Chapter Thirteen
Scott and Kip woke up together the morning after the trade deadline.
They’d had the television on all day, turned to a sports channel that was devoted to the trade activity. At times Scott had given it his undivided attention, and Kip had known to give him space. Most of the day, though, he had been happy to let Kip take his mind off everything.
And Kip had been happy to do that.
He had also been happy to distract himself from the stress of waiting to hear back from the museum. The interview had gone surprisingly well.
Both of the interviewers had seemed to really like him. By the end of it, everyone had been talking like he’d already got the job. He had left on a real high.
But he still hadn’t told Scott about it. Maybe he didn’t want to jinx it, or maybe he was just embarrassed about his pathetic attempt to improve himself. Scott’s level of success made everything Kip did seem kind of ridiculous.
Scott had lost some teammates in a trade the anchors on television had called “huge.” A guy named Burke and another forward had been traded to Tampa Bay in exchange for an enormous Finnish defenseman.
“Matti Jalo,” Scott had said when he’d heard the news. “Wow.”
“He’s good?” Kip had asked.
“Yeah, he’s... I didn’t think we’d get somebody like that. He’s probably the best defenseman in the league right now.”
“Hey, that’s great then!”
“It is,” Scott had agreed. “Shows the management has confidence in us.
They just bought us a really nice present.”
“But, uh, the guys who are leaving... Burke, was it? And, um...”
“MacDow, yeah. Good guys. Sucks, but I figured Burke would go. It will be better for him, honestly. He’s not getting time to shine here.”
“So you’re good?”
Scott had smiled at him. “I’m good.”
“Feel like celebrating?”
“Absolutely.”
Now it was just after five in the morning and Kip needed to go to work, but Scott’s hands were on him, and his mouth was nipping along his jawline.
“Call in sick,” Scott murmured against his skin.
“I can’t! And you have a game tonight. You’ll be busy.”
“Go in late. I’ll write you a note.”
Kip laughed. “What would it say?”
“‘Sorry Kip is late, but Scott Hunter was riding his dick.’”
Kip moaned. “God, we haven’t done that. I... Fuck, I want that.”
“Me too,” Scott said, and moved Kip’s hand to his solid cock to illustrate his point.
“Fuck,” Kip breathed. Then, “No. No. I have to go. Not fair, Hunter.”
He got up and got dressed before Scott could convince him to do something stupid like not show up for work.
“I’m not gonna see you until the gala tomorrow night,” Scott sighed.
“And even then it will be agony, not touching you.”
“Sexy, though, right? Kinda?”
“Kinda.”
Scott made coffee, as was their tradition, and they drank it together in the kitchen.
“You know it will be agony for me too, right?” Kip said.
Scott smiled sadly. “I’m going to want to leave early. I’ll be making my excuses as soon as I get there.”
“No you won’t. We’ll both have a wonderful time, and then we’ll get back here and take each other apart.”
Scott kissed him, and it was full of promise. When it was over, Kip
shivered.
“I’ve gotta go,” he said weakly.
“I’ll see you tomorrow night.”
* * *
Scott arrived at the restaurant early and ordered a coffee. He was meeting his agent for lunch, and coffee was important.
He liked Todd Wheeler—he wouldn’t let him represent him if he didn’t —but he truly hated talking about contracts and endorsements. He knew he
was lucky to have so many opportunities to make so much money, but it wasn’t why he played hockey.
Todd arrived just as Scott was draining the last of the French press the server had brought him. “So that was some shit with Zullo, huh?” he said, almost as soon as he’d sat down.
“Yeah.” Scott nodded. “You could say that.”
“It’s over now, though. That’s gotta feel good, right? I know you hated that guy.”
“Hate is a strong word,” Scott said. “A strong, accurate word.”
Todd laughed. “And Matti Jalo’s an Admiral now! Looks like a cup- winning team to me!”
“Absolutely,” Scott agreed. “Jalo is going to be a huge asset.”
“Huge is right. Jalo is a fucking monster. Good-looking too. New York is
gonna love that guy.”
“I hope so.”
“Hopefully not too much, though! We’ve gotta make sure you’re still
number one in this town.”
“Sure.”
The server came and took their orders. Todd ordered a spinach salad without looking at the menu. Scott ordered a club sandwich, and then Todd abruptly said, “You know what? Fuck it. I’ll get the club too.”
