by Tasha Black
Kitt said something that made the woman laugh and she tilted back her head to make the blonde waves fall over her shoulders.
But something about her was… fake. She was off somehow.
You’re only jealous, Honey.
“Oh wow,” Nikki said, following Honey’s gaze up to the pavilion. “Let’s get some lunch.”
Nikki grabbed Honey by the arm and they walked the rest of the way to the dining hall in stunned silence.
When they had nearly reached it, they bumped into Ralph Welsh, one of the tennis coach heads.
“Hey, Ralph,” Nikki said.
“Hey, Nikki,” Ralph replied. Then he noticed Honey beside her and got a weird look on his face. “Oh, uh, hey, Honey. Hey, Addy.” He dashed off quickly before they could reply, as if he was afraid they would detain him or something.
They all headed inside.
“What was that about?” Addy asked.
Nikki shrugged.
It was early for lunch, so the dining hall was nearly empty. Light poured in through the floor to ceiling windows that lined the side of the building overlooking the golf course. The place smelled like scrambled eggs and fresh brewed coffee.
Malik crossed the pine floor to greet them.
“Ladies,” he cried, throwing his arms out, “so glad you could join us for lunch.”
Honey smiled back at him. She loved the way he welcomed them as if they were visiting royalty, even though they were just staff, eating for free.
“Hi, Malik.” Nikki gave him a big smile.
“Come, come, come,” Malik urged them. “I have three new staff members today. One is on break, but I’m going to send the other two over. Put them through their paces, ladies. No need to stick to the staff menu, this is a training session.”
“Sweet,” Addy crowed. The staff menu was very generous. But Addy loved all the little extras and add-ons.
He walked them over to one of the nicer tables by the windows.
“I heard about your predicament, my dear,” he whispered to Honey in his English accent. “But remember, the wait staff aren’t part of the regular men’s staff. So I was not copied on those instructions.”
“Wh-what?” Honey had no idea what he was talking about. At first it had sounded like he meant her situation with Wade, but in retrospect it would have been way too soon for anyone to have heard about that.
“Oh, maybe I have it wrong, then,” Malik said brightly. “In any case, I know you will have a wonderful meal.”
Honey was distracted from her follow up questions by the approach of two tall, shockingly handsome men heading their way. Each wore the waiter suit like it was a tux. The dark-haired one was taller and slimmer, the other blond and a bit more muscular. But either could have graced the cover of a magazine – with or without the fancy suit.
She knew without asking that they must be Kitt’s brothers. Say what you would about the alien visitors, they sure knew how to build a man.
“Oh,” Nikki said. “Wow.”
“Hubba hubba,” Addy murmured.
“I’ll leave you to it then,” Malik said, a touch of hidden laughter in his voice.
“Welcome to Maxwell’s,” the taller of the two men said. “I’m Indiana and this is Remington, we’ll be taking care of you today.”
“I’m Honey. These are my friends, Addy and Nikki.”
“You are Honey?” The one called Remington sounded delighted.
“Yes,” she replied. “You’re Kitt’s brothers, right?”
“Yes,” Indiana said with a wink.
Nikki smiled. If she’d had a tail, Honey figured she would have wagged it.
Addy was observing Remington thoughtfully. The broad shouldered alien gazed back at her with a bemused expression.
Interesting.
“What can we bring you ladies to drink?” Indiana asked.
Addy piped up immediately, ordering drinks and food in impressive quantities.
If she had a crush-at-first-sight on Remington, clearly she wasn’t embarrassed to eat in front of him.
Nikki and Honey placed their orders as well and the two men dashed off.
“Jesus, Honey,” Addy said. “What have you gotten us into?”
“They seem nice,” Honey ventured.
“Nice?” Nikki’s normally modulated tone was a squeak.
“Keep in mind that if you get attached, they’re expecting to mate with you for life,” Honey said, trying not to think about the woman in the pavilion with Kitt.
As if she had called to him with her thoughts, the door to the dining room burst open and Kitt walked in.
“Here comes your man,” Addy sang off-key.
Honey kicked her under the table.
“Ouch,” Addy said.
“Hello, Honey,” Kitt called out as he approached. “Hello Addy. Hello Nikki.”
“Hi,” Honey replied weakly, trying not to notice how hot he was in that damned suit.
“Welcome to Maxwell’s,” he said. “What can I bring you to drink?”
“Oh, your brothers were already here,” Addy told him.
“I see,” he said, sounding disappointed.
“Have a seat,” Addy said magnanimously. “Take a load off.”
Addy had pointed to the chair beside Honey’s.
Kitt smiled and sat down.
His big thigh brushed Honey’s and she fought the urge to close her eyes and savor the little shiver of awareness.
Addy’s phone dinged.
She pulled it out, swiped and stared.
“Oh, shit,” she said.
“What’s wrong?” Kitt’s voice was authoritative, like maybe whatever it was he planned to fix it immediately.
Addy looked at Honey, then her mouth twisted slightly.
“You can tell me,” Honey said.
