When I could move no more, every ounce of energy I possessed spent, I relaxed onto his chest, my cheek resting over his heart. I could hear the way it thundered, and I wondered if he’d enjoyed the show I’d just given him nearly as much as I had. I couldn’t even muster the strength to be embarrassed by the fact that I’d just come like a schoolgirl having her first orgasm.
Fuck that.
No schoolgirl had ever felt the way Quinn had just made me feel.
His lips were at the top of my head, kissing my hair gently. He’d wrapped both of his arms around my waist and held me tightly against him, letting me catch my breath.
Finally, when I thought I was capable of stringing together enough words to make a full sentence, I raised my head to face him.
The smirk that I’d found so damn sexy was firmly in place, and I couldn’t help but grin back. “That was…”
“Incredible. Hot. The sexiest fucking thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” he finished for me, his lips coming to rest on mine. “God, what I wouldn’t give to see you come apart like that again. Right now.”
I arched a brow. “I think that could be arranged, you know.”
His fingers brushed a lock of hair from my forehead, and he shook his head. “Not today.”
I frowned. “I can feel your attraction to me.” I rolled my hips against his still straining erection and smiled. “Even now. So why not today?”
He began to sit up, taking me with him, and settled me into the couch next to him, wrapping the robe around me before doing the same with his own. “I came over to cheer you up.” His grin was wicked. “I’d say that I accomplished that task.”
My lips twitched as I tried to fake a frown. “I dunno…”
He snagged the forgotten mimosas from the table and handed my glass to me. I watched the way his throat worked as he swallowed and tried to push away the memory of the way his eyes burned into mine while I rode him. “Today was about you.” He checked his watch and looked back at me, and I held my breath. He was going to bail. “It’s still early. Movie?”
My stomach flipped. A guy who not only showed up with a bag full of stuff to cheer me up but gave me an orgasm that rivaled an earthquake and didn’t want anything in return?
Had I died and gone to single girl heaven?
I nodded, and he pushed off the couch, crossing the living room and putting the movie on before returning to me, sitting close and pulling me into his side.
“We’ll watch your movie. But I get the next pick,” I told him as I rested my head on his shoulder.
“Deal,” he whispered, pressing a soft kiss on my forehead before turning his attention to the screen. The opening credits started, and it wasn’t long before I was lost in the movie, holding my breath every time Charlie unwrapped a chocolate bar, feeling the disappointment when there was no golden ticket inside.
When he finally got the ticket and raced home, I felt a tear slip down my cheek. Charlie’s luck had just changed.
Quinn was wrong; he hadn’t gotten lucky meeting me.
I was the lucky one.
I snuggled in even closer, and when his arm tightened around me, I let out a sigh.
I was still sad that I hadn’t gotten that job. But this moment made the loss feel much less devastating than it had just a few hours ago.
Amazing how much your perspective could change when you were looking at things through someone else’s eyes.
Warm and content in their arms.
Still floating from that orgasm didn’t hurt either.
11
Quinn
I’d really intended on dropping off the “gift” for Georgia and then leaving. Not that she’d been convincing when she’d said she had plans, but it was obvious that she needed some time alone. But the way she’d looked, the sadness in her eyes, had pulled at me, and I’d been more than happy to spend the afternoon with her.
It had taken an act of sheer will to not go any further with her on that couch than we had, but that wasn’t what I’d come over for. I would have felt like a real asshole later if I’d have taken advantage of the situation. She may have insisted that she wanted it as much as I did, and I had no doubts that she did, but I didn’t want there to be any doubt in her mind, or mine for that matter, that we were together because we liked each other and not because she’d needed a distraction from her disappointment.
So, I’d stayed, the afternoon turning to night as we sat side by side on her oversized couch, both of us still in our bathrobes, watching Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and then the entire first season of Schitt’s Creek.
