“Morning,” Ty said. His voice low and deep.
“Good morning.”
“How was your night?”
Kell wasn’t used to anyone caring how he felt, except his sensei. His smile was hidden when he responded. “Um. Good. Quiet, I guess.”
Ty stepped closer, so he could lean on the wall beside him. He smelled so good. Natural, as if he used a unique, manly bodywash. Not like Kell’s cheap bars of Coast. “Why was it so quiet?”
Kell huffed a laugh. “All I did was meditate, read, then sleep. Fun stuff, huh?” Kell looked at his feet, a bit nervous to ask a question he didn’t really want to know the answer to. “How about your night?”
“Alone in a hotel room studying. I think I’m good, though. I’ll take the exam tomorrow. Duke wants me to get that out the way as soon as possible. Other than that, my night was uneventful like most.”
A hotel? Kell hated hotels, having stayed in one too many in his younger years. He remembered ordering room service, breakfast, lunch and dinner while his father had been in the city having endless meetings and conferences. “You live in a hotel?”
“No. I’m just staying there until the heat settles on my block,” Ty said.
Sounds like trouble. Is this him ‘keeping it ’a’ hundred with me? Kell stood straighter. “Are you having a problem? Is someone bothering you?”
The smile Ty gave him was one of appreciation and interest. His smirk was sexy as he asked, “And if they are?”
“I can eliminate that problem for you,” Kell said with confidence.
“I’m sure you could,” Ty replied softly. Kell didn’t know what to make of the look he just received. He removed his hood and watched as Ty’s gaze went from his eyes, then lingered on his hair. The expression was far from disapproving. After a few moments, he continued, “And I appreciate the offer. But, I’d never send anyone—not even a warrior like you—to clean up a mess I made.”
Ty squinted at the sun. The collar of his oil-black knee-length, wool coat was pulled up to his ears to block the chill. That coat had to cost hundreds. This was only their third day as partners, but Kell noticed that Ty didn’t wear hats or ever cover his head. His hair was cut very short and even all the way around. It was so shiny and healthy. Yesterday, after they’d left the gym to do office work, Kell had found himself subtly trying to trace the three-hundred-sixty degrees of perfect waves in Ty’s hair.
“We’re supposed to be partners. If you have a problem, then I have a problem,” Kell replied.
This job was like a fraternity, a brotherhood. They worked and operated as one. He understood that he and Ty were still strangers, but Duke called them ‘partners’. That one word alone meant a lot to Kell. Nobody had ever trusted him enough to partner with him. He wanted to show the guys, especially Ty, that he was reliable and a team player. He’d watch his partner’s back the same way Ty had watched his as he’d walked off the mat with his back to an adversary.
“Where are you from?” Ty said, changing the subject. Kell got that guarded feeling from his partner again. “Your accent says you’re from right here in the South, but you don’t act like you are.”
Kell gave him the side-eye, wondering what Ty meant by that.
“You have loyalty. Heart. That’s rare in this neck of the woods. Do you got family close by; is that who you live with?”
Kell pulled his scarf from over his mouth. Grinning, he could see his breath when he spoke, “You’re asking an awful lot of personal questions to not like answering any yourself. Maybe I’m not ready to let you in my head either, Ty Jenkins.”
Ty watched him with those rich brown eyes, his smile turning Kell’s legs into noodles. “Well played. How about this? For every three questions you answer, I’ll answer one.”
Kell laughed loudly, surprising himself. “How is that even a little bit fair?”
With that trademark smirk, Ty winked at him, “Life ain’t fair, shorty.
Ty
How the hell did that just roll right off my tongue? Ty froze and so did Kell. For the first time since meeting they stood in the middle of awkwardness. Did he know ‘shorty’ was a term of endearment in Ty’s world? A man didn’t call a female, ‘shorty’ unless he was trying to push up on her, and ‘shorty’ sure as hell wasn’t a nickname he’d called his homeboy. Not unless he wanted to be looked at like he was crazy.
One of Ty’s biggest strengths was his ability to read an individual. To pick up on the little things people didn’t realize they did that gave away their intentions. Needless, to say, he was baffled he wasn’t paying attention to the light in Kell’s eyes. The way he looked—practically glared at most people—was not the same way he looked at him. He’d thought he’d seen it when he’d gotten out of the cab, but had dismissed it. Now, when he paused and really took his time, he saw it as clear as the day in those radiant eyes. Interest. Interest in him.