Page 22 of Game Changer
The car arrived, a black SUV, and they slid into the leather seats behind the partition. Scott sat straight upright with his hands on his knees, not looking at Kip at all. His fingers flexed and curled restlessly.
Kip placed his hand on one of Scott’s thighs, feeling the solid muscle under the smooth fabric of his suit pants. He didn’t move his hand, but let it rest there as a reassuring presence.
Scott glanced at Kip’s hand, then turned to meet his eyes.
“I can keep a secret,” Kip said, almost a whisper because he wasn’t sure if the driver could hear them. “And I promise I’ll make it good for you.”
“I know.” Scott placed his own hand over Kip’s and tangled their fingers. He pressed his lips together, like he was trying to suppress a smile. Like he wasgiddyabout this. AboutKip.
Fucking incredible.
The car took them to a newer building in the Lower East Side. Kip was surprised. He had expected something... Well, he knew it had to be near Straw+Berry, but...in a fancier neighborhood, maybe? But, he supposed, every neighborhood in Manhattan was getting fancy these days, and this looked like a brand-new building.
It was also, clearly, a veryexpensivebuilding. The lobby reminded Kip of the room that housed the Egyptian temple at the Met—vast and serene, with marble everywhere. Scott led them to the elevator and typed in a code. When the doors opened, they were right in front of Scott’s door; there were no other units on the floor. Scott typed in another code and opened the door. They were met with a floor-to-ceiling view of the lights of Brooklyn across the East River.
“Holy shit,” Kip murmured, walking, trancelike, toward the windows.
Scott left the lights of the apartment off. He stood behind Kip and said, “The view was definitely a selling point.”
“Geez, yeah.”
Scott’s hand was on Kip’s shoulder. Kip waited a beat, then turned to face him. The lights of the city played against Scott’s face in the dark. His brow was furrowed, like he was arguing with himself, but his eyes kept landing on Kip’s mouth.
Kip decided to take the plunge.
Grabbing a handful of Scott’s hoodie, he pulled him down and pressed their lips together. Scott responded immediately with a hungry groan. He parted his lips, then placed his hands on Kip’s face as he pushed his tongue into his mouth, kissing him like a starving man. Like he hadn’t been with anyone in ages...
Kip kissed back, exploring Scott’s mouth. Tasting him for the first time. Kip’s head swam.I can’t believe this is happening.
Scott unzipped Kip’s parka and slid it off his arms, letting it fall to the floor. His hands fell to Kip’s waist and slipped up under his T-shirt. Kip shivered at the sensation of Scott’s large, callused hands brushing over his skin.
They kissed for what felt like forever in the dark apartment, until Kip finally asked, breathlessly, “You got a bedroom?”
“Yeah.” Scott laughed when he said it. He sounded nervous, but he gestured for Kip to follow him.
He led him through a doorway that revealed a giant bedroom with an even better view of the Brooklyn Bridge than the living room. There was a California king-size bed against the far wall. Aside from that, the room was sparsely decorated, but masculine and impressive.
Scott kept the lighting dim in the room. He smiled shyly before he pulled the souvenir hoodie off over his head and tossed it onto a chair. The white T-shirt he still wore was stretched tight across his chest.
“Is this...okay?” Scott asked. “I’m sorry if I’m... I don’t do this very often.”
“It’sreallyfucking okay,” Kip said, stepping toward Scott and placing one hand on his ridiculous biceps. “Let me take care of you. You can just be Scott from Rochester tonight, all right?”
Scott looked at him with so much gratitude, it was heartbreaking. Then his gaze went to where Kip’s hand was on his arm, and his gratitude quickly turned to something else. Scott kissed him, hard, and lifted Kip’s T-shirt. Kip took the hint and stepped back to pull his shirt off. Scott did the same, andgood god...
Kip had seen pictures of Scott. Had even seen some shirtless locker-room interviews. But seeing Scott standing in front of him, a wall of muscle and smooth, pale skin...
“Fuck,” Kip muttered.
Mesmerized, he watched the rise and fall of Scott’s massive chest as he breathed. Then he saw that Scott was staring at Kip’s naked chest the same way. As if Kip was even in the same league. Sure, Kip kept in shape. He went to the gym whenever he had time. But Scott was...
“You are gorgeous,” Scott said.
Scott was impressed, apparently.
Kip grinned and bit his bottom lip as he walked backward toward the bed. Scott returned the grin and followed, stopping at the end of the bed as Kip fell back onto the mattress. Kip propped himself up on his elbows and gazed up at Scott in a manner that he hoped was seductive.
“What do you want to do with me?” Kip drawled.
