Page 121 of Game Changer
“This was his armor when he was a young man,” Kip said. “Over here...” He gestured for Scott to follow him. “We see another one of his suits, which he wore twenty or so years later. Big difference.”
“I guess he spent those twenty years eating.”
“And fucking. And killing his wives.”
“Well, I was on board until that last part.”
Kip laughed. Scott beamed at him. “You should work here,” he said. “You’d be great at it!”
“Yeah. That’d be awesome,” Kip mumbled. He had never bothered to tell Scott about the fruitless job interview at the other museum. No reason to make himself seem even less impressive.
“What do you need to work somewhere like this? You have a history degree already.”
“Oh, I don’t know. A master’s degree at least, probably. Depends on the job.”
“And you don’t want to do your master’s?”
“I don’t know,” Kip said, pretending to be interested in a fifteenth-century gauntlet. “I mean, yes. I would like to. I just can’t—” He stopped himself.
“Afford it?” Scott finished for him.
“Don’t start,” Kip warned.
“I’m not! But if money is the only thing holding you back—”
“It’s not. For one thing, I would have to actually be accepted somewhere.”
“Have you applied?”
Kip couldn’t think of a reason to lie. “I sent in a few applications a couple of weeks ago.”
Scott’s eyes went wide with surprise, but he smiled. “That’s great!” Then his face fell a bit. “Um...whereabouts?”
“Oh, just around here,” Kip said quickly. He dropped his voice and smiled. “You thought I was gonna leave you?”
Scott looked at him seriously. “I would miss you like hell if you went away for school, but I would understand.”
Kipreallywanted to kiss him, or at least squeeze his hand. This sucked.
“Thanks,” he said. “But I’m happier staying here. And besides, I might not get into any of them anyway.”
“You will.”
Things took a turn later when they were in the European sculpture gallery. In the bright lighting, and the wide-open spaces, people started to notice the celebrity in their midst. Suddenly the museum patrons seemed a lot less interested in the statues of Greek gods and began snapping covert photos of the modern-day Adonis who walked among them.
Kip leaned in close to Scott and said, “Those guys are—”
“I know,” Scott said tightly. “I see them.”
It wasn’t long before two young women approached them and asked if they could take a selfie with Scott. Kip could tell that he wanted to politely decline, but instead he forced a grin and said, “Sure!”
Kip could hear the mutterings bouncing around the quiet, marble atrium. “Did you see Scott Hunter over there?” “Is that really Scott Hunter?” “Who is that with him, do you think?”
More people approached Scott and had their picture taken with him. Scott signed a few museum guides, which seemed like an absurd request to Kip.
After a family of four took photos with him, Scott turned to Kip and said, firmly, “We should go. Sorry, but this is only going to get worse.”
They left quickly. They had planned on getting lunch nearby, but Scott was already calling his car service as they walked through the lobby of the museum.
