She woke up with a horrible stomach ache. Her head was fuzzy, dizzy, but nothing she would consider a headache. In fact, she wondered if having a headache would have been preferable to the feeling of possibly puking at any given moment. Just getting out of bed felt like a risk, but she had no choice. Recalling the events from last night, she realized she failed. She drank too much. The heavy cream churning in her tummy was a testament to that fact. She embarrassed herself in front of the contact. What the hell was she thinking? All the promises she made to herself that she was going to succeed, that she was going to impress Levi, were broken to pieces. She could do better than this, she knew she could. The only recourse she had now was to somehow prove it. Nothing she could say to Levi could right the wrong. If she were him, she would have lost all confidence in this weak, human girl. Up to this point, the only thing she had proven was that she was typical: all words and no substance.

Getting out of her bed slowly, she went into the adjoining bathroom and splashed some cold water on her face to wake herself up. Then, turning the water to warm, she began to wash off the makeup from last night that had smeared as she slept, making her look like a gutter tart. Blotting her skin dry with a soft cotton towel, she then ran a brush through her long auburn waves. With the faucet off, she could once again hear the muffled music coming from the loft. She was really going to regret this day but decided it was better to rip the bandaid off and go confront him, rather than staying in her room hiding. Not being picky about what she wore, she pulled on some sweatpants and a comfortable t-shirt. Picking up the black dress she’d dropped onto the carpet the night before, she headed for the kitchen. She needed something to settle her stomach.

After folding the dress carefully and setting it on the clean marble countertop, she remembered there was still some fruit, granola, and bread left over from the previous morning. She began to slice the remaining fruit up with a clean knife out of the drawer, and although it wasn’t as perfect as Levi had made it the day before, it was still cut rather nicely. As happy as she was with the outcome, it still wasn’t much of a peace offering.

Momentarily, she leaned against the counter waiting for a spell of nausea to pass. Tearing off a small bit of bread, she popped it into her mouth and waited. Was it going to stay down or come back up? Closing her eyes she stood still for a few minutes until she was confident it would be okay to move again. So far, so good.

Beyond calming her tummy, she needed to psych herself up to approach Levi. She couldn’t face him cowering like a child. Cowering wasn’t her thing. In her mind, she decided to screw everything that had happened up to this point. Screw her bad behavior, and falling over herself whenever Levi flirted with her. She was being stupid. Plain and simple. She needed to start seriously thinking about her well being and her future. She needed to prove she wasn’t a ball of clay that was shaped by whatever impressed itself upon her. She was strong and needed to start showing it.

After plating breakfast for Levi as colorful and close to the way he had made it yesterday morning, she opened the door to the loft. Across the large space, Levi was shadow boxing shirtless near the punching bag. Steeling herself against the loud music and the definition of his upper body, she made sure her words were clear and determined, showing no hint of her discomfort.

“I fixed you some fruit.”

He stopped mid punch and walked over to his cell phone, shutting off the app that was pumping his music through the bluetooth speakers around the loft. Grabbing a towel, Levi dabbed the sweat off his face and then draped it over his shoulders as he sauntered up to her and oddly patted her on the head.

“We need to talk,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone, and then passed her by on his way to the kitchen.

Expecting the worst, Madeline turned to follow him, watching him grab the plate and some chopsticks, and take it to the living room. As he sat, he repeated the same Japanese phrase of thankfulness in a somber manner as he did days ago.

“You’re not eating?” he arched a brow before taking his first bite.

“There wasn’t enough,” she replied, not mentioning the fact that just the thought of eating the fruit was turning her stomach. “I’ll get something later.”

“No,” Levi replied sternly. “We’ll go out and get you something in a little bit.”

“So what did you want to talk to me about?” she began, even though she knew the answer. “I know my behavior last night was unacceptable.”

“Exactly,” Levi agreed. “You didn’t act like you were trying to maintain a cover and get information from Maseo. You acted like some club crawler asking a wingman for details on his best friend. The only redeeming quality you had last night was your charm, but that’s not going to get you very far.”