After the server left, Todd said, “You bringing anyone to that Equinox
Gala?”
“Why? You wanna be my date?”
“No, fuck you. I just thought you might be seeing someone. I’m praying every night that you’ll start dating some actress. Maybe a model. Something that gets you in the papers, y’know?”
Scott grimaced. He definitely would be “in the papers” if anyone found out who he was dating. But probably not in the way his agent was hoping for. “Sorry to disappoint you.”
“I could find you a date, if you want,” Todd mused. “A New York–based ingénue who wants to boost her profile...”
“No thanks, Todd.”
Todd shook his head. “I don’t understand you, Scott. You look like that —” he waved his hands to indicate Scott’s entire body “—and you don’t seem to be sharing it with anyone. Man, if I looked like you...”
Scott snorted. Todd had been an athlete, once, but the years away from competition had given him a bit of a gut. He was far from unattractive, though.
“I should have gotten the damn salad,” Todd muttered to himself. “Not all of us are burning a million calories a day.”
“You look fine,” Scott assured him.
“We’re not talking about me, Scott. We’re talking about you and why you’re not dating the gorgeous women of New York.”
“I’m busy,” Scott mumbled.
“We’re all busy! I’ve got a wife and three kids and fourteen clients!”
“Why are we talking about this?”
“I want you to be happy, Scott. I’ve been representing you since you were seventeen and I’ve never known you to even go on a date with anyone. I’ve gone to a lot of my clients’ weddings—you’re all like family to me. You know that. Especially you, because...you know.”
“Because I’m an orphan?” Scott asked flatly.
“I just want you to know I’m looking out for you, and I care about your happiness. That’s all.”
“Well, thank you. But I’m perfectly happy. Really.”
“So...if my friend who represents a certain New York–based actress asked me if you might be looking for a date for the gala...”
“You should tell your friend that I’m not.”
Todd sighed. “Fine. Don’t you even want to know who she is?”
“Nope.”
“Because if you’re a leg man at all—”
“Oh, good! Our food is coming!”
Scott started asking about talk show bookings to keep the conversation away from his love life for the rest of the meal. Todd seemed to take the hint because he didn’t bring it up again.
But less than half an hour after they parted ways, Scott received a text from him. It was just a red-carpet photo of a beautiful young woman followed by You sure?
Scott: I’m sure.
Jesus. He really did not need the whole world to be interested in his love life right now.
* * *
Kip left work on Thursday and went straight to Elena’s. He had brought his tuxedo there days ago after he’d picked it up at the tailor.
She answered the door with wet hair and a bathrobe on.
“Awesome,” Kip said. “You’ve showered already. Can I take one?”
“Yeah, sure. We gotta be out the door in, like, two hours, okay? The limo
will be here.”
“Limo?”
“Equinox is sending one. They like me.”
He showered, and then left the bathroom wearing a towel. Elena was in her room with the door ajar. He knocked lightly. “Can I come in? Is my suit
in there?”
“Yes. Come in.”
He opened the door and found her sitting in front of a mirror putting hot rollers in her hair. Pop music was playing from a little speaker next to her.
“I’m putting on my underwear,” Kip said. “Don’t peek.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.”
“I can see you looking in the mirror, Elena!” He pulled on his nicest black briefs as quickly as he could. He could see Elena’s reflection smirking.
“So what’s the plan tonight? You and Scott pretend you don’t know each other and then you go back to his place and—”
“Go to town on each other? Yeah. That’s the plan.”
“Kinky.”
“A little.”
“You sure you’re okay with this weird relationship?” Elena asked as she put the last roller in her hair.
“Yeah, it’s fine.” Kip frowned. “I mean, obviously it would be nice to—”
“Go somewhere other than his apartment?”
“It’s a nice apartment, but yeah. It would be great to actually go
somewhere together.”
“Do you think you ever will?”
“I don’t know! I mean, it hasn’t even been a month.”
“That’s a month longer than I’ve seen you date anyone else.”
“Exactly! That’s why it feels so serious. I’ve never—”
“Felt this way?”
Kip blushed because it sounded so sappy. “I like him a lot,” he mumbled.
Elena stood and crossed the room. “I can’t wait to meet him,” she said, and kissed Kip’s cheek.
“You’re not going to give him one of your scary talks, are you?”
“Of course not. I just think it’s fair to warn him that if he hurts you, it will be detrimental to his career. Because he’ll be dead.”
