[ he's game as long as there are no strings attached. he'd only cut them away. he thinks he's doing all of this for Kenzi ( anything it entails ) and maybe he is but he's also selfishly eager to bury himself in any endeavor that takes the edge off. why else would he agree to going out even if it meant being used as a distraction or being passed up for another? there's some part of him that wants to be used. ]

Did you decide to take a break in pursuing your education once you arrived? [ a vacation's supposed to be relaxing, after all. his brows draw inward again when she takes a jab at herself. winning a title's nothing to turn her nose up at, pageant or otherwise. not that he's going to choose to fight that battle when she's so close to him that he can smell her and nearly imagine the heat coming off of her. ] I can see why if you did.

So you're used to cops. [ he's storing that away, thank you. he notices the change in her smile only because he's had years of practice in looking for tiny details, but he doesn't think much of it in and of itself. ] I'll try not to pull any fast ones on you.

[ try being the keyword since he leans in a little when he says it, encouraged by her proximity to be marginally more daring without being over the top. ]