Page 41 of The Hotshot vs The Reporter

His sweet smile has me grinning like a goofy idiot, and I can feel Jenny’s eyes on me now. But does she look annoyed or amused? I can’t really tell. “And what do you have planned to show him, Royal?”

Yeah. She, for sure, knows.

I don’t answer with “my dick,” so there’s some progress. Really, she should be proud because it’s difficult not to say since she clearly knows I either have already or would like to again.

“I don’t have any plans yet.”

I knowshedoes though, and I’m not surprised at all when she starts naming things I could do. “You can volunteer at the animal shelter again. That was quite a hit.”

I nod in agreement as I take a drink of water. I have no idea what Soren and I are going to do after dinner—if he wants time alone, or if I can convince him to come back to my place—but I know I want to be 100 percent sober if it’s the latter. “I’m not sure I can handle adopting any more animals though.”

“Me either,” Soren agrees with a laugh, and damn, is he beautiful when he’s laughing. His face completely alight.

“Yeah, Cooper almost got me last time too.”

I’m surprised by that. She’s the only one who’s been able to say no to Cooper so far. Hell, even Maverick now has a dog. “Really?”

“He didn’t,” she says haughtily, and it makes me chuckle. There’s no doubt Jenny is a badass, but when she shows this rare side—where she cares—I like that too. Although... huh, I guess she and I are more alike than I realized. “Anyway,” she says, breaking me out of my thoughts. “Cash is having a fundraising event next month. You both should attend.”

I swallow hard, all traces of smiles wiped from my face now as a cold shudder runs through me. Soren’s eyes are trained on me, but he doesn’t call me on what I’m sure is an odd response to an event which raises funds for sick kids. Most people hop right on that, but it makes me sick every single year.

I force myself to go... but goddammit, it never gets easier.

“Okay,” I say solemnly.

I’m sure Jenny just chalks it up to me being an entitled brat, but I feel Soren’s eyes on me. He’s studying me. I think about talking about foster care earlier and teasing him about doing research. God, I hope he doesn’t.

I don’t want this exposed, naked rule or not.

The rest of the evening is fairly quiet and honestly, pretty damn enjoyable. Jenny closes the evening, letting me know she’ll text all the information about Cash’s event and that I need to keep up the good behavior, but she ends it with a wink and a hug.

I think I might actually be growing on my agent—just a little bit.

Huh. Didn’t think that would ever happen.

We get back to my car—yes, he finally let me drive—and we climb in, but I don’t start driving yet. I turn to look at him, feeling more nerves than I’ve ever felt. And yes, I drive cars at a high speed around a track for a living.

This is way more scary.

“So, uh...” I start lamely.God, why is this so hard?

Thankfully, Soren takes pity on me. “Would you like to come back to my place for a bit?”

“I would.” His smile lights up my car. “But I need to check on Annie and Oscar.” His smile drops slightly, and I curse myself but add, “My place?” to let him know I’m definitely interested in hanging out more with him tonight. That I don’t want the night to end.

He bites his lower lip, and I swear to God, I might pass out from the nerves. It was just fun. He’s over it now. He’s regretting asking me.Shit. Shit. Shit. This is so not me.

“Or...” I’m staring at him, my heart thumping so damn hard in my chest, and my palms are legitimately sweating. “We could pick up the dogs, and you could come back to my place. I probably need to give Mickey a little attention.”

I recognize the nerves he’s experiencing now. He was afraid to ask me.Huh. So I don’t make him wait for even a second. “Yes.” His eyes widen in response.

“We don’t have to. I mean, if you’d rather go back to your place, I can stay for a little bit—”

I cut him off, risking a lot but not caring as I lean over and steal his lips quickly. The kiss is brief, but impactful all the same. I pull back, and he looks at me, dazed. “I want you to stay for as long as you can. Or I want to stay at your place as long as I can, actually. I like your house. But whatever works best for you, so we don’t have to end the night here,” I say as I kiss him quickly, then move back over into my own seat.

I should be concerned about someone witnessing the kiss, but I’m not. Not at all. My sexuality is nobody’s business, and if I want to date a dude, I can.

My brows furrow slightly as the thought goes through my head. Is that what we’re doing?

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