I want that.
My phone buzzes. I reject the call immediately. I’mcoming. I’m coming so hard against the vibrator that my vision blurs. “Fuck.” I turn my head into the pillow, my body twisting and arching. “Fuck,” I groan again. When I finally relax, my body is loose and light.
I pick up the phone to see Tristan’s text on the screen.
Tristan
You what?
Shit. Shit, shit, shit.I went too far. I let him see how much I want him. I scramble to type something normal.
Katie
You know…with a guy.
I want to feel free like that. Uninhibited. Insatiable.
Tristan
Right
30
KATIE
The girls are full of energy the next afternoon when we meet for practice. They burst into the gym behind me, excited to start and talking about how they’ve been working on punching at home. Sasha even brought her mom.
Tristan is standing in the middle of the space, arms folded, eyes simmering. I freeze when I see him, like we’re at a Wild West showdown. It’s just him and me, facing off over the mats, the heady weight of those texts between us.
Heat spreads over my face. “How did you find me?”
His grin is cocky. “I’m pretty good at snooping. Besides, I know you, Bailey.” His voice is low and husky, and the words shiver through me. “Looks like you have a fan club.”
“Are you guys dating?” Malika asks. The girls all giggle and flop down on the mats.
“No,” I say quickly.
Tristan just smirks.
I have a blinding memory of how I felt yesterday on my bed when I pictured Tristan behind my lids. That smirk featured prominently.
“I saw a video of you guys getting coffee,” Rosh says.
“Girls,” Emory exclaims. “No more prying. Does anyone have any real questions before we start?”
“How did you become a bodyguard?” Sasha’s question is so quiet that I almost miss it.
“I learned from my dad. He adopted me when I was five. He was a bodyguard and he took me with him everywhere. I’ve been doing it my whole life.”
So much is left unsaid in those sentences. The way David drilled everything into me, the way he always pushed me to do more, the way he quietly supported me. The way that, sometimes, this job feels like my last connection to him.
“Do you love it?” Harmony asks. She’s so serious, so earnest, that my heart squeezes. I could play it off, but I don’t want to. These girls deserve the truth, and the way they watch me makes me want to do right by them. I want to make them proud to be women the way I am.
“I do.” I motion for them all to stand, and they climb to their feet. “I like protecting people. I like helping. I’m proud that I get to be the one who does this.” I look at each of them. “People put their trust in me every day. I help them with the most important moments of their lives. It is an honor.”
My throat is tight, and I blink rapidly. I didn’t intend to say all that. I’m not sure I even knew Ifeltall of that.
“I want to be a bodyguard,” I hear Sasha say to her mom. Her mom squeezes her knee, and I look swiftly away. I never had a mom to do that. My pulse is wild as I keep blinking. I can’t look back at Sasha.
