Page 87 of Scout

I let it sink in, then ask, “So this isn’t a rebound situation? I’m not just the extra player in a two-player game?”

Xavier’s hands tighten on the steering wheel. “You weren’t. You’re not.”

“You helped us,” Kendrix says. “You didn’t just… slot in temporarily. You made us better. Pushed Xavier to actually open up instead of disappearing behind his walls. You didn’t wedge between us, Scout—you unlocked something.”

They’re quiet for a second.

“So I’m not crazy for feeling there was something… more?”

“No,” Xavier says. “You’re not crazy. And you're not just some extra warm body in bed. We want you. All of you. And not just for sex, either.”

I let that settle. “So you’re together and want to be with me, too. A... three-person thing.”

“You’re on the right track,” Kendrix says gently.

My head drops back against the headrest. “And my job doesn’t bother you?”

“No fucking,” Kendrix says immediately.

“What?”

“You can still do your date gigs. Escorts, dinners, whatever. But no sex,” he clarifies. “We want to be the only ones you’re… with. Like that.”

Xavier nods. “We’re not trying to control you. But we’re also not pretending it wouldn’t be hard to share that part of you.”

I blink at the windshield. “Okay.”

“Okay?” Xavier repeats.

“Yeah. I can live with that. The clients don’t usually get any action, anyway. So… yeah. Okay.”

Xavier makes a soft noise from the driver’s seat. “So… how does it work? Do we all do everything together? Date together? Sex together? Or…”

Kendrix chuckles. “I think we do what feels right. No rules unless someone needs one. And if something bothers one of us, we talk about it.”

“I like that,” Xavier says softly.

“Yeah,” I echo. “Same.” Then I blurt, “So… have you two been banging like rabbits since I left?”

The car goes dead silent.

My ears grow hot. “Sorry. That was—uh. Not my business.”

“No,” Xavier says. “We haven’t.”

“What? Really?”

Kendrix chuckles. “Really. We didn’t have sex once.”

Xavier glances in the rearview at him. “I did crash at his place. Brought my stuff over. We shared a bed. But it wasn’t like that. Just kisses. Sleep. Support.”

“We knew you’d heard something,” Kendrix adds. “Or at least figured you did. And we knew it hurt. Even if it was a misunderstanding, it mattered.”

“We waited,” Xavier says simply. “Because it didn’t feel right without you.”

“We’re falling for you.” Kendrix rests an arm on my shoulder.

I don’t know what to say to that. My throat is tight and something warm is building under my ribs.