“Hey, Kade, let’s make a bet,” I tell him, my game face on.
“What have you got in mind?” Kade asks, game for anything as usual.
“Cook off. Whoever can cook the best dish, wins. Loser has to get on the pole, naked, of course,” I say cockily.
Knowing Kade doesn’t back down from a bet, I know I have him.
He hesitates. “You're f**king sneaky, and you know I can’t cook. Can Layla give me directions?”
“Nope,” Layla says with a smirk before I can tell him.
James and Chase encourage him to do it. Kade caves.
“Fine. You’re on,” he mumbles. “But if I lose, it’s a private dance. I don’t want these ass**les seeing it.”
I laugh, nodding in agreement. I should hide a camera like he did with me.
As if sensing my thoughts, Kade pipes up. “Don’t even f**king think about it. I’m going to check beforehand.”
“Prepare to lose, Kade,” I taunt.
I do a small happy dance. Everyone looks at me in various states of amusement. “What? I like my happy dance.” I do it again.
“I’ll be the judge of this bet! We’ll all come over next weekend. Sound good?” Layla says gleefully.
“Sure does. There you go, Kade. Gives you a week to try to learn to cook,” I say, winking at him.
Kade shakes his head at me.
******
My mother is over; she dropped by to bring a few things I needed.
“How are you doing, sweetie? You hardly drop by anymore,” she pouts. She looks adorable sitting on my bed, wearing a knee length skirt and a white blazer jacket. She stopped by on her way to the office.
“I know, Mum, I have work and everything. I’ll try come by this weekend though. We can all go out to dinner, okay?” I offer. I do miss my folks. My mother nods, satisfied. I am her only kid, she must be bored without me in the house. Who knows what they're getting up to alone there? Okay, ew. I cannot believe my mind just went there. I shudder.
She stands up and brushes imaginary lint off her jacket. “I better get to work, sweetie. I’ll see you this weekend. And call me if you need anything. Money, or anything, alright?” she offers kindly. “Also, you have to bring Kade over again, I need some eye candy to look at besides your father. You two still going strong?”
“Okay, and yes, still great.” I tell her, giving her a quick peck on the cheek.
I’m about to walk her out the door when I hear Kade call out, “Nikki, I need some attention!” I glance over at Mum and give her a grin.
Suddenly, the door barges open and a very naked, very erect Kade is standing there. Oh, f**k. He needs attention, indeed. I cover my eyes, hoping the scene will disappear.
“Oh, sorry, Mrs. Heath! Nikki, come see me in my room when you’re ready.” And with that, no joke, he walks out, not a care in the world. I bang my head on the wall. I glance over at my mother who is wide eyed, her mouth open in a gasp.
“Well, Nikki. His dick certainly does match the rest of him. He’s big! You did well for yourself,” she splutters out, actually fanning herself with her hand. "You better go take care of him!” She winks as she walks out.
Kill me.
******
After my mother leaves, I walk into Kade’s room.
“Next time, cover up, Kade! What if it was someone else and not my mother? It’s bad enough that it was her!” I put my face in my hands, reliving the moment with horror.
Kade just laughs, capturing my lips in a searing kiss.
“You gonna fix my problem now?” he asks huskily.
“How exactly did you get in this condition?” I banter.
“I woke up,” he purrs into my ear.
I get down to business.
******
A few hours later, I’m getting ready to head out. “Where are you going? I thought you were off today?” Kade asks, scaring me because I didn’t hear him walk in my room.
“Yeah, I am, but I have a doctor’s appointment I gotta get to.” I say, grabbing my purse, and mentally checking off if I have everything I need.
He frowns, looking worried. “Is everything okay?”
I smile and shake my head. “Yes, everything's fine, I'm just due for my shot.”
“Shot? What shot?”
“Birth control, Kade. I get it every three months.”
He relaxes and then asks if he can come with me. I scrunch my nose at him, but then decide to let him tag along. He can keep me company in the waiting room. Sometimes I have to sit there waiting for my doctor for about an hour, and I get bored as hell. Kade gets ready quickly, and we head out.
The receptionist at the doctor's keeps staring at Kade and batting her eyelashes, way to be subtle. I knew I never liked her for a reason. Like I had expected, my doctor is running late and I have to wait. Kade is playing Tetris on his phone, keeping himself amused. I pluck his phone out of his hands, about to steal his game. His phone beeps with a message and I bite my lip. To snoop or not to snoop? My trust issues make me choose the former. I start giggling when I see it’s a photo message from Layla. She has taken a picture of Chase’s Twix stash, which is currently down to one, and has written underneath, ‘You must have a death wish, Kade!’ Looks like Kade has stolen Chase’s chocolate. Again. My mouth gapes wide open when I see Kade pull out a Twix from his pocket and take a massive bite.
“Want some?” he asks, offering me the chocolate.
“No, thanks! I’m not getting my DNA on the evidence,” I joke.