Turning back, I look at the space. It doesn’t scream bachelor pad like many of my friend’s places—probably because I have a bit more money to spend thanks to my parents and a steady job—but I wonder what Quinn saw when she first stepped in. Did she like it? Hate it? I wonder what she would think about living here with me.
That jarring thought has me shaking my head to rid myself of the idea. Quinn was never mine to keep. I need to remember her as the stubborn girl she used to be and not the exquisite woman she is today.
A knock sounds and I eagerly bound over and open the door. Unfortunately, I’m greeted by a sullen teenager holding my pizza box.
“Hey, Mr. Shaw.”
“Hey, Kenny,” I mutter as I pull a twenty out of my pocket and shove it in his awaiting hand.
“Thanks.”
Grabbing the box from him, I’m about to turn around when I see Quinn amble across the street with a skip in her step. The poor sap in front of me practically stumbles into the siding of my house with his tongue hanging from his mouth. Can’t really blame the kid though. Quinn looks like a ray of sunshine after a hurricane in her short jean skirt and a tank top. With each hop, her breasts bounce underneath her shirt, the confines of her bra barely keeping them in place. Soon my own tongue’s hanging out as well.
“Hi there, boys.”
“Hey, Quinn,” I answer smoothly, trying to mask my reaction to her.
“Who’s your friend?”
She watches Kenny, obviously used to reactions like his, as she doesn’t bat an eye when he clams up and presses closer to the house like he’s frightened of her.
“This is Kenny. He’s a senior at DC High.”
“Oh, well it’s lovely to meet you, Kenny,” she insists as she expands her smile.
Kenny squeaks out a “Hello.”
Trying to put him at ease, Quinn offers an autograph and the kid nods like a bobblehead. I laugh as I grab a piece of paper and a pen from the table beside my door, grateful now that Izzy had the thought to place it there as a catchall.
“Here you go,” Quinn says as she hands him the autograph. “It was so nice of you to bring over a pizza for us tonight.”
“You’re… you’re welcome.”
The kid falls down the steps but catches himself on the railing and sprints to his car, crushing the sheet of paper to his chest. I usher a giggling Quinn into my house and close the door behind her with my foot. Walking into the kitchen, I realize I need something more than I need this pizza.
Knowing she’s followed, I place the pizza in the oven on a warming setting. “Do we have to read through the script tonight?”
“We don’t have to, but I’d like to get a bit more practice in. Did you want to do something else?”
Spinning around, I pin her with my gaze and can tell the moment she realizes my intentions. I stalk toward her like a hunter pursuing its prey and wedge her against the outer wall of my kitchen. Without preamble, I slide my hand from her waist down her backside and then underneath her skirt and panties.
“You. I want you.”
“Yes,” she moans, and I plunge a finger deep inside her, loving the way her body clamps down on my intrusion. It doesn’t take long for her wetness to pool around my finger, causing my cock to struggle against the zipper of my shorts.
“Undo my pants,” I order against her mouth before I thrust my tongue back in like a drug addict addicted to her unique flavor.
She quickly unleashes the button on my shorts before tugging the zipper down. The shorts fall to my ankles and I kick them away before she repeats the process with my boxer briefs, blindly moving them past my hips while rocking herself against my hand.
“Touch my cock, baby.”
Quinn follows my command effortlessly, stroking me from base to tip.
“Goddamn, that feels good, baby,” I growl as I shove another finger deep inside her pussy.
Her deep-seated moan fills the room, and my hunger for her grows tenfold.
“I need you, Trevor.” Her voice quakes as she cries out for me.
And I’ll be damned if I’ll deny her my cock.
Bunching her panties in my fist, I tug harshly ripping, them from her body. With her skirt gathered at her waist, I hoist her up and move us over toward the kitchen counter next to my stove.
Her lips are plump and red from our kisses, her chest heaves up and down as she fills her lungs with air, her pink pussy is exposed and slickened with her warm heat, and her legs are spread wide inviting me in. The entire package is an invitation I cannot turn down.
