Chapter 22
Twenty Two
Val
“I swear I don’t normally do this,” I said in a panic. Kaden tilted his head quizzically. “Sleep with your trainer?” He chuckled.
I sat up and covered myself with the bedspread. “And sleep with someone on the first night. Surely, I’ve broken some sort of rule and we can’t train together, now.”
He continued laughing as he watched me sitting here in a state of what did I just do? Sitting back down on the bed, Kaden placed his hand on my back. “Do you regret it?”
“No,” I said playfully, and I didn’t. Kaden was quite possibly the best person I had ever slept with. He paid attention to my needs, our connection was indescribable, and I was kind of ready to jump him again. Summer is definitely going to call me a whore.
Kaden shrugged. “Then I don’t see an issue.”
“I really don’t sleep with my trainers.” The intrusive thoughts took over and suddenly I felt small wishing I could take it back.
He sat there, looking in my direction and I could tell he wanted to ask follow-up questions, so before he could I just blurted everything out.
“Mark, my trainer at Revolution, made some passes at me and it felt as if he was using some of the trauma I had with James as a way to gaslight me. I don’t know, it’s hard to explain. ” I paused, examining his reaction.
“Did he-”
“Oh gosh no.” I cut him off. “Everything I already shared with you is all it entailed.”
“You didn’t report him, did you?” Suddenly Kaden’s demeanor changed. “You should have reported him.”
I couldn’t help but admire Kaden’s protectiveness. “I honestly started to believe that some things James had accused me of, like leading people on, was true.”
He reached over and cupped my hand in his cheek. “If anyone ever makes you feel uncomfortable again, I will decide what we need to do about it.”
I was shocked. Kaden barely knew me from a random girl at the market.
Okay, so many that it was a bit of an exaggeration, since we had been working together for a while now.
He seemed determined to change that and continued to ask me questions and for the first time in a long time, I felt not only heard, but cared for by someone other than Summer.
Maybe, this is my person. The thought streaked through my brain and I had no idea where it had come from.
At first the idea startled me and I couldn’t help but think about how soon it was.
It’s definitely gotta be the sex. I snorted out loud and kept myself from bursting out in a complete uproar.
That would have been something I couldn’t explain if he started asking questions.
Suddenly, Kaden cleared his throat. “Val?” he began. “This might be too soon, but would you be my date to the UFL’s Banquet? It’s not for a few months, so I’m over-preparing in case the answer is ‘no’. It’s formal, by the way.”
“I have been known to dress up a time or two in my life.” I couldn’t help but laugh at him, not just for his comment, but for how anxious he seemed as he asked me to go with him. “In fact, I’m pretty sure I clean up quite nicely.”
He raised a brow. “I suppose you looked alright tonight.”
My immediate reaction was to playfully smack him in the arm. “Just alright? I must have done something right to end up here.”
Kaden put on a serious face. “I hope you know I don’t do this either, and I hope you don’t think I used you as a rebound.”
“Well, I didn’t, until you said something.” I stuck my tongue out at him. “If you haven’t figured it out, I’d love to go to the banquet with you.”
He pumped his arm in a celebratory motion.
Ding.
I got up and shuffled through my pile of clothes to find my phone. Summer had sent me a text, semi freaking out over the fact I hadn’t called to let her know how the date went. “I should probably call her before she files a missing person’s report.” I smiled as Kaden grabbed my hand.
“I understand. I should probably get going.” He bent down and kissed me. “I’ll let you get dressed.” Then he gathered up his clothes and left the room to give me a bit of privacy.
Why would I need privacy to put my clothes on? I wondered. It isn’t like I wasn’t just completely exposed to him a few minutes ago. The realization over how much of a gentleman he truly seemed to be made the butterflies in my stomach flutter once more.
Once I was dressed, I followed him out to his car, watching as he got into the driver's seat. For a brief moment, I was bummed he was leaving already. As soon as the door was closed, he stuck his head out the window and motioned for me to get closer. As I did, he stuck his arm out the window, pulling me in and kissing me again. “Get some rest because I’m kicking your ass tomorrow during our session,” he announced before he began to cautiously back out of the driveway.
“Hey!” I suddenly realized he hadn’t kept up his end of the bargain. “You never told me your dark secret.”
Kaden laughed and continued backing out without saying a word.
“Kaden.” My voice came out stern yet still playful.
Gently, he pressed on the brakes and looked back at me from the road. “I’ll share everything with you at practice. You can multi-task right?”
He didn’t say anything else before speeding away. Sure, I could harass him over text, but I was looking forward to our sparring session and I didn’t want to come across as desperate. I went back inside and called Summer to tell her all about how the date went.
???
Kaden
“I’m going to kick his ass,” I told Arlo as I pushed my glove into the punching bag before pulling back and hitting again with a hook.
I glanced over to see Arlo standing there and analyzing my every move. “Maybe you should. I think you’re ready.”
I stopped dead in my tracks once the words had escaped his mouth. “I’m ready?”
“How do you feel?” he inquired and I knew he wasn’t questioning my current mental state.
Jumping up and down and shaking my arms out I realized I wasn’t in pain. I couldn’t remember how long it had been since I had felt pain from my accident but it had definitely been weeks. “You think I should challenge Mark?”
He nodded his head. “You’re accepting an award at the banquet, it will be broadcast, you should announce your return to the octagon and challenge him. Right then and there.”
It wasn’t a bad idea. I could avenge Val for the way Mark had treated her and he wouldn’t even see it coming. I could even set things up so she would have the opportunity to fight as well. Arlo seemed a bit eager to make this happen. “I suppose I might need a coach.” I smirked.
“If you think for a moment you are going to ask anyone besides me, you’re wrong.”
We bumped fist to glove. “Let the official training begin.”