Chapter 10 : The concert

Aya kept looking down at her watch as her and Kingsley walked around greeting people they pretended to know, making small talk.

"Expecting someone?"

Aya looked up at Kingsley and gave him a disapproving eye. "I told you I've gotta leave this place by nine, you've got forty minutes."

"I was hoping maybe we could spend the night together." Kingsley whispered. "The night is still young, let me show you a good time."

"You promised not to be inappropriate."

"What you and I will do tonight will be far from inappropriate."

Kingsley inched closer to Aya and gave her a peck on the cheek.

The brunette pushed him away and glared at him. "Stop it!" She growled in hushed tones. "People are watching."

Kingsley smiled and stretched his hand towards her. "If I've only got forty minutes, at least allow me to dance with you."

Ayaka hesitantly took the man's hand. "Thirty eight minutes."

Kingsley led Ayaka to the middle of the dance floor and gently placed his hand on her lower back, and with the other, gently supported her arm.

The two swayed to the rhythm in total sync, catching the eyes of many onlookers.

Aya and Greg had taken dance classes together growing up, so dancing together felt very natural.

"Oh is that the future Mrs Kingsley?"

"They make such a lovely couple."

"Quick take a picture, the media will eat this up."

Ayaka was tensing up as more and more people glanced at them and began whispering among themselves.

"Kingsley people are staring." Aya whispered to the man.

"Then let's give them a show."

Kingsley pulled Aya closer making a small gasp escape her lips. Her chest was squished against his firm chest and his grip on her back tightened.

The pace of their feet quickened to the music, and they swayed gracefully like two parts of a working music box. At the climax of the song, Kingsley swept Aya off her feet and twirled her around, her feet many inches off the ground, he lightly tossed her up, caught her and dipped the girl just as the music stopped.

The room broke into an applause. Kingsley smiled down at Aya who was breathing heavily from all their movements.

He pulled her up and they both smiled and did a little bow as the crowd continued cheering.

The dark haired man took Ayaka's hand and led her to the refreshment table. "You've still got it." He spoke as he handed her a glass of champagne.

"You're not too bad yourself." The woman replied.

Kingsley inched closer to Aya and wrapped his arm around her waist. "We make a good team you and me."

Ayaka caught Kingsley's gaze and gulped. It had been years since she'd looked into those honey brown eyes. She had been avoiding them like the plague in fear of falling for them again.

Ayaka's breath hitched as Greg began leaning in for a kiss. What was she going to do? She felt like her entire body was frozen in place.

Just inches away from the kiss, Ayaka's phone buzzed in her purse.

"Ignore it." Greg whispered in a chilling groggy voice.

"It might be important."

Ayaka broke away from Greg's embrace and answered her phone.

"Hey Alicia..."

"I'm on my way calm down."

"Yeah sure, okay bye."

Ayaka tucked her phone away and turned to Kingsley. "Well, your forty minutes are up and I've gotta go."

"Come on Aya can't you stay just a little longer?" Greg grabbed Aya by the hips and looked into her eyes. "We were kind of in the middle of something."

Aya took Kingsley's hands off her and awkwardly placed them back on his body. "No thank you." She spoke

"Okay fine, at least let me drive you."

"No!"

Kingsley arched his brow at the girl.

"It's alright I'll grab a cap." Ayaka responded sheepishly. She hadn't meant to flat out reject his offer like that, now she looked suspicious.

She couldn't let Greg Kingsley take her to the concert, he wasn't dumb, it would only take a few clues for him to find out about star. She couldn't let that happen.

"Aya, baby I can't let you take a cab it's beneath you." Kingsley studied the girl closely, he sensed she was hiding something but he didn't want to probe in fear of pushing her away.

Kingsley had worked really hard to get Aya to get to spend time with him, before this, she had spoken a total of sixteen words to him since their breakup. He wasn't going to lose her again.

But he needed to find out what she was up to, did she have a man in her life? Greg felt his chest tighten at the thought of Aya with another man.

"Okay if you don't want me to take you, at least let me get you one of my drivers."

Aya knew that Kingsley wasn't going to let this go, so she decided that she would accept his driver and then get him to drop her off at Alicia's apartment where she would change and go to the concert.

