Love Squared

by A. E. Neal

  "Drive."

  "Fuck, you look like hell. What happened? Did the knitting circle go rogue and try to knit you a body koozie?"

  "I'm not in the mood for your shit right now," she said, knowing he was only trying to cheer her up, but it was just making matters worse.

  The truck lunged forward as he merged into traffic and she was thankful he hadn't brought Elena-the-death-trap to pick her up.

  "I just got fired," she said as she wiped her forehead with the back of her hand.

  "What? Why?"

  "My boss pretty much accused me of trying to take his job or some shit. I don't really know."

  "Wow. That's fucked up."

  "It is, but...I sorta fucked up too. I probably deserve to be fired after what I did."

  "Don't tell me you seduced the CEO of the company to gain a higher position. Not that it wouldn't be awesome if you did."

  She turned to face him and just stared blankly.

  "Shut up. You did, didn't you?"

  "I slept with him. I knew it was a mistake and I still did it. More than once, actually. What the fuck is wrong with me, Nick?" she asked, shaking her head.

  "Well, was it worth it?"

  "What kind of question is that? No, it wasn't worth getting fired over."

  "So..." he said, wiggling his pinky finger in the air.

  "What? No!"

  "Then it was worth it," he teased.

  "Oh my God. I'm not having this conversation with you right now."

  "Fine. Then tell me who you're running from."

  "Does it really matter?"

  "When you call me frantic and out of breath, yes, it matters."

  "His bodyguard."

  He had to stifle a laugh with his hand, but not before she smacked his arm. "See. This is exactly why I don't need to talk to you about this."

  "I'm sorry. I don't mean to laugh, but I can't believe the dude has a bodyguard. Who is he, Al Capone or something?"

  "Don't joke like that. Truth is I don't know him that well, but—"

  "You slept with him...more than once," he reminded her.

  "Yeah and it was a mistake."

  They were about a block from their apartment building when Quinn spotted Will in the black SUV waiting at the curb.

  "Shit. Keep going. He's there."

  "The bodyguard?"

  "That's his SUV...the black one," she said as she hid her face as they passed.

  "Escalade. Nice. So, where are we going since we can't go back to the apartment?"

  "I don't care Nick. Just drive, please," she pleaded as she dropped her forehead into her palm.

  He reached over a gave her arm a light squeeze. "Hey. It's gonna be okay."

  An hour later and they found themselves just outside of Black Hawk. Quinn yawned and stretched her legs out. She could also tell Nick was tired of being stuck in the truck by the way he was fidgeting in his seat.

  "Maybe we should hang out here for the night until things calm down," she offered.

  "I've never been."

  "Me either."

  "Well, this could be fun. I'm beginning to think that wild side, you were talking about, is finally rearing her pretty little head."

  "Ha! You have no idea, Nick. And yes, I'm realizing now that I should've taken you up on your offer and just called in sick that day."

  "I'm always right. Don't ever doubt the master."

  She full on belly laughed at his comment.

  "Thanks, I needed that."

  "At your service madam," he said in a mock English accent and bowed slightly.

  He pulled into the parking lot next to the Ameristar Hotel and Casino, found a spot close to the entrance and turned off the truck.

  "Wait, what about Zig? Who's gonna feed him tonight and tomorrow morning?"

  "I'll call Frank. Tell him to go in after that dude leaves."

  "You sure?"

  "LA," he said turning to Quinn. "I'll keep my original promise to you tonight, if that is what you really want, but I'm still a guy, so if you bat those pretty little lashes at me once or pucker those lips of yours in my direction, we might have a problem."

  "I think I've had enough for today. I'll behave myself," she said and stuck her pinky out to him.

  He looked at it quizzically and furrowed his brows.

  "What?"

  "You want me to pinky swear? What are we, six?"

  They both laughed and she dropped her hand to her side, realizing it was a pretty immature gesture on her part.

  Chapter 18

  Luckily, there were a boat load of rooms left in the hotel, but Nick insisted on making sure Quinn was comfortable, so he upgraded their room to a suite.

