by Laudat, Reon
“Yes, you can. You know I’ve got you, and I won’t let you go.”
Kendra took comfort in his sincere encouragement.
“C’mon,” Dominic said. “You don’t want to miss this!”
Kendra managed to open one eye, and then the other. She gasped, but not out of fear. The misting rain had left behind a brilliant rainbow.
“That’s our rainbow.” Dominic smiled.
“Beautiful,” she whispered in awe, taking in the ethereal bands of color arching across the sky. That, along with Dominic’s protective embrace, eased her fear.
“Yes, you are,” Dominic said, looking into her eyes. Tingles—the good kind—raced through her body, and then she smiled. A real smile.
“She can see! She can see!” Dominic cheered.
“Yes! Yes! She can!” Kendra said, joining him in laughter. With Dominic beside her, maybe she’d even stick the landing this time.
Then something happened. Halfway through the zip a strong gust of wind pounded them. Their smooth ride sputtered to a stop in the middle of the line.
Chapter 11
Kendra hyperventilated.
“It’s okay,” Dominic said. “We’re not going to hang like this for long.”
“I know! We’re going to fall!”
“Close your eyes again if that helps,” he said.
If this were in a people-in-peril flick, this was the scene in which someone would slap the taste out of Kendra’s mouth.
Kendra Camille Porter, the shrieking person whose hysterics put others in mortal danger. “We’re going to diiiiiiiiie!” she wailed with her eyes shut tight again. The line suddenly felt loose—too loose—as it bobbed, portending doom. Her writhing grew more frantic. “This line is going to snap any second now!” She tugged and groped at the straps securing her shoulders. “I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!” She gasped and yanked at her collar. “I should’ve never got on this death trap! I knew it! I knew it! What was I thinking! I should’ve never left the platform! No, I shouldn’t have left the bus! No, the hotel! I should’ve stayed in New York!”
“It’s going to be all right,” Dominic said in his best soothe-the-ledge-leaper tone and held on tight despite her jostling to push him away. “Take a deep breath. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. It’s going to be all right. Exhale. Inhale.”
“No! We’re going to diiiiiiie!”
With his right arm holding onto the bar, Dominic cupped her face in his left hand and held it still.
“Oh, I’m not ready to diiiiii—”
Dominic pushed his mouth against hers mid-yowl in an explosive move. At first their helmets and teeth bumped. The temple piece of his eyeglass frame lifted off one ear until he quickly readjusted it.
Then Dominic and Kendra angled just so and their lips met again. His tongue stroked hers, sweeping her worry away. Kendra murmured her appreciation and greedily returned the kiss, rejoicing in the flavor of him. She held the zip’s bar in one hand and curled the other around his waist. If she were a goner, would ripples of pleasure bolt through her body to mingle with her adrenaline surge? Though the line continued to bounce, they weren’t plummeting to the ground.
He slanted her head to one side to deepen the kiss she wanted to go on forever even after something tugged at the cable above them. She could hear the zip operator, who had strapped on his harness to zoom out to them. “Hey, you two, get a room!” he joked as another operator pulled the three of them to the next platform.
Dominic and Kendra kissed their way back. When they finally parted, she swayed dreamily. Speechless. Punch-drunk with emotion.
“Couldn’t you have waited about ten more minutes?” Dominic said to the operator. Then he fixed his gaze on Kendra as he released and unsnapped the various latches and hooks of their zip-line gear.
Kendra removed her helmet and gloves. “I did it! I actually did it! I made it across all the lines, even the Big Kahuna!”
“Yes, you did it,” Dominic said, removing his gloves
“But you set me up to succeed with the perfect alley-oop.”
Dominic came to her for a fist bump. “Give me some.”
She pounded knuckles with him.
“Now blow it up,” he said, as they spread and rippled their fingers, and then made exaggerated exploding sounds.
“Thanks, Dominic, for everything,” she said softly. Her body was still heated and humming from their aerial and epic first kiss.
