Page 8 of Bourbon Deceit
I’d been killing it on the workouts lately and it was oh so gratifying when the strong and powerful Kace couldn’t take me down with his burpees and push-ups. I hung right in there with the other girls. Yes, when I got back to my room I soaked in my tub for hours trying to heal my sore muscles, but still, I stuck it to him.
“Jett came home last night,” I said, keeping our conversation simple. I still felt a little awkward that the other girls were never called up to the Bourbon Room anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I was ecstatic about, it but I’d always felt awkward talking about my . . . involvement with Jett. It wasn’t a relationship, it was just aninvolvement.
“Ahh, I see. That’s why you have some steam to burn off. You’re no longer moping around the club because you got some man last night.”
“I wasn’t moping,” I replied, trying to hold on to a shred of dignity.
Babs saw right through me. “Okay, Lo. Nice try. I know you better than that.”
I smiled and continued to run my warm-up as the other girls trickled in for our daily workout. We all knew the drill. We did ten minutes on the treadmill, then whatever kind of plyometric crap Kace planned for us, and ended with either some weights or a little bit of yoga. It was a good hour and a half to two hours that we spent in the gym almost every day. I wanted to complain but when I looked in the mirror and saw how toned I was, I had to admit, well fucking done, Kace, well fucking done.
As we wrapped up our warm-ups, we noticed that the man with the whip hadn’t shown up yet, which was very strange. He was usually in the gym before any of us.
“Where’s Kace?” Tootse asked, confused, wiping sweat off her brow
“No clue,” Francy replied as she put a stray hair behind Tootse’s ear. They were adorable together and sometimes I was jealous of their relationship, of seeing how affectionate they could be without a worry or care. I wish Jett could share the same kind of relationship.
Pepper looked at her watch and said, “Well, he’s not here, so that means our workout must be canceled. I have some massive school work I have to get done by tonight because I’ve been procrastinating and dreaming up new choreography, so I’m going to peace out girls.” She slapped our asses and took off.
“I have some colors to review for my makeup line so I’m going to take off too,” Babs replied as she winked and ran into the hallway and up the stairs.
And then there were three.
Tootse and Francy smiled at each other and Francy pulled Tootse into her arms and asked, “Shower?”
A devilish smile spread across her face and she nodded. They entwined their fingers together, gave my cheek a little pat, and walked up the stairs together.
“Must be nice,” I muttered and lightly kicked one of the exercise balls in the room.
I had a lot of decisions to make when it came to my school work, but I wasn’t in the mood to do that, and I was only allowed on the third floor when Jett invited me, so offering to take a shower with him would be looked down upon. That left me with one other option, and it was probably the worst idea I’ve had in a while, but apparently I loved walking on the wild side, so I headed to Kace’s room. I wanted to know what was up with the man.
I knew where his room was located but had never actually been there. I was eager to see where he lived, what his room looked like, maybe catch a glimpse of the mysterious man.
Located in the back hallway, on the first floor, past a long, dark tunnel was Kace’s room. The hallway wasn’t in the best of shape like the ones upstairs, and his door looked like it was made of the cheapest wood available. Talk about a servant’s wing—this was it for sure.
Did Kace really live back here? By himself? It seemed so dreary, so sad that I kind of wanted to tell him he could move into my room if he wanted. There was plenty of room for him. I laughed to myself as I thought of Jett’s reaction to Kace and I becoming roomies—it wouldn’t go over well, that’s for sure. But bunk beds are fun.
Images of braiding each other’s hair and staying up late, eating popcorn…
“What the hell are you doing here?” Kace said from behind me, making me jump right out of my damn bra.
“Jesus Christ!” I yelled as my heart pounded in my chest. “You just can’t scare people like that.”
“I asked you a question.” He was seething.
I put my hand on my hip, my heart racing, my breath escaping me. Calm down, Goldie. “Well excuse me for wanting to check on you. You didn’t show up for the workout so I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
Kace stepped into the light and tried to move past me, but not before I saw the bloody lip he was sporting and the bruises across his face.
I stopped him by pulling on his arms and said, “Oh my God, what happened to you?”
I went to touch his lip but he pulled away and sidestepped my embrace.
“Leave,” was all he said as he blew by me, opened his door, and quickly shut it.
Well . . . that was rude.
My mind debated with itself as I tried to figure out what my next move was going to be. I could leave like he asked me to and go up to my room, maybe paint my nails, do some girly shit—
