Page 25 of Get Me (The Keatyn Chronicles 6)
He leads me out to the dance floor and pulls me into his arms.
It's at this point I realize that sometimes I'm not very good at pretending.
Because sometimes my real life gets in the way.
And it's because I'm not dancing with Aiden.
As much as I want to pretend that I'm into dancing with Knox, I'm just not.
This is going to be harder than I thought.
I close my eyes and try to pretend I'm dancing with Aiden. But Knox doesn't move the way Aiden does. His leg doesn't fit between mine like it should. His hands don't grip my hips like he owns them.
"Uh, I need to pee," I say, suddenly coming up with a way to get off the dance floor and quickly fleeing.
I don't even think about my safety or Vincent until I'm rushing out of the bathroom and a brick wall of a man is standing in front of me, blocking my way.
"Where's a pretty little thing like you going in such a big hurry?" he says, taking a step toward me.
I back up as warning bells go off in my brain, the hair on the back of my neck stands on end, and my stomach feels sick. This man is dangerous, and I'm not sure even with all of Cooper's training that I'd stand a chance against him.
I look behind him, hoping someone else will need to use the bathroom, but there's no one coming. He takes another step toward me, but this time I don't step back. Instead, I move toward him, letting my shoulder bump into his and say, "Excuse me."
He doesn't move, so I speak louder. "I said, excuse me!"
He grips my shoulder tightly and pushes me against the wall, setting off visions of being raped in the bathroom.
"I'm going to say it one more time. Excuse me."
The guy laughs at me, so I do what I've practiced over and over. I curl my fist, punch him in the throat, sweep kick his kneecap with my heel, and then stand back up quickly, using my leg strength for leverage as I thrust my elbow up under his chin.
He groans and falls to the floor, clutching his knee. I step over him and run back to the VIP section in tears.
Knox is out dancing, surrounded by women, but his bodyguard rushes toward me. "What's wrong?"
"What's wrong is you suck as a bodyguard. I was attacked by a huge man coming out of the bathroom and you were nowhere to be found. Tell Knox I said goodnight."
I pick my handbag off the couch and storm out the door, completely forgetting about the cameras until they start flashing.
"Keatyn! Where's Knox?"
"Why are you crying?"
"He's a cad, isn't he?" a girl without a camera says. She has a wild look on her face, and I'm sure she's the stalker he spoke of.
I cover my face with my hand, turn around, and run straight into Knox, who wraps me in a hug.
"I'm sorry," he says as the cameras flash around us.
He pulls me back into the club as the valet waves our driver forward. It's then that Knox's bodyguard finally does something worthwhile, working with the club's bouncers to shield us as we get into the car.
"Tell me what happened," Knox says, still holding me protectively.
I shake my head. "I just want to go home."
"They're following us," his driver says.
"Then take us back to my place."
Once we're safely back in his hotel, I take out my phone and call Cooper. "I need you to come get me, but there's paparazzi everywhere."
"They'll be out there until morning," Knox says. "Waiting to get the morning after photos. So they can say you spent the night. They can see if I walk you to the car. If it's a walk of shame or if we get coffee together."
"What happened?" Cooper says in my ear. "You sound upset."
"We'll talk about it later. It sounds like I'm stuck here."
"Aiden wants to talk to you."
"Boots, are you okay?" Aiden's silky voice comes over the phone, which makes me start crying.
"No."
"I'm coming there."
"You can't."
"Keatyn, no one knows me. I'll look like any other guest checking in." I hear Cooper talking in the background. "Cooper says he'll bring your wig and some clothes."
I take a deep breath. "I need a minute to think about what I want to do. I'll call you back when I figure it out."
"You just told me you weren't okay."
"I wasn't. But now I am."
"What changed?"
"I talked to you."
I swear I can feel him smiling through the phone. "Okay. Call me back."
I end the call and set my phone down.
Knox sits down and hands me a bottle of water. "I'm sorry. I didn't tell Hugo to watch you. He doesn't normally watch out for the girls I'm with."
"It's okay. I handled it."
"The bouncer said you took some big guy down. Wiped out his knee."
"When I came out of the bathroom, he wouldn't let me by. I asked nice twice. Then he grabbed me by the shoulder and tried to force me into the bathroom. I don't even want to think about what he wanted to do to me in there."
"So you punched him?"
"Yeah. Jab to the throat. Heel to the knee. Elbow to the chin. Cooper taught me well."
"What do you want to do? We're in this far. If you really want to play it through, you let me kiss you and put you in a car in the morning."
"I have to finish shooting a music video tomorrow at the studio. Why don't you come with me?"
"Sounds like a plan. Do you want to watch a movie?"
"I'd really just like to go to sleep, Knox."
"Come on then, I'll show you to your room."
I tell Knox goodnight, wash my face, lie in bed, and call Aiden.
"Can you put me on speakerphone for this part, so Cooper can hear?"
"Uh, sure."
"So, I'm going to spend the night here. I was wrong not to bring you with, Cooper. He told me his bodyguard was the best, but he was wrong. I sort of almost got attacked by a huge guy at the club."
"What do you mean, almost attacked?" Riley says.
"I didn't know you were on too, Riley. How's the video coming?"
"It's coming fine," Aiden says. "Tell us what happened."
I tell them what the guy did, what I did, how we left, and how the photographers followed us here. "So, my plan is to just go with it. I mean, I went through all of that to make people think we're together, I might as well let them think I spent the night. I can't come home. I don't want to risk it. We'll both come to the studio tomorrow, as if he's filming. Then, later, he can go home without me,
and I'll go home with you guys."
"It's good to know you can handle yourself under pressure," Cooper says. "But you shouldn't have had to."
"I know. I'm sorry. I'll see you all in the morning."
"I'm taking you off speaker and going in the bedroom," Aiden says sternly. "We aren't done talking."
"Good," I say. "Because I'm not finished talking to you."
"Where are you right now?"
"Lying in bed, wishing I was with you."
"I'm kind of mad at you."
"I know. Aiden?"
"What, baby?"
"I'm not that good of an actress."
"What makes you say that?"
"I was fine pretending to be into him when we got out of the car at the club. He even kissed me on the lips for the cameras. Didn't phase me. I was just playing my role. Inside the club, I pretended some more. Until he took me out to dance."
"And then what?"
"I couldn't pretend anymore. Dancing with him felt so--wrong. So foreign. Not the way it feels with you."
"How does it feel with me?"
"Don't you know?"
"Of course, I know. We fit together perfectly. And not just when we're dancing. In every single way. I told you: BK. Before Keatyn. You've ruined me."
I smile, thinking about all the ways Aiden has ruined me. With his lips. His tongue. And even some other parts. But it's not just physical. It's not just the way we fit together on the dance floor. Or the way our bodies mold to each other when we're in bed. It's the way he talks to me when he's upset. His unwavering faith in us. In me.
"I'm sorry I have to play these games, Aiden. Don't lose faith in me, okay?"
"Am I going to see a picture of you kissing Knox in the papers tomorrow?"
"Hopefully."
"And you think that will help your situation?"
"Hopefully. I'm tired, Aiden," I say. Not just because I'm sleepy, but because this whole ordeal is wearing on me.
"I'm tired too. Night, Boots. I love you."
"I love you too, Aiden."
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29TH
So happy about it.
7am
"Rise and shine," Knox says, bouncing on my bed early in the morning.