Lining my cock up with her sex, I tease her with just the purple and aching mushroom tip and then pull back out, both of us groaning at the retreat. I slide back in fully and hold myself steady as she works to accommodate my size.
Her body arches as she tries to work me deeper inside her channel, and I grip her ass tighter to pull her as close as possible.
“Shit, baby.” I thrust in and out of her tight core, her body shaking with every pulse.
“Harder,” she cries as she braces her delicate hands against the cool granite countertop.
She commands and I obey.
The pace of my thrusts increases as I slam into her over and over again until she’s crying my name out.
“I need another,” I bellow as I continue to pound into her, reaching up to hold the back of her neck.
Quinn’s body reacts to my new position, her muscles clamping down even tighter than before. “Oh God.”
My own release building, I urge Quinn to reach hers, sliding my hand under her tank top and bra to palm her breast.
Her moans fill the room before she shouts, “Yes!”
Watching her come apart sends my own body over the edge, where I free-fall into a puddle of bliss. My orgasm is so strong that I continue to jerk as I pull free from Quinn on weak knees. Her body is lax on the counter, and she can barely hold herself up.
Somehow I garner the strength to ease her into my arms and carry her back to the living room to place her on the couch, then rush back to the kitchen—well, more like hobble—and tug my shorts back on. I grab some tissues from the bathroom, and as I walk back into the living room, I’m not surprised to see Quinn resting with her eyes closed. I gently clean myself from her legs and tug her skirt back down to cover her lady bits.
“I think you killed me,” she murmurs.
“Naw, you’re still kicking. But what a way to go, right? Death by orgasm.”
She giggles and then groans, and my eyes rake over her in concern.
“Don’t make me laugh. My muscles are weak.”
“Oh, sorry. Do you want that pizza now?”
“Mmm, pizza.”
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
“As you should.”
Back in the kitchen, I pull the box from the oven, turn off the warmer, and plate us each a couple of pieces.
“So,” I begin as I hand her the plate of greasy goodness, “what are we reading today?”
“Well, it’s the scene I’ve been putting off for a while.”
“And that would be?”
“The breakup scene. They’re always my least favorite.”
“Well, we knew it was going to happen eventually.”
“Yeah,” she sighs as she shovels a slice of pizza in her mouth.
That pit of bliss I’d just found myself in quickly turns into misery as I realize that our own breakup is on the horizon.
Chapter Nineteen
Quinn
IZZY PARKS THE CAR in front of her parents’ house, and I can finally release the breath I’d been holding. My nerves were on high alert as we pulled into the neighborhood—the same neighborhood where just a week ago, my world had been changed. My eyes were flitting across the street as we turned in, heavy with anticipation and anxiety, but luckily all of the lights in the house I grew up in were out cold.
Noticing my unease, Izzy asks if I want to sit in the car a moment before we head inside.
“Yeah,
if you don’t mind,” I reply as I tuck a stray piece of hair behind my ear.
This is the first time I’ve come by since I found out I was adopted, and I’m surprised at how much it’s affecting me.
“Take all of the time you need.”
She pulls out her cell phone and sends a couple texts, probably to Vic and Trevor, and then she logs into a social media site. Which reminds me of a rule that Izzy and Trevor’s mother always had in her house.
“Does your mom still enforce the ‘no phones during family time’ rule? I don’t remember from last time I ate here.”
Laughter explodes from Izzy as she places her phone back into her bag.
“Yes, she does, but only to an extent. We just have to silence our phones now. If it goes off during a dinner, she gets to confiscate it until we leave. The only one who’s allowed a phone is Trevor when he’s on call.”
“Well, I’m glad to see they’ll make exceptions.” I laugh as I reach into my bag and silence my phone. “Are you nervous about tonight? I mean, I guess Vic’s met them before, but not as your boyfriend.”
“I’m silently freaking out about it, but they like him as Trevor’s friend, so I’m sure it’ll be fine. He’s just never been to the house. We’ve always met at Trevor’s.”
