Page 15 of Terms of the Flight

Khaleya had finally made her way to her bedroom and was now lying in bed with a bonnet on. She also had eye patches beneath her eyes.

“First, no sex. This is pretend, and it needs to stay that way. Second, I don’t want my parents or family brought into this?—”

“You know I have no control over the media, right? I can do my best, but that’s not something I can promise. The first, we can both agree on, but the moment you give me the word, I’m wearing yo’ ass out.”

“Don’t hold your breath. Third, no extra groping unless we talked about it beforehand. My body is mine, and I need you to respect that.”

My brow lifted.

“It’s no way anyone will believe you’re mine if I have to ask your permission to touch you.”

She nodded and rolled her eyes. “I guess. Fourth… no other women. I don’t care if we’re pretending. You don’t get the right to embarrass me in front of the world. No money is worth that.”

I heard her loud and clear. If only she knew. That was the last thing I would ever try to do.

“I would never intentionally embarrass you. Communication is key with me. You’ll never have to repeat yourself. Tell me ifyou don’t like something, no matter how small you think it is. I still want to show you the respect you deserve. And no women or men for you either. That dating shit you do now, pause that.”

She smiled and nodded. “I like men and men only. But I like that you didn’t assume. If you want me to stop dating on my social media, you’re going to have to be my partner for those, then. That’s part of my bread and butter. I can’t just stop recording for over a month.”

I stroked my chin and nodded. “I can make that happen. Once we get this contract signed, I’ll make sure you have access to my calendar, and I’ll have access to yours, since we’re going to need to set up dates and things anyway.”

I yawned as the events of the day caught up with me.

“I don’t want to keep you up too late.”

I waved her off. “It’s cool. Give me the rest of your hard no’s. I want to get this over to my lawyer so we can get that contract drawn up.”

She licked her lip and then bit the corner of her lower lip. I made a mental note that when she was in deep thought, she bit her lip. I don’t know why understanding her tell signs was important to me. But it just was.

“I need forty-eight-hour notice before anything important that I am expected to be at. Oh, and my wardrobe for all said events is on you. It doesn’t come out of our agreed amount either.”

I nodded. “I can do that. Anything else?”

“Don’t ever let me find out something from other people. Please be the first to tell me. I can handle any and everything thrown my way. Long as I have the details.”

“So, do I have a fake girlfriend now?” I asked.

She gripped her chin and looked up at the ceiling with a tilt of her head, as if she was thinking about it.

“I guess, but I’m going to need that Birkin. Don’t think I forgot.”

My head shot back as I laughed.

“I’m good for it. Text me your email and I’ll make sure I get you this contract. Then we take that shopping spree you want.”

Khaleya yawned and nodded.

“Sounds like a plan, Mr. Blackwell.”

“What I tell you about that Mr. Blackwell stuff. I let it slide earlier, but call me Myheir or Bae if you’re feeling a little extra that day.”

She rolled her eyes. “Goodnight, Myheir. Some of us have a nine-to-five to get to in the a.m.”

“Mhm, we’re going to talk about that too. But goodnight, Doll.”

She smiled and hung up, not bothering to reply to my comment about her job. But if she was going to have the time to date me, she would need to take some vacation time with Premier Wings. I knew that was going to be a task to get her to agree to.

I said a silent prayer for God to be with me throughout this entire process. This woman was definitely going to bring some excitement into my life.