  "Nick," Quinn whispered as the woman behind the desk took his information down. "I can't afford this."

  "It's my treat, LA. Don't argue. Anyway, I think she's gonna give us a special discount. I can see it in her eyes," he teased.

  "Fine," she huffed and paced the lobby while he finished up at the reception desk.

  A fire burned in the huge stone-faced fireplace that faced the casino floor. Quinn took a seat in one of the plush chairs next to it and rubbed her hands together. She was still wearing her knee-length skirt and a short-sleeved, button-down blouse. Which made her regret not having Nick stop at the apartment to gather some clean clothes, considering all she wanted to do, was strip herself of Jaysen. His smell still lingered on her and she could feel the heat from where he had touched her earlier.

  With that thought, she shot up out of the chair, determined to find somewhere inside the hotel to buy something to wear.

  "Hey, wait up," Nick called after her, carrying the room keys in one hand.

  She waited until he caught up and began her search for a gift shop or boutique.

  "I need new clothes," she offered when she caught him staring at her.

  "She said there's a gift shop around the corner," he said leading her through the casino.

  "Good. I'll take anything," she said, then mumbled under her breath, "As long as I don't have to smell him on me anymore."

  Sure enough, the gift shop was full of Colorado themed gifts, including a very attractive t-shirt with an elk on it, a pair of gray sweatpants with the letters C and O embroidered on the thigh and thank the gods above, they even sold panties. She gathered everything and brought it to the register. As the young man behind the counter began to ring up her purchases, Nick rounded the corner wearing a neon pink feather boa around his neck, an army green fishing hat on his head and a pair of giant, yellow sunglasses.

  "I'll take these, also," he said as the cashier eyed him warily.

  "He's gay," she whispered to the clerk.

  "That's right, honey. And thankfully there are no pesky boys around to ruin our fabulous ladies night."

  Quinn choked back a laugh and handed the cashier her credit card.

  "Stop it. You said you'd behave," she scolded Nick and swatted his arm when he reached for a bottle of perfume sitting on the edge of the counter.

  "Oh, sweetie. Come on. I bet it smells like daisies, lace and delicious man-candy."

  Quinn signed for her purchases, grabbed her bag and hurried out of the gift shop before Nick could embarrass her anymore.

  "Are you insane?"

  "Yes. Now, let's go get you changed, so we can come back down here and have some fun."

  She snatched the key card from his hand and led the way to the elevators.

  Their room wasn't just any room, they were staying in the lap of luxury or what Nick referred to as the 'celebrity bungalow suite', which was pretty fitting, considering the oversized Roman tub, a king-sized bed in the bedroom and a queen pull-out in the living area. It had a fully stocked bar, kitchenette and a welcome basket, filled with fruit, snacks and bottled water.

  While Nick was mixing up some kind of blue concoction at the bar, Quinn decided to take a dip in the tub. As the tub filled, she added a capful of luxurious bath cream and bubbles instantly covered the surface of the steam
ing water.

  For a moment, she imagined herself as Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, singing along to Prince while relaxing in the giant tub. Then, Nick would come sit on the edge, watching her, but she wouldn't know he was there, and when she would open her eyes, he would laugh and offer her five thousand dollars to spend the week with him. What? A girl could dream.

  It wasn't even ten minutes later and he was knocking on the bathroom door, telling Quinn to get her ass in gear because he was starving and already had two drinks. She knew she could always come back to her Pretty Woman fantasy later, so instead of protesting, she got out, dried herself off and ran her fingers through her hair to untangle some of the knots that had formed. She rarely ever wore makeup and thankfully had inherited great skin, most likely on her mother's side of the family, so she blow dried her hair and dabbed some lip gloss on her lips.

  After changing into her newly acquired outfit, which, by the way, was not figure flattering one bit, Nick wrapped the pink boa around her neck and they headed back down to the casino.

  She hadn't noticed how hungry she actually was, until she spotted a sign that read, 'All You Can Eat Crab Legs'. Her mouth watered in anticipation.

