Game Changer

by Rachel Reid

  “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 you
rself?”

  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.<
br />
  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—”