***
Back on the bus, everyone kept their prior seating arrangement, much to Kendra’s dismay. She would’ve liked to sit with Dominic, although it was a bad idea. She didn’t need to be anywhere near him until she’d sorted through what had happened between them.
Brody settled in next to Kendra and plowed through his backpack. “That was fun,” he said before taking big gulps from his water bottle. “I think I have an idea I’m going to include in my work in progress.”
Zoe, hair askew, sidled down aisle to reclaim the seat next to Dominic. “Had I known you were open to tandem, I would’ve gladly been your partner,” she said with a pout.
“It was a last-minute decision.” Dominic looked over at Kendra.
“You were losing it out there, Kendra,” Zoe said with a taunting gleam in her eyes.
If Zoe had seen Kendra’s meltdown, she’d also witnessed the kiss that followed and clearly wasn’t pleased about it. Kendra empathized, but Dominic was, well, irresistible, when he put his mind and lips to it.
Kendra opened her mouth to explain, but Dominic spoke first. “Kendra was just kidding around, providing a little comic distraction after we stalled.”
“That’s not what it looked like to me,” Zoe insisted. “It looked as if she—”
“Did I miss something?” Brody asked. Apparently he had ventured so far ahead he’d missed the show.
Whew. If Brody ended up actually inquiring about representation, Kendra certainly did not want him to have the mental image of her locking lips with his current agent.
“No, you didn’t miss anything important. And I enjoyed near-perfect zips,” Dominic stated firmly, cutting off further discussion on the matter.
When Dominic slipped Kendra a wink, she gave him a private smile, looked away, and rested her head against the window. She closed her eyes and replayed that magnificent rainbow kiss all the way back to the hotel. Familiar yearning besieged her. That first flush. That first blush of big trouble.
Chapter 12
Kendra should’ve been exhausted after the Haleakala trip; instead she felt invigorated. When the bus had pulled up to the hotel’s front entrance, Dominic had asked her to join him for dinner. She’d read that when two people experienced simultaneous adrenaline rushes triggered by the same dangerous situation, mutual attraction intensified, she figured their little zip-lining adventure had been equivalent to base jumping or the Running of the Bulls in Spain. With flagging willpower, she’d accepted Dominic’s invitation. It was just a meal, after all. She would insist on treating him, her way of thanking him for the way he’d handled her embarrassing anxiety attack on that zip line. They were adults, fully capable of controlling themselves on terra firma. There would be no more public displays of affection. Who knew who could be watching? Kendra Porter had a professional reputation to uphold.
In her room, Kendra made a to-do list which included a quick Internet search for a yarn shop. Afterward, she hopped in her Aveo to find the quilt shop that stocked a collection of hand-dyed yarns. Upon her return, she completed that fourth read, actually more like a skimming of the highlighted areas, of Corinne’s (excellent!) manuscript and typed up notes about it. It had been a full, fun, and productive day. And it wasn’t over yet.
She stood before a full-length mirror, smiling at her reflection. What should she wear to dinner that evening?
From that point forward she and Dominic would conduct themselves like cordial business associates, maybe even casual friends, with enough pleasant memories tucked away to foster future goodwill. But s
he couldn’t very well wear a business suit for their dinner. Sexy battled safe as she looked through her outfits. She rejected outfit after outfit until her cell phone chirped with a text from Vanessa.
Vanessa had attached two skimpy bikini shots to her message: The bandeau? The halter top? The Brazilian? Thong? Cheeky? Cheekier? Or nah?”
Kendra calculated the time difference. It was 11:42 p.m. in Nassau. Only reality TV stars, Post-a-Pic fitness gurus, and Vanessa snapped and shared butt selfies (belfies?) so late at night. But Kendra couldn’t deny the frisson of satisfaction. Vanessa had asked Kendra this time, not her Just Vanessa followers.
Kendra did not respond to Vanessa’s previous text in which she’d griped about her “confinement” at a small airport in Podunkville due to their plane’s mechanical problems. She had to reply to this one: Take your pick. Both suits would look fantastic on you. Then she added two thumbs-up emojis.