“It’s from the senior men’s swim coach,” Addy said. “He wanted me to give you a heads up that Wade sent a text copied to the entire senior men’s staff telling them not to let anyone dance with you in the demonstration.”
Honey felt as if she had been punched in the stomach.
“It’s going to be okay,” Nikki told her, patting her knee.
“What does this mean, Honey?” Kitt sounded worried.
“It means I’m going to lose my job,” Honey said, letting her face sink into her hands.
“She has to do a dance demonstration for the new session of camp,” Nikki explained. “Wade was supposed to be her partner. Now he’s not going to and he won’t let anyone else do it either.”
“I will dance with you, Honey.” Kitt’s voice was so deep and comforting.
“You can’t,” she wailed into her hands. His sympathy was the last straw, now she was crying like a stupid baby.
“That’s not true,” Malik’s voice came from the other side of the table.
Honey looked up and Kitt handed her a cloth napkin. She blotted her eyes and nose as best she could.
“Is this what you meant when we came in?” Suddenly his words made sense to her.
Malik smiled and nodded.
“I did not get that text. Wait staff is a different… echelon than sports,” he said equanimously.
She knew what he meant. The waiters were a different social class than the tennis coaches. They didn’t count as far as snobs like Wade were concerned.
“So long as you practice in private, there is no reason young Kitt can’t accompany you,” Malik added. “If Wade catches wind of it, he will forbid it. But if he doesn’t find out about it, you’re in the clear.”
It was only a technicality.
And Kitt didn’t know how to dance.
“Sorry, Malik,” Honey said. “I’m going to lose my job and I’m okay with it. I don’t want to take anyone else down with me.”
“Honey, please,” Kitt said, his big hand suddenly on her knee. “I want to dance with you.”
She smiled up at him. “That’s really sweet, Kitt. Why don’t you and your brothers join us at the staff
party tonight? We can dance there, ok?”
Chapter 16
Honey left the dining room feeling determined.
She was a good-looking woman. She only needed one man willing to rebel against Wade Travers, a guy who was universally known to be a douchebag. Surely, somewhere on this resort there was a swim coach or tennis pro or guitar teacher who wanted to dance with her.
Of course Kitt had made a generous offer already.
And she was telling herself that she was protecting him by refusing. After all, she had promised Posey she would keep an eye on Kitt, not get him fired.
Besides, he wouldn’t be able to dance. He was an alien for heaven’s sake. He could barely figure out how to work a screen door.
She chose not to think about the other reason, the one that swirled in her heart.
No. Honey was not afraid that spending too much time with Kitt would allow her to fall for him, whether she meant to allow it or not. No, that wasn’t it at all. That was nonsense.
“Hey, Greg,” she called to one of the golf pros.
“Hey, Honey,” he said, in a voice like he had a toothache.
“Look, I know your senior staff got that text from Wade—” she began.
“—Listen, Honey,” Greg interrupted. “I like you, and I’d like to dance with you. I’ll take you clubbing off campus any night you want. But I’m not losing my job over it.”
Well, you couldn’t fault him for his honesty.
“Thanks anyway, Greg,” she did her best to smile.
“So what do you think? Want to hit the dance floor out of town?” He actually looked hopeful.
“I have to focus on the demo right now,” she told him. “Sorry.”
“Can’t blame a guy for trying,” he shrugged and walked on.
She approached a couple of the swim coaches but they all begged off too.
After another hour Honey sighed and decided it was time to call off the search for the time being. She had lessons to give this afternoon, so she couldn’t keep wandering the resort. She’d have to figure it out later.
Honey cut across the lawn and back toward the studio when she passed the pavilion again.
She looked up.
As if to mock her, Kitt was there again.
And so was the blonde.
And they were laughing.
Honey pressed her lips together and marched to the studio.
She wasn’t going to lose her cool over this.
Kitt had every right to giggle with that girl. She was prettier and richer than Honey, and all evidence suggested that she was hilarious to boot. Kitt was a great guy. He deserved all that and a bag of chips.
Honey didn’t want to be with Kitt.
Then why does it sting so much?
Chapter 17
The music was thumping and the drinks were flowing at the staff party, but for once, Honey didn’t feel like dancing.
She leaned against a wooden table, nursing a Diet Coke with lime and musing about her recurring dream that she was dancing here naked with Kitt.
It was hard not to see it as some sort of sign from the universe that she needed to rethink her stance against mating for life. How could she have been dreaming about him before they ever met?
On the other hand, Kitt hadn’t even shown up tonight. And chances were pretty good he was already halfway to mating with the blonde from the pavilion.
No, the dream must have been a bizarre coincidence.
Or maybe she was just projecting his face into her memories of the dream after the fact.
She didn’t think that was the case, but the mind could be mysterious like that.
Honey watched as Greg, the golf pro, danced with one of the lifeguards. She had dodged a bullet there. The guy couldn’t keep a beat to save his life.
