Morgana's Gift Pt. 11

She reached across the table and grabbed his hand in hers, a soft and kind gesture that caught him a little by surprise, and he felt his heart skip just a beat or two in excitement. It was a sort of kind and intimate moment. "I couldn't agree more, Kevin," she said to him, smiling at him, unable to look away from his eyes. "Anyway, he's on a show called 'Sugar Daddies' which is, c'mon, a cheeky ripoff of 'Shark Tank,' but it's done well enough to run eight series back in London, and the US version launched last year and seems to be doing quite alright here. He's one of the three silverbacks who people pitch their business to in exchange for a chance of seed money. The network has those bloody billboards all over town, so I can't even go five miles without seeing Daddy's smug mug grinning down at me from above. It's horrid, but it's part of the price I pay, I suppose."

That did sort of ring a vague bell in the back of Kevin's mind. "Wait, the three broad shouldered old guys in black suits and black shades with red ties?"

"You have seen the billboards then."

"I have, but I think I always assumed from the billboards the show was some sort of Sopranos parody or something, so I never really had any interest," he said. The waiter had quietly moved up to them and laid a leather billfold with a piece of paper sticking out of it in front of him.

"No no," Fatima said. "I'm paying for the meal."

"Yes madam, but Mister Bishop insisted we feed both your and his security, and that he pick it up, so I am bringing him that bill."

Kevin reached into his wallet and pulled out one of his new platinum credit cards, sliding it into the billfold before handing it back to the waiter. "They enjoyed their meals, I hope?"

"Oh very much, sir," the man said. "In fact, one of them left you a little thank you note inside." He gestured to the billfold with a demure smile. "May I take a photo of the two of you, to commemorate the evening?"

"Of course," Fatima said, unlocking her phone, handing it to him as she stood and moved around the table, sliding her arm around his waist as he stood up, resting her head on his shoulder, smiling at the waiter took several photos before handing it back to her as Kevin reached down, grabbed the billfold, opened it and found there was the bill - which was more than sizable - and a folded cocktail napkin, which he took out and read to himself.

"He shoots, he scores! Good luck, mate! -Jax"

"You really didn't have to do that, Kevin," Fatima said to him.

"Most people tend to overlook the importance of taking care of the folks who work for them in this town," he said. "When I sort of stumbled into money earlier this year, I promised myself I wasn't ever going to be one of them. And when they told me you'd already picked up the bill for the night, I couldn't get away without looking like a tight-ass without paying for something, now could I?" He tucked the folded napkin into his pocket. "I'm guessing Jax is one of your security detail?"

"Jackson, yes," she said. "He's my lead bodyman, making sure I don't walk into any room I can't walk out of. I probably would've thought all the security was nonsense, except that my oldest brother was killed in an abduction attempt in Mexico City back in '94."

"Oh my god, Fatima, I'm so sorry," he said, taking her hand this time, squeezing it. "That's terrible. Tell me they at least found who did it."

She nodded. "They did. I was only five at the time, so I don't even really remember him all that well, but I remember the house getting very sad for the next year or so, and the security becoming massively important to all of us. I've had a bodyguard service basically all my life. Makes dating sort of complicated, I'm sure you can imagine." She interlaced her fingers with his, clenching his hand firmly, refusing to let it go. "I got a message from my assistant during dinner telling me that she hoped my date was going well, but that I should ask you about your complication, and to believe you, no matter what you said. So let's have it then. It can't be all that unusual."

"Let's go have a walk on the beach, and then we'll put your resolution to believing whatever I tell you to the test, shall we?" The waiter brought back Kevin's card, and he assigned a 100% tip to the staff on top of the bill. He was certain Fatima had done something similar, considering she'd bought out the restaurant for the night, but he liked to make sure he was contributing his own portion to it.

They walked down to the beach and started strolling along the water line beneath the moonlight as she hooked her arm into his, nudging him in the side. "Well then, let's have it, shall we? No need to beat around the bush. Hit me with both barrels."

