As the song on his music station drew to a close, he heard the sound of the basement door opening. Then two sets of footsteps headed for the foyer. Scott must’ve finished his workout video. The one he’d apparently recruited some little hottie to come help him with. Max smirked, remembering when he’d answered the door earlier, finding “timid Tad” on the doorstep. Man, had that kid looked uncomfortable as hell. To the point that it was downright comical. Why he was so blatantly shy, Max didn’t know. Although, he’d also looked kind of intimidated. By Max. Guess he’d never seen a Dom before. Because at that point Max had still looked the part. His client had just left a few minutes earlier, and Max had yet to change out of his garb. Not that it was one of his more hardcore get ups, but he’d definitely been sporting enough leather to make a statement.
Max chuckled, removing his work apron as he recalled Tad’s reaction to him. Wide hazel eyes taking in every detail. Every piercing, every tat, every inch of black leather. Pretty sure he was checking out Max’s body, too. If nothing else, the guy was definitely bi-curious. Although in hindsight, Max would guess that he was gay. What with the way that he’d gone completely rapt when Scott finally decided to join them at the door. God, his eyes had totally lit up. Like he was crushing on the down-low and didn’t want Scott to know. Come to think of it, Scott had seemed pretty fucking happy to see him as well. Max wondered where they met. One of Scott’s students at the gym? Guess it’d make sense that he’d be helping him out with a workout video.
Max shut off the music and was headed to his desk when the door suddenly opened. He glanced its way, finding Scott’s big body filling the entrance.
Max smirked. “So how’d it go with your hot little boy toy?”
Scott stilled and eyed him oddly, like he wasn’t sure what Max meant.
Max frowned. “The video? You were shooting with your friend?”
“Oh.” Scott laughed a little. “Right, right… Went fine.”
Max regarded him curiously as he moved behind his desk. “You okay?”
Scott crossed his arms and shrugged. “Yeah, of course.” But he didn’t really look fine. His smile was tight. His eyes looked glum.
“Alright. If you say so.” Max sat down and opened his laptop.
Scott lingered in the doorway. Max peered his way again. Something was off about his friend. As his computer booted up, Max leaned back in his chair and studied Scott more intently.
“So, where’d you meet this Tad guy? He in one of your classes?”
Scott shifted stiffly. Shook his head. “No.”
Max waited for him to continue. He didn’t.
“Then where?” Max frowned.
Scott’s face turned kind of sheepish. Glancing away, he cleared his throat. “He uh… was that frat boy…” He muttered the rest. “The favor.”
“The favor?”
Scott slid him a look.
Ohhhhh. Max’s brows rose. “That was him? Favor boy?”
Scott’s jaw clenched. “Yeah. Except the favor was bullshit.”
Max frowned again. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, Tad wasn’t in their fucking fraternity. And his visit to me wasn’t to get initiated.”
Max stilled. “Then what in the fuck was it for?”
Scott pursed his lips and shook his head. “Apparently, he’d lost a high-stakes round of poker, not realizing what my clients meant by triple or nothing. He’d thought it was dollar amount, but found out too late that it wasn’t.”
“Triple or nothing meant a session with you?”
“Yup. Either that or take a beating.”
Max’s jaw dropped open. “Are you fucking serious?’
“Dead. And I fucking helped them out.”
“Fuuuck.” Max shook his head. But then he cocked his head. “So wait. Then why is Tad still coming around?”
Scott shrugged again. Looked down. “He never blamed me for his involvement with them… But we got along pretty well that first night, so… yeah…” A small little smile tugged at his lips.
Max’s brows rose high. “How well is well?”
Scott fought back his grin and shook his head. “Let’s just say I made sure he enjoyed himself.”
“Mmhmm. I bet you did. And now he’s coming back for more.”
“No,” Scott chuckled. “It’s not like that.”
“How’s it like then?”
Scott’s smile fell. “Complicated.”
“Why? ‘Cause you don’t date?”
“Mostly because he doesn’t.”
“Ah.” Max wondered what exactly that meant.
“Doesn’t really matter,” Scott muttered. “Like you said, I don’t do relationships anyway.”
Max watched him, not really wanting to argue that one. A big part of him liked having Scott all to himself. “So, what’re you gonna do to those dickhead clients?”
Scott’s jaw ticked. Then he growled. “I’m going to kick their fucking asses.”
Max perked, lips curving. “Need any help?”
“Fuck no. I got this.”
And Max had no doubt that he did. Scott was one badass motherfucker. Had come a long way from where he’d been when Max first met him. Which Max liked to take a little bit of the credit for. After all, it was Max who all but dragged Scott to self-defense classes. He’d been a bullied, scrawny kid back then, and Max couldn’t be there to protect him every moment. But once Scott caught the fever, realized how much he loved hand-to-hand, he started taking martial arts classes, too. Which helped him eventually discover his passion for kickboxing. Not only did he excel in his lessons, but went to classes for a certificate to teach the stuff. And man oh man, was Scott wicked on the mats.