AN: Another chapter. Enjoy! :)


It was Cassie's birthday and Scott was running late. He felt absolutely horrible as he ran through the last red light towards the house. He'd woken up late, exhausted from work and arguments with the landlord, and he hadn't even wrapped up her present.

Now he drove in front of the rather crowded house with balloons tied to the mailbox, bumping back and forth in the light wind. The sky had cleared up a bit and Cassie had gotten lucky with some sunshine for her birthday.

When he finally got into the house, he was immediately off to see Cassie.

"I am so sorry I'm late Peanut," Scott said as he hugged her. "What do you want me to do? I'll do whatever you want to make up for it."

"I'm just glad you're here," replied Cassie with a grin. She was sitting in the living room and though a few moments ago she'd been surrounded by friends and their parents, they had moved off a bit to give Cassie time. "Are you alright?"

"What? Of course sweet heart. I should be double checking on you and your ankle," Scott said with a grin.

"It's fine," she assured him, glancing down at the now extra colorful cast. She looked up again and frowned. "You've got circles under your eyes though. Mom says circles are bad."

"Oh they are but when you get older you can handle them. I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Of course. And you know what I have?" Scott slowly brought up the present and shook it in front of her.

"What is it?" she asked excitedly.

"Open it and see."

He waited in almost as much excitement as she opened it up and finally saw the full set that he'd gotten her. She let out an excited squeal. "It's exactly what I wanted!" she cried out as she hugged Scott. "I got a better present though."

"Oh really," Scott said in mock seriousness. "And what is it?"

"My Dad!" Cassie cried out and hugged him again. "You don't have to do anything else for me. I'm just happy you're here."

"As am I," Scott agreed. "You know, we'll have to play with that dollhouse of yours sometime but I think you have some friends that are waiting for your attention. I'll see you when cake happens."

"Okay," she replied. "See you soon!"

"See you soon Peanut!" he said as he turned back to Maggie who was standing off to the side.

She looked pleased that Cassie was happy but still gave Scott a disapproving look.

"What?" Scott asked. "I wanted to spoil her."

"Yes, but perhaps it would be better to spoil her when you can afford it," Maggie said with a sigh. "Though I am glad she's happy. Any reason you were late? Everything alright?"

"Christ, is it a gene that you passed onto her or something? You and Cassie worry about me to much, and she doesn't even have a reason to."

"Well she has a very simple reason. You're her father and she loves you," replied Maggie. "But I don't want you avoiding my question."

"It's nothing I can't handle Maggie," he sighed. "I promise that if there's something ever wrong, like really wrong, I'll come to you. I promise. As of right now, it's alright. Seriously."

Scott was able to avoid any other talk of work and mostly stuck with Maggie. Small talk with the other parents was always difficult. It was easier when it came to singing and cake time. He joined Maggie and Paxton with teasing and spoiling Cassie who mostly laughed and took it all in stride, not seeming embarrassed for a moment.

Eventually the party dwindled and when most of the kids left, except for the few that were spending the night, Scott finally said his goodbyes to everyone. He left with the promise that he would play with the new playhouse the next time he was there before he finally tried to decide on where he was going to go.

He wished he could have just gone home but the fact remained that he needed to work.

Stopping to drop his truck off, he made his way to the usual street. He hadn't been there the past few days so it wasn't surprising when Lisa rushed up to him. She always seemed to have a million things to tell, whether he'd seen her five days ago or five seconds ago. However, this one time he was extremely interested in what was being said.

Her words were a bit shocking and didn't completely register so Scott couldn't help but ask, "Who's back?"

"The guy! He's been here a couple of times. He'd wait for a time but when you didn't show up, he'd leave."

"You don't mean…oh so it's this asshole," muttered Scott.

Across the street was the exact same car as before and even if it hadn't been, Scott immediately recognized the guy sitting there. Forgetting the composure he should have kept, he marched over as he watched the man simply give off a mischievous grin as if he knew this would happen.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"Seeing when you'd show up again," he replied. It was so smooth, as if he had no idea why Scott was mad.

"Really? Because I thought you made it very clear that you didn't want to see me again, Darren Cross."

"You know, most people recognize me on the spot," Cross replied, seeming amused that Scott hadn't realized it before.

"I don't watch TV. I'm usually busy working. Like. I. Am. Now."

"Hmm, really? Because it looks like you're talking to me."

Scott resisted the urge to launch himself at the guy. "Listen, I'm here to work so unless you want something, stop hanging around here."

He moved back, not expecting anything but instead felt a hand launch out and grab his. The contact shocked Scott to much and he whipped away, snatching his hand back.

"I don't care who the hell you are! Don't ever touch me without my permission!" snapped Scott as he backed off.

"Alright, I won't do it again," Cross said evenly. He seemed to give Scott a look that picked him apart, piece by piece, before finally saying, "How much for a full night?"

"Six hundred." That wasn't really true but if Scott was actually going to ride with this guy then he sure as hell was going to get his money's worth.

"Seems a bit overpriced."

"Something tells me you can afford it," replied Scott.

Cross smirked. "Fine. You have yourself a deal." The car doors clicked unlocked.

"Fine," Scott muttered. "But I have rules. Money upfront, no weird shit, no kissing, and no touching without my say so."

"Seems easy enough to follow," said Cross. His eyes followed Scott as he walked around and when he got in, he handed him a wad of cash.

Scott counted it. "You gave me seven hundred."

"Keep the change."

"You—" Scott was cut short as Cross hit the accelerator. "You really like throwing your money around don't you?!"

"Only around those who are interesting." Cross continued to hold the smirk in place. "What's your name?"

"Scott." Fuck.

"I'll take it I wasn't meant to know that. What do you usually tell clients?"

"Chris, or whatever they want to hear." He wasn't quite sure why he was telling him that. Actually, he wasn't quite sure what was going on. "Why are you even putting up with my shit? I mean, even if you didn't want a girl, there are still other guys around here who won't put up as much fuss as I do."

Cross just smiled as if it was a little secret that he'd never tell.

They continued to drive and Scott expected them to head to a hotel but was shocked when they came to an apartment complex. Besides the fact that it was an apartment, the place was the exact opposite of the place where Scott lived.

"We're at your place?"

Cross shrugged as if why not. Scott wondered how many guys or even girls he'd brought here. He wondered even more so why he'd never heard about it in the news or something. Or was he the first one? He doubted that but it was difficult to say.

"So why did you throw me off the first time?" asked Scott. "Especially if you were just going to wait around for me?"

"You were boring. But interesting enough that I was curious what was behind the façade," Cross responded as they went into the building. The entire first floor was more like a lobby with an area for mail off to the side. They headed for the elevator.

Scott whistled and then turned to Cross as they stepped into the elevator. "So what's behind your façade?"

Cross ignored the question and pulled out a key which he used to activate the elevator instead of pressing a button. He asked, "What's your poison?"

"I don't drink on the job," Scott replied stiffly. He'd done that once when he was younger. That had been a mistake.

"Whatever suits you," said Cross as the elevator stopped and finally opened its doors.

"Shit, you have the entire top floor. A god damn penthouse."

"Make yourself comfortable. Bathroom is down the hall and to your right," Cross replied as he made his way to the center of the room. "I have to make an important call but I'll be with you in a moment."

"Take your time," muttered Scott as he looked around the place. "I'm here all night."