He laughed and shrugged a little. "Okay then, you asked for it. I saved the life of legendary enchantress Morgana LaFey and in exchange for that, she gifted me magical powers, including what she calls an 'ethical harem,' which will eventually consist of seven women all co-existing in a house with me."

"Oh, obviously," she said, clearly not believing a single word he was saying, but being amused by the story of it all. "Like one does. And I take it your security guard is one of your seven?"

"Well, I don't have all seven yet," Kevin said sheepishly. "I'm only at four, and so far they've all been arranged by Elizabeth, my... well, to call her my assistant would be doing her a major disservice, so she's my Majordomo."

"And she's also a member of your little ethical harem."

"She is," Kevin said. "I would've made her the first member of it, but she wanted to prove herself to me, so she wouldn't let me make it official until after she'd given me the first two members."

"And these members of your harem," Fatima said, obviously going with the flow now, "you make them wear belly dancing girl costumes around the house and such, as one does?"

"God no," he laughed. "In fact, I've sort of gone out of my way to ensure they aren't giving up their normal lives for whatever this gift Morgana is giving me is. Natalie, the second member of the family, she's a fitness instructor when she isn't being my personal chef and trainer. Ashley, she's a full-time student. And Miriam, well, she's my bodyguard, but we're entirely different at home than we are when we're out and about."

"And you're still going to get three more people in the house?"

"That's what the message from Morgana LaFey said, and what Elizabeth seems to believe. I know, it all seems too fantastical to be true. I thought so myself, until I started living this life. I suppose any doubts about the magical aspects of it all were put to bed pretty definitively by my encounters with Merlin, and his damned Midas Day."

"Merlin," she said, incredulously. "As in King Arthur and the Knights Of The Round Table? That Merlin?"

"The very same."

"It's impossible to believe any of this, you know," she said with a laugh.

"If I can change your mind, you promise not to scream?" he asked her.

"If you can change my mind, I promise to give you something remarkable in return," she said. "I've always wanted to believe magic was real."

He stopped in his walking and looked back over his shoulder. "Hey Miriam, c'mere a sec," he said to her.

Of their security details, one of Fatima's men had been walking ahead of them, the other walking behind them alongside Miriam. Miriam shrugged and walked over towards them, standing in close. "What's up, boss?"

"Introduce Fatima to Strazo."

Miriam arched a refined eyebrow at him. "Are... are you sure? He's keeping tabs from up on high right now."

"Fatima's security is doing more than enough, and I need to prove a point."

"But... are you certain it's a good idea, boss?"

"No, but sometimes in life, you just have to take a leap of faith, Miriam, so I'm taking one here. If you would?"

Miriam looked up to the sky and gave a little nod, and there was a distant buzzing sound that grew louder, almost like a tiny drone, before it slowed and stopped. Then on Miriam's shoulder, Strazo appeared, dropping his camouflage. As it turned out, the tiny dragon had an ability like a chameleon to change his pigmentation to give him almost a level of invisibility, allowing him to move unnoticed throughout the modern world. It was so effective that Strazo seemed to basically not exist if he didn't want to be seen, immune to being captured by any camera or visible to the naked eye.

Fatima gasped a little bit in shock and surprise, then giggled, the twenty-something businesswoman replaced by a child lost in awe and wonder at the sight before her. "Is... is that a dragon? An honest to god dragon?"

"Strazo, don't be an ass," Miriam playfully chided. "Give the lady a proper hello."

Strazo whipped his tail to one side and extended it towards her, as Fatima reached forward and gave it a little shake. The dragon almost seemed to be smiling.

"And, forgive me Strazo, but you aren't just a trained iguana or something, are you?"

Strazo's tail flicked in annoyance to one side before a tiny jet of fire belched from his mouth, just for a moment, then stopped, as he looked back over his shoulder at Fatima again, checking to see if she was satisfied.

"You mean, all of what you told me, it's all real?" she said, looking back at Kevin again. "Morgana, Merlin, the harem, the sudden influx of money, all of it?"

"Haven't told a single lie tonight," he admitted, as Miriam and Strazo both moved back to their position with Fatima's security.

"So your family, it has the cook, the bodyguard, the assistant and the student? What... what was all this about then?"

