Throb (9 page)

She smiles and keeps walking. “Were you standing out there long?”

“Long enough to have lost my patience. Meet me in my office in ten minutes.”

She stops mid stride. It takes me a few paces to realize I’m no longer next to her. “Bossy, much?”

“I’ll show you how bossy I am right here in the hall, if you’d prefer.” I arch an eyebrow.

“Coop,” Miles’s voice carries from down the hall. I wave and then return my attention to Kate.

“My office ten minutes or do you prefer the hall?” She looks back at Miles and then me, quickly making the right decision.

“Your office.”

I gloat my victory with a smile and turn just as my brother approaches. Kate walks a bit ahead, but Miles stops her. “Kate, have you met my brother?”

“Ummm … I don’t think so.” She turns cautiously.

“Nice to meet you.” I extend my hand and my fingers stroke the inside of her palm inconspicuously.

Her eyes widen and I take my time to release her from the shake.

“Kate here is one of the contestants on
Throb.
” Miles puts his hand on Kate’s shoulder. I fight the urge to remove it for him and simply nod.

“She’s one of Flynn’s favorites. A shoo-in for the final four overnight dates.”

Between his hand still on Kate’s shoulder and the thought of her anywhere near Flynn, I need to get the hell out of here. “Did you want something, Miles? I have a meeting.” I look at my watch and then to Kate pointedly. “In eight minutes.”

“Be a few minutes late. I need to talk shop.” Shop equals he needs something from me.

“I can’t. It’s an urgent deal I’m in the middle of. I need to tie it up this morning. Call Helen and get on my schedule.” I turn to Kate and nod before stalking to the elevator bank.

“Kate Monroe is here to see you,” Helen’s voice flows through the intercom.

“Send her in. And hold my calls.”

“I thought I was going to call you tonight so we could talk?” Kate says as she enters my office.

“Change of plans.” I shut the door behind her and deadbolt it. The loud clank of the lock clicking shut captures her attention. She turns to look back at the door and then to me.

“Are you locking people out, or me in?” She arches an eyebrow.

“Both. Come here.” I crook my finger.

“You really are bossy.”

“Does that bother you?” I close the safe distance she’s left between us.

“It depends.”

“On what?” I brush the hair from her face.

“On what you’re bossy about.”

I lift her hand and kiss her knuckles. “Just about you.”

“Just me?” The challenge in her voice softens as our eyes meet.

I nod. “Kiss me.”

“Bossy.”

“Difficult.”

“I’m not diff …” She doesn’t get the chance to finish her protest before my mouth is sealed over hers.

“Wow,” she says when I release her a full five minutes later, and it makes me smile. I noticed she’s said it after each time I kissed her. Almost as if the effect it has on her takes her by surprise. “You’re really good at that.”

“No. We’re just really good together,” I say. “I can tell already.”

I pull her to me and hold her tightly against my chest. Neither of us says a word for a few minutes.

“Cooper?” Her voice is quiet, but the simple two-syllable word tells me she’s about to bestow news I don’t want to hear. I tighten my hold on her.

“Hmmm?” I kiss the top of her forehead.

“We need to talk.”

“I really like you. I do … but …”

Cooper holds up his hand. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?”

“Don’t give me the I really like you speech.”

Well, there goes what I spent half the night planning to say.

Cooper folds his arms across his chest. “Sit.”

“Bossy,” I mutter under my breath, but sit anyway.

“Is it the show?”

I nod.

Cooper paces while he speaks. “Is quitting an option?”

Regretfully, I shake my head.

“I’m not sure I want to hear the answer, but I’ll ask anyway. Do you have feelings for
him?
” He rakes his fingers through his hair and says the word
him
with harried disdain.

“Who? Dickhead?”

Cooper’s mouth twitches at the corners. “Yes, Dickhead.”

“He’s really nice.” His jaw clenches. “But that’s not it.”

“You’re locked into a contract?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll talk to Miles. He owes me one. Or a thousand and one. I’ve lost track.”

“No. You can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because I need to stay on the show.”

“Do you want the exposure? I’ll tell him you need to stay on the show, but that you aren’t living up to whatever the terms his warped mind has conjured up.”

“I don’t want the exposure.”

Cooper stops. “Then what is it?”

“I need to win.”

“Why? If you don’t want the prize?”

“It’s not the bachelor that I need.”

“There’s a financial incentive?”

I nod. Suddenly, I feel like a whore.

The clock ticks by, long seconds where the silence hangs thick in the air, neither of us saying a word. Finally, I speak. “I can’t see two men at once. I need to keep my focus, and I won’t be able to do that if we keep this up.”

When I see the disappointment in his face, my chest feels like someone stepped on it. “How long does the show have left?” he asks.

“Seven weeks, two days.” Not that I’m counting.

He blows out a thick stream of air, nods, holds me tight before we say goodbye. When his grip on me loosens, it takes everything I have to walk out his door.

The more I get to know Flynn, the more I find there is to like. So why is it that I resist elevating things to the next level? He’s a complete gentleman with me. Taking things slowly, not pushing, leaving it up to me to decide the next step. We’ve definitely connected, yet there’s something holding me back from moving from friends to more.
Damn you, Cooper Montgomery.
It’s been a week since I saw him, yet I still can’t get him out of my mind.

“Earth to Kate.” Flynn bumps shoulders with me.

“Sorry. I overslept and didn’t get to have coffee yet.”