Madeline tried to hide her embarrassment, but couldn’t. He was right. Looking back on it, she spent most of the evening trying to getting information on him, not Maseo. And it was so obvious. She had nothing to say. He was spot on.

“Next week is the holiday party, and I want to see a different performance from you,” Levi continued, eating the fruit she prepared for him. “If you don’t think you can do this…”

“I can,” Madeline interrupted, eyes burning with determination. “I will show you that I can.”

Lifting his chopsticks, he brought a piece of cantaloupe to her mouth. Without hesitation, she bit at it, taking it off the chopsticks before chewing it a few times and swallowing it. There was no sexual innuendo in the gesture; it was more like an order given and an order accepted.

She braced herself as she felt the melon make it’s way down.

“Go get cleaned up. We’re going out,” Levi snickered, knowing full well how hard she was fighting to keep it down.

Nodding, she rose and hurried off to her room leaving Levi alone to finish the remaining fruit.

To be honest, she was doing really well until Maseo started piling on the drinks, but Levi needed her to learn a lesson from this. He needed her to fail so she was aware of mission hazards. If she would have just nursed the second drink and stopped there, it would have been acceptable and she would have been able to keep her focus. Distractions and potential pitfalls like that were always mission risks, and he hoped last night made her painfully aware of them. He had to admit, he was impressed with her initiative to make him breakfast. He had expected her to stay in her room a lot longer today.

Finishing the fruit, he put the plate into the kitchen sink and then headed to his own shower to wash away his workout funk, making a mental note to introduce her to a drink that wasn’t the perfect storm for a horrible morning after.

About a half hour later, he took Madeline to the nearby bakery that specialized in breakfast sandwiches. He ordered them both egg, avocado, and cheddar on freshly baked rolls, which was surprising settling for Madeline. As they walked around the city in the brisk fall air, enjoying their warm food, Levi discussed what lay ahead for the week. Groceries were getting delivered this afternoon, so the condo would be stocked with everything she’d ordered, meaning she could start cooking meals as per their agreement. They would start her physical training today as well.

“And we still need to get you a dress for the party,” he explained.

“Can I pick my costume?” Madeline asked, misunderstanding his statement.

Giving an amused smile, Levi shook his head. “We don’t celebrate Halloween the same way. It’s equivalent to New Year’s Eve: fancy dress, expensive food, and drink, very formal. So no costumes. And the guest list is exclusive, which means you will see things.”

Madeline’s eyes twinkled with intrigue.

“Like what things?” she said, lowering her voice.

“Ears, tails, glamour…” Levi elaborated, keeping his voice low, even though there wasn’t anyone within earshot who would have heard their whispered conversation.

“Ears?” Madeline’s eyes widened. She was very excited at the mere mention of the idea but somehow managed to keep her voice quiet. “Possibly your ears?”

“Yes.”

Not able to control her inner fangirl, she let out a muffled squeal.

“Well, aren’t you easy to please,” Levi chuckled seductively under his breath. “So all I have to do is sport some ears and you’re putty in my hands?”

“You wish it was that easy,” Madeline corrected him smugly.

They walked a bit further until Levi stopped in front of an upscale clothing boutique, ushering Madeline inside to pick out a dress. Keeping the idea of New Year’s Eve on her mind, she pictured in her head what the perfect classy, yet sexy, dress would be. It had to be black, and it had to be shimmery. Flipping through the clothing racks, she found a satin, strapless bubble dress which had layers of elegant ruffles from the waistline to the hem. It gave the illusion that the ruffled tiers were gathered up on the left hip by a sparkling diamond-like clip, and then cascaded down the length of the skirt. After the attendant at the shop zipped her up, she stood staring at herself in the mirror, a bright smile beaming on her face. The black dress pushed her breasts up just enough to be seductive without being tacky, and the length of the skirt ended mid-thigh, so it revealed enough leg without the worry of flashing anyone when she sat down. It was so flattering and comfortable that she wanted to jump up and down with joy, but for fear of looking like an idiot, she kept the elation to herself.

