Wake Me Up (Love Knows No Boundaries) (7 page)

I go the saf
e route, jeans and t-shirt. It’s warm out. I’m not wearing my jacket. It’s made for Britain’s rainy days, not America’s warm days.

A
rmed with mascara, blush and plum color-stay lipstick, I’m ready in ten minutes. I don’t know how to take long. My mother would have my head if I dare took long.

“This okay?” I double check with Aiden. Suddenly it doesn’t feel
so okay. It’s a black t-shirt, with a low v-neck.

His eyes drift slow
ly over me and I feel the nervous twist in my stomach. “Great, let’s go.” He takes hold of my hand as we walk to the door, and a warm feeling settles in my stomach. My first proper night out with my flatmate. I can do this. I can be normal.

We stop at
a house that reminds me too much of my own, back at home. Big brick face, money-smothered, green lawn all year round, that type of house. There are already cars parked in the drive, but Aiden parks in the street, and I’m guessing it’s so he won’t get parked in.

If it’s a party
, we are seriously underdressed. Panic starts to beat out its rhythm in my chest. A party means people, and people means touching and socializing. I don’t know if I can do that. I’ve never been to a party before.

I glance at Aiden, ho
ping I’m wrong. “What’s happening here tonight?”

“Now
, I need you to be open-minded,” he starts, and I turn in the seat to look at him. “Have you ever watched any kind of fight sport before?”

“Not really,” I answer care
fully, very unsure of where he’s going with this. “My brother tried karate once.” I’m not sure that qualifies. He was eleven. It didn’t last long.

Aiden reaches
to me and rests his hand on my shoulder. I’m very aware of the two fingers touching the bare strip of skin leading to the curve of my neck. I’m having flashbacks of where that hand was earlier, and it eases some of the panic away. You’d think his hands were magical.

“Once every two weeks
, we meet here for what we call the Ultimate Fighting Championships. We compete until there’s one. That one goes against the other guys from North Carolina who won in their individual groups; this happens once every four months.” He stops, and does that thing where he pins me with his eyes.

He’s waiting for me to freak out.
A part of me actually considers it for a fraction of a moment.

“So you fight?”

“Yes,” he says. I nod, but it’s all he says.

“Why?”

“Some do it for money, others for the title, or the rush.” His eyes drift over my head toward the house, and I can see he’s thinking, maybe even worried.

“Why do you do it?” That’s all I want to know. I don’t care about the others.

He doesn’t answer me immediately. Then his eyes come back to me, and he looks deep, that soul-searching look he has, and I’m just about to get lost when he says, “Every bird of prey looks over its shoulder before it goes in for the kill, even a hawk. Even they know to watch their backs – every single one but an eagle. It’s fearless.” I sit frozen. The fact that he knows that leaves me stunned. “I fight so others don’t have to.”

Whe
n his hand slips up to my neck, my heartbeat speeds up. I’m not sure who Aiden is, but from what I’ve seen he’s bloody perfect. He might as well have stepped out of my dreams, and that’s dangerous – it’s a real danger to my heart. But the warning gets lost as he starts to pull me in.

Kiss me, kiss me, kiss me!

I’m willing him to kiss me, but instead he draws me against his chest and hugs me. I feel rather deflated.

“You’ll be safe in there. Just stay close,” he says, hot in my ear, wreaking havoc with my hormones, “and don’t drink anything that doesn’t come from me.”

I smile she
epishly. There won’t be any risk of that happening.

~*~

Just like I thought, it’s obvious that whoever lives here has money. What I get to see of the house is glamorous. Once we step out the back the atmosphere shifts, it’s charged with excitement. The same blokes from the pub are all standing around, muscles bulging and gleaming under a spotlighted area.

There’s a cordon
ed-off circle with chairs neatly placed around it. That’s most probably where it will happen, the fighting.

And the
few women that are here are … well, let’s just say I feel very underdressed. Tight dresses just covering their arses, and boosting their assets all round, make me look duller than yesterday. Dress casual, he said.

One comes sauntering closer
, and I admire her balancing skills. I’d never be able to walk in heels like that.

“Aiden, are you ready for tonight?” Her tone is low, like husky low.

I try to wiggle free my hand, that has somehow ended up in his again, but he tightens his grasp.

“I’m always ready. Where’s Katia? I don’t see her.”

I can’t believe it. He’s not giving Ultimate Barbie the time of day, and she doesn’t look impressed.

“She’ll be out now. Why don’t you go get geared up.”

Only when she turns away does he let go of my hand. I follow him toward the blokes he was with last night. It’s good I’m walking behind him, for various reasons. He reaches behind him with one hand, and in one swift movement he slips the sweater off. My eyes glue themselves to his muscled back. I’m eye-stalking again, every flexing muscle. His back mesmerizes me until I smack into him, rather hard.

“Bugger,” I mumble
, utterly embarrassed for being so obvious about salivating over him. You’d swear we weren’t naked together just a few hours ago.

You’d swear I was
still a virgin surrounded by Greek gods and goddesses.

OH. What
do you know, I am!

“You
okay?” he asks in a hushed tone, making his voice sound so much sexier.

H
is arm slips around my shoulders. Just like all the drooling, hormonal, knicker-dropping girls out there, I breathe him in as he presses me against his chest. I don’t suppress the urge and take the dive, pressing my cheek to his smooth skin, right over the eagle, and I keep inhaling his spicy scent for a few more precious seconds.

“
Splendid.” I can only manage one word without making a total arse of myself. I’m ready to drop my own knickers; he just needs to give the command.

“Will you hold
this for me?” His sweater appears in front of me and I take hold of it. I stand, once again totally transfixed, as he slips out of his slacks.

