Page 53 of Scout
Kendrix looks at me, really looks at me, and nods like he’s been waiting for me to say that out loud.
“He changed everything,” I say, voice barely above a whisper. “I thought you and I were the end of the story. The love story, even if it was messy. And then Scout walks in, and suddenly I’m seeing colors I didn’t know existed.”
A slow breath escapes him. “He brought us back to life.”
I nod. “He made me realize I still have skin under all this armor. That I’m not just this… detached, polished thing I built myself into. I feel more with him in the room than I’ve felt in years.”
Kendrix leans back, eyes on the ceiling. “I thought I was over wanting more. I figured I had you, and we were… done. But then he came in—a wrecking ball. Sweet. Sharp. Completely unbothered by our bullshit. And I remembered what it feels like to want something again.”
I exhale, laughing softly through my nose. “I wouldn’t say I love him. Not yet. But it’s there. That pull. That gravity. He’s… magnetic.”
“Yeah,” Kendrix says. “He makes things feel possible again.”
We sip our drinks. Let the silence hang in the air.
Then I speak again. “He helped me see I’m not just the broken kid my parents raised. That I’m a man who can care—deeply—for two people. One who wants to see where this goes… not just with you, but with him, too.”
Kendrix sets his glass down, his voice low and certain. “Same. I love you, Xavier. That hasn’t changed. But I want him, too. Not in some fantasy threesome way. Not because it’s hot or new. Becausehe’sScout. Because when he’s around, I feel more honest. More… me.”
I let that sit. Let it fill the air between us, heavy as a vow.
“We didn’t just lose him,” I say, jaw tight. “We made him feel disposable. A toy we could wind up and forget. But he wasn’t.”
Kendrix nods, slow and solemn. “So what do we do?”
Scout
The Value Save smells like lemons and broken dreams, but it’s the closest grocery store near Juniper’s neighborhood, so here we are. She’s bouncing beside me with a little plastic basket looped over one arm, chattering about the slumber party she’s heading to tonight. Apparently, Millie-from-next-door has upgraded from nail polish to DIY face masks, and that’s very big news.
“She says it’s avocado and honey,” Juniper says, wrinkling her nose. “But it looked like baby barf.”
“You’ll survive,” I tell her, laughing. “Just don’t let her put glue in your eyebrows again.”
“She said that it was TikTok-approved!”
We stop in the dairy aisle. She reaches for her favorite strawberry cream cheese, the one with the weird little cartoon cow on the label, and I grab a tub of smoked salmon flavor for myself.
That’s when I see him.
“Bradley?”
The guy in front of the yogurt case freezes. He turns slowly, face twisting into a polite smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes.
“Scout,” he says. One word, flat. Almost cautious.
I blink. “I heard about your grandmother. I'm sorry, man. I remember how nice she was.” He nods in agreement, looking like he's on the brink of tears. “I would’ve made it to the funeral to pay my respects, but I had to work.”
Lie.I could have gone, but what do you say to the guy who was your friend in high school but you lost touch with as adults after he moved away?
Bradley nods, lips pressing into a hard line. His eyes go shiny. “Yeah, it’s hard. It’s okay. She would’ve understood.”
There’s a beat of silence.
“I can't believe I haven't run into you before now. How long are you in town for? We should meet up for dinner and drinks.”
“Nana had my focus. I didn't want to leave her side. Right now, I'm here for good. There are some things I need to do for her estate and I need a job.” He glances away, voice dropping. “Like yesterday.”
That pulls something in me. I hesitate for half a second, then hold my hand out.
