Page 108 of Playboy For Hire

I just lay there, feeling my heartbeat gradually come back to normal, Quinn’s breathing slowing steadily. His face was against my neck, and I kissed his temple. I never wanted to move again, never wanted to leave this moment.

At some point, we fell asleep. I don’t think either of us meant to, but neither of us wanted to get up and do anything practical orproductive. For now, it was enough just being here, knowing we were one.

A buzzing sound woke me up. I glanced around the room, noticing that the angle of the sun coming through the front windows had shifted. We’d slept for an hour, maybe more. The buzzing was insistent, and I realized it was coming from my phone, still shoved in the pocket of my pants, which lay in a heap on the floor.

“Do you want to check that?” Quinn said into my neck.

I laughed. “No. What I want to do is toss it down the disposal. But checking my messages or throwing my phone away would both involve moving, and Ireallydon’t want to do that.”

“What if it’s a work emergency?” he asked, as the buzzing continued in syncopated bursts.

“My work doesn’t have emergencies.”

“There’s a first time for everything, isn’t there?”

I groaned—a decidedly unsexual one this time—and reached down to grope for my pants. I found my phone and brought it to my face, blinking sleepily. I’d missed multiple calls from Tessa, and she’d sent a string of texts too. A grin spread across my face as I read them.

“What are you smiling about over there?” Quinn asked.

I tossed the phone down, laughing, and turned to him. “So, speaking of work. Any chance you’d be interested in helping out a client of mine?”

22

QUINN

Iwaited for Ryder to join me in Dupont Circle. It was early May now, and the trees had all leafed out, covering the city park in a bright green canopy. Runners passed by, dog walkers moseyed along, and old men scratched their beards and swapped stories as they played chess.

I used to feel nervous in places like this. Anywhere, really, where I felt exposed. Where people might stare and judge.

But I was trying to see things differently these days. Ryder was insistent that no one was thinking about me as much as I feared, and that most people were too self-involved to even notice my birthmark. I supposed he did have the more people-oriented job out of the two of us. Maybe he knew what he was talking about.

So I sat on a bench, waiting for Ryder’s bus to arrive, and tried to see the world through his eyes. I had to admit, most people passed right by me without so much as a glance. The chess players looked at me briefly when I sat down near them, but went back to their game immediately.

A fluffy white dog sidled up, sniffing first the bench, then my legs. They stared at me with bright eyes and a lolling tongue. I looked up at their owner, who followed a few feet behind.

“Can I pet them?” I asked.

She nodded. “Oh, sure, he’s friendly. The bigger problem will be getting him away from you. Helovesgetting pets.”

I put my hand out for the dog to sniff, the way I was taught in third grade when volunteers from the animal shelter came to visit our class. The dog stuck his snout under my hand, moving forward until my hand rested on top of his head. I grinned and began scratching behind his ears.

“Who’s a pretty boy?” I said to the dog. He didn’t answer, obviously, but stared up at me with adoration. If he noticed my birthmark, he clearly didn’t care. But even his owner seemed uninterested, grinning down at the dog instead.

“What’s his name?” I asked.

“Lolli. It’s short for lollipop. Because he’s such a sucker for attention.”

I laughed. “I like it.”

Lolli liked it too, and he seemed like he would have been content to sit there for another hour while I petted him. Eventually though, his owner tugged him away, waving goodbye as she went, and my chest flooded with warmth. Maybe people really didn’t care about my face as much as I’d thought.

I looked up when I heard the sound of brakes on a bus, and saw Ryder jump off of one across the street. He had his messenger bag slung over his shoulder and was dressed in business casual. This afternoon was his second-to-last day of classes, and he’dhad to present a group project—but I was beginning to suspect Ryder dressed up to go to the grocery store.

“Hey you,” he said when he joined me.

He put a hand on the back of my neck and pulled me in for an exuberant kiss. I was surprised into stillness for a moment, then kissed him back with pleasure. I still wasn’t used to the fact that Ryder didn’t care who saw us together in public, but I never wanted it to stop.

“Sorry I’m late,” he said when he pulled away. “The presentation before us ran long, and I wasn’t sure I was going to catch the bus.”

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