  They filled their plates to the brim and devoured crab leg after crab leg.

  "Oh my God, this is seriously the best thing ever. I don't know why I ever waited this long to experience the eighth wonder of the world that is Black Hawk."

  Nick laughed and took a sip of his Fat Tire. "They don't have shit like this in Albuquerque. I've totally been missing out all these years."

  "Albuquerque huh?"

  "Yeah, my crazy ex was a neonatal nurse and apparently the only hospital willing to give her the hours she wanted just so happened to be in New Mexico."

  "So, where did you live before that?"

  "San Diego. We met there and within a month, we moved in together. She stole my heart that first year, so we got married the following summer and the rest was pretty much history."

  "Do you mind me asking what happened between you?"

  He shrugged, took another draw from the beer bottle and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. "Our schedules were different. I worked in the morning, she worked nights and for a while there, it worked out for both of us because we had the same days off. One night I came home after working a double. I was exhausted and just needed to wind down, so I grabbed a beer and headed into the bathroom to take a shower. When I got to the edge of the room, I already heard the water running, so I thought, well shit, this is the perfect opportunity to sneak in and surprise her. So I stripped down and slowly opened the bathroom door. There I was standing in the middle of my bathroom buck naked, watching my wife get fucked by one of the doctors she worked with in my goddamn shower. I don't know if it was because I was so tired or what, but I lost my mind. Needless to say, he's lucky to be alive after what I did to him."

  Quinn clasped a hand over her mouth and stared at him wide-eyed.

  "I filed for a divorce the next day and because her lawyer was so good, she took me for everything I had, due to my 'violent history and unstable mental condition'. Which was total bullshit, but I didn't know any better at the time. I got Elena and twenty percent of our joint investment account."

  She lowered her hand from her mouth and her jaw hung open. "Holy shit, Nick. I can't believe she did that to you after everything. I hope I never meet her, 'cause I'd knock her out."

  He threw his head back and laughed, "That makes two of us, sweetheart."

  "That's why you bought the building," she stated matter-of-factly, not expecting an answer.

  "Yeah, I got pretty good deal on it and I've always wanted to open my own restaurant, so I thought, aw hell, why not do it in Denver?"

  "I'm so sorry she turned out to be a cheating whore. You sound like you really loved her."

  "I still do. After all she's done, I still can't believe I haven't stopped loving the crazy bitch," he said solemnly. "But enough of this depressing shit. Let's go drink, gamble and be wild."

  He stood up, tossed his napkin to the table and reached out for Quinn's hand. She followed suit and took his. Hand in hand, they made their way to the bar at the center of the casino.

  Chapter 19

  Three vodka sodas and two shots of tequila later, one of which was taken by Nick, who slurped it from Quinn's belly button after chanting, "Here's to you. Here's to me. Best friends we shall always be. But if we should ever disagree. Fuck you and here's to me!"

  Quinn was seeing double by the time they left the bar, but she enjoyed every last minute of her drunken state. Nick managed to win two thousand dollars at the blackjack table and she lost thirty playing nickel slots. It was almost one o'clock in the morning when they decided they were both too intoxicated to make logical gambling decisions and finally headed back to the suite.

  Quinn sat on the edge of the bed swaying back and forth, either from the alcohol or the song she had stuck in her head for the majority of the night, it didn't matter what it was, because she was finally numb and it felt good.

  "Nick. Nick. Nick," she slurred as she poked a finger to his chest. "I like you Nick. I like you a lot."

  He sat down beside her and brushed a few strands of hair out of her face. "I'm glad you're feeling better."

  She nudged him with her elbow and smiled. "That's because you took care of me. Thank you."

  "You're welcome. Now, I think we should probably get some sleep."

  "Will you sleep with me?" she asked through the fog that clouded her brain.

  He laughed and knelt down in front of her. As much as he wanted to take advantage of Quinn's current state, he knew they would both regret it the next morning, so he tried to get her to lay down.

  "There are two of you," she teased as she followed the extra Nick with her finger.

  "You're shit-faced."