"You tell me," he said with a soft smile. "I didn't know a thing about you or this meeting until almost right before I walked in the door. And from that point on, I guess I sort of assumed it was a blind date or something set up by our two assistants, without our knowledge of the matter."

"And what the hell do you think I would do in your household?" she said, a touch of anger undercutting her voice. "Be your accountant? Your business adviser?"

"God, Fatima, I'd never ask anything like that of you," he said, feeling her tense up and slip away from him. "If anything, I would want you as a partner, an equal, if not my superior even."

"Oh you say that now, but you've got magic on your side," she said warily. "You could make me think whatever you want."

He sighed, shrugging defeatedly. "I don't have any control over the magic," he admitted. "I just have whatever gifts Morgana gave me. And despite the fact that I think I fell in love with you at first sight, if you don't want to be part of this, I completely get that. It's a weird situation, the absolute weirdest, and it's definitely not for everyone. Morgana told me all the women I would have in my life would be bisexual, her little cherry on top, but I don't know if that's really true or not. I didn't even get to tell Morgana what I wanted as my wish for saving her life, because she said I would only ask for something less than what I deserved, and that nobody ever really admits what they want, not to anyone and certainly not to themselves."

"No responsibility for your actions?" she said coldly. "That's quite convenient."

"I take as much responsibility as anyone will let me, Fatima. Part of the deal that my assistant told me about is that nobody has to remain in the household if they don't want to. They're free to come and go as they please, and if they ever decide it's not working for them and they don't think it can be fixed, they have to tell me, and we part ways as friends. That hasn't happened yet, but Elizabeth seems to think Ashley and I will drift apart at some point as she gets older, and then she'll simply leave the family, with my blessing." He threw up his hands as Fatima continued to back away from him. "Whether or not I want to admit it to myself, this gift from Morgana, it's apparently what I've always wanted, deep down, and just couldn't get myself to say out loud. A bunch of women who get along with me and each other. I didn't have to take the gift, I suppose, but my mom always told me when someone does you a kindness, you should be thankful and appreciate the gesture, so that's what I'm doing."

"And you... you expect me... to join in this... this thing?"

Kevin laughed again, turning to look at the water. "I just went out on the best date of my life, Fatima, one that I didn't even know I was walking into, otherwise I probably would've shown up looking a little less like a musician bum, not that you seemed to mind. I didn't expect anything when I showed up tonight - I just went with the flow and had the time of my life. It's like I wrote in one of my songs. 'I'm never looking which way the wind is blowing; I just let it take me and I keep on going.' I don't expect anything of you now. I just know that I enjoyed myself tonight, more than I think I ever have, and I wish this conversation didn't have to end, but I can see you're not comfortable with it, and what kind of man would I be if I was making you uncomfortable? So I'm going to go. I'd love to see you again, to have another date, but if that's not possible, if that's not something you want, well, I get that, and I wish you all the best of luck in your life moving forward, and let me just say it was one of the greatest pleasures of my life simply meeting you. Obviously, our assistants know how to get a hold of one another, so if you decide you want to give it another go, all you have to do is reach out." He offered her a little bow, as she seemed to be dumbstruck, standing there staring at him. "May the fates bring our paths together again, you magnificent woman. Good night and good luck."

With that, he turned and walked away from her, heading straight up the beach towards the car, as Miriam quickly sprinted up to walk alongside him. "Didn't go well?" she asked.

"I had to tell her about Morgana's gift, and I think that put her off."

"Did you try kissing her?"

"It seemed like it would've been an imposition," he told her.

"Mmm. Because to me, it seemed like she really wanted you to kiss her."

Kevin let out a deep sigh, rolling his eyes as he got into the back of the vehicle. "Now you tell me. Anyway, it's late. Let's get back to the house. Traffic should be at least manageable now."

