Chapter Nine

My feet hit the ground in an even stride as I travel down the hallway. My stomach rumbles with hunger as I make a beeline for the kitchen. I'm absolutely starving, so I hope Kade is magically in the kitchen putting his amazing cooking skills to use. The fact he doesn't work as a chief is already enough of an injustice to the world.

I don't notice I'm being followed until someone coughs. Spinning around, I find Kade walking behind me with a large smile on his face.

"What's with the smile?" I ask. He can't be this happy in the morning.

"You have cute underwear on." Kade shoots me a wink as he bypasses me.

Blushing with embarrassment, I run my hands over my bottom. I find my nighty is swept up which is allowing my underwear to be on display. I quickly tug on the hem of my nighty so that it covers my behind once more.

When I get into the kitchen, Kade's pulling food out of the fridge. I happily take a seat at the counter and watch him. I'm an alright cook but I'd much prefer what he's making. What person doesn't enjoy someone cooking them food?

"Alessia has a spar appointment today, would you like to attend?" he asks.

"Wouldn't Alessia be jealous if you came to a spar appointment with me?"

Kade shakes his head. "No, I was thinking you could take Jenna." The thought of spending the day with Jenna is exciting. It'll be our first chance to hang out as Lydia and Jenna. Maybe I could learn more about Alessia and become better friends with Jenna. I have to work with her which will be easier if we're actual friends.

"Sure." I nod my head. "What time, and how long?"

"It's a day event." Disappointment settles in my heart. A part of me wishes Kade wants to come to the spar with me. I think it could be a great bonding experience. But at the same time, I don't want to put myself out there. I'm just a replacement at the end of the day. I'll be replaced before that.

"Oh, can you call a taxi for me?"

"Don't worry, I'll have Bruce take you there."

"Thanks, Kade. I'll message Jenna and get ready."

"Sure." He half-smiles.

I slip off the chair and walk to the bedroom. Closing the door behind me, I grab my cell from the table and text Jenna about the spar appointment.

Without procrastinating, I set to work on finding an outfit. It takes me a couple of minutes to find the perfect outfit, and even so, I'm not sure how perfect it is. I end up with a blue crop top with long frilly sleeves and a pair of white shorts to match it.

Once I'm dressed, I meet Kade back in the kitchen. He's made scrambled eggs with chopped vegetables and a side of bacon. After eating, I clean up the mess while Kade gets ready for work. Twenty minutes later, I meet Kade by the elevator.

"We'll take you on the way to work," explains Kade.

"Are you sure?" I ask.

I don't want to be responsible for Kade missing work. Sure, he runs his own company, but that doesn't give him exceptions.

When the elevator opens, we step inside and Kade presses a couple of buttons. We eventually end up on the ground level. Kade and I walk outside to meet Bruce. He's parked outside the building which is easy enough to find. Kade opens the car door for me and I slip inside.

Kade and I drive around until we stop in front of another hotel. I shoot him a smile before stepping out of the car and walking inside. Kade jumps out of the car and chases after me.

"Is there something wrong?" I ask.

"You forgot your bag," he says.

Kade hands me my handbag and I blush with embarrassment; I can't believe I forgot it.

"Thank you." I smile.

"No problem. Have a good day, Alessia."

"Same for you Kade."

I stand on the sidewalk and watch Kade return to his car. When they slip into the bustle of the morning traffic, I head into the hotel. The first thing I see is the reception desk, thankfully. I hate places that involve a bit of a scavenger hunt to find the basic things.

"Hi, uh, I have a spar appointment for today," I explain.

"Sure, if you go through this door-" The receptionist gives me directions to their attached spar block.

I wander through the lobby, and then the garden / pool area until I find a building that looks like a hut from the wooden exterior. But as I walk inside, I'm surprised to find a sleek interior and not a matching wooden theme. The desk is in the centre of the room along with a few waiting chairs dotted around the place.

The woman behind the desk is sitting in a plush, large vintage looking chair.

"Hey, I'm Alessia Louis, I have a spar appointment today," I explain.

"Yes, please come this way." The receptionist jumps up from her chair and leads the way. We walk into another room that leads to a communal dressing room.

"Ah, which locker am I?" I ask.

"We have a private room for you," she explains.

"Private room?" I frown.

"Compliments of Kade Taylor."

"Let me guess, he brought this place so that he could give me an upgrade?" I giggle.

"No, it was a gift for his twentieth birthday from his parents." I burst out with laugher, that's insane, but of course, that's what rich people seem to buy their kids. You know, not like an iPod or some Channel clothing. The lady tries to bite her lip, but I see a small smile quirk onto her lips. Once I'm settled, she leaves me alone to enjoy the room.

The private room is spacious which is undeniably nice. There's a plush white couch, a dressing table, and beautiful cushions sprawled on the couch. There's exotic looking lamps, and beautiful artwork hanging on the walls. Everything seems to be styled in a black and white scale that makes it look sophisticated.

I strip out of my clothing and dress in the plush white robe on the couch. As I settle amongst the cushions, the door springs open and Jenna strolls through.

"I'm so excited," announces Jenna.

"Same," I agree.

Jenna dumps her things on the ground and takes the robe from the dressing table. Without fear, she strips naked and slips on the robe. I lay frozen – I could never do that.

Five minutes later, another lady enters the room.

"Hi, I'm Christen and I'll be taking care of you today," she explains.

