Page 6 of Scout

“My Armani’s gonna look so good on your bedroom floor,” he says, a punchline meant just for me.

And then they’re gone.

I sit back down. I see red. I want to rip them apart. I want to grab Kendrix and yell in his face that he’smine.

But I don’t.

Because he wants something I’m not sure how to give.

He wants all of me.

And I haven't earned him and his depth of love yet.

Not yet.

But I will.

If it’s the last goddamn thing I do.

3

Scout

Kendrix’s apartmentis quiet in that expensive, echo-y kind of way. You know, soft lighting, clean lines, not a single crooked picture frame or out-of-place thing. It smells like leather and cedar and him.

He sets down his keys on the entryway table and shrugs off his coat. I loosen my tie slowly, letting the silence stretch. He tosses me a glance over his shoulder.

“You did good tonight,” he says, voice lower now that we’re alone. Less polished. “Thanks for helping me out.”

I smile, slipping the tie from around my neck. “Thanks for the paycheck.”

He snorts. “Yeah, well still. You were good. Natural. People loved you.”

“Well, I am lovable,” I say, nudging him with my elbow as we walk into the kitchen. He opens a bottle of wine and pours two glasses.

We’re standing at his kitchen island, sipping red wine and pretending things are normal. My feet are starting to ache fromthe shoes, but the adrenaline hasn’t left my body yet. Neither has the image of Xavier’s face when I dropped that last line.

On the way out of the gala, Kendrix had asked if I was ready to go home. I’d said no. So he drove to his place instead, quiet the whole ride. When we got here, he just said, “Let’s have a drink,” and I agreed. Maybe because I didn’t want to be alone yet. Maybe because he didn’t either.

Kendrix watches me for a second. “So… what the hell was that scene I walked up on? You and Xavier.”

I sip. “Ah, that.”

He raises an eyebrow.

I set my glass down. “He cornered me against the wall, said he hoped I wasn’t broken by the time this little game was over.”

Kendrix’s jaw tightens.

I smirk. “So I told him I always play to win… and that I was hoping my prize would be your cock in my ass.”

Kendrix’s lip twitches, fighting a laugh or maybe a groan. His eyes go darker.

“He didn’t like that one bit,” I add.

Kendrix steps a little closer, still holding his wineglass. Close enough that I can smell him again, that cologne that’s definitely expensive and definitely working.

“Is that what you want, Scout?” he says, voice a low rumble. “You hoping I’ll fuck you tonight?”