Full of confidence, she exited the dressing room to get Levi’s approval. Her heart raced as his eyes looked her over slowly. Wetting his lips, he gave a devilish grin.

“Excellent,” he said approvingly. “That will be perfect.”

Suggesting she remain in the dress in order to match it to accessories, Levi had Madeline pick out some shoes and a wrap to keep her shoulders warm. She chose a open toed, black platform pump, and a velvety silk-lined wrap, also black. Once everything was decided on, he had her change back into her street clothes so the attendant could wrap everything up in quaint paper bags brimming with delicate tissue. Then, with shopping done, they headed back home.

To kill time waiting for the grocers to deliver, Levi took the dress Madeline had borrowed the night before and showed her how to prepare it for dry cleaning and who to contact to get it picked up. He had a washer and dryer in an alcove in the hallway but carefully emphasized that only a small amount of his clothes ever go into it. Undergarments, socks and t-shirts only, he said. The rest of his clothes he sends to the dry-cleaners, with the exception of his jeans, which are spot cleaned as needed. He expected her to do the same.

Within an hour, the grocers showed up, and Levi let Madeline direct them on where to put everything that was non-perishable. It was her kitchen now. She’d be cooking meals for Levi and herself, so organizing it was up to her. It was a bit daunting, having all those fresh ingredients to work with. He was extremely picky, so she had to order a lot of pantry staples like flour, baking soda, brown sugar, and other things if she was going to make everything from scratch. Luckily she had a container of well-worn recipe cards from grandma packed away in one of the boxes in the loft. That would be enough to get her started. As a matter of fact, she decided on kicking tonight off with a simple shepherd's pie, something grandma used to make often on their tight budget.

After the kitchen was organized and everything put away, Levi instructed her to go get changed into something she’d be able to work out in, and then meet him in the loft.

“Before we do anything,” he said, after she returned wearing a pair of black cotton shorts and an old white t-shirt, “We need to stretch.”

“To prevent injury,” Madeline added, taking a seat on the hardwood floor across from him. “I’ve taken karate.”

“Then start stretching, smart ass,” he responded with a smirk. “Today we’re going to identify your physical strengths and see what we have to work with.”

After about thirty minutes of stretching, mainly because Levi didn’t know how long humans took to warm up, he had Madeline assume a fighting stance. He was still aware of her lingering stomach ache but didn’t care. This was part of her lesson as well. Pushing through pain and discomfort.

“Try to hit me,” Levi instructed, standing in front of her with his arms slightly raised.

Madeline nodded.

Shifting her weight, she let loose with a combination of punches. Levi dodged them but was obviously surprised at how quick she was for a human.

“So when you took these karate classes of yours,” he began, “How badly did you rattle the rest of the students?’

“Pretty badly,” Madeline smiled proudly.

Running a hand through his black hair, her speed puzzled him, but he was sure it was somehow connected to her reason for being kidnapped. It was yet another dot he couldn’t connect to anything.

“Your speed isn’t normal,” he continued. “It’s obtainable for your species for sure, but usually after a lot of training. With as little as you’ve had, it shouldn’t be possible for you to be as fast as you are. And you’re sure there isn’t anything you’re not telling me about yourself?”

“No,” she said, shaking her head vehemently. “I swear I’ve told you everything. I’m not hiding anything.”

He stared at her for a little while, determined she was being truthful, and then stroked his smooth chin in thought.

“Well then,” he sighed, “We’ll tailor your training around your speed, and indirectly, around dodging. And we’ll begin by defending against felinae. As I said yesterday, your goal is going to be to incapacitate them so you can get away. It isn’t likely you’ll be knocking them out, but more like slowing them down.”

He walked over to a steel steamer trunk sitting against one of the walls, knelt down, and pressed his index finger to the biometric reader. With a barely audible click, the lock detached and Levi flipped the lid open, revealing an assortment of small weapons and other gear, neatly organized and in pristine condition. As he took inventory of the weapons, he thought about what was going to be the easiest for her carry and conceal, and what would be the least dangerous should she be overtaken.