“Elena!”
“I’m kidding. Mostly. Listen, I have to paint my nails. Let’s open some wine, crank some Rihanna, and get beautiful.”
“God, yes.”
* * *
Kip got out of the limo to a wall of bulbs flashing. They abruptly stopped when the photographers seemed to realize that he and Elena were nobody.
They quickly crossed the red carpet. “You look incredible,” Kip said, offering Elena his arm so she could balance on him as she made her way up the short staircase to the entrance. “I know I keep saying that, but really. A lot of guys are going to be jealous of me.”
She smiled at him. “I think a lot of guys are going to be jealous of me.”
Elena did look stunning. She was wearing a black satin halter gown that had ombré ruffles down the side of the skirt, each layer fading into a lighter shade of gray. The ruffles parted when she walked, revealing a high slit that showed off her legs and strappy black heels. Her dark hair was swept into a curly side bun, showing off her sparkling earrings that at least looked like rubies and diamonds.
The party was hosted in an enormous historic building that had been recently restored and upgraded. It was now one of the most glamorous venues in New York. Kip had never been inside before, not even as a server.
“Impressive,” he said, gazing around at the ceilings of the lobby.
“Just wait,” Elena replied.
She led him into the most lavish room Kip had ever seen. It was full of high arches and marble columns, but Equinox had added their own modern touches to the event. There was a (probably famous) DJ on a platform up high, and 3-D holograms of floral centerpieces projecting from devices in the middle of every table.
The thing that struck Kip the most, though, were the little rolling robots that appeared to be serving the guests hors d’oeuvres.
“Equinox doesn’t do anything on a small scale, huh?” Kip asked.
“No. They don’t.”
“Do I look all right?”
“You look absurdly handsome.” She squeezed his arm. “We have time to mingle before we have to be seated for dinner. Let’s see who we can find.”
She led him toward the crowd of New York’s rich and famous that had gathered near one of the bars. He wasn’t great at clocking celebrities, but he vaguely recognized some of the people in the room.
Kip wondered if Scott was here yet.
Elena introduced him to some of her coworkers, and he made polite small talk, but no one seemed particularly interested in him. He was distracted when a robot server rolled up and offered him a canapé. Kip wasn’t used to being on the receiving end of an hors d’oeuvres tray, and seeing the kind of work that made up the bulk of his résumé being so efficiently executed by a machine was...bleak.
“You tryna put me out of a job, buddy?” he asked it. The robot just rolled off to serve another group of guests, leaving Kip to reconcile the fact that he had more in common with the robots than with any of the actual guests at the party.
He went to the bar and got (complimentary!) drinks for himself and Elena. He brought Elena her martini and she nodded over his shoulder.
He turned and saw Scott across the room. He was talking to a small group, smiling, and standing head and shoulders over all of the others. He was dashing as hell in his classic black tuxedo.
Elena gently hit his arm, which caused him to turn back to her. “Stop staring!” she hissed.
“Okay! Can—can he see me? Has he spotted me yet?”
“Not yet. You guys need to be a lot stealthier if you’re going to fool anyone.”
“What are you talking about? I’m fine. Has he looked yet?”
“No. But if he does come over here—Okay, he sees you.”
“How can you tell?”
“Because he just lit up like the goddamn sun. Jesus. You guys are doomed.”
* * *
Scott couldn’t move one inch without someone stopping him. Some of them he actually knew a bit, others were complete strangers, but everyone at the gala seemed to want their moment with him.
All night it had been the same impersonal small talk. “Yes, I feel really good about our chances in the playoffs.
“Very excited to have Jalo on the team. He should be a great addition.
“I don’t golf, actually. Never have.”
And to the few people brave enough to ask about Zullo: “I hope he gets the help he needs.”
He could see Kip, barely. His back was turned to him, but Scott recognized him instantly. He was standing with a gorgeous woman who was turning heads even in this crowd. She was the woman Kip had taken to the Admirals game all those weeks ago. Elena.
It was getting close to dinnertime, when they would all need to be seated.
Then there would be speeches, and who knew when he’d get a chance to talk to Kip. He just needed to see him.
Scott wrapped up a conversation with one of the New York Jets’ star players by politely saying that he was going to the bar to get something. He moved through the crowd, pretending not to hear a couple of people who called out his name.
