Heartbreaker (Unbreakable #1)(11)

I stared at her exposed shoe. I blinked hard, surprised. “What is that?”

“What?” She followed my line of sight, glancing downward.

“Your shoe.” I nodded toward it.

“They’re Vibram FiveFingers.”

“Specialized footwear.” I knew what they were. Just shocked as hell she wore them. Her mellow artist type didn’t match the purpose of those shoes.

“For running.” She nodded, pivoting her foot on her big toe to expose the side of the black-on-black shoe.

I cleared my throat. “They have…toes.” Had to give her shit about them. Anything to veer my mind from the sexual path it had been charging down.

“Yup.” She tapped the ground between us, pointing them at me. “Sexy, right?”

Incredibly. But the shoes had nothing to do with it.

“You run.” The skeptical question came out flat. Couldn’t wrap my mind around it. Was she in great shape? Absolutely. But running seemed so…off…for her.

“’Bout to. Stumbled across an article about the shoes. A lot of people are challenging themselves to do a Couch to 5K, or something like that. I’ve been wearing them around the warehouse for a couple of months, getting used to them.”

“Ever run?”

“Nope.”

“Why now?”

“I want to get in better shape and need something different. Separate from art. Out of doors. Something just for me.”

“And a 5K is your idea of ‘out of doors’?” My mind flashed to a disturbing picture of her running between tall buildings…down dark narrow alleys.

She shrugged. “It’s not cooped up in the warehouse with sculptures and a comedic kitten.”

“Kitten?” I suddenly remembered what she’d called out when I’d arrived. “Chip Monkey?”

“No, not ‘Chip Monkey’ with two words. He’s part chipmunk and monkey blended together. Chipmunky.” She gave a hard nod, as if that explained everything.

Then she turned and cupped her hands around her mouth. “C’mere, Chipmunkeeey. Here kitty, kittyyy.”

A few seconds later, in bounded a fuzzy blur of color. He had a reddish-brown body and duplicate thin black-and-white stripes of color that ran down either side of his back. His tail vibrated. I smiled at the comical little guy. “He does look like a chipmunk.”

“Wait for it…” She reached into a small pocket stitched into the bottom of her tank top.

Tail still twitching, he raised up on his hindquarters. His front paws swiped at the empty air in front of him. She tossed him a green fish-shaped treat.

The kitten watched it bounce once on the ground before it landed right in front of him. Using both paws, he plucked it from the dirt, reached his muzzle forward, and chomped the treat into his mouth before crunching it twice then swallowing it down.

“See? Chipmunky.”

Simple as that. Her world was colored with the unusual that made perfect sense.

Except the idea of her running down a city street didn’t make sense to me at all.

Without thinking, I blurted, “Want a personal trainer?”

She blinked.

So did I.

When in my chaotic life would I have time to train her?

But the thought of leaving with my sound boards in a few minutes then maybe catching a glimpse of her—at one of Invitation Only’s parties while she and I both worked, or once every few months at Loading Zone where I worked and she danced—didn’t sit well with me.

I would not to do anything physical with her. We couldn’t have a relationship. But maybe we could still see each other under the pretense of something she wanted.

Her slender brows furrowed in slow motion. “For running a 5K?”

Not exactly… “For training to be able to.”

“And we would be…”

“Friends.” My tone was firm. Maybe I tried to convince not only her, but myself. All I could handle right now. But I had plenty of friends, most were guys.

None of them were anything like spirited Kiki.

When she didn’t reply, I repeated. “Just friends. No sex. Think you can handle that?”

Her eyes narrowed at the challenge. Like she didn’t like the idea. As if the word “friends” had four letters not six.

After a couple of beats, her lips curved into a smile. She gave a nod. “Just friends.”

Good. All it could ever be.

But then her stance widened. Her chin raised. A glimmer flashed in her eyes as if she’d thrown the challenge back at me.

Do not look at the sexy girl standing in front of you.

Do not notice the vulnerability in her gaze behind all that bravado.

I let out a slow breath, mind focused on the only thing I could do to have her in my life, the only way it would ever work. “9:00 a.m. tomorrow good for you?”

She gave me a nod, eyes narrowing a fraction again. “Yeah, I could do that.”

“Good. Meet me at 2450 North Lexington.”

Challenge accepted.





Kiki…

Nine hours had passed since Darren had rattled me; the last thing I needed was a guy friend I was physically attracted to—a guy I wanted, even if only for one sordid night. But when he’d baited me with a way to spend more time together under the pretense of training, I hadn’t been able to resist.