Perfect School

Jonah:

“I doubt it,” I said with a shrug of my shoulders. She would surely think it was a weakness to hold a grudge. To seek revenge. It was a childish thing, and yet I couldn’t let go of the idea. I wouldn’t truly be content until things were finished.

“You know, actually I’d like to go to an island somewhere. I’ve never been to the beach before. Maybe sometime we’ll get a chance to go, if we get a job near one,” I said, to change the subject, both to ward off questions and my own dwelling thoughts.

I snorted and shook my head. "Jonah. You broke the rule with that one." Turning my head I arched a brow and a tiny smile curved my lips. "You said we had a car. You can't get to an island with a car."

Jonah:

My lips quirked up when I saw her smile with a sideways glance. “Have you ever seen a Hawaiian license plate? How do you think they got here?” I asked. I chuckled softly. “I’m not breaking the rule, I’m simply thinking outside the box.”

"Hm...I could argue that but it would boil down to semantics. Would traveling on a boat or leaving a car while its on a boat count as traveling by anything but car?" I offered the words as a rebuttal to what he was saying.

"Hm...I could argue that but it would boil down to semantics.  Would traveling on a boat or leaving a car while its on a boat count as traveling by anything but car?"  I offered the words as a rebuttal to what he was saying.

Jonah:

“Technically I said that you were given a car, not that you had to travel only by car. If you had been creative, you could have said that you would drive to the airport and go from there.” I flashed her a smile.

The rest of the drive went much the same way. It was easy banter and she seemed to be in a good mood. After we ran out of snacks, we stopped for a late lunch. It was in the car before we started driving that Marie called.

The banter back and forth on the drive made me feel odd. I enjoyed it, but it left me wondering. Wondering of what my life could have been like had I grown up as a normal person. Would this have been more what I'd have had to experience? A road trip with a boyfriend, a vacation to Vegas, something so normal and innocent.

But that wasn't the life I had, it wasn't the life I'd be experiencing. Such a time was now gone for me. And though I didn't want to admit it, I was sad to realize the truth of it.

Jonah:

She asked to be put on speaker through the car so that the three of us could speak. She gave us further instructions on what we were to do. Then she said that we would be playing a newly engaged couple. “Jonah, you have permission to touch her. Act the part. But ensure that it is acting and nothing else,” She said. My eyes slipped sideways to Kira.

This was a double-edged sword. I couldn’t tell if Marie was setting me up or attempting to reward me. Either way, it made me uncomfortable. I didn’t want Marie’s permission to touch Kira, nor did I want to touch her against her will. If Marie was clever enough to think about it, perhaps this was another roundabout way to drive a wedge between the two of us. I thought it was more likely that she had a poor understanding of psychology.

Marie calling put a damper on my good mood, fading it away to be carefully controlled out of the way. I listened to the instructions and asked only a few questions about logistics and what support we would be receiving. But then she spoke directly to Jonah and I went rigid for a moment and then forced myself to relax while I turned my head to gaze out the passenger window. I forced myself to focus on what I was showing, trying to appear at ease and unfazed. But in truth it was all a cover up for the mix of hot embarrassment and shards of ice that pricked at my conscious.

Jonah:

When Marie finally let us go, I turned to face Kira. “I’m not going to touch you unless you’re okay with it,” I told her. I had touched her before, both casually and more intimately. But this was different. This was Marie treating her like an escort. And after what she had her do before… I wouldn’t do anything to make her feel uncomfortable.

I didn't respond, didn't react.  I couldn't get over the idea that it was wrong of me to enjoy those gentle touches, that it was wrong to have some bought just to pleasure me.  Both of those combined ate at me for hours.  I could hear Jonah try to draw me into conversation more than once but I couldn't respond, couldn't say anything.  I didn't move until finally I turned to look at him.  "Do you want any of the snacks from the back?" After asking I twisted around and went for my own item, leftovers from our lunch.

Jonah:

She tried not to act like anything was bothering her, but simply by being silent she gave it all away. I knew her too well to be fooled. “No, thank you. I’m getting a bit tired of driving. Would you want to switch soon?” I asked. It wasn’t exactly that I was tired, and more that it would be harder for her to avoid me.

"Let me finish this then sure. If we need gas, stop us at a station and we can switch after." Picking a fork I dug into my leftovers and by the time I finished we were pulling into a gas station. Getting out I tossed away the container and fork and grabbed a drink from inside while using the restroom. Inside the bathroom I took a moment to splash my face with water, doing whatever I could to expell all the thoughts and feelings swirling in my head still. While I did so Jonah refueled us and took his own turn within the convenience store and restroom.

Within ten minutes we were on the road again, with me behind the wheel. Driving was a good balm, I could occupy myself with focusing on the road and eat into the need to think or feel. But I knew it was only a matter of time before Jonah started talking again.

