Sammie couldn’t eatwafflesuntil she heard the rest of what he’d been about to say. She waited, fighting the urge to once more pick at her nail.
“I mostly work solo now.” Kieran started sawing at the food on his plate, spearing a bite with his fork and shoving it into his mouth, chewing slowly.
Sammie was going to die.
“I haven’t found any partners here yet to collaborate with,” he finally continued.
Yet.
“So you prefer to work solo?” Sammie was sure she was failing to be discreet with her line of questioning, but if Kieran had caught on he wasn’t letting it show.
“I wouldn’t say that.” Another pause, another big bite. More slow chewing. He pointed with his fork. “Your waffles are going to get cold.” He waited until Sammie had hastily shoved a bite in her own mouth before continuing. “The right opportunity just hasn’t presented itself yet.”
Yet.
Bingo.
Sammie sucked in a deep breath, threw all hesitance and timidity out the window, and blurted her next question.
“What about me?”
Kieran choked on his waffle.
Kieran wasn’t sure which was worse, the fact that his life could have ended over a breakfast food item, or the fact that every teenager from the corner booth was definitely laughing at him now.
He thought he would maybe take deadly foodstuffs over cynical youths any day.
“Okay,” Sammie said, folding her napkin delicately and placing it next to her own barely touched waffle. “I’m going to go now. Maybe I’ll dig a hole and hide in it until the heat death of the universe, who’s to say. It was nice knowing you.”
She made to stand up, to actually leave, so Kieran leaned over the table, gently grabbing her wrist.
“Wait.” He was still sort of choking. Sammie froze, and he took the opportunity to sip some water. “Wait. I was just shocked.”
“Still not the reaction I was hoping for.” She pulled against his grip. If Kieran didn’t think fast, she really was going to leave, and maybe never talk to him again. Atticus wouldmurderhim.
“Not a bad kind of shocked,” he said. He loosened his grip, unwilling to keep her somewhere she didn’t want to be. But Sammie waited, her stormy eyes searching his face forsomething. What, he wasn’t sure of, but she didn’t pull any further away, so Kieran took the win for what it was. “Just… shocked. I… didn’t realize that was why you wanted to talk to me about this.”
Sammie’s jaw clenched, but she sank back into her seat, hands falling to hide beneath the table. He knew what she was doing, that same nervous picking she’d been in the habit of for as long as he’d known her. He flexed his hand in his lap, wishing he could reach over and stop her from hurting herself.
“It’s not the only reason,” she finally said. She was slumped in the booth, defeat lining her shoulders, reminiscent of a sad puppy once more. “And I didn’t mean to be so goddamn blunt about it. It just sort of… slipped out.” She shrugged, chewing on her bottom lip as she looked at him, waiting for a response.
“Tell me where you’re at right now.” It was something he’d used in the past, with his sexual partners, whether they were making content together or not. And, while he might not be ready to think ofSammiethat way, it had never failed him in the past. “Tell me what you’re thinking. While you finish that waffle.”
She breathed deeply, hesitating before finally slicing off another bite, chewing slowly, lost in thought. Kieran simply waited.
“You make good money,” she began. “You just said as much. And with all the repairs on granny’s—on my house, I could use some extra cash.”
Kieran shook his head. “Speaking from experience, that’s not enough of a reason to get into something like this.” She watched him, unblinking, waiting for more of an explanation. “It’s hard, Sammie. You’d be putting yourself out there in a way you never have before, right?”
She nodded.
“Right, so that is a whole thing on its own, but pair it with the fact that you’ll be exposing yourself in a highly sexual nature… that’s not easy. It’s not something everyone can handle, which is not a bad thing, it’s just the reality of this sort of career.” He paused, hoping she would have something to say.
“Well.” Sammie hesitated, her brows knitting together as she thought. “I’m definitely nervous about the prospect. But I wouldn’t say I’m scared.” She looked up at him, her expression flinty. “I’m not soft, I’ve had people say shitty stuff to me online before. I can take a lot.”
It felt like a challenge, one that stirred something in Kieran. He liked it, the grit he saw in her gaze, the steadfast determination. This was the Sammie that had stood her ground when the other guys hadn’t wanted a girl playing volleyball with them every summer.
“I don’t doubt it,” Kieran said, weighing every word. The last thing he wanted was for this to tip toward an argument of any sort. “But I want you to think about this as much as you can before you decide to take it any further.” He wouldn’t stop her. What right did he have? He was delusional if he thought he evencouldstop her.
