Off Limits(81)

I held my tongue, but it took me literally biting it to not let myself say what I wanted to say. Instead I nodded and got out of the car. “If we’re going to the pier, let’s get going. Is there anywhere nearby I can get a change of clothes though? I dressed for Dana Point, and if we’re going to hang out on the beach, I’d like to wear some shorts instead.”

Alix shook her head but then grinned. “I might have something that works for you inside, though.”

She was right. Apparently, as part of the marketing deal with Reebok, the UFC gave everyone involved a swag bag. Since Alix wasn’t into the sort of fashion that the UFC fighters wore, she had just taken a set for a friend. “A guy who I was seeing at the time,” she said evasively, and I let it go. I didn’t tell Alix everything about my personal life either.

The style wasn’t what I normally preferred, but it wasn’t as garish as some of the board shorts that I’d seen. There were no dragons, no flaming skulls or tribal designs, just the UFC logo in large letters on the left thigh. I was already wearing a blue t-shirt, so it was a decent enough match. “How do I look?”

“Better than the guy who wore that for the website,” Alix said, coming out of her room. I had to blink a few times; she’d changed into a bikini top with a gauzy, see-through cover up that didn’t in any way hide the amazing figure beneath, and a pair of board shorts that still hugged her hips before going about halfway down her thighs. I noticed they were black too, and she’d chosen a bikini top that was nearly the same shade of blue as my shirt. “I figured you wouldn’t mind.”

“We’re going to look like a couple,” I grumbled without even thinking. Alix’s face lit up, and her lips spread into a beautiful smile.

“That wouldn’t be so bad now, would it? I mean, at least that way you won’t be bugged by women trying to pick you up.”

The beach was crowded, like you’d expect on a California summer Sunday, but still I enjoyed it. The ocean breeze cut through the heat while at the same time blowing away any smog, and the waves were just as awesome as I had remembered. “This is great,” I said as Alix and I walked. “Although I have to admit that maybe I’ve been in Portland too long. Part of me wants to be up there on the beach instead, where you can smell the pine trees while you walk.”

“Anyone would prefer the smell of nature over the smell of Los Angeles,” Alix countered. “You know, Kade, Derek’s told me that I really should be investing more of my income into real estate. The thing is, Southern California is so expensive. Even with what I make as a model, it’s really hard to do more than dabble. Maybe I should look up in the Pacific Northwest, if you know anywhere I can put my money up there.”

“You sound like someone already considering their retirement,” I said jokingly. “When did you decide to become an old woman?”

“When I knew I wanted to be a model,” Alix replied openly. “You know what the average career length for a model is? Five years, with most girls starting around sixteen and ending at twenty-one. Unless you’ve made a big splash on the scene by the time you’re twenty, bookings will dry up until you only do it part-time or freelance stuff on the side. And to be honest with you, I haven’t made a big enough splash to keep going into my thirties. I’ve got maybe two years of high fashion left, then I could go into the side niche of fitness modeling for another four or five years at half pay. Unless I want to go and try my hand at acting, I’m going to be retired by thirty or so. To be quite honest, I don’t want to go into acting, and I have no real urge to go into the business side of fashion either.”

I fell quiet, stunned. I had been underestimating Alix a lot more than I’d thought. I said earlier that she was intelligent, but this was even more than I’d expected. I decided to just relax and let myself go with the conversation. “So what are your dreams, Alix?”

She turned her head and smiled shyly. “You’ll make fun of me if I tell you. You do it so often, I know you will.”

I shook my head, for perhaps the first time in the time we’d known each other chagrined by something she’d said. “No, I won’t. I promise.”

Alix looked me over for a bit, and we made our way down the beach toward the pier. It wasn’t as long as the more famous pier in Venice Beach, but it was still massive, stretching nearly a quarter mile out into the Pacific and towering over the beach itself. The asphalt topping was warm even through my shoes, but it was a good heat. I felt bad for anyone wearing thin sandals though—they’d have been baking their toes by the time they were even halfway down the pier.

Alix finished studying me and smiled shyly again. “I kind of want the classic happily ever after, you know? Husband, children, nice little house where I can devote myself to my family and to whatever the next stage is in my life. I mean, I do have interests other than modeling, you know.”

“Really? I didn’t know, actually,” I said. “Like what?”

“Well, I’ve really gotten a thrill recently with becoming more active in my investing. It’s part of what has me in trouble right now I know, I tied up everything in long term projects and don’t have enough liquidity when I want it, but I was thinking that if I can keep things up, I’ll have enough passive income from real estate investments that by the time I do step away from modeling, I’ll be set for life, but even more, I can grow more and more. Who knows? Heidi Klum made eighteen million last year with her work, maybe I can top that with my investments.”