by Doyle, Dawn
I turned back to him. “This morning could’ve been avoided, Quasi,” I said, staring pointedly at the bruising and still swollen areas of skin. “My mom was going to drive me while I called the garage, but thank you for completely disregarding everything I told you yesterday.”
Quinn leaned forward, his eyes piercing mine. “Colby looked all set to drive you,” he said, his tone stone cold. “And here I was, trying to keep you from further questioning by staying out of view of your mom. Hence my note so she wouldn’t see me.”
“There was no way I was getting in his car.” I snapped back. “I don’t even know him.”
Quinn studied me for a second. “You don’t know me either, remember.”
I dropped my head back and closed my eyes, releasing a frustrated breath. I then stared at him. “He’s after something you’re not, ergo not a chance in hell was I getting in there.”
His eyes narrowed, but then he slowly nodded, his bottom lip pouting as though thinking about what I said. “Makes sense, but here’s the thing…” Quinn slowly got off the bike, removed his gloves, and stood so close, his heat seared into me. I took a sharp breath when his jacket brushed against my front, the leather sliding over the thin fabric covering my breasts. “Remember our deal, Kinsley. You gotta ride with me sometimes, or I ride with you, that’s how it goes.” His hand touched my arm, sending shivers all the way up to my shoulder then cascaded down the rest of me, my skin firing up. “We gotta get to class.” His fingers stroked down to my hand, and just when I thought he was going to take it in his, he took the helmet instead. “Nobody’ll touch this,” he whispered, then placed it on the handlebars.
I held my tongue and walked inside with him next to me. Without saying a word to each other, he kept within my personal space until I got to the art studio. He stopped and faced me, leaning down. “I’m not gonna kiss you, so don’t freak out.”
“I wasn’t going to, and if you did kiss me, you’d lose a lip.”
He smirked. “Probably.” He straightened and winked at me. “See you later… Babe.”
I closed my eyes and counted to five, willing the butterflies to flutter their infuriating wings the hell away out of my insides. I blew out a long breath and went inside, ready to start my project.
“About yesterday,” Colby said about an hour into work. “I might have come on a bit strong.”
Ya think?
I didn’t lift my head from my computer. “Just a little. Showing up at my house today was worse.”
He cringed. “So, to apologize, I was wondering if I could buy you lunch?”
That’s when I looked up, stared ahead, then gave him a side-eyed glance. “No, I’ll be eating with Quinn, but thank you for the offer.”
“You are?” he asked incredulously.
“Of course. It’s normal for a girl to join her boyfriend for lunch, isn’t it?”
“So, you’re serious?”
I raised my eyes to the ceiling. “As serious as it can be, Colby. I did try to tell you yesterday, and he showed up this morning to give me a ride, and… Well, you were there.”
His head turned away from me, back to his own computer. “Sorry, I thought you were just a hookup to him.”
I pulled my lips into my mouth, biting down on them until they stung. “I’m sure if you ask him yourself, he can rectify that assumption.”
“Oh, that won’t be necessary.”
I bet it won’t.
Once class was done, I was out of there, ready to get away from Colby. I didn’t get far, though. No sooner had I got through the door, Colby was at my side again.
Just outside the room, a few feet away, Quinn stood with Josh, leaning against the wall. His gaze landed on me, then flicked to Colby. A shadow crossed his features as he pushed himself away from the wall, Josh stopping mid-sentence, and headed toward me.
“Hey, babe,” he said, approaching me. His hand lifted to my face, then pushed through my hair, stroking down behind my ear. “Ready for lunch?”
“Of course, babe,” I replied, with way too much force.
He leaned toward my ear. “You’re a terrible actress, Kinsley,” he whispered, his warm breath against the sensitive skin, making me shiver. “Just act as though you actually like me, and everything will be fine.”
By the quizzical look on Colby’s face, it was obvious I’d gone over the top...
I smiled like Quinn had said something sweet in my ear, hoping that I didn’t fuck that up, too. “It won’t, baby,” I purred, trying to sound like a sex kitten but sounding more like a wet dog. He pulled back quickly, confusion on his face. “As long as we’re together, I’ll make sure of it.”
