Scoring the Player:
Salem's POV
Bonus Scene

​“More wine?” Anaïs asks, refilling her glass.

“Sure.” Denzel caps his glue stick then tilts his glass toward her. 

“I’m good,” Blue says as our hands collide over the cutout of the letter A. 

We stare at each other before we dash for it. 

“Ha!” I exclaim, snapping it up. 

He glares at me. 

I blow him a kiss.

“Here,” Denzel says, offering him an A cutout from his stash.

“You sure?” Blue asks. 

“Yep, I think I’m just about done.” 

I look across the table at Denzel’s vision board, but I only make out a picture of an office building before he covers it up. “We’re not supposed to share yet until we go around,” he reminds me. 

“Yeah, yeah.” I lean forward, trying to steal a glimpse of Blue’s board across the table, but he’s erected a fort around it using the extra blank boards. 

My gaze travels diagonally across the table to Anaïs’s board, but whatever she’s working on is covered by a sheet of paper. 

I stare down at my board. It’s almost there, but it’s kinda empty. Hmm.

The jazz record we’ve been listening to ends. I push my chair back and stand, walking over to flip it. As I pass Blue, I attempt another glance, but he leans forward and blocks my view, making me chuckle. 

This was his idea. After I finally gave in and showed him my old board, he grinned and said that he wanted to do one too. Then he recruited Anaïs and Denzel to join in. 

I flip the record, then pop into the kitchen to check Sim’s water bowl. I grin. It’s full again. Blue must have refreshed it when he refilled the chip bowl. Sim is pretty low maintenance, but it’s nice to have help walking and feeding him. Sometimes Sim chooses who he wants to walk with by bringing his leash to one of us and dropping it at our feet. The first time he decided Blue over me, I smiled. 

Whenever Blue has trouble sleeping, and he throws on his shoes for a run, Sim’s out of his bed and trailing behind him. I always feel better knowing they’re out there together in the middle of the night. 

I grab another beer and make my way back to the living room. 

“We’re all done,” Anaïs tells me. “You?”

Hmm. I hand Blue the beer and then take in my board. It’s so much sparser than last time. “I think so. Someone else should go first.”

“I wanna go,” Blue says, standing.

Anaïs chuckles. “Someone’s excited.”

“Go for it,” I say, taking my seat. 

“Okay.” He takes a swig of beer and then rubs his palms over his T-shirt. When he lifts his board, the surrounding fort falls down.

“So…” He pauses and then looks at me. “Do I just show it to you?”

I nod. “Yeah, and you can walk us through it, or we can help by asking you questions about it.”

He nods. “Maybe both.” He flips it over, so we can see. 

I grin at the chaos of colors, words, images, and shapes. 

"Hearts for Heroes", Denzel says, reading the collage of words at the top right. 

Blue grins. 

Shortly after our date night at Kim’s place, Blue woke up one morning and told me that he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Denzel’s experience, and how he wanted to help him in some way to open up a chapter here in Brooklyn. I felt relieved because, as much as I want to help Denzel too—and I will in some ways for sure—I also want to open up a bakery with Dad, and I know that trying to help start up two different businesses would be tough. Blue and I discussed it, and when he approached Denzel about it, the two of them delved into sharing ideas. Denzel, who usually doesn’t pry, asked a lot of questions about CPTSD, and Blue was forthcoming about his past and journey. I stepped back and let the two of them bond.

“Yeah,” Blue replies, answering Denzel. 

“I have it too,” Denzel says with a smile, showing Blue his board. 

A warmth settles into my chest at the string of letters in the middle of Blue’s board, Marry Baker Bae.

“When?” I ask, nodding to the board.

He follows my gaze and then blushes before stealing glances at Anaïs and then Denzel. 

“Don’t worry about that,” he says. 

My gaze pings around the room. What are they not telling me…

“You have to let me propose first,” I demand.

“Pfft…said who?” he throws back. 

But I've been planning it for years. 

“Does it matter who asks first?” Denzel asks, quirking an eyebrow. 

I stare at Blue, who's staring back, his face softened like I’m the best thing he’s ever seen. “Yeah…no,” I reply. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Is that your cabin?” Anaïs asks, nodding to the photo of a cabin surrounded by a forest. 

“Yep,” Blue answers. 

We’re in the market to buy one that’s big enough for all of us to get away with Sim whenever we want.

“What’s the block of gold about?” I ask, picking up my wine glass for a sip. 

His gaze darkens. 

Anaïs snickers and whispers to Denzel, “Cover your ears.” 

Denzel obeys, even squeezing his eyes closed. 

Huh? I don’t get it. I stare at the gold block again. There’s a picture of a guitar next to it. “Golden guitar?” I ask.

Blue tilts his neck, staring at the board.

“Not the guitar—look up,” Anaïs answers.

I pan up, and there’s a garden hose with water. 

“Golden hose…” As soon as the words are out of my mouth, I laugh. “Seriously? A golden shower is part of your vision for the next year?” 

“I want what I want,” he says. 

“Mmh,” I groan, a coil of heat stirring in my belly. “Come here.”

He walks over, and I pull him onto my lap. 

“You like my board?” he asks before I press a kiss against his lips.

“Mm, love it.”

“The coast is clear,” Anaïs says to Denzel, tapping his arm. 

He opens his eyes and asks, “Do I want to know?”

“Nope,” Anaïs says, laughing. 

Denzel nods, rolling his lips and staring at the table. 

I take in Blue’s board up close. “What’s this?” I point to the slab of concrete. 

“A reminder that the floor won’t cave in, and I’ll lose you.”

I kiss his neck. “Never.”

“I love this,” I say, angling the board so Anaïs and Denzel can see Keep Healing spelled out.

He’s so dedicated to the work he’s doing with Zuri, taking the homework seriously, and being kinder to himself. It’s beautiful to witness. 

He peeks at my board. His lips quirk up at the corner as his fingers trail Marry Blue written across the middle. I follow his gaze to the picture of a bakery. 

“Your board’s less crowded than mine,” he observes.

And the reason for it hits me.

“Yeah, it is.” My arms tighten around him. “I’m already living the dream.”

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New: Kit recently launched a Patreon that includes additional bonus scenes and artwork with Blue & Salem. Head on over HERE.