view, Claire spins on him. “You’re such an ass.”
Damien grabs her and pushes her up against the wall. Bringing his lips breathlessly close to hers, he whispers, “Maybe I like calling your bluff.”
She gulps and looks into his hazel eyes. They’re so beautiful. She exhales. “Who says I was bluffing?”
His eyes dance with amusement and he smiles. “I think I’m growing very fond of you.”
“I think I’m already fond of you.”
Looking at her for a second, Damien leans in to kiss her. Claire closes her eyes.
“Hey, Damien. You want to go out tonight?”
Both Damien and Claire look to their side. Wayne, from yesterday, stands next to them.
Damien pushes away from Claire. “What?”
“There’s a club near here. You only have to be 18. No alcohol. Not that it matters much to Neturu, but a bunch of us are going. Do you want to come with?” Wayne asks.
“A club? As in dancing?” Claire inquires.
“Yup,” Wayne answers.
With a grin, Claire says, “I’m totally in.”
“Then I am too,” Damien adds.
“Awesome.” Wayne grins. “We’re going at 9.”
Damien nods and forces a smile. “Great. We’ll meet you out front.”
“Okay, sounds good,” Wayne practically cheers. “See you then.” With that he turns and leaves.
When Damien turns back to Claire, she tucks her hair behind her ear and looks at the floor. “Well, that should be fun. We should go tell everyone.”
“I know something else that would be a lot of fun,” Damien murmurs.
Claire’s eyes get huge and she looks at him. “What did you just say?”
“I just wanted you to look at me,” Damien replies. He brings his thumb up and runs it across her lips. “You should never feel like you need to look at the floor. Your eyes are beautiful and I want to see them.”
Her breath gets caught in her throat. Finally, Claire whispers, “Did you actually say that? Guys don’t really say stuff like that.”
A smile spreads across Damien’s face. “I say stuff like that, and it’s the truth.”
“Oh,” Claire exhales. “We should really get something to drink and go back to the table.”
“Get back to Alex before he freaks?” Damien retorts.
“Who?”
Damien bursts out laughing. “Nevermind.”
Finally catching on, Claire says, “Yes, Alex. Oh, stop laughing. He’s going to lose it.”
“Let’s get you something to drink,” Damien says, pulling her away from the wall.
“You need something too,” Claire replies. “Otherwise it’s going to look weird.”
Winking at her, Damien says, “We’ve been gone long enough. It’s going to be weird already.”
“Don’t say that!” Claire exclaims. “Hurry up then.”
“Because I really care what Alex thinks.”
With a glare, she hisses, “I care, so you should.”
“Mmhmm.”
They silently get their drinks and go back to the table. Kayla and Jackson are deep in a conversation, but Alex shoots Damien a death look.
Claire smiles at Alex. “I should have asked if you wanted something.”
Alex forces a smile. “It’s alright. Are you guys going swimming?”
“Yes, I believe we are.”
“I’ll give you permission to come with us,” Damien interjects.
He opens his mouth and then closes it. Alex looks at Claire. “Do you want me to come with?”
Heat rises in Claire’s face again. “Of course. It would be fun.”
“Alright.” Alex looks at Damien. “You’ll talk to our security leader.”
“Yes, I will right now,” Damien states. “Since I’m finished eating.”
“So are we,” Kayla declares. “Let’s go swimming. I have the cut
est bathing suit.”
Standing up, Alex extends his hand to Claire. “I’ll take you upstairs.”
“Alright,” Claire replies. “I’ll get changed and then you can.”
“Sounds good to me,” Alex says with a smile. Claire returns the expression. Right now she’s too nervous to be around Damien alone. Alex is comfortable and safe.
He takes her hand and states, “We’ll meet you guys outside.”
“Okay,” Kayla chirps.
Damien eyes up Claire. She blushes and looks away.
“Alright,” Alex murmurs, “Come on babe.”
They don’t say anything until they get inside the elevator. Claire says, “Jackson and Kayla are really awesome.”
“Yes, they are,” Alex replies. “But that isn’t what I want to talk about.”
“Alex,” Claire starts. “There’s nothing to talk about. What happened, happened. We can’t change that.”
“You regret it?” Alex shouts.
Getting a bewildered look on her face, Claire snaps, “Of course not. Do you?”
“No. Why in the hell would I?” Alex retorts. “I care about you, if that isn’t obvious.”
“Well, I care about you too,” Claire says hesitantly.
Alex smiles. “Then we’re on the same page. So, what do you want to do about it?”
“What do you mean?”
He raises his eyebrow. “Well, if we care about each other, isn’t the next step…trying to work something out?”
Claire stammers, “You want to what…have sex with me again?”
“No…well—okay, yes, but that’s not what I meant,” Alex replies. “If two people care about each other, don’t you talk about some sort of relationship?”
“You want to be my boyfriend?”
“Well, if that’s what you want.”
She shakes her head. “No. Ben would kill me, but more so, you.”
“I’ll handle Ben.”
“I realize you’re a better fighter, but he’ll be pissed and that makes everyone a tad bit scarier.”
“Then what do you want?”
Looking at him a little shocked, Claire says, “What kind of relationship would we have? I’m going to college. You’re with the guard.”
“We could make something work.”
“Why the sudden change?” Claire inquires hotly. “It’s been six months. We talk all the time, but you haven’t brought this up at all.”
