A Word of Praise
Chapter 53

Kiara turned around to see her favorite face holding a smirk.

"What are you doing here?" She asked in a mix of surprise and embarrassment. Nobody was supposed to have seen her little theft.

"It's Saturday," he stated as if it was obvious he'd track her down after she said she'd be unavailable.

"It is, but I don't see Batman." She arched a brow. His smirk turned into a full-blown laugh, and Kiara looked around to check if he was not drawing too much attention. "He was not the one missing you this week."

She noticed how he was struggling to stay away from her. During their weekly encounters, she realized he always kept his distance and didn't touch her beyond necessity. She knew it was a way to give her some space since she turned him down three times before, but she could really use his body just a bit closer to her today.

"Michael told you where to replace me?" She asked, and he nodded. "Sly bitch."

"Are you giving the thermal back?" He asked, and she couldn't read his expression.

"I don't plan on it, but if he threatens to send me to jail, I might." She shot back. He only smiled, and thankfully didn't give her hell for taking a prize.

"When is your next performance?"

"At three, then the last one at five."

"Perfect. Come with me." He began to walk, and she had no choice but to follow him.

"Where are we going? I need to change!" He stopped walking and looked at her blue and white striped bodysuit "No, you don't. Now can you stop trying to ruin my surprise?" He said with a smile. She could live in that smile.

After a couple of minutes of walking around the hotel's corridors, they arrived in a small room that led to a beautiful garden. In the middle of the room, a green pair of silks hung from the ceiling. She noticed the place was prepared for a yoga class, and soon understood that the hotel must offer some sort of organized activity to the guests.

"What are we doing here?" She asked, afraid he'd surprise her with a master class of geriatric yoga.

"I booked the room so you could teach me... this," he proudly stated, pointing to the fabric.

"You want to learn aerials?" Her expression must have been of utter disbelief because his confident façade faltered for an instant when she asked.

"You don't think I can do it?" In face of that, she broke out of her daze and laughed.

"I am going to have so much fun now."

She began to take off her sneakers and assess his outfit. She should have noticed how informal he was, with grey sweatpants and a dry-fit shirt. He must have thought he was rocking the sportswear, but he'd never be able to climb the silks with those loose hems.

"You seem to be judging my choice of clothing."

"Did you bring anything else?"

"Shorts, but I thought I needed extra protection. I do like my legs unburnt."

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"Put them on, you won't get hurt if I'm teaching you." Probably.

While he went into the small bathroom to change, she thought about what was happening. There was a silly smile on her face, and for once she didn't really care to show it. He was... there. And maybe, just maybe, he'd stay. "My mother died in a car crash."

Chris was barely out of the bathroom when she blurted it out. He stood still for a second, and then closed the distance between them with few large strides. He stopped an inch away from her, and she looked up to meet his eyes. They were warm and open, and she knew he wanted to touch her.

"Do you ever drink and drive?" She asked.

"No," he replied, and Kiara sighed.

"You are nothing like him, I should never have made that comparison." She didn't know if he remembered the time she said it, but if he did, she owed him the apology.

Then, before she could carry on, she began to feel her body shake. She hated how little control she had over it. So many years avoiding the topic, but now that she wanted to talk, her body refused to let her.

But then Chris's hands darted up and he held her still, embracing her without moving for a while. Unable to stay away, she leaned into his chest and rested her cheek on his shirt. The way his hands drew small soothing circles on her back kept her there, hooked to the moment.

When she felt like she could breathe again, she began to speak.

"Even today, they keep referring to it as an accident. But he was drunk and chose to drive anyway."

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She felt him stiffen against her, and she knew he was mad by the way the soothing movement on her back became harsher. It made her strangely calm, to think he was angry on her behalf. God knew how furious she had been about it all those years, and she wasn't even at the worst part.

"It would have been a hit and run if his car wasn't so fucked up after the crash. Those fancy sports cars are not known for their safety."

She didn't feel like carrying on for a while, and Chris didn't say anything. But eventually, he led her outside to the beautiful garden she hadn't truly paid attention to before. There were a small wooden bench and a creek that flowed a bit further from where they were. The hotel was relatively far from the city, but still, she didn't expect to replace that small natural work of art there.

They sat listening to the water for a while, and she didn't fail to notice how he positioned himself to keep her laying on his chest.

"He wasn't punished, was he?" He asked at last.

"No, he wasn't." She knew he understood. He was rich too, so he knew how these things went. If he ever got involved in something similar, it was obvious there would be no consequence harsher than a fine. "How old were you?"

"Fourteen," she mumbled with a crooked voice, and only then realized a few teardrops were raining down her face. She frowned and touched them to be sure they were there.

"You are not used to crying." He gave her a sad smile and kept quiet for a while. She wasn't. But now, in the brief time they were together, it seemed as if she had relearned the long-lost ability. Crying was incredibly cathartic, and she kept doing it until it didn't hurt as much anymore.