“Well, we need to fix that. Al, can we pull over at the next Starbucks, please?” Flynn asks the bus driver.

I smile. “You don’t have to do that.”

“You’re going to need it for today’s challenge.” He winks at me.

“You know what today’s challenge is?”

“Yep. Not my favorite. You’ll understand why soon. But I need you to wake up so you can win.” The bus pulls into a strip mall parking lot. There’s a Starbucks at the end. “Al, you wanna see if anyone else wants anything?”

I stand, ready to go inside to grab my coffee.

“Sit. I’ll get it.”

I smile, but not because of how sweet Flynn is.
Sit
reminds me of bossy Cooper.

Flynn returns with my coffee, and it’s exactly how I take it, even though he didn’t ask. The bus driver hands out everyone else’s orders. You would think Flynn had handed me an engagement ring, rather than a cup of coffee, from the looks I get from some of the other girls.

“So, you going to give me a hint about the challenge today?” I whisper when Flynn sits next to me, arm slung casually over the back of my seat. His fingers gently rub the exposed skin on my shoulder.

“How about I give you three hints and you see if you can guess?”

“Deal.” I turn, giving him my full attention.

“One. You’re really good at it. But we haven’t done it in a while and I miss it.”

“Hmmm … I’m intrigued.”

“Two. I hope no one wants yours today.”

“You need to give better hints.”

His eyes sparkle. “Three.” He leans in and kisses me softly on the lips. It’s an innocent kiss; his forehead rests tenderly against mine as the bus slows to a stop.

Everyone crowds to look outside the windows at where we are. Santa Monica Pier. A minute later, Miles hops on the bus and delivers today’s challenge.

“Ladies. Welcome to Santa Monica Pier. Today’s challenge may earn one lucky contestant immunity from going home this week. With only six women left, the winner will have only one more elimination ceremony before making it to the coveted final four. I’ll let your boyfriend tell you all about what we’re doing here at the pier.”

Flynn stands. “You can bet this one wasn’t picked by me.” He catches my eye before continuing. “Your challenge today is to earn more money than me. We’ve each been assigned a booth and we’re going to see who the best salesperson is.”

“What are we selling?” Jessica asks from two rows behind me.

“You’re selling you, Jessica. Each of us is manning a kissing booth today. One dollar buys a kiss. The winner has to earn more money than me and all of the other ladies.”

“How are we supposed to sell more kisses than you? Look at you,” Jessica coos.

“I have confidence you’ll make a killing, Jess.”

As we step off the bus, Miles hands us each a chapstick and flashes a leering grin.

“Is she serious?” Sadie motions to Jessica’s booth, where the line is probably a hundred deep. We were each allowed to make one phone call and have a friend bring a single item to help us in our challenge today. Jessica received a bikini top from her friend—if you can call it that. Technically, I think “bikini top” is too generous; it’s more like nipple covers. Me? I asked Sadie to bring me a box of Altoids. Not my most well-thought-out plan.

I kiss a young boy on the cheek and stuff his dollar into the box next to me. I actually have a pretty decent line, especially considering I’m wearing a tank top that covers my boobs. I look over to Jessica’s booth. I gotta hand it to her, she certainly knows how to work it. Leaning over at the waist to reach each tongue-wagging guy, her ass cheeks hang out from her short shorts almost as much as her boobs flow over from her sad excuse for a top. Each guy gets a full pucker kiss on the lips. Even the fourteen-year-olds. There are going to be a lot of wet dreams in Santa Monica tonight.

Two hours later, the director calls for a fifteen-minute break so the crew and contestants can all use the bathroom.

“How’s it going over there?” I ask Flynn as we meet in the hall walking out of our respective bathrooms.

“Aside from the sixty-year-old who stuck her tongue down my throat and the fifteen-year-old who left gum on my lips? Not bad. You?”

I laugh. “I had a seventy-year-old man who took a selfie of us kissing to send to his wife because she pissed him off this morning, and I’ve kissed the same thirteen-year-old boy on the cheek eleven times. He keeps going back on line and trying to turn his head to catch my lips with his.”

“Kid’s got good taste. I would’ve been on your line a couple of dozen times too at that age.”

“Not Jessica’s?” I tease.

“Nah. I’m more the girl-next-door type. I like to use my imagination to picture what’s underneath the shirt.” Flynn’s eyes drop. He starts at my toes, his eyes lingering at my breasts, before his gaze locks with mine.

“Like what you’re imagining?” I arch an eyebrow.

“More than you know.” He winks.

My car veers off the Pacific Coast Highway as if it has a mind of its own. I’ve kept away the last week, at least in person. Although it hasn’t stopped me from obsessing over the dailies I make Helen have on my desk every morning by seven. I’m beginning to feel like a voyeur. Slowing down the parts where Kate’s on screen, analyzing her every move when she’s around Dickhead.

I’ve been with women who get possessive too early; it makes me cut ties quickly, deeming them a stalker when it slips they knew where I was the night before without my telling them. Yet here I am, pulling up to the Santa Monica Pier like the stalker I’ve become. I watched the dailies this morning, told myself I was just going to go for a drive, put the top down and clear my head. I’m even bullshitting myself.

There’s a crowd off to the left. It’s not hard to find the taping when I see a hoard of predominantly boys and men.
Kissing booth.
I want to kick Miles’s ass. It’s hard enough to think about Kate kissing Dickhead, let alone a few hundred in line. Thanks, Miles. Way to go, little brother.