She’d insisted that I would love it, and despite my best effort to hate the ridiculously over-the-top comedy, I found myself laughing along with her. We’d had cinnamon sugar toast, made exactly the way my mom used to make it, and had quickly polished off the bottle of champagne before ordering in for dinner.
If it hadn’t been for Jamie, I would have stayed on the couch all night long, but I’d left her alone in our small apartment for long enough, so I’d kissed Georgia one last time, drinking in the taste of her, and then made my way home.
Jamie had been asleep when I’d gotten home, and as much as I was surprised by it, I was relieved. I’d never been good at keeping secrets from her, and I wasn’t interested in explaining where I’d been all day.
But this morning when my alarm had gone off for the early practice, I’d popped my head into her room, a bolt of panic slicing through me when she seemed to be in the same position as the night before.
“Jamie,” I whispered, giving her shoulder a nudge. When she didn’t respond, I said her name louder, shaking her shoulder.
She turned over and mumbled, “Jesus, Quinn.”
A wave of relief washed over me, and I let out a breath. “You were too still.”
She cracked an eye open and frowned. “You’re supposed to be still when you’re sleeping, asshole. God,”—she pushed up on to an elbow—“what time is it?”
I dropped into a squat by her bed and scanned her face. It was puffy, her eyes red rimmed. “Are you okay?”
The frown deepened. “I’d be better if I was still asleep.”
“What did you do all day yesterday?” I ignored her smart-ass remark and continued to scan her face.
“I could ask you the same question. You didn’t send a single text the entire day.” Her frown turned into a smirk. “It was the best day of my life.”
I hadn’t even thought once to check in on her while I’d been with Georgia. I couldn’t remember a day in my adult life, hell, my entire life, when I hadn’t been concerned about Jamie. Where she was, who she was with, if she was okay.
She was my responsibility, more so now that we were in Atlanta, and I’d let her down yesterday.
I reached out and ruffled her hair. “You know you missed my nagging yesterday.”
She flopped back on her pillow and sighed. “I definitely did not miss it.”
“So, what did you do all day?” I asked again.
Her eyes cut away from my face and her gaze fixed on something behind my head. “Nothing, really.”
She wasn’t telling me the whole truth, but I didn’t have time to interrogate her. I needed to get to the practice facility for an early morning workout and was already going to be late. “I gotta go to practice, but let’s grab dinner tonight?”
She nodded, still not looking me in the eye, and responded with a half-hearted, “Sure.”
I patted her shoulder as I stood. “You sure you’re okay?”
She painted a smile across her tired face and nodded. “Promise. Now, leave me alone so I can go back to sleep.”
Something was off, I could feel it deep in my gut, but I didn’t have time to try and figure out what it was. I wasn’t going to make any friends if I showed up to practice late, and while I didn’t necessarily need any, it never hurt to have some guys on your side. Especially the coaches. I was getting older, and a whole crew of younger guys were coming in. If I wanted to keep my startin
g position, I needed to show everyone that I deserved it. Besides, I needed a good workout after all the food I’d eaten yesterday.
I was through the door when my phone vibrated with an incoming text. I couldn’t stop the grin when I saw who it was from.
Georgia: Dinner tonight?
I hesitated and pushed the apartment door open. “Jamie!” I shouted.
When an annoyed response floated into the living room, I asked, “Mind if we take a rain check on dinner tonight?”
A split second later, Jamie was leaning against the wall in the hallway, her eyes sparkling. “You get a better offer?”
“What could be better than spending the evening with my kid sister?”
She waved at me. “You are so full of it. Go have dinner with your girlfriend and leave me alone again.” Her eyes brightened even more. “Maybe I’ll make plans of my own.”
Worry began to creep in, and I shook my head. “No, we already made plans. I’ll let her know I can’t make it.”
Jamie pushed away from the wall and stalked over to me. “You’ve been smiling like a dumbass for days, ever since we ran into her.” She pushed up on her toes and leaned in. “I like seeing you happy. So, make your plans and for once live your life for you.”