“Are you worried about the money?”
“No… maybe? It’s not like he doesn’t know we have money. With the way people talk in Dale City, how could he not? But he may not have fully grasped it yet, and I’m afraid it may scare him off,” she admits as we both gaze up at the three-story oversized colonial in front of us.
“I’m sure it’ll be fine, Iz.”
“I sure hope so.”
I can hear her heart breaking in her chest at the possibility of Vic not being able to handle the wealth of her family, but I’m not worried about her. Vic’s never struck me as one of those people. Heck, he didn’t even blink an eye when he was introduced to me—he only had eyes for Izzy.
Finally we’re both able to move from the car and are greeted at the door by the housekeeper, Frank. He had taken a rare night off last time I was in the house, and it’s been ages since I’ve seen him.
“Well I’ll be. Ms. Miller, how lovely it is to see you. What a beauty you’ve grown into,” the older man praises as he lets us inside. Frank’s been with the Shaw family since Trevor and Izzy were born. Their mother needed help around the house and then just kept him on as their kids grew older. He’s always treated me kindly, just like the rest of the family, and he was more like a grandfather to me than my own.
“Frank, I’m so happy to see you,” I say as I wrap my arms around the thin man. “It’s been far too long.”
“Is she here?” Izzy’s mom calls from the hallway.
Sue comes around the corner and practically bounds over to me in her standard three-inch stilettos, yanking me into her arms.
“Sweet Quinn, how I’ve missed you,” she whispers into my ear, ignoring her daughter who stands against the wall silently laughing. Holding me at arm’s length, her gaze travels up and down, taking in my green wrap dress and brown wedge sandals. Her smile widens. “My, look how beautiful you are.”
“Thank you, Sue.” I have to keep myself from laughing at her expense since she saw me just two weeks ago, but then I remember she would video call me quite frequently with Izzy, and we haven’t chatted since I’ve been back.
“Now the boys should be here shortly, so let’s head out to the sunroom. Jake has decided to have dinner there since the night is so wonderful. I also remember that it’s a special spot for you, Quinn, and as one of your last nights here, I would love to honor you.”
“That’s sweet of you, Sue, but you didn’t need to go through any trouble for me.”
I hear Frank scoff mockingly as Sue takes my arm and guides me toward the back of the house, shaking her head the entire time.
In the sunroom, Izzy and I take our seats as Frank pours us each a glass of white wine. We marvel at the beautiful sunset as it conceals itself beyond the horizon.
Heavy footsteps sound in the hall before Vic walks into the room just ahead of Trevor. The tatted-up and muscled man walks right over to Izzy and kisses her plum on the mouth in front of her mother, who blushes slightly but smiles widely.
I peek at Trevor as he greets Sue, trying not to draw attention to myself, but he catches my eye and winks. Man, just that slight recognition sends my body into overdrive, and my core clenches.
As Jake strolls into the room, assisting Frank with the platter of food, we all take a seat. The eight-person table easily becomes a game of musical chairs as Jake takes the seat at the head, Sue sits on one of his sides, and Izzy takes the other. Politely I move over a seat to allow Vic to sit next to Izzy, which leaves just the opposite end of the table and the other side available. Trevor looks over at me for a second and smirks, and I think he’s going to make things weird by sitting directly beside me at the other end of the table, leaving his mom all alone, but he surprises me when he takes the open seat beside Sue and kisses her on the head before sitting down.
My heart almost bursts from my chest at the interaction, and I have to take a sip of wine to hide the huge grin growing on my cheeks.
“Well now, Quinn, you’re sitting there all by your lonesome. Move over beside Trevor,” the patriarch commands, and I dutifully pick up my glass and take the vacant seat on the opposite side, wondering why I’m being moved. In either seat, I’m staring at an open one. Until Jake slides his chair over a tad, stands along with Sue, and then moves her chair to the edge with his. Trevor shifts his and my seat closer to the end until I’m sitting directly across from Vic. Izzy casually rolls her eyes, not at all surprised by her parents’ antics.