Jonah:

“We’ll have some down time, and since we’re pretending to be a couple, we can go out and have some fun. Vegas is an interesting place after all,” I said after a few minutes on the road. I leaned my seat back and pushed the chair so I had optimal leg room. “We could see a few shows. Try our luck at some cards. The options are endless.”

"If you get us kicked out for counting cards Marie wont have a chance to punish you. I'll kill you myself." I shot him a pointed look that ended with a ghost of a smile on my lips. "I've never seen a show before. That sounds f-.....interesting."

Jonah:

“I wont get us kicked out for counting cards,” I said with a dramatic eye roll. I was too careful for that. “We should see Cirque du Soleil. I’ve only ever seen YouTube videos, but they look amazing. The way they can more their bodies… Well, it’s a different kind of talented than we are.”

"What is Cirque du Soleil?" I took a glance at him then focused on the road again. I tried to guess at it in my head but ultimately gave up on the idea and instead waited for his response though I decided dancing was the most likely.

Jonah:

I described it in the best way that I could. It was a mix between dance and circus acts, only without animals. “They’re incredible though. Some of the things they do are hard for even me to follow.” I started a list in my head of all the things we could do while we were in Vegas.

"I'd be interested in seeing that. We can make it a date for our cover." Tapping my fingers on the steering wheel for a moment I asked, "What else should we do?"

For the next several hours we made plans, talked, and worked out just what we wanted to do during our freetime. But so too did we make plans for what we should do not for freetime but just for the sake of the mission. Anytime he tried to broach the subject of touching I shifted the conversation or blatantly ignored it. As the sun started to set and night began to approach I passed the Welcome to Las Vegas sign.

Jonah:

We pulled into the place Marie had instructed us to just before eight. There was a limo waiting to take us the rest of the way as well as clothing and such that Marie had sent. Among the items was an engagement ring with a massive diamond. From what I knew of gemstones, it was fully authentic. I had it out to her in the palm of my hand wordlessly. I had already changed into my suit.

Taking my bundle of clothes I changed in the restroom. Among the bundle of dress, shoes, belt, and underwear was makeup, and hair products. So after dressing I dolled myself up all the while wishing Kyra was there with me. Having someone else do the work for you was so much easier. But after I got it all done, and even added perfume I packaged everything up except for the small clutch and handed it off to the man who would take our SUV back. It was then that I turned and stared at the engagement ring Jonah was offering out to me.

Sighing through my nose I plucked it off his finger and slid it into place. I inspected it on my finger for a long moment before looking up at him. "Ready?"

Jonah:

I looked her over when she came out, admiring the transformation. The heels she wore did wonders for her legs…

“No,” I answered her, standing in the way to get to the limo. “I said I wouldn’t touch you unless you were okay with it. Since you didn’t answer me before, I’m going to need a verbal confirmation now. Marie gave me permission, but I need permission from you as well, do you understand?” I asked her, staring her down.

Both of my brows went up at his tone and I stared right back up at him. I cocked my head to the side to give myself a quizzicle air, "Isn't this what you wanted though Jonah? It's not completely free access but...you can do whatever you want with me." As I spoke I stepped up to him, chin dipping slightly in a shy manner. I set a hand on his chest, adjusting how his suit sat before leaning into him and gazing up at him through my lashes. "Are you really asking my permission?"

Jonah:

With the added inches of the heels when she stepped up to me, her face was very close to mine. I didn't back away.

"Yes Kira, I am. I saw the way you reacted when Marie said it. I know how you felt about being touched before." For once I wasn't hiding the emotion in my voice. It was clear I didn't like it. "I'm not going to treat you like an object. I'm not going to force you to do something you aren't comfortable with. I may have done some questionable things in the past but I backed off when you made it clear you didn't want it." I was adamant. I couldn't touch a woman in such a way knowing that she didn't want it. I couldn't do what Marie had done to her.

"I don't want your body when your mind and soul aren't attached it it," I said finally, quieter than before. She knew it already.

I was using every trick they taught female assassins to seduce a mark, making all the right expressions, the touches, the breathy interested tone. While he spoke I was fully pressed against him, one hand still on his chest, the other curled around the back of his neck. I acted like I didn't hear his words at all didn't even fully look at his face, always through lashes or demure looks. Not until his final quiet remark.

At that I stopped and the act melted away while I pulled back while my eyes searched his face. "You really mean that." It wasn't a question, and this time my head cocked to the side with genuine puzzlement. I studied him, looked away, returned my gaze to him, and then finally looked down at the ground. "Yes. You have my permission." There was a quiet catch to my voice as I spoke, and as I raised my eyes up one last time to gaze into his own I nodded once. "I think...with you...I might not mind."