You have ten days

Chapter 5.

Skye stayed bent over at the side of the road, her hands braced against her knees as she struggled to catch her breath.

This was, without question, the most humiliating week of her life. First, she had been publicly branded a boyfriend snatcher. Then she'd almost been run over. She had chased the man who nearly hit her across a hill climb race, stalked him outside a café. Gotten rescued by him from her manipulative ex.

Accepted a ride on his motorcycle...

...and thrown up less than five minutes later.

Just wonderful.

She squeezed her eyes shut, wishing the pavement would simply open beneath her and swallow her whole.

Behind her, there was an awkward silence. Kai Sturm wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. He had dealt with broken bones, drunken club members, bar fights, and engines that refused to cooperate.

But a woman throwing up because she'd ridden on the back of his motorcycle?

That was new.

He glanced toward the small storage compartment on the side of his bike before silently retrieving a bottle of water and a packet of tissues.

Without saying a word, he held them out.

Skye looked up, surprised. "...Thank you."

Kai simply nodded.

She rinsed her mouth, wiped her face, and straightened slowly. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment.

"I swear I'm not usually this pathetic."

Kai folded his arms. "I wasn't going to use that word."

She sighed. "But you probably thought about it."

"I did." He shrugged with a smirk.

She groaned.

For a few seconds, neither of them spoke. Kai watched her carefully, she looked exhausted.

Yet somehow, despite looking like she'd been through hell, she still held onto that camera as though it was the only thing keeping her standing.

His eyes narrowed. "I don't get you.” Skye blinked. He gestured toward her. "You keep showing up wherever I am."

She opened her mouth.

He continued before she could answer. "You followed me to the race."

He lifted one finger. "You waited outside my café."

A second finger. "You got on a motorcycle even though you clearly hate motorcycles."

A third. His blue eyes locked onto hers. "So tell me..."

He stepped closer. "What do you actually want from me?"

The question hung between them.

For the first time since they'd met, Skye didn't have a sarcastic reply.

She looked down at the camera hanging from her neck.

Then she let out a slow breath. "I need to graduate."

Kai frowned. "...What?"

She gave a small, humorless laugh. "I know. It sounds unrelated." She sighed. "I'm a final-year photography student."

He stayed silent.

"The charity calendar project at my academy..." she continued quietly. "It's our biggest assignment before graduation. Industry professionals see it. If I do well..." She swallowed. "It could lead to my first real job."

Kai listened without interrupting.

"I was supposed to photograph Jonas, you know the guy from the cafe?" His expression darkened slightly at the name. "He was going to be my headline model."

She laughed bitterly. "You can imagine how well that worked out."

Kai remembered the scene outside the café. Skye didn't know when she started spewing her words. "It wasn't just embarrassing," Skye whispered. "The scandal ruined everything."

She looked down at her shoes. "Now everyone thinks I slept with someone else's boyfriend to get ahead."

Kai didn't say anything.

She continued. "My professor hasn't removed me from the project..."

"...yet." The single word carried more weight than the rest of the sentence. "If I fail this project..."

Her fingers tightened around the camera strap. "I lose more than a grade."

She finally looked up. The wind lifted a loose strand of hair across her face. She tucked it behind her ear before meeting his eyes again.

"So no..." A tiny smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "You're not actually the goal."

Kai raised an eyebrow. "My career is."

For a moment, neither of them moved. Then Skye slowly lifted her camera. "If you still think I'm lying..." She unlocked the gallery. "...look."

Kai hesitated before taking it, most of the pictures on there was of him. He frowned slightly. "I don't remember making that face."

Another swipe.

Eventually, Kai stopped scrolling. Nobody had ever photographed him like this.

Newspapers loved action shots and fans wanted pictures beside expensive motorcycles.

But these...

He looked up. "When did you take these?"

"You weren't looking." Skye shrugged.

His gaze returned to the photos before Kai handed the camera back. "You really are strange."

Skye's shoulders slumped. "I've been called worse this week."

A corner of his mouth almost lifted.

"I'll do it."

She blinked. "...What?"

"I'll be your model." For a second, Skye simply stared.

Then her entire face lit up with pure happiness.

Kai found himself staring a second too long. She really did have a nice smile.

"Really?"

There was so much hope packed into that single word that it almost made him uncomfortable.

"...Really." He nodded.

"Oh my God, thank…"

"One condition." The smile on Skye’s froze instantly. Kai had to fight the urge to smirk.

She looked suspicious already. "What condition?"

"You race me."

Silence.

"...I'm sorry?"

"You heard what I said. You are going to race me."

She stared as though he'd switched to another language. "I don't even own a motorcycle or know how to ride one."

"I know."

She folded her arms. "There is absolutely no logical connection between photographing you and racing motorcycles."

"There is to me." Kai shrugged.

She sighed dramatically. "Why?"

Kai looked toward his bike. "You want photographs of my world." His voice became quieter. "Then you need to understand it."

She followed his gaze. "The speed. The noise. The fear." He looked back at her. "A camera only captures what your eyes see."

Then he tapped lightly against the camera hanging from her neck. "I want you to photograph what you feel."

Skye was speechless.

Nobody had ever explained photography to her like that.

Kai slipped his helmet back on. "You've got ten days." He climbed onto the motorcycle. "If you survive your first race..." The engine roared to life. "...I'll stand in front of your camera."

Before she could answer, he accelerated onto the road and disappeared around the bend.

Skye stood there, staring after him, her stomach still felt awful, her legs were weak.

Her pride had suffered enough embarrassment for one lifetime.

But, this? This she couldn't even comprehend.

Her phone rang. "Lena." Skye answered immediately.

"So?" Lena asked. "How did it go with Mr. Human Iceberg? Did he pose for you?"

Skye looked down the empty road where Kai had vanished.

"...I think I accidentally agreed to race the most terrifying man in Germany."

There was complete silence.

Then…

"You did WHAT?!"