Nikki and Addy were dancing together, guys tried to cut in left and right but they laughed it off. Sooner or later one of them would please Addy and she’d likely disappear. Addy wasn’t given to denying any of her appetites.
Suddenly, the door flew open.
A sort of hush fell over the room at the sight of the three massive male figures silhouetted by the post light outside.
Kitt walked in, followed by his brothers.
“Boys,” Malik cried, letting go of the tennis pro he was twirling in his arms to greet them.
“Honey,” Kitt said, heading straight for her. “I am sorry we are late. I had trouble finding this watermelon.”
Indeed, he was clutching a watermelon that looked almost small in his large arms.
He smiled down at her.
“Let’s put that over here,” Honey said, indicating a table with several other watermelons on it. The old I-carried-a-watermelon joke was always big with the staff during the first session. She was surprised Kitt knew about it.
“I am not the only one who thought of that movie reference,” Kitt observed. “No wonder it was so hard to find one.”
“Kind of hard not to.” Honey shrugged. “Was it one of the movies you saw when you were learning about life on Earth?”
“Yes,” he told her. “We saw many, but that one was a favorite.”
“It was?” Honey was slightly surprised. The movie had been a pop culture hit with girls across generations now, but Kitt was about as masculine a guy as she’d ever met.
“Coming of age, and learning that what is in a person’s heart is more important than where they come from,” he said immediately. “These are important human themes.”
“Yes, she had quite a summer, that girl,” Honey observed.
“I meant her father,” Kitt said, looking surprised.
“Ha,” Honey said. “Wow.”
“He was greatly moved by his earlier misconceptions. And he acknowledged his error and learned to think more freely,” Kitt said contentedly. “So harmony was restored among the family.”
“True,” Honey said thoughtfully, wondering what other movies she might need to watch again with Kitt along for perspective.
“Shall we dance?” Kitt offered her his hand.
She grabbed it before she could change her mind.
Chapter 18
Kitt took Honey’s hand and enjoyed the buzz of warmth he’d experienced every time they touched.
He pulled her to the center of the dance floor and began to move a little, waiting to see how she wanted to dance.
When she began, he allowed his perception of time to slow to the ancient pace that was his own.
At once the music swelled deeper, and the frenetic movement of the dancing crowd lapsed into slow motion.
He studied Honey, the gradual movement of her hips, her arms.
Then he repeated it.
He watched her mouth stretch slowly into a big smile.
He stayed in the quietude of his own pace for a few more beats, memorizing and incorporating every nuance of her movement.
Then he closed his eyes and sped his perception back up to match hers.
Instantly the music was pounding, the crowd flailing, and he and Honey were dancing like they had been born for it.
“Wow,” Honey yelled happily.
Kitt was tempted to slow down time again just to watch the movement of her hair.
“I like to dance with you,” he declared.
“You can really move,” she said, sounding surprised.
Of course she did not know about his gift.
“I have a good teacher,” he said, raising an eyebrow.
She laughed.
The music changed and he slowed things down once more just to be certain.
Again the room drifted to a snail-like pace and he observed the dancers. This music was slower than the other kind. Some dancers ignored that.
But in the corner, his employer, Malik, held his partner in his arms and spun her in careful circles with steps timed to the music. Kitt was delighted with the magical quality of this dance, and he slowed time further in order to abandon Honey for a moment and observe it.
He walked
through the frozen room and stopped when he reached Malik. The man had his hand on his partner’s waist and held her other hand in his. Kitt walked around them once, then returned to Honey.
When he was in front of her once more, he brought his perception up to her speed again.
Then he held his hands out to her, an offer.
She stepped forward and his heart leapt. He took her in his arms and began to spin her just as Malik had done with his partner.
The music told him where to step and he was able to let go of the idea of imitation. Suddenly they were whirling as if there were no time to be stopped or started.
Honey looked up at him, her dark eyes wide with wonder. Her lips were so pink - he longed to taste them. Perhaps in time she would allow him to kiss her.
And then the song was over.
“Kitt,” she marveled, shaking her head.
“Yes, Honey.”
“Kitt, you’re amazing,” she laughed.
“Do you want to dance some more?” He hoped she would dance with him all night.
“Sure,” she said. “Want to try something different?”
He nodded.
She began to move again.
Obligingly, he slowed time to observe.
Then he joined her and allowed time to catch up.
She was laughing delightedly.
A small and curious crowd was forming around them.
“He can move,” Addy said. She was standing beside Remington, who was not dancing.
“You’re not kidding,” Nikki laughed.
“How about this?” Honey asked.
Kitt used his gift to learn her moves, then applied what he had learned.
“That’s insane,” Nikki yelled.
“Well done, boy,” Malik called to him.
But the only one whose opinion mattered to Kitt was in his arms. And her smile was praise enough.
Chapter 19
Wade walked slowly up the hillside toward the staff commons cabin. He’d told Lynn he would meet her up there at ten, but he didn’t want to be right on time or the little lifeguard might feel like she owned him or something. She’d be good and glad to see him if he let her worry for a while that he wasn’t going to show up.