“The next customer who wants to hurt you, or takes things too far, or roughs you up and you’re too scared to tell them to stop.”
Scott lowered his gaze.
“What if your luck runs out and there’s no one there to help you?” Thomas shifted in his seat. “I don’t like thinking about it, Scott, but sometimes it goes over and over in my head until I want to lock you up in this mansion.” He let go of Scott’s hand. “I won’t, I’m never going to trap you. It’s going to be hard, that’s all.”
“What is?”
“You going back to escorting.”
“Oh.” Scott blinked a few times. “I was unaware I was.”
“Warren’s gone.”
Scott nodded. “Not to be technical, but he’s still here.” He pointed his thumb at the wall. “A few rooms away.”
Thomas rolled his eyes. “Okay, smart guy. He’s dead. You don’t need to hide away in the mansion. You can return to your apartment, carry on escorting…”
“I could do that.”
“We’ll stay friends regardless.”
“What if I kind of like it here?”
Thomas frowned, searching Scott’s eyes.
“What if I kind of enjoy making the videos with you?”
Thomas licked his lips, still searching for something in Scott’s open expression.
“What if I kind of like being with you, and by kind of, I mean, completely?”
“You…want to be with me?”
“Yes.”
“Me,” Thomas said with emphasis.
“Yes,” Scott said back to him in the same tone.
“Even though I look like this?”
Scott huffed. “Fucking hell, Thomas, are you really bringing appearance into this right now?” He gestured to his own face, molten purple, blue and red from cuts, swelling and bruising. “Am I repulsive now I’ve been beaten around a bit?”
“Of course not.”
“I’m… I’m really attracted to you.”
Thomas scoffed, shaking his head. “Don’t be ridiculous –”
“I am,” Scott said firmly. “It’s you as a person, although you can be a grumpy arsehole at times. It’s how you make me feel safe. How I want to spend my time with you, make you happy, get you out of this damn mansion and into the sunshine. It’s the videos we make, the way you talk to me.” Scott nipped his lip but stopped at the flare of pain. “It’s how much I want to make you feel good, how badly I crave your voice, and itisyour appearance too.”
“How can it be –”
“I love your size. I love how unique you look. I love your tattoos. I love how I can see through them sometimes, and how you sometimes let me in.” He fixated on Thomas’s blue eye. “I love how you took away a piece of your mask when you knew I couldn’t keep mine in place. I’ve loved two people in my life, my mum and my sister, and they loved something else more thanme, something that they put first, and it destroyed them. My love wasn’t enough, so if it’s not enough for you, Thomas, you’ve got to let me know now before I fall any further.”
“What do you mean?”
Scott took a deep breath. “I’m not your type. I don’t have tattoos or piercings, and I’m a novice in the kind of sex you enjoy. You said we’d stay friends no matter what, but what I want is more than that. I want intimacy both in and out of the bedroom. I want to bewithyou. But I can’t keep trying and trying to please you, do right by you, only for you to pick someone else in the end. I want to be your first choice, the same way you’re mine.”