His lips twitched, and he moved closer to my ear again. They brushed the shell of my ear, prickles ran down my spine, and my stomach clenched. “The first one to fold, loses,” he whispered.
“Oh, but I won’t.” I giggled, sucking my lower lip between my teeth, trying to look like I was thoroughly enjoying myself.
“We’ll see.” He blew across my skin, and goosebumps spiked all over me, almost painful as they shot up like spears, pricking me all over. I swallowed hard as he dragged his lower lip across my cheek and toward my mouth. “Stubborn,” he breathed.
“You have no idea.” I got that from my dad, but at that moment, my stubbornness was no longer a gift.
He ran his nose toward my temple. “Hmm.”
The hum against my cheek had my mouth pooling with saliva, causing me to swallow over and over. “You’re crossing a fine line.” His torso pressed gently against me, his open jacket either side of my chest with my breasts glancing off of his. My nipples hardened in response to the friction, the laced fabric of my black bra scraping my hard buds.
“If you’re gonna make out in the hallway, do it already. Some of us need to be somewhere,” a short girl said, flicking her red hair back. “God, get a fucking room, why don’t you.”
Quinn chuckled against my cheek, the vibrations of his deep timbre rumbling through me. “Saved by the redhead,” he said, pulling back.
“Who was saved?” I asked, raising my brow, attempting to look like my legs hadn’t just been about to give way. “You or me?”
He mirrored my expression. “I guess we’ll never know.”
It was definitely me, no denying that.
“Well, now that the show’s over, let’s go get some food. I’m fucking starving,” Josh complained.
“Come on, babe,” Quinn said to me, jerking his chin. “My woman needs to eat.”
And just like that, I snapped out of my mini bout of sexual frustration, but the flames in my face had yet to die down. I glanced at Colby, who hadn’t moved and was still studying us.
Quinn didn’t say another word to me as we sat, and the asshole acted like whatever the hell happened in the hallway, hadn’t. He sat staring at his sub, biting chunks, chewing, and repeating the process until he was done. He reached for his bottled juice and took a long swig, his throat bobbing as he swallowed.
“Are you gonna do that the entire time we’re sat here, or are you gonna eat?”
“Excuse me?” I gasped.
“You heard me,” he said, not looking at me. “You’ve stared at the side of my face the whole time I’ve been eating.”
I lowered my voice, not wanting to be overheard. “You know, if you want me to pretend to ‘like you,” I said, holding my fingers up for emphasis, “then you should maybe give me a reason to.”
He stopped then and looked at me out of the side of his eye. “Oh, yeah?”
I nodded. “Yeah. How could anybody like you? You’re moody, intolerant, and an all-round general douche canoe.”
His brow lifted. “Tell me how you really feel.” He smirked.
“Oh, I couldn’t—I’d probably hurt your feelings.” I scrunched my nose, my lips lifting a little as I did. “Ya know, let you know that these people who you want to stay away from you don’t actually exist, and you think you’re some fucking hotshot that has people hangi
ng off of his every sparse word. Well, I don’t see any of those people clambering over each other to get a piece of you.” I made a point of looking around, my hands out as though searching. “Yeah. Not-a-one has approached this table.” I grabbed my lunch, stood up, and then leaned down to his ear. “You’re a fucking joke, Quasimodo. A huge fucking liar who thinks he’s all that when, in fact, he isn’t.” I paused, then stooped again. “Oh, look at that. I guess I told you how I feel after all.”
Josh sat poker straight, his expressionless face focused on me before switching to Quinn. “Ouch.”
I walked away from their table, just the two of them sitting there, mumbling to myself about finding somewhere else to eat.
This place was way too small to get even a corner in private. So, figuring the library was the last place that’d be popping with students, I headed upstairs to the first floor. It was as though I was the scared kid hiding from the bullies when I just wanted somewhere to go to be able to calm down.