Kip finally turned and made eye contact with him, and Scott’s heart stopped.
God, he looked handsome. Like a classic Hollywood movie star. Scott drifted toward him like a moth to a flame.
“Good evening,” he said when he finally reached Kip. The suit fit him like a dream: dark blue and slim cut everywhere. You could barely tell it had once been tailored to Scott’s body—had, in fact, been the tux Scott was wearing the first night he and Kip spent together. His hair was parted on the side, and he had a twinkle in his eye as he played along.
“Scott. Good to see you again. This is my friend, Elena Rygg. She works for Equinox. Elena, Scott Hunter...”
“No introduction necessary,” Elena said, extending her hand. “It’s exciting to meet you at last, Scott.”
“Elena,” Scott said, shaking her hand. “Wow. You are very pretty.”
Kip laughed.
“Sorry,” Scott said. “I’m not great at talking to women.”
“It probably doesn’t come up often in your line of work.” She smiled at him, a secret little smile that almost seemed like she was making fun of him, but it was warmer than that.
“No,” he said, smiling back. “It doesn’t, unfortunately.”
Kip seemed to be taking him in. His eyes were roaming over his entire body, and he was chewing his lip. Scott tried to think of a reason to touch him. His thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of a woman he didn’t recognize.
“Elena! You look gorgeous! How are you enjoying yourself?”
Elena embraced the woman, and they kissed each other’s cheeks.
“The party’s incredible, Jacqueline. You’ve done an amazing job,” Elena said.
“You think so? I do like the contrast of old New York glamour and our cutting-edge technology.” She turned to Scott and extended her hand. “Scott Hunter! Thank you so much for coming. Jacqueline Kane.”
Ah. The CEO of Equinox.
“Of course. Thank you for inviting me,” Scott said politely.
“I didn’t know you two knew each other,” Jacqueline said, pointing
between Scott and Elena.
“We’ve just met,” Scott said.
“Lucky you! Elena has been immeasurably valuable to the company this past year. We absolutely love her. And, I’m sorry, I’m being rude. We haven’t been introduced.” She extended her hand to Kip. “I’m Jacqueline.”
“I’m, uh, Christopher. Grady.” Kip shook her hand.
“Do you also work in IT, Christopher?”
“No—I, um—No. I don’t.”
Scott wanted to jump in and say something complimentary about Kip, but he wasn’t supposed to know who he was.
“You’re with Elena?” Jacqueline asked Kip.
“No! I mean... I’m her date, yes. We’re friends. Good friends.”
“Oh! All right. How about you, Scott? Did you bring anyone special tonight?”
Scott couldn’t stop himself from glancing over at Kip before saying, “I came alone.”
Jacqueline smiled and looked at Scott and then at Elena. “Well, I’ll leave you to get acquainted. Enjoy yourselves!”
“We will. Have a good evening, Jacqueline,” Scott said politely.
“You hadn’t met Jacqueline before?” Elena asked.
“No,” Scott said. “I get invited to all sorts of things by people I don’t actually know.” He chuckled. “It felt surreal, at first, being a poor kid from Rochester and suddenly being immersed in this whole other world. Rubbing shoulders with New York royalty.”
“I can imagine,” Kip said, with a small smile.
Scott frowned, because did Kip feel that way? It was easy for Scott to think of himself as just a guy from Rochester because that’s what he was.
But was this all surreal for Kip? It must be, at least a little.
One of the things Scott really liked about Kip was that he never seemed interested in Scott’s money or fame. Being with Kip was the only time Scott felt like... Scott.
Elena must have noticed the awkwardness between them, because she quickly dumped the entire contents of her glass into her mouth. “Oh, look.
My martini’s gone. I’m going to the bar to get another one. Scott, what are you drinking?”
“Oh, um, a beer. Just a beer. Stella, I guess, if they have it.”
“They have it,” Elena assured him. She left them alone.
Kip was staring at the floor, and Scott desperately wanted to tuck a finger under his chin and tilt his head up. He wanted to kiss him. He wanted to tell him that he absolutely belonged here because he was important to Scott, and clearly important to Elena.
“Quite the party, huh?” was what he said instead.
“Yeah,” Kip said, turning his eyes up to meet Scott’s. “I feel like I should be carrying a tray around.”
Scott frowned and kept himself from reaching for his boyfriend. He felt eyes and ears all around them. “You don’t look like you should be carrying a tray around. You look...” He couldn’t finish his sentence. Not with the words he wanted to use. Not here.