"Great!" gushes Jenna. "How does the massage room sound?"

"Amazing." I jump off the couch and follow Christen down a hallway and towards another room. The room she takes us to is a luxurious open space with two massage tables set up. The lighting in the room is dim and there's some calming music playing in the background.

Christen leaves us and I follow Jenna's lead by laying on the table. Two women eventually enter and they begin explaining the process. The only think I can think of is this massage. I have this gnarly lower back pain that needs to be massaged away.

* * *

At the end of the spar appointment, Jenna flops on the couch and smiles happily.

"Today has been so fun," she says. "And we should continue this by going out."

"Where are we supposed to go?" I ask. "I'm not dressed for anything."

"Lesson one Lydia, always be prepared!" Jenna rolls off the couch and walks towards her bag, she picks it up and pulls out a couple of dresses suited for going out.

"What else do you have in there Mary Poppins?" I laugh.

"Lessa taught me this very lesson when we first started hanging out. She always had this large bag filled with makeup and clothing for every occasion. Nothing would stop her from being prepared." It made sense to always be prepared in this world – you can't be a social climber if you're out of the loop or waiting on something tedious like a change of clothes holding you back.

"I'll be sure to improve next time," I explain.

"Until then, wear this and put on some red lipstick." Jenna throws a black dress at me. I catch it in one hand and hold it up. The black dress is shapely with a v neck cut and spaghetti straps. It's simple, elegant, and perfect for any adventure Jenna might chuck at me.

I turn around and change into the dress. It requires me to go braless which is another thing that leaves me uncomfortable.

"You look hot!" compliments Jenna.

"Thank you."

"Here, wear these." Jenna hands me a pair of pumps and a makeup bag. I look through the content until I find a bright red lipstick and some mascara. I don't bother with foundation, she's a couple of shades darker than my completion. I do add in some light eyeshadow to shake my eyes. Once I'm ready, I slip on the shoes.

"Shit, they don't fit."

"You know what, fuck it! Kade's your boyfriend so they can't throw you out for wearing no shoes," replies Jenna.

"But –"

"I won't wear shoes either." Jenna takes off her black heels and throws them into her bag. "Problem solved." I could only imagine the magazine headlines that could potentially ruin Alessia's social standing. People are pretty creative when it comes to writing articles.

"We could go to Kade's and drink there," I say.

"Nope." She shakes her head. "We're going to hit up that hotel bar and have fun."

Jenna packs up her stuff and walks off, bear feet and all. I scamper after Jenna with my bag in hand. I never imagined I'd be sipping cocktails bear footed. But hey, that's the beginning of a new adventure that I couldn't say no to.

We walk back to the main hotel section and then through to the ground floor bar. It's almost looks exclusive from the limited amount of people sitting around. Jenna hands her bag to one of the waiters and instructs them to put it in the cloak room for now. He gives her an odd look, then she points to me.

"Sure, right away Ms. Louis." The waiter takes my bag and clothing too. All I'm left with is my purse and phone.

"What should we drink first?" Jenna grabs the menu and smiles. I look at the price and frown.

"Whatever you want."

"Great." Jenna leans over the bar and points out a few drinks to the bartender. As she goes to pay, he shakes his head and looks at me. I feel bad the drinks are probably going onto Kade's tab, but at the same time, I'm sure he can afford a couple of free drinks.

The bartender gives us a fruity looking drink with a lime wedge on the side. Jenna takes the glass and raises it for a toast.

"To new friendships, drinks, and the memories to come." We clink glasses and she chugs down the entire drink before slamming the glass on the bar top. I quickly finish the drink to keep up with Jenna. It's not something I would usually have, but it tastes pretty good.

Three cocktails later and I'm almost falling off my seat. An arm wraps around my side which almost has me jumping ten feet in the air. I look over my shoulder to find a tired Kade surveying the bottles behind the bar.

"John Walker & Sons Odyssey on the rocks, thanks," orders Kade.

"How did you know we were here?" I ask.

"Wasn't a hard guess." Shrugs Kade. "I also heard about two ladies sitting shoeless in my bar."

"Your bar, hey?" I tease.

"Would you two enchanting ladies like a cocktail? I hear the hunky bartender does a fabulous job." He winks.

"I'm intrigued. Please proceed."

Kade walks around the bar and removes his suit jacket and discards it. He then folds his long sleeves before turning his attention to the cocktail utensils in front of him. He grabs two glasses, alcohol and a mixer. Kade throws some alcohol together before producing another fruity drink with crushed ice.

"Enjoy."

Jenna and I carefully sip from the drinks. It's hard to stop a smile from spreading to my lips. It tastes pretty darn good. I've discovered another talent from Kade.

"I think it's already, how about you?" I tease.

Jenna giggles and nods her head with agreement. "I might need a few more to decide."

"That can be arranged." Kade grabs more alcohol and starts concocting our next drink. This time, it's a fruit tingle which makes me excited.

"We won't be leaving this bar walking, will we?" I ask.

"Walking? Pft, crawling if we're lucky." The idea of being hungover doesn't excitement me in the slightest. However, I down another drink and grin with anticipation – the night is only young and I need another drink.

*  *  *    

AUTHORS NOTE

Not sure when I'll be updating next, but I am going to be making more time for this book :-) I'm excited to have Kade back, anyone else? If you want to see more, don't forget to follow me on Snaptchat -> theescapestory

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