I found a quiet nook between the shelves of science books, the dusty covers in the shadows from the lack of sunlight in the area. It was the perfect spot.
I ate my lunch in silence, sitting right at the back by myself, just like I had in the last few weeks at Crosshall, déjà vu hitting me square in the face, laughing at the position I’d found myself in.
***
I stopped outside of the door to English and readied myself to face my last class of the day. I closed my eyes and took a steadying breath, slowly exhaling before opening my eyes.
I walked through the door to a half-empty room, more students coming in behind me, chattering away. Their voices lowered when they saw me there; something that had never happened before in my two short months at Broken Hollow.
The two seats near me were empty, giving me the reprieve I needed until they showed up. The terrible two; one worse than the other.
Mr. Stanson entered the room and set his bag down and looked around the room. He didn’t seem surprised to see the empty seats next to me. “Good afternoon, students,” he greeted us and received a collection of grunts in reply.
More minutes ticked by, and instead of being relieved, my heart rate increased, my eyes going back and forth between the professor and the clock on the wall above the blue painted door.
“We’re here, you can all breathe a sigh of relief,” Josh said, his arms out.
Quinn followed in behind, and the light laughter died out. I scanned the room and saw that every pair of eyes, including Mr. Stanson’s, followed him all the way to his seat, and remained on him.
What the hell?
“Where the fuck did you go?” he seethed, his eyes burning into mine.
“None of your damn business.” I smiled dryly, the movement reaching my eyes with malice.
“Yeah, it fucking is,” he shot back, his voice low enough for just Josh and me to hear him. “I texted you twice.”
“I turned off my phone,” I said with satisfaction, then turned back to the front of the class where Mr. Stanson was talking animatedly about a book we’d been studying.
Quinn reached over, and my head snapped to his hand gripping the side of my desk. With a firm yank, he pulled the entire unit, me with it, right next to him.
“Whoa, what are you doing?” I whisper-shouted, leaning back from his sudden closeness. His warmth, his mussed up hair that fell over his forehead, and the way he looked at me…
Damn, he’s good.
With his voice a little louder, he said, “Keeping my girl close to me. You’re too far away, baby, and I can’t smell your hair from way over here.”
My jaw clenched. “Really? That’s a little too much cheese for this time of day. You gotta tone it down, or you’ll have a heart attack.”
He placed his left hand on his chest while his right snaked around the back of my seat, his fingertips resting on my shoulder. “Only if I don’t see your beautiful face, my sweet angel.” He smiled wide for effect, showing his teeth.
My eyes dropped to his mouth and the glorious little points on his canines. “God,” I whispered.
“Quinn,” he corrected.
My mouth snapped shut. “Oh, stop. You have nice teeth, okay?” I turned my attention to the front, completely clueless as to what we were supposed to be doing. I could’ve lied, but why? He would’ve seen right through it. That and the fact I was drooling over how his mouth looked.
His quiet laugh had me giving him some serious side-eye. “Just my teeth?” He ran his tongue over the sharp ends, and I caved in to the temptation to watch. “Kinny, babe, is that all you want me for? I’m hurt.”
Kinny. My dad called me Kinny.
“Yeah. Unfortunately, that’s all you have going for you.” I beamed.
He leaned toward me, his eyes zeroing in on my mouth, watching as my tongue darted out over my bottom lip. “Maybe I should deprive you of my mouth, then.” His husky tone washed over me, and I stiffened at the wave of heat pooling inside. “Then you’ll appreciate every inch of the rest of me more than you already do.”
A noise from behind us broke my attention, and I looked over my shoulder and Quinn’s arm, finding almost the entire class behind more interested in us than Mr. Stanson.
I turned back, and Quinn’s face was less than an inch away from mine, his nose almost touching, and his lips… Hell, I could feel his breath on my mouth, and the minty freshness went into mine and sat right on my tongue. “Back off,” I whispered.
“I had to make sure there was no doubt that I’m in love with you.”
“What?” I shrieked, and every person in the room, except for Quinn, gawked. The fucker had the audacity to laugh his ass off.
