Unsuitable
Page 58

“The last thing I would ever think is that you’re a show-off. A pain in the arse? Yes. But a show-off? No.”
He chuckles. “You see me surrounded by my parents’ wealth every day. I guess I just…” He sighs. “I didn’t want you to think I was pushing this in your face as well.”
“I don’t. I’m seriously impressed. And you should be really proud of this place and what you’ve achieved.”
For the first time ever, I see a little color in his cheeks.
“I am.”
“Good.” I smile.
He moves in closer.
“So…” I say.
“So…” he echoes.
“Well, you brought me here. Whatever do you plan to do with me now?”
He grins and leans his mouth to my ear. His lips brush my skin as he speaks, “Teach you parkour, of course.”
Oh.
Oh, shit.
I lean back, staring into his eyes, my own wide with worry. “I’m not sure about that. There is no way I’m jumping off from a high height.”
A laugh rumbles in his chest. “That’s the advanced stuff. I just meant, I’ll teach you the basics.”
“Oh. Okay. And what do the basics involve?”
“Let’s go outside, and I’ll show you.”
I walk beside Kas through the academy. He doesn’t take my hand this time. I’ll admit that I’m a little disappointed.
As we walk, he explains to me the different structures and what they’re used for, and he introduces me to the people training here.
When we reach the back of the gym, I stop at the wall, touching my fingers to it. “I love this graffiti.”
“Jude did it.”
“Really?” I look back at him.
He nods.
“Wow. He’s really talented.”
Kas nods again in agreement. “Yeah, he is. He does abstract art as well.”
“Does he do it as a job? As well as running this place?” I ask.
Kas shakes his head. “Just a hobby.”
“Shame,” I muse.
“Yeah. It’s a real waste of his talent. But he won’t pursue it.”
There’s something in his expression that I can’t quite decipher. But whatever it is, I get that it is not something good and quite possibly has something to do with Jude’s past.
I’ve pried into Kas’s past enough without him knowing. I’m not going to pry into Jude’s personal business as well.
“Come on.” Kas tips his head in the direction of the exit door.
I follow him outside. I thought the inside was impressive, but out here is just as awesome, if not more so.
It’s like one huge park yet so much more.
There are climbing frames and a children’s playground, complete with a swing set, slide, monkey bars, and a seesaw. And what looks like an obstacle course is set out across the area. There are also all different kinds of structures that I wouldn’t even know how to describe.
“This is amazing,” I say, walking past Kas, taking it all in. I turn back to face him. “Did you build all of this?”
“Not with my bare hands.” His lips curve into a smile. “But Jude and I did design it. Well, actually, Jude did all the drawings, and all I did was give my input every now and then. We hired contractors to build it all.”
“It really is fantastic.”
“Yeah.” He smiles again, and this one reaches all the way to his eyes. “Come on.” He walks over and takes my hand, leading me toward one of the metal climbing frames.
Attached to the climbing frame are two platforms facing each other, about three feet of space between them.
Kas stands up on one of the low platforms. “Climb up here, beside me,” he says.
Taking my bag from my shoulder, I put it on the ground by the climbing frame. Beside him, I step up onto the platform.
He glances down at me. “Okay, so we’re just going to do some precision jumps to get you started.”
I give him a dubious look.
“You’ll be fine. It’s just about balance.”
“Of which, I have none.”
He laughs. “Just watch what I do.”
Kas moves so that his feet are at the edge of the platform. Then, he jumps forward with both feet landing easily on the other platform.
He turns around. “See? Easy. Your turn.”
“Oh, yeah, really easy.” I roll my eyes, giving him a look.
He folds his arms, giving me a no-nonsense stare.
“Fine,” I huff.
I step up to the edge, exactly as he did.
My heart starts to beat a little faster as I look down at the three-foot gap, which doesn’t sound like much, but it is.
“I don’t think I can do it.” Taking a step back, I look up at Kas.
He takes in my wide eyes, and his expression softens, his arms dropping from around his chest. “You can do it, Daisy. You’re strong. You’re not afraid of anything.”
“I’m afraid of falling down there.” I grimace, pointing at the space between the platforms, which is only about a four-foot fall, but it’s four feet more than I want to fall.
“I won’t let you fall.” The pledge in his voice lifts my eyes to his.
I stare into his warm eyes. “Promise?”
“I promise.”
I take a deep breath and step back up to the edge.
“Okay, bend your knees, and use your arms for balance,” Kas guides me, showing me exactly what he means.