I frowned. “Like a dumbass, huh?”
She pushed the corners of my mouth up with her forefingers until I was sure I looked like some hideous version of the Joker. “Yep. Just like this.”
I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and brought her in for a brief hug. “As long as you promise not to hold it against me.”
She wrapped her arms around my waist and squeezed, then stepped back and with a hand pressed to her chest pretended to gasp, “Who, me? When have I ever held anything against you?”
“Does The Notebook jog your memory?”
She crossed her arms over her chest and tried to look offended. “It was my turn to pick the movie. It’s just a coincidence that I picked that one the day after you forgot to pick me up from school.”
“Mmmhmm. Whatever.” Over the years, Jamie had become quite skilled at getting her revenge in the most innocent of ways. It was probably one of her favorite things to do, to see how much she could get away with before I caught on that she was punishing me for something. Picking movies that were worse than shoving needles under my nails was her specialty. But we’d had our movie night tradition for years, and even when she chose a movie I hated, we managed to have a good time. “See you later. Stay out of trouble today,” I said over my shoulder as I walked back through the door.
Her voice was sing-songy as she replied, “Always.”
I typed out a quick yes to Georgia as I made my way to my truck.
Georgia: Perfect. Pick me up at six!
She’d punctuated the sentence with the kissing emoji, and the memory of Georgia’s lips on mine, sticky from the sugar, hit me as I climbed into my truck. She’d giggled as I’d licked the cinnamon from her mouth, and I could feel the way her body felt against mine when she’d curled into my chest. We’d pushed the plate of toast we’d been sharing on the table, the kiss growing deeper, our lust harder to contain.
She’d tasted rich and sweet, the butter mingling with the earthy cinnamon.
She tasted like the promise of better days.
She tasted like happiness.
A feeling I hadn’t felt in a long time.
Until her.
* * *
I pulled into her driveway a few minutes before six, and before I could even open the door to my truck, Georgia pulled her front door open and practically skipped through it.
I got out anyway and met her at the passenger side of my truck, drinking in the way her tanned legs looked in the yellow dress she was wearing. The top was strappy, the neckline showing off the swell of her breasts, and I allowed myself a moment to remember the way they’d felt pressed against me before turning my attention to her bright smile.
Her hand came to rest on my chest, and she pushed up on her toes and brushed her lips across mine. A spark of excitement shot through me just being close to her again. I hadn’t felt this way about anyone before.
“Hey, you.” After stepping back, she swept her eyes from my head to my feet and grinned. “Don’t you look nice.”
“I was just about to say the same to you. I was going to use the word gorgeous. But I guess ‘nice’ works too.” I pulled the door open, and once she was settled, leaned in and kissed her once more. She tasted like citrus, and I quirked a brow. “Is that Sunny D I taste?”
She lifted a shoulder. “Turns out I like artificial orange juice. Who would have thought?”
Once we were both settled in, I put the truck in reverse and asked, “So, where are we headed?”
Georgia’s hair hung over her shoulders, and she twirled a strand around her finger and peeked at me from the corner of her eye. “Family dinner.”
I hit the brakes and craned my neck toward where she was still eyeing me. “Family what?”
She placed a hand on my arm. “Hear me out. It’s just a little thing, not a big deal.”
My mind raced. I’d met her brother Hampton before, but I didn’t know much else about her family aside from the fact that her father was a Hall of Famer. “Define little thing.”
Georgia reached up and brushed at the hair on my forehead. “Daddy wanted us to get together, said he had something to tell us. Mama always cooks enough food for an army. She loves it when all the kids are together.” Her lips split wider. “You already know Hampton, and Pip and Lawson will be there. Lawson’s a stick in the mud, but they’ll love you.”
I shook my head, my unease growing. “I’m not sure I should crash family dinner.”