“Elena seems great,” he said instead, changing the subject.
“She is. You’ll dance with her later, right?”
“I’ll do my best impression of dancing, yes.”
Kip laughed a little. Then he sighed and gazed at Scott with so much affection and longing that Scott couldn’t do anything but stare back. He knew he had a goofy, love-struck grin on his face, but he couldn’t help it.
Throwing caution to the wind, he lowered his voice. “You look
incredible.”
Kip bit his lip. “Not so bad yourself.”
Scott leaned a little closer, pushing his luck. “It’s going to be a long night.”
Kip was staring at his mouth. Scott watched his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed.
When Kip replied, his voice had shifted to that ragged Brooklyn drawl that Scott loved so much. “Should have a hell of an ending, though.”
“I can’t wait,” Scott breathed.
“Me neither.”
And thank god Elena returned at that moment or else Scott might have done something very stupid. The pointed look Elena gave him as she handed him his beer told him that he and Kip had been standing much too close a moment ago.
“It’s time to sit for dinner,” Elena said. “Let’s get you two separated.”
Before they parted, Scott extended his hand to Kip, who stared at it for a moment before he grinned and took it, shaking it like two men might who have just met at a social function.
But Scott took the opportunity to gently brush his fingertips against the inside of Kip’s wrist. He stroked the sensitive flesh as they shook hands, and he watched Kip’s lips part. He watched his eyes ignite.
“I’ll see you later,” Scott said, “Christopher.”
The dinner went on for far too long. Between courses, Jacqueline thanked everyone for coming, and explained the importance of providing opportunities early for kids to explore STEM careers. She talked about some of the good work the Equinox Foundation had already done in this area, and what plans she had for the future. She announced a massive endowment to local public schools to furnish them with state-of-the-art computers and other technology. Scott applauded along with the rest of the crowd.
He was seated with nine people he did not know. Even Carter had been placed at a different table. Scott was never particularly comfortable at these types of events, but tonight he was even more restless and distracted. It didn’t help that he couldn’t see Kip at all from where he was sitting.
As they waited for dessert and coffee, he decided he needed to get out of there for a few minutes. He excused himself and stood. He briefly scanned
the room for Kip, but couldn’t find him.
Scott went to the bathroom, but didn’t feel like returning to the table afterwards. He wandered around the area outside the main ballroom where the bathrooms were located and found an alcove that offered a third-story view of the city lights. No one else was in it, so he took a few quiet minutes to himself, standing against the glass and watching the traffic below.
He felt Kip behind him before he saw his reflection in the glass, just over Scott’s shoulder. “Hey,” he said in a quiet voice.
Scott closed his eyes and forced the fluttering in his stomach to calm down.
He turned. “We probably shouldn’t be here together.”
“Probably not.” Kip stepped closer, invading Scott’s personal space and taking over his senses. The spicy smell of his aftershave was intoxicating.
“They did a good job with your suit,” Scott said shakily. “Really...fits you
well.”
“Mm.”
Kip’s mouth was so close, and Scott’s lips parted completely on their own. It would be so easy to lean in and take what he wanted...
“Food was good,” Kip said conversationally.
“Was it? I wasn’t really paying attention.”
“Distracted?”
“Maybe.”
“You look like you’re still hungry.”
Scott shuddered out a breath. “Goddammit, Kip.”
Kip gave him one of those sexy smiles that Scott normally loved so much, but here...
Kip’s eyes darted down to Scott’s crotch, and his smile widened.
We could leave. We could leave right now...
“I should get back,” Kip said, infuriatingly casual.
Scott bit down on his tongue, hard enough to bring him back to earth.
“You’re in trouble later,” he growled.
Kip’s eyes widened, but he managed a smile before turning and leaving.
Scott grinned as he watched him walk away, pleased that he was able to retaliate a little.
He took a moment to compose himself, then returned to the ballroom. It looked like he had missed dessert; the tables were already being cleared away to allow more room for dancing and mingling.
He didn’t see Kip anywhere.
There was a commotion in the crowd when the lights came down and the stage Jacqueline had been speaking on before suddenly spun around to reveal a famous lounge-style singer and his orchestra.
Scott mingled for a while, chatting with A-list celebrities and some of New York’s top CEOs. He had just wrapped up a conversation with an actual astronaut when there was a tap on his shoulder.