These same photos would eventually pop up in Vanessa’s Post-a-Pic feed with #paleoperfection #hotcrossfitbuns #fabover40 #ageisjustanumber #whatsyourexcuse
Vanessa: Thanks, girlie! It’s all due to the latest adjustments in my diet and exercise routine! I’ve gone Paleo and CrossFit! Gotta keep it tight and right for honey bear!
Kendra had read all about it all on The Blag. At age forty-seven, her five-ten glamazon mother looked improbably youthful: drum-tight skin, towering cheekbones, perky B-cups, sleek thighs, and a gravity-defying bottom that could still work boy shorts. All without surgical enhancement, according to Vanessa.
Kendra’s nose, taut midsection, and huge dark eyes resembled Vanessa’s, but that’s where the similarities in their looks ended. At average height for an American female, with plentiful boobage and bottom, Kendra assumed she’d taken after the women on her father’s side, but didn’t know for sure. She’d never known him or his people. According to Vanessa, he was a much older man, “a rolling stone type,” who “up and split,” soon after “knocking up a fifteen- year-old,” thus avoiding statutory rape charges and child support demands when Kendra arrived a few months later.
Kendra cared for her mother, as much as she could under the circumstances. She wanted to give her a chance even while coping with dark memories. One, recently exhumed, had her reeling. Kids were sometimes prone to “recall” incidents that had never happened. Was it real or just a bad dream buried by an eight-year-old?
Alexander and Jacqueline Miller had taken in Kendra to live with them around that time. It was Uncle Alex and Aunt Jackie who had given Kendra unconditional love and stability Vanessa could not provide because she was so busy pleasing her confounding succession of men.
Now that Kendra was an adult, did she need Vanessa straggling in and out of her life when she didn’t have much time for Kendra before?
Before the Millers, there had always been a new live-in boyfriend a.k.a “honey bear” playing daddy. Different friends. Different homes. Different schools. Would-be step siblings— some nice, some downright nasty—also came and went like seasonal time shifts. But that unsettling sensation of being uprooted and replanted too often still plagued Kendra to the point that she was often resistant to the smallest changes. To this day, she steadfastly refused to place her sock wads anywhere but in the front right side corner of a sock drawer. She rotated plates to eat all side dishes from the left. A plate without side dishes, still required rotation before she said grace and dug in. All things she could control, no matter what.
Kendra shook off the unpleasant recollections. If nothing else, she had been resilient. When self-pity threatened to engulf her, she’d give thanks for her life with the Millers, who’d never had children of their own.
She reached for her phone and sent Aunt Jackie a text message: Hope all is going well on your end. Miss you bunches! Hey, check this. Better than a snail-mail postcard. Kendra attached a shot of the gorgeous panoramic view from Haleakala snapped with her cell phone during the hike.
But wait! There’s more! Kendra attached another photo. Check out these beauties, hand-dyed yarns ‘rinsed in the waters from the West Maui Mountains.’ Let me know which colors you like, and I’ll snap them up.
After hitting SEND, she read a day-old email from Roberta Gellis, an acquisitions editor she’d been calling, actually pestering, for months before leaving for Maui. Roberta had good news. One of Kendra’s clients who’d had a briskly selling women’s fiction debut, would get prime real estate or placement in brick-and-mortar and at online bookstores for her second book, scheduled for release in six months. Yes! Kendra hummed, did a little jig, and held up a maxi dress she’d picked up at a thrift store in Soho.
Dominic had mentioned his reservations for a luau. She wasn’t sure if they would sit on chairs or mats so her outfit had to be suitable for both. She put the cumbersome boho glam dress aside.
Kendra showered, dressed, and broke her personal speed record doing her hair. Sexy crushed safe as she settled on lacey dark shorts to show off her toned legs and a strapless matching top that made the girls look fabulous. Strappy gold sandals, hoop earrings, and more color for the signature streak in her hair completed the ensemble. She dusted her décolletage with a shimmery powder and dabbed a bit of scented oil at her pulse points. One last check in the mirror and her confidence soared; she and Dominic would not inadvertently dress alike that night. When the hotel phone rang, she assumed it was him, but heard Brody’s voice instead.
