Sighing, Lawrence relaxed into a deflated lean against Raiden. “You’re no fun. No fun at all.”
Raiden steadied him as they came to a stop in front of Lawrence’s building. “I’m having a pretty fun time,” he said, then grinned. “Wait a second, I got it. I like you the way I like a curl of hair that sticks up funny.”
“A curl of hair?”
Raiden pushed one of Lawrence’s curls back behind his ear where it belonged, and it felt like the night warmed between them for a minute. Taking care of Lawrence just felt right.
Then he flicked the curl out again, making it bob in place. “Like a loose curl of hair, it’s nice to take care of you, but it’s fun to mess with you, too,” he teased.
Lawrence squinted, and Raiden could see his drunk brain trying to figure it out. “Is that a compliment?”
Raiden shrugged. “However you want to take it. But now that you’re home, I should call it a night.” He hated that part, tearing himself away, but he knew he would hate it a lot more if he and Lawrence exploded into each other. With how freaking jealous he felt as the bodyguard, Raiden could only imagine if he were actually hooking up with him.
Lawrence’s pout turned into a frown. “Fine,” he said dismissively, his voice dropping into a slur. “I only have two hundred dollars to my name anyway. No one will love me again until the first.”
“Excuse me?” Raiden asked, narrowing his eyes.
“Nothing,” Lawrence sighed.
Raiden took his shoulder, then turned Lawrence to face him. The guy was always making these dismissive statements about money, and Raiden hated hearing him put himself down. “No, really, what are you talking about?”
“It’s just my family,” he said, the wobble in his voice suggesting he was spilling a bit more truth than he intended. “My father was so worried I wouldn’t get a respectable job, he made a fake one for me in his company. So now I have my trust fund, and my other trust fund, and my salary, but I don’t have to do anything. Do you see?”
Raiden frowned. “Not really.”
“I give the money away,” Lawrence whispered. “It takes me all month to do it, and then when the next month comes, on the first, I get a bunch more money all over again. So I figured, if my dad just throws money at me to make me go away, the least I can do is to throw money at other people who actually need it.”
It was drunk logic, but Raiden thought he was putting the pieces together. Transferring his wealth to people who needed it was admirable, but had Lawrence been so confused by his family that he didn’t know how to value himself at all, outside of that money?
“Lawrence—”
“Whatever, bodyguard,” Lawrence said abruptly, then spun on his heel. “Thank you for walking me home, even though you didn’t give me sex.”
His head spinning, Raiden could only laugh. Lawrence stood on the concrete steps, glancing at Raiden over his shoulder. He was trying to offer a seductive glance, but the blurry drunkenness in his eyes just made him look pleasantly, happily tired.
“Have a good night,” Raiden said. “And Lawrence?”
“Yeah?”
“You’re very likable, don’t worry.”
Lawrence stood still for a second, then scurried inside without another word. Raiden shoved his hands in his pocket and started toward the subway. The kid confused the hell of him, but Raiden had to admit the truth to himself.
He could only resist so many more of those pouty fucking looks.