Oh. Bloody. Hell.
God save the Queen and my raging hormones. I don’t think I’m going to survive the evening.

He has now stripped down to only
shorts, black ones with words written in gray on the side. CAPOEIRA. I wonder what it means?

“I want you
sitting close by. We’re going to warm up before the others come. Can I get you something to drink first?” he asks, as if everything is fine and I’m not melting into a puddle of raving hormones at his feet. Hormones that are swaying to one tune, the American National Anthem.

I just shake my head and take the seat he points out. I fold his clothes neatly
, but like a sixteen-year old, I keep them on my lap. Oh yeah, I’m in trouble. I might have a crush on my flatmate. This is not one of the experiences I was counting on having.

~*~

Warm-ups. I don’t know what I expected, but it wan’t men slamming each other to the ground. Aiden is talking to one of the others while they watch the two in the ring go at it. I’m not sure who is who, I can’t remember their names, and at the moment I have them organized by the color of their shorts. Blue and Red are warming up.

I suck in a breath when R
ed goes down, thinking he shouldn’t get up. I wouldn’t get up. I’d lie wheezing, and counting my broken bones.

My eyes dart to Aiden and then I hold my breath. He’s
separated from the group, and is doing what looks like a dance move, swaying agilely back and forth. Then he moves fast, and I let out my breath as he balances onto one hand, every muscle taut as his whole body straightens like an arrow in the air. I tip my head sideways, waiting for him to tumble down, but he eases himself down and I sigh dreamily. It’s just not right that one person should look so good. It could be hazardous to someone’s health, like mine – I’m already struggling to breathe, let’s not even get going on the heart palpitations.

He re
peats the swaying motion, with much concentration on his face, his body subtle. When he moves again, he twists his body into the air, and I lift my eyebrows. Right about there I’d be eating dirt and lots of it, but he lands gracefully again.

“Aiden
, you’re up,” Green Shorts calls.

Blue and Red help
them strap on gloves, and then Aiden walks into the ring. I grab hold of his sweater and lift it to my chest. When they tap each other’s hands, my heart sets off at a maddening pace. I can’t hear what they’re saying, but they look relaxed.

Green moves in on Aiden, kicki
ng at him, and I shriek low in my throat for him to move. When he jumps out of the way, I press his sweater in under my chin.

“
The real fighting hasn’t even started yet. Relax, honey.” My eyes jump from Katia, as she sits down next to me, to Aiden, and then back. “How are you, Emma?”

She turns her body
to face me, and drapes her arm on the back of my chair. She’s way too close for comfort, but at least she’s not leeching onto me, it’s one positive. As long as she keeps her distance I can deal with her.

“Adjusting to the American way,
how are you?” I ask.

If I’m going to be around Aiden I might as well try with the people he hangs out with.
Although Katia is a different cup of tea altogether. Not sure how I’m going to get along with her.

She beams a smile at me.
“I’m great.” Then she leans into me. “Are you cold, princess? You’re hugging that sweater awfully tight.”

I drop the sweater b
ack to my lap and glance to the ring. It’s empty. My eyes flit all over the place until I find Aiden. He looks intimidating, to say the least, as he stalks towards us. At first his eyes are on Katia, and I’m just about to start feeling awkward, thinking I might have missed something between them, when he reaches his hand to me.

“You don’t mind if I borrow my girl, Katia?” I don’t wait to hear her answer.

I’m up and dropping his clothes in the chair before she can think of a response. His hand is warm when he weaves his fingers through mine, and I struggle to keep the daft smile off my face. He called me his girl. I’m swooning.

“P
eople are starting to arrive, so it’s going to fill up real fast. I just want to get you something to drink. Please don’t take anything from anybody but me,” he says, as we walk in the direction of the pool and bar counter.

A bar
counter means alcohol. I’d rather drink pool water than alcohol. Aiden dashes in behind the counter and retrieves two bottles of water. Lucky for me, no pool water. We don’t head back to the ring, though. Instead, he leads me over to the steps next to the pool, where he pulls me down beside him.

“Let’s just enjoy this
moment before it gets crazy.” His words aren’t even cold when music starts to beat into the air. Even though the bass is hard, vibrating the water in the bottles, the background tune is slower, lending a trancy vibe to it.

“Thank you for comin’
.”

H
e places his hand right behind my bottom, leaning in, and it sends my heart on a mad dash across the lawn.

“It’s different,” I start. I won’t lie, I’m concerned. “Won’t you get hurt?”

“Are you actually worried about me?” he teases me, and as my luck would have it I flush. I can feel the blood pulsing in my cheeks.

With him sitting so close
, his eyes are too intense to look into. I look out over the garden, letting my hair fall between us. I can’t keep the daft grin off my face, and I don’t want him to see it. It’s one thing to like him, it’s another letting him know I like him.

“Maybe a little.” I’m moving into flirting
territory with my flatmate. I’ve never done anything like this. Am I even doing it right? I should ask Chloe for some tips. She’s good at this kind of thing. “I can’t drive you home. We’ll end up being one with a tree on the wrong side of the road.”  I was almost one with him. The thought makes me flush all over again. I get a feeling I’m going to be permanently red around him.

“I’ll be fine, there’s no need to worry,” he reassures me.

“What does the word on your on your shorts mean?” I suddenly remember, I wanted to know the meaning of it.

“It’s th
e fighting style I prefer. Capoeira is a Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance, acrobatics and martial arts. I throw in some other things I’ve learned along the way, but Capoeira teaches you respect and patience. The sport is about hope.”

I sit stunned, my eyes glued to him. Hope. With one single word he’s floored me.