“There we are, now I can look at my whole family,” Jake explains just as Frank begins to uncover the platters at the table.
“Dad, you know if you got a round table, you could see everyone all of the time.”
“Yes, Isabel, you’re right. Perhaps you and your mother can pick one out this week. Now, everyone, dig in.”
The aromas of the strawberry salad and garlic shrimp pasta fill the room, and I nearly groan as I inhale deeply.
“This all looks amazing, Mr. Shaw. Thank you for having me,” Vic says, and I repeat the thanks.
As my turn arrives, I’m surprised when Trevor slides the plate he filled over to me and grabs my empty one instead.
“Thank you,” I murmur as he places heaping portions onto his new plate.
We eat our salads in silence until a fork rings against the china beside me.
“Well, since I have everyone here, I have an announcement to make,” Trevor begins. I cautiously glance up to Izzy, alarmed to find her face blanched and her eyes bouncing between me and Trevor.
“What is it, son?”
Trevor takes an exaggerated deep breath and then looks squarely at each person before landing on me and winking.
“I received a promotion at work. I am officially Captain Shaw of the Dale City Police Department.”
“Oh, Trevor, what wonderful news. Congratulations! After dinner, we’ll celebrate.”
“He really deserves it,” Vic chimes in. “And on top of that, we were able to hire some new officers, so he won’t have to pull any more odd hours in another month or so.”
I offer my congratulations as well, and Trevor turns in his seat to thank me. That’s when I notice Izzy sitting quietly in her chair, mumbling under her breath.
“Iz,” Vic probes beside her, and as if broken from a trance, she perks up in her seat and apologizes before presenting her best wishes.
As the conversation continues around me about Trevor’s new role, I’m struck by Izzy’s fear over what Trevor was going to announce. Not only did her expression chill my veins, but it hurt to think she would believe I wouldn’t discuss anything with her first.
Of course, I am the big liar in this entire game Trevor and I are playing, and no matter what happens, I’m hurting Izzy. Some friend
I am.
My melancholy grows as we finish dinner, and by the time dessert and champagne are served, a migraine is building behind my eyes.
“Quinn, are you feeling all right, dear?” Sue asks with concern.
I perk up in my seat, feeling guilty at drifting off during the celebration.
“Yes, sorry. I just feel a headache coming, that’s all.”
Everyone turns to look at me, and I shrink under the scrutiny.
“Would you like to lie down? Or I’m sure Izzy could take you back to her house.” Sue suggests.
I look over to Izzy, who glances at Vic quickly and then nods in agreement. Except I know she has plans with Vic tonight, and I was supposed to drive her car back to her house. And for everything terrible I’ve done as a friend in the past three weeks, I will not disappoint her by taking her from Vic.
“No, I’m sure I’ll be fine. Please, let’s continue celebrating Trevor’s accomplishment.”
Everyone stands from their seats, flutes refilled and steady in their grasps, and makes their way to the living room. Everyone except Trevor, who tugs on my hand as I walk past.
“Are you sure you’re feeling okay?”
“Yeah, it’s just a little migraine. Nothing I haven’t dealt with before.”
“You know I’m going to take you home and have Dad or Frank drive Izzy’s car, right?” When I don’t respond, he squeezes my hand. “Quinn?”
“Yeah, I figured as much. But please don’t. I’ll be fine.”
Famous last words.
Twenty minutes later, I’m sitting on the couch trying my best to mask the agony within my head that’s causing bile to rise from my stomach. Sue sits beside me on the smaller couch, chatting with Trevor on the chair next to her. Vic and Izzy are on the opposite side of the room with Jake, discussing the promising year of the Houston Astros. I simply stare off into space, focusing on a blank spot on the cream-colored wall, giving myself something else to direct my attention.
“So you’ll be good to bring my car back? Quinn?” Izzy asks until I finally snap out of my fog and nod too earnestly, upsetting my migraine further.
Between the Lines Page 16