“Sorry we didn’t get to talk on the bus today,” Brody said. “We can still do coffee, but I’d like to come out with it right now, if you don’t mind. Do you have a minute?”
Kendra glanced at her watch. “Sure. What’s on your mind?”
“I’m seeking new representation.”
“You are?” she replied, injecting a note of faux surprise and twirling around the room.
“I need a change.”
Yes! Yes! Yes! “You’ve had such a successful career so far.”
“True, my books have done extremely well, and I’ve made a ton of money, but it’s about more than that for me now. I never forgot how much care you took in explaining exactly what you enjoyed about my debut novel and why. And you shared all the detailed ways you thought we could strengthen it together. I was very impressed. If you read the book after publication, maybe you noticed I took your advice on quite a few plot points and characterization changes.”
“But you went with another agency.”
“Yes, the starving artist in me was drawn to the razzle-dazzle and dollar signs, but things shift. Priorities, people, relationships, needs. Views change.”
“You’re talking about your relationship with your agent or editor?”
“Both. My former editor, who was great by the way, recently retired. I have a new one. I think my agent is more concerned about keeping the new editor happy. What about me? And my new editor, I know she doesn’t get me.”
Kendra could picture Brody sulking like a big kid. “Keeping you and your new editor happy aren’t mutually exclusive.”
“I know. It can be done, but I believe my agent is losing sight of what’s important about the art of writing. His focus is on money.” His voice held a note of distaste.
Brody made a point not to mention Dominic’s name. Kendra followed his lead; it was more impersonal that way. “Have you discussed these concerns with your agent by any chance?”
“Yes, more or less.”
“But have you actually told your agent that the disagreements have escalated to the point that you’re exploring other options?”
“No. Our talks haven’t gotten that far yet.”
Kendra had to choose her next words carefully. She felt as if she were choking on what should come next. All she wanted to do was burn a trail in the carpet, hotfooting it to Brody’s room with a copy of her agency’s retainer agreement—so fresh off the printer it would feel warm in Brody’s hands. With The Sassy Sheep still needing Kendra’s financial assistance, his next contract, along with others in the works, would surely provide a lu
crative commission that would further stabilize her agency. But as she exercised restraint, she wondered if her libido had blunted her edge. After all, this was an opportunity to stoke the flames of Brody’s discontent and land a nice big fat fish of a client, whose work she’d long admired.
But at that lunch date back in New York, Kendra had chided Dominic about underhanded tactics and lurking in gray areas. She had no proof of any wrongdoing on his part. Despite what she’d suspected others had done to her, she would do what felt right. It was all about integrity, after all. Never mind that little devil sitting on her shoulder whispering, Sucker!
“Kendra?” Brody’s voice broke through her reverie. “You still there?”
“I understand what you’re saying,” she took a deep breath and pushed out the difficult words, “but you should have a frank discussion with your agent first. Let him know just how dissatisfied you are. Give him a chance to make things right. If I were your agent, that’s what I’d want.”
“So you don’t want to work with me?” Brody asked, clearly confused.
Kendra understood why Brody wanted to know if he’d have an immediate place to land if he left Impact. Other considerations that required discussion were not appropriate to get into at this point when he was still contractually linked to Dominic and Impact. He could not legally sign with her yet. Brody and Kendra would also need to disclose expectations and working styles to ensure their compatibility now that he was no longer a novice. In her experience, new authors tended to be more flexible. Best-selling veterans were often set in their ways.
“You need to give notice.” Kendra required clarity on Brody’s present agent/client agreement. “About what? The standard thirty days, sixty days?”
“I believe it’s thirty days, if I recall correctly. I haven’t looked at the contract in a while.”
“I’m interested. Very interested. When you’re free, I’ll be happy to talk in more detail about potential representation,” was all she could offer in good conscience.