“Retract the claws, baby,” he says under his breath as we walk. “Is she always like that?”
“Yes, she’s the owner’s daughter,” I mutter. “She gave me grief when I was skating with my dad once, and then her father offered me a job. My life is very odd.”
“Is it true that you guys are off for a week?” Miles asks, as if he’s thinking about something.
“Yeah, we are. I’m happy to not be hustling from place to place for a little while,” I confess.
“We’re off too, and I’m plotting,” he admits.
“Of course you are,” I tease him.
“We don’t have regular practices when we’re on a break, though the guys know better than to slack off,” he says. “They take the time to go see family, take a quick vacation, shit like that. I could rent a place with the guys and stay in New Orleans so I could see you more.”
“Really?” I ask, my eyes lighting up with excitement.
“Well, now I definitely need to make this happen,” he grins. “Let’s bring it up to Santo and Levon to see what they think. Maybe I’ll get lucky and get you all to myself.”
“You’re incorrigible,” I say, leaning into his side. He smells really good, and I can’t wait to have him wrapped around me while dancing.
“I am for you,” he says simply. “Santo!”
Santo turns, his eyes brightening with recognition.
“Levon is almost ready,” he says. He looks amazing in a pair of dark wash jeans and a black shirt. I wonder if he brought a change of clothes just in case. His shoes are nice loafers, something I doubt he wears to work regularly. “You look amazing, Caelia.”
“Thank you,” I say, my feet moving without thought to hug him. His arms feel amazing as he squeezes me against him.
“Damn, I missed you,” he says.
“I think Miles may have a plan so that you can miss me a little less,” I say cryptically.
“That sounds promising,” he says, his hand resting on my neck so his thumb can push my head back. His kiss is a littlemore desperate than it was this morning, and my fingers curl around his forearms.
“There are etiquette rules in your contract, Kailyn,” Clarice says, breaking the mood.
She brushes past me as Santo whirls around to watch her.
“Great, please show them to me so I can get my lawyer to look at it,” he growls. Clarice looks stricken, and he shakes his head. “Do not threaten my girl. Is that understood?”
“Ah, yes?” she squeaks.
“Just leave me alone, Clarissa. Since you can’t remember my name, I won’t bother to say yours correctly either,” I shrug, ignoring her glare as she walks away. “I swear, I can’t fucking stand her.”
“With good reasons, I’d say,” Santo grunts. “There’s Levon. Let’s get out of here before I really have to call my lawyer.”
“Do you have a lawyer?” Miles asks, falling into step as we walk over to the locker room. I can tell he’s amused by how fast Santo clapped back.
“Yeah, my dad. I try not to get him involved unless it’s absolutely necessary, because he comes in with guns blazing,” he explains.
“It’s a dad thing,” I giggle. “You saw how scary mine is.”
“Yeah, well your dad makes it look effortless,” Santo says. “He’s still scary as fuck.”
“Hey,” Levon says with a smile, taking my other hand. “I left my stuff on the bus, do I need to rethink that at all?”
“We’ll stay at least tonight at the hotel, and I know the staff will make sure it makes it to our rooms,” Miles says easily. “We all have a week off, I was thinking that we should stay in New Orleans with Caelia. Thoughts?”
“Fuck yes,” Levon says, fist pumping the air.