Damn him and his sexy mouth.
“Jesus, Kinny.” He continued to chuckle, and I saw Josh doing the same thing.
“You think that was funny?” I asked Josh, who could do nothing but nod his head as he guffawed like an idiot behind his hands. “Un-fucking-believable.”
Quinn dipped his head again, speaking into my ear. “Oh, but I think I was very believable, Kinny,” he whispered. His eyes roamed the side of my face, but I was determined not to look. The tiny hairs on that side were standing to full attention as he continued to breathe on me. “I deserve an Oscar for that fucking performance.”
“The only award you deserve, is the award for biggest ego,” I snarked. “Now leave me the hell alone, you ass.” I tried to move my desk back, but it wouldn’t budge. I looked down to see Quinn had an iron grip, not faltering no matter how much I tried to shake him off. “Quinn, let go. I don’t want to sit so close to you.”
He let go in an instant, and I shuffled my heavy desk back to its position, wondering how the hell he made it seem like it weighed nothing.
“Fine.” He relaxed back in his chair, stretching his long legs out, the rips in his black jeans showing his knees. “But you’ll be all over me soon, just you wait and see.”
“No, I won’t.”
“Yeah, you will.” He nodded slowly and licked his lips, his eyes on mine the whole time. I knew what he was doing, and I wasn’t going to fall for it. “And if I’m honest, I can’t wait.”
I managed to get out of the room before him and began walking down the hall.
“Wait up,” Josh said, catching up to me in no time with his long strides. “I have something for you.”
“I can’t do this, Josh.” I reached into my pocket for my phone, powering it on to call a cab since the day’s madness had me forgetting my tire was still slashed, and I sure as hell wasn’t asking Quinn for a ride.
“Can you just stop?” He gripped my arm, and I rounded on him, jamming my fist into the crook of his elbow. His hand let go immediately. “Fuck, okay, that stung a lot,” he said, rubbing at it. “Relax, psycho girl, here’s what I wanted to give you.”
He held his fist out, and I stared at it. “Just open your damn hand,” he said, bored. When I didn’t, he gripped my hand and pushed an object into it.
My key. My freaking c
ar key. “Where did you get this?”
He shrugged. “Quinn gave it to me—told me to pass it on before you left.”
Without saying anything to him, being Quinn’s sidekick and all, I walked away, wondering how Quinn got my key.
He was in my house. The key was in the hall.
I rushed outside, wondering what the hell he’d needed my keys for. I didn’t have long to see when my eyes fell on my Prius, parked in the second row, my tire replaced. My heart sank, my stomach turning inside out at the kind and sweet gesture. Fixing my car, moving it…
He’s supposed to be your boyfriend, and that’s what they do, right? Making a show of being nice?
Spinning around, I searched for him and caught a flash of black just as he rode past me. I got in and froze. There, on the passenger seat, was the helmet I wore that morning with a sticky note on top, my guilt dissipating in a flash.
‘I swear to fucking God that if you ever get into a car with Colby, it won’t end well for either of you.’
Oh, so now he was threatening me?
I picked up my phone, seeing the two notifications on my screen. I opened them up.
‘Do you walk away from all your boyfriends like that?’
‘I’m looking for you. Where are you?’
I pinched the bridge of my nose, then ran my fingers over my temples. “Why?” I whined. “Why does he have to be so hot and cold?”
And more hot than anything.
I groaned and rested my forehead against the steering wheel until there was a knock at the window. A wide smiling face made me jump. “Colby!”
“Sorry I scared you.” He laughed. “I see your car’s fixed.” He gestured toward the wheel that had been vandalized. “Cool.”
I powered the window down a couple of inches. “Uh, yeah, Quinn sorted it out for me,” I gushed, the tightening in my chest making me uneasy.
His forehead twitched, a crease forming between his brows as though he was trying to mask something. “That’s great of him.” His eyes surveyed the interior of my car, coming to rest on the helmet beside me. “So, you and Quinn, huh?”