“I believe I was promised a dance,” Elena said.
Scott smiled, genuinely glad to see her. He took her arm and they moved to the dance floor, which was quite full now. “I’m a terrible dancer,” he
warned her.
“I’ll make up for it.”
She was a fantastic dancer. Scott quickly found a rhythm as they danced an easy two-step while the band played “Fly Me to the Moon.”
“You know, I was just talking to a real astronaut,” Scott said. “I wonder if he likes this song.”
Elena politely ignored his clumsy attempt at small talk. “Are you having a good evening?”
“Sure.” He lowered his voice. “How’s Kip doing?”
“I think he’s focused on the after-party.”
“Well, that makes two of us.”
She studied his face. “You like him.”
“I do. I... I really like him.”
“Good,” she said. “Because he’s nuts about you. You need to understand
how unprecedented this is for him.”
“You think I’m going to hurt him?”
“I don’t know. We’ve only just met. Convince me otherwise.”
Scott sighed. He hadn’t spoken to anyone about his feelings for Kip before now. It was nice to have someone to share them with, but it was also terrifying. “I can’t explain it, because it doesn’t make sense how quickly
I’ve—”
“Fallen?”
Scott felt himself blushing. “Yeah.”
She squeezed his hand. “You are asking a lot of him, you know.”
“I know. I won’t promise more than I can give, but... I’ll give him
everything I possibly can.”
“In secret?”
“For now.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“Like I said, I won’t promise more than I can give. But this is new. I think, with time, I’ll be able to give more.”
She seemed to consider this. “Okay.”
Scott cleared his throat. “Do you like working for Equinox?”
“I do. I get to do what I love, they treat me with respect, and the money is
obscene.”
Scott laughed. “Sounds like my job.”
When the song ended, Elena leaned in. “You can kiss me, if you want. If you want to...divert attention.”
He smiled, touched by the offer, and kissed her on the cheek. “Thank you. But I won’t do that to you.”
“Wouldn’t have been such a hardship.” Before they parted, she said, “Kip is the best person I know. And he’s happier than I’ve ever seen him these days. I’m protective of him because I love him.”
“I know.” Scott wanted to tell her that he loved him too, but he’d never said that out loud before. He hadn’t even let himself seriously consider the possibility, but as he walked Elena off the dance floor, and saw Kip sitting, relaxed in a plush chair, watching them... ...what else could this feeling be?
* * *
Scott and Elena looked stunning together, dancing, and Kip was envious.
He wished he could be the one in Scott’s arms. He consoled himself by remembering that he soon would be.
But it would be nice to dance with him. Kip didn’t need people to know they were together. He wasn’t interested in showing off, or being shown off.
He just...wished he could share everything with Scott.
He watched them leave the dance floor. Elena was immediately asked to dance by someone else, and Scott disappeared into a crowd of people. Kip sighed. He was getting bored. He didn’t want to drink anymore, and he felt too inadequate to engage in conversation.
He was observing the party, trying to enjoy the spectacle, when his phone buzzed.
Scott: 161912
Kip stared at his phone, confused. Maybe Scott had pocket-texted him by
accident?
A second message came.
Scott: Door code. Works for the elevator too.
Kip looked up. Scott was leaning against a wall on the other side of the massive room, typing on his phone.
Scott: I’ll meet you there. Text me when you’re leaving.
Kip smiled. He was equal parts excited about moving things back to Scott’s place, and touched that Scott had given him his access code.
He wrote back, I’m leaving now. Just gonna tell Elena.
* * *
Scott was trying to leave when Carter stopped him.
“Scotty! Was that her? Was that her? I saw you, man!” He threw an arm around Scott’s neck and hauled him in. “I saw you! Fucking gorgeous lady, Scott! Nice work, my friend!”
Carter had clearly been drinking. “Don’t worry,” he said in a whisper that was louder than most people’s speaking voices. “Your secret is safe with me.”
“Uh, sure, thanks, Carter,” Scott said, pulling his arm away. “I was just heading out, so...”
“I get it, man, I get it. She leaving in another car?”
“Um.”
“I feel you. Have a good night, Hunter! A good night!”
Scott exhaled as he walked away. Things were getting complicated.
His car service was waiting for him downstairs. He let the blissful silence wash over him once he was alone in the back seat.
The driver took him home.