  "Duh. Tell me something I don't know. You didn't answer my question though."

  "You promised to behave. And I promised to keep my promise to you. Remember that?"

  "Promises-shmomises." She jutted her bottom lip out and attempted to bat her lashes at him.

  "See, there you go, batting your lashes and puckering your lips."

  "Please Nick," she begged, wrapping her arms around his neck.

  "Not tonight, Quinn. I don't think you'll like waking up tomorrow knowing you made two mistakes in one day."

  She swayed again and covered one of her eyes with her hand as she tried to catch a glimpse of the time on the clock beside the bed.

  "Technically...it's tomorrow. Soooo..." She gave him her best 'come hither' stare and wiggled her index finger. He rose to his feet and disappeared into the living area. It was too much for him, listening to her beg him to take her pain away, he had made a promise and he wouldn't break it knowing she'd never remember anyway.

  "I'm sorry. I was just kidding. I'm sorry, Nick," she called to him, then leaned back against the pillows and closed her eyes. "Sleep is good."

  * * *

  Quinn awoke the next morning to the sound of a blender and she wanted to curse the soul running the damn thing because her head was throbbing. She tried to swallow, but her throat was so dry, it felt like she chewed on sand all night. She reached over and grabbed a bottle of water from the nightstand, guzzled half of it and popped two Advil that Nick left for her.

  She padded into the bathroom and gave herself a quick once-over in the mirror before deciding she desperately needed a shower because she looked like hell. She shut out the noise of the blender and turned the water on as hot as it would go. Steam coated the mirrors as she stripped down and stepped into the shower.

  After fifteen minutes of pure bliss, Quinn finally emerged from the bathroom with her hair tucked into a neat bun on top of her head and a towel wrapped around her.

  "Mornin' sunshine," Nick said as he leaned in the doorway, watching her.

  "Ugh. I'm never drinking again."

  "Here." He held out a pea green frozen concoction and the s
ight alone made her want to vomit.

  "No. Uh-uh. That looks disgusting."

  "It'll cure you in a heartbeat. I swear. Works every time. Come on." He inched the glass closer to her face and it smelled just as repulsive as it looked.

  "I can't. It'll make me puke for sure."

  "Fine. Have it your way," he said as he set it on the nightstand, where she was sure it would remain for the rest of the day or at least until the cleaning ladies came through.

  "I need to get dressed," she said, trying to shoo him out of the room.

  "Nothing I haven't seen before." He shot her a sly smirk and raised his eyebrows.

  "We didn't...um...do anything...did we?"

  "I kept my promise, but I'd say you broke yours."

  "Oh God," Quinn said, slapping her palm to her forehead in embarrassment. "What did I do? I don't remember much after the tequila."

  "Hmm...let's see. Where do I even begin?"

  "Oh no."

  "I think you almost gave that old couple at the bar a heart attack when you made everyone do belly shots off of you, then you fondled a police officer, which I must say, was pretty entertaining, then you asked some biker dude if he was the real Jax Teller, but overall I thought you handled your liquor like a champ."

  Quinn was completely and utterly mortified. "I did not. Oh God, did I really?"

  "No, but your reaction just now was priceless and therefore it was totally worth fucking with you."

  "You ass!" She punched his arm as hard as she could and pushed him through the doorway in order to get dressed.

  Nick wrapped his arm around Quinn's shoulders as they walked through the lobby of the casino. She felt comfortable with him and wasn't sure she wanted their weekend to end.

  "Breakfast?" he asked.

  Quinn ran a hand over her stomach as it grumbled. "Yes. I guess I was hungrier than I thought."

  "Good," he said leading her towards the breakfast buffet.

  The smell of fresh bacon and coffee assaulted their noses as they were led to their table by the hostess. Immediately, Quinn grabbed a plate off the bar and loaded it with scrambled eggs, bacon, potatoes, fruit and a Belgian waffle. Nick smiled to himself as he watched her balance the overloaded plate in her hands. He hadn't met a girl with such a healthy appetite in years and he was equally impressed when she finished the entire plate.