"Okay."

Kingsley took out his phone and dialed in a number. "Charles, come out front please, Mrs Kingsley needs to go somewhere, make it snappy."

Aya elbowed the man making him chuckle. "I'm joking Aya can't I joke?"

Aya rolled her eyes as they made their way out the door hand in hand.

"When can I see you again." Kingsley questioned the beautiful brunette as they approached the car.

"You have one more Friday." Aya responded

Kingsley shrugged and smiled at Aya "it was worth a shot."

The man leaned closer to the beautiful brunette and sneaked in a peck on Aya's cheek.

"Call me when you're home beautiful." The man said with a smirk.

"Oh fuck off!"

*

"Thank you for the lift, tell Kingsley I arrived safely."

Ayaka got out of the vehicle and entered the eight story building lobby. She headed to the elevator, punched in a floor number and pulled out her phone.

"Hey Alicia, yeah I'm on my way to your apartment, did you get my clothes? Alright perfect."

Outside the building, Charles the driver dialed his boss's number.

"She dropped off at her friend's house boss, do you still want to me to keep an eye on her?"

'Stay there and keep out of site, switch cars if you have to. Inform me immediately if they leave that building at any point.'

"Sure boss."

*

"Hey where have you been we're going to be late!"

Alicia James watched her friend take off her heels and dress.

"I'm here aren't I?" Aya responded. "Or is there a penalty for being late for a concert."

Alicia frowned and folded her arms in annoyance, she'd just gotten word that El would be first to perform, if she was going to get the two to meet, it had to be now.

"Where were you anyway? Were you with that ass Kingsley?"

Aya didn't answer, she zipped up her ankle boots and threw on her leather jacket.

"You were with him weren't you?!" Alicia squealed. "Don't tell me you're now going out with him?! I thought we hated that jerk!"

Ayaka threw her bag over her shoulder and trailed her fingers through her curly hair. "We're not going out, now can we go? Before I change my mind."

"Fine, but you have to explain to me what's going on between you and Kingsley when this is over."

*

Outside the apartment building, Charles spotted the two girls hop into a black SUV and drive off.

The man quickly dialed his boss's number and put his vehicle into gear, steadily tailing the SUV from a distance.

'Charles talk to me.'

"Miss Brookes has just jumped onto a black SUV registration number B1429, I'm tailing them as we speak."

'Alright, follow them and give me an update on where they get off, we can't have the future Mrs Kingsley roaming around without any protection now can we.'

"Roger that boss."

After thirty minutes of driving, the two vehicles had left the big city behind. All the tall sky scrapers were slowly being replaced by small gas stations and convenient stores that were set up to cater for people leaving or entering town.

The black SUV made a right onto a gravel road. Charles continued following the car at a safe distance, he had never been outside the city before so he couldn't understand what a woman of Ayaka's caliber was doing all the way out here.

As they continued driving into the dusty road, different cars parked on the sides of the road became visible, loud hip hop music could now be heard filling the air accompanied by sounds of different people talking, laughing, screaming and singing along to the music.

The black SUV Charles was tailing parked on the side and the two girls got out of the car. The driver watched them fix their clothes as they prepared to enter what seemed to be a concert.

Charles brought the car to a stop not too far from the girls but making sure to stay out of site. He pulled out his phone and zoomed in on the two girls, taking several pictures of them as they entered the concert.

*

Kingsley was walking out of the shower when his phone buzzed. The man picked it up and inspected the pictures of Ayaka and Alicia that had been sent to him by Charles.

His brows furrowed as he zoomed in on the short skirt, fishnet tights and ankle boots the beautiful brunette was wearing. She looked very sexy and that didn't sit right with Kingsley.

In all the time the man had known her, he'd never seen Aya dress the way she did right now. And since when did she start going for concerts? A woman of her stature, surrounded by hordes of nobodies, no, so many things were wrong about this whole scenario.

Kingsley dialed Charles's number. "Keep an eye on Ayaka Brookes, make sure you update me on every little thing that she does, don't leave that place until she does, you've got that?!"

Kingsley couldn't hide the agitation in his voice, true that him and Aya hadn't been in constant contact for a few years but had she really changed that much?