Page 55 of Wild Blades

“Yeah.” I cough hoarsely. “Went down the wrong way.” I croak out my lie, wiping under my eyes that have watered as I struggled for air.

“I’m fine,” I say, then finish the contents of my bottle and let out a huge breath. If that’s what simply looking at his tongue does to me, imagine what he would do to me if he licked me with it. I might have a heart attack and die.

Death by Wade’s tongue.

Doesn’t sound so bad.

What the hell is happening to me?

“Do you do much with your downtime, like this?” I ask, motioning to the room we are in to distract me from my inappropriate thoughts about his tongue.

“I’m usually busy training, and with Ezra and Myles living elsewhere, I only go out when they are in town. I don’t socialize with my team much anymore.”

Looking away, he continues, “I did before. Before, you know… Gretchen passed away.” It looks like it physically hurts him to say her name. Grabbing his bottle of water, he takes a sip and places it back on the table, and I take that as my cue to change the subject.

“Our friends hit it off. That was a bit of a surprise, wasn’t it?” I stick another fry in my mouth, enjoying the melted cheese stuck to it.

Wade sits directly opposite me on the bar height table. “Yeah. Didn’t see that coming.”

“The age thing didn’t seem to bother any of them.” Pointing it out is more of an inquiry than a statement.

He stops mid-bottle lift and eyes me curiously, and just as I think he’s going to say something, he presses the rim of his water bottle to his mouth instead.

After taking a few long glugs, he wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and finally says, “Age is just a number, Kali.” Adding, “Ezra has always dated women older than him.” He crosses his arms and lays them on top of the table.

I like how he’s more relaxed than when I first met him a month ago. Irritation bounced off him like a pinball machine, but he appears less tense recently. It suits him.

Leaning forward, he adds, “Ezra maintains older women are more confident, know what they want in the bedroom, and are more fun to be around.”

“That right?”

“Apparently. I wouldn’t know. I've only ever had one girlfriend.”

What the hell? Really, just one?

He continues, “And she was the same age as me.” He thinks for a bit. “I've only been with one other girl, and you probably read about the court case involving Britney from marketing.” His cheeks fill with color.

“I did.” I also know she’s currently serving a prison sentence. “She’s a piece of work, huh? Trying her hand at a little extortion with some of the players?”

He looks everywhere but at me. “She got what was coming.”

“She’s one tent short of a circus,” I confirm.

I followed the story in the press at the time and how Britney was fired following the discovery of her with Wade in Ash’s home; she then went on to send Ash’s wife, Lily, who I’ve metat several events, a photo of Wade. With his face blurred out, Britney implied it was Ash in the photo and that he was having an affair with her.

She didn’t realize Ash’s chest is covered in tattoos, which Wade’s is not, confirming it was Wade in the photo and not Ash.

Playing with the label from the bottle, he keeps his head down. “I’m better off by myself.” He sounds completely deflated and I hate how lonely he must be.

“You have your team.”

Rolling his eyes, he sarcastically replies, “Great,” and follows it with a fake smile.

I limber gingerly into my next question. “Can I ask you about Amelia?”

Shoulders tighter than a witches’ coven, he shifts in his seat, looking uncomfortable.

“It’s for professional reasons, Wade, to make sure nothing comes out in the press I don’t know about. So I can prepare myself, be one step ahead of it. Just in case, you know?” I chatter on because that’s a lie. I have my reasons.

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