She waved her hand like I’d said something ridiculous. “You wouldn’t be crashing anything. Hampton brings his boyfriends to dinner all the time.” She leaned across the center console, and her soft lips pressed to my cheek. “If you’re lucky, maybe I’ll sneak you into my childhood bedroom. We can make out on my old bed.”
Her eyes were twinkling, the tiniest of smirks on her face when she leaned back and said, “I’m not going to take no for an answer.”
My stomach churned at the thought of sitting around a dinner table with her family, her father especially. It was too soon to be “meeting the parents”, something that I’d never even done before, much less when her father was not only a Hall of Fame player but a successful football coach as well. It was a lot of pressure to walk in and be scrutinized by a family in the first place, even more so by a man I’d grown up watching. But I was learning that Georgia was a hard woman to resist. “Only if you promise that there’ll be dessert at the end of the night.” I dropped my voice. “And I’m not talking about cake.”
She waggled her eyebrows and cracked a smile. “You got it.”
I followed her directions, and within a few minutes, we were pulling into a driveway of what could only be described as an estate. I’d have been even more nervous after seeing the size of her childhood home, but I was just relieved to get out of the truck.
“God, you have the worst taste in music,” I grumbled as I turned the truck off. “I’ll eat dinner with your family in my underwear if you promise to never make me listen to that song again.”
Her jaw fell open as she took my hand and hopped out of the truck. “Post Malone is a musical genius, thankyouverymuch. That song hits me in all the feels.”
“It hits me too. Like I’ve been cuffed in the ears.”
Her fingers laced through mine, and although I wasn’t ready for whatever was to come, she led me into the house, her voice almost a song as she called out, “Daddy! Your baby girl’s here! And I brought a boy!”
I pushed the door shut behind us and steeled myself as she pulled me into the large formal dining room.
Sitting at the head of the table, larger than fucking life, was the Walter Reed. And he did not look happy to see me.
What have I gotten myself into?
12
; Georgia
We rounded the corner, and when Daddy’s eyes landed on Quinn, he threw on the brakes. I had to practically drag him into the dining room.
Piper and Lawson were at the table, and when they spotted my date, Piper’s eyes widened and she grinned. Lawson pushed to his feet and came around, sticking his hand out to shake Quinn’s.
“Lawson, this is Quinn,” I told my oldest brother. Lawson gave him a once-over, his eyes narrowed, and he murmured a hello as he continued to scrutinize Quinn.
I rolled my eyes and pushed past him, forcing Lawson to drop Quinn’s hand. “Quinn, this is Piper.”
Piper’s grin stretched wider. “Well, hello, Quinn. So nice to finally meet the guy who Georgia’s been talking about so much.”
Quinn took Piper’s outstretched hand and quirked a brow. “She’s been talking about me, huh?”
“She hasn’t said a word to me,” Daddy rumbled from where he was still seated at the head of the table.
Hampton waltzed into the room, a beer in one hand, and stuck the other one out to shake Quinn’s. “Good to see ya again, man.”
“So, what’s this?” Daddy interrupted, his laser sharp focus pinned on Quinn as he waved a hand between the two of us.
I laced my fingers through Quinn’s. “Oh, Quinn’s just—”
“Her boyfriend,” Quinn interrupted, squeezing my fingers. A thrill of surprise shot down my spine. My boyfriend? I hadn’t given it much thought before now, but it felt good.
I tipped my chin to look at him and dropped my voice. “Oh, you’re my boyfriend?”
His face was pale, his eyes wide. He looked like a cat caught in a trap. “Well, I’m damn sure not the guy you were dry humping on the couch. At least not to Walter Reed.”
Hampton chose that moment to walk by and asked loudly, “Who was humping who?” And then, like the traitor he was, added, “Wait, isn’t Quinn the guy you met at Aiden Shaw’s party? The one you told us you’d missed the chance to sleep with at Christmas?”
The Hardest Play Page 8