About half way back to the house, his phone beeped at him, a text message from Elizabeth. -How'd the date go?-

-With the exception of the last bit, great. I told her about Morgana, and I think it freaked her out. Even more than seeing Strazo did.-

-Give her time. It's a lot to process.-

-Oh, I know. I just think it's too much. Time's not going to change that for her, I'm guessing.-

-What's that line you wrote? 'Time favors no one' or something?-

-That's it, exactly.-

-So take your own advice, dummy. Be patient. Let the wind take you.-

He ended the conversation by sending her back the emoji with the tongue sticking out, and just as they started to head up the hill towards his house, he saw one of the billboards they'd been talking about earlier, with the three men in black suits beneath the logo that said in large letters 'SUGAR DADDIES' and in the bottom right corner was the channel and the time slot. Kevin considered it a bad omen as he leaned his head back against the seat.

As the car pulled past the gate and onto his property, he looked at his phone to check the time, seeing there was a message waiting for him, sighing as he opened it, knowing exactly what it was. Fatima had sent him a copy of the picture taken after dinner, her body up against his, with a million dollar smile plastered across her face, looking like she didn't have a care in the world. The text message was sent at 10:45 pm, and it was nearly approaching midnight.

After putting the car into the garage, he headed into the house, seeing both Miriam and Elizabeth frantically typing into their phones, about what, he truly had no idea. Maybe trying to salvage the disaster he'd made of the end of the date, trying to convince Fatima that he was a great guy deep down and that maybe she should give him a second chance.

He wasn't even entirely sure he'd blown it, but the look on her face, the sheer scale of astonishment and incredulity writ large there... he'd had to get out of there before he settled into the funk of it, needed to get away before he heard something that broke his heart, and he wasn't quite sure he was up to that.

About ten minutes later, there was a sound of a knock at the door, something that made Kevin jump about five feet in the air. People buzzed at the gate before they got to the door, so the sound of a knock was completely unexpected and unnerving. "Miriam, door!" he called out, not because he expected her to get it, but because he felt absolutely certain she'd be angry with him if he did.

"It's for you. Fatima sent something over," Miriam hollered back from down the hall. "It's been cleared for you to go and get."

"Well," Kevin said, standing up, "if I'm allowed to answer my own front door, I think I'll enjoy that privilege." He wondered what she would've sent over this time of night. A note from one of her assistants telling him never to contact her again? An invitation to meet up again on another night, and try to have another normal date? Whatever he expected, he would've been wrong.

Once the door was open, he saw Fatima standing there, having changed from the expensive dress into a very heavy washed-out UCLA t-shirt and a pair of yoga shorts, and just as it was dawning on him that she was standing there, she rushed him, tackling him and knocking him off his feet and onto his back in the entryway, as she started kissing him feverishly.

The intensity with which she locked lips with him caught him entirely by surprise, but the kiss was such a unique and intense delicacy that he couldn't think to turn away. They made out like it was the first time either of them had ever tried kissing before for what felt like an hour, but couldn't have been more than a couple of minutes, the door still wide open behind them.

When the kiss finally broke, he looked at her in surprise. "I thought you didn't want anything to do with me or this life."

"You didn't let me tell you what I was thinking, you git," she giggled. "You just dumped all this on me and then disappeared before I had my wits about me. I promised to give you something magical in return for you proving magic was real to me, and you left before I could do that."

"Oh," Kevin said, feeling a little ashamed and embarrassed. "Sorry?"

"I want in," she told him, tapping his chest with a fingertip on each word. "With one condition that is absolutely, positively, unquestionably set in stone."

"Tell me, and if it's within my power, I'll agree to it."

"You and I, Mister Bishop, we're equals. That means my opinion matters, in all things. You're the most amazing man I've ever met, and I'm pretty sure you're going to be my husband, sooner rather than later, but I don't want you thinking you can order me around when that happens."

"I wouldn't dream of-"

"I'm not finished," she said, pushing him back down onto the floor. "That also means you aren't to let me push you around. I don't want a whimpering sycophant or a spineless worm. I want someone by my side, not in front of or behind me. You can't let me push you around, and that's sometimes harder than it should be, because I like getting my way. So I may pout or whine or shout in anger, but I promise you I will work through it with you, and that no matter what I say in the moment, I want you as an equal and not just arm candy, okay?"