Deception and Desire

Chapter Eight - Party Time

⟪Elizabeth⟫

Now that I was all over the news, my mother would hardly leave me alone. It had been a few days since our 'relationship' was first discovered. Kaden was partially right in the sense of paparazzi did stop stalking my apartment, but the rest of the places I went? No.

Kaden's first match back was two days from now. He was practically climbing the walls at this point. He hardly left the gym. I had to force him to go home one night. He was fully convinced it'd be best to stay at the gym. I told him he was being crazy.

Now, as I walked into the gym, I noticed that no one was waiting around the side of the building with a camera. I guess we got boring.

HA!

Yeah, right. Those people were like lost puppies following Kaden and I around. I'm assuming since no one is here that means Kaden told them to back off.

I notice Sasha–the girl who 'accidently' overhears things that 'no one wanted' to get out to the media– at the front desk. Despite being a snitch, she's actually a really nice and fun person. I've talked to her a lot recently.

I spot a sweaty, shirtless Kaden across the room. I made my way over to him, gently punching his lower back since it was the only part of him I could reach since he was mid pull-up. "Ready for the fight?" I asked.

He dropped to his feet, turning to face me. "Hey," he breathes out.

"Well?"

"Yeah." He nodded his head. "I'm ready to beat some ass."

I laughed a little. "Good. Um, I actually wanted to ask you something."

Kaden brushed past me, his hand brushing my back before he sat down and grabbed his water bottle. "Shoot, sweetheart."

"Well, I know that you have some free time after this match and my mom is dying to meet you, so I was wondering if you'd be up to come home with me for a week or something," I say.

Kaden nodded his head. "Alright, yeah. Whatever you want."

"Wait, really?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said slowly. "You think I was going to say no?"

"Oh, well, it's just that...Well, you know, it's–I, um, I...It's just, it was kind of hard to talk my ex into doing anything and you–well...we're not even really dating and you agreed," I whispered the part about our love story not being real.

"Sounds like your ex was a douchebag for starters," Kaden says. "Second of all, your mom is the whole reason you agreed to this. This is for you just as much as it is for me."

"Oh, well, um, how about lunch?" I asked. "I'm free."

"Uh, sorry, sweetheart, but I think I'm gonna stay here. But there's this party tonight and I wanted to see if you wanted to go. I wasn't sure if you're a partyer or not." He shrugged. "It's just a bunch of boxers and our friends or whatever. Just a little pre-match fun, kind of a way to blow off steam."

"Sure," I agree. "I haven't really been to a party in...Well, not really ever, but you know..."

"Alright." Kaden stood. "I'll pick you up then, okay?"

"Okay." I nodded my head. I set my hand on his bare shoulder, pushing myself up onto my tip-toes to kiss his cheek.

When it came to affection, Kaden and I kept it minimal. Just enough to convince everyone this was real. We would hold hands if we walked down the street, sure. I'd occasionally kiss his cheek, but other than that we shared no physical affection.