by TJWEST
“Remember I told you that Quinn is Red’s son?”
“Yep and you both have brown eyes.” He said while looking at both me and Pop.
“That we do, son!” Pop agreed. “Who’s ready to eat! Dinner is waitin’.”
Throughout dinner, Pop kept up conversation with Joey. Pop and I haven’t eaten at the same table since I was kid. Seein’ him act nice or interested with Joey reminded me of when he was that way with me before all hell broke loose. I wanted that again. I wanted to go back in time before Jake was killed and Pop askin’ me about school or my first job. I missed those days. If only I hadn’t -
“Quinn?” Sandy snapped me out of my daze. “You okay?”
I cleared my throat, and took a drink of my beer. “Yeah, Shorty, I’m okay.”
“You looked like you were a million miles away.”
“He wasn’t a million miles away, mom. He’s been right here the whole time.” Joey clarified.
“I know that, silly. I said he looked, not that he was.”
“Oh.”
I got a good chuckle out of that.
“Why do you call my mom shorty? Oh wait! Nevermind, I get it!”
“Can we please not talk about how short I am, again?” Sandy chuckled.
“How about dessert?” Pop piped in. “I have lots of goodies for us to choose, son, how about we go check them out?” That got Joey pretty excited so he jumped out of his seat and headed into the kitchen with Pop.
“Joey can never turn down dessert.” Sandy smiled at me.
“He’s a great kid, Shorty.”
“Thanks. I was a bit nervous with you meeting him. I don’t know why. “
“I understand, babe. First time you let him around someone you’re involved with. I get it.”
“Yeah.” She exhaled. “So, how about we help clean up this table, huh?”
After we cleaned up, we all settled into the living-room. Joey sat in the middle of me and Sandy. He was showing me how to play his ‘Legends of Zelda’ game. I couldn’t, for the life of me, figure it out. I didn’t get these new electronics and watching Joey play was fuckin’ amazing. I looked up and found Sandy smiling at me. I smiled back.
“Quinn, come help me with the wine, please.” Pop asked.
I went to the kitchen and found Pop uncorking the wine. “So what do you think of the boy? He’s somethin’ else, isn’t he?”
“Yeah. I didn’t doubt that.”
“He needs a father, Quinn.” He mentioned as he was pouring the wine into the glasses.
Why does it always surprise me when my Pop talks like this?
“I couldn’t agree more.”
“Son, I’ve been watchin’ you with Sandy and I gotta say she’s been good for ya.”
“Pop -” Pop interrupts me.
“No, hear me out. I told ya that I want whats best for Sandy, but you thought I didn’t think highly enough of you to be with her. You couldn’t be more wrong, son. You’re good for her too, and I know you’ll be good for her boy.”
I didn’t know what to say. I just stood there, speechless. I don’t remember the last time Pop complimented me.
“Hey, is everything alright in here?” Sandy came looking for us.
“Yep, we are darlin’. Quinn and I were just talkin’. Here’s your wine.”
“Thanks.”
Pop left the kitchen, leavin’ me and Sandy alone. I was so glad to have her to myself, even if for a couple minutes.
“You sure everything is okay with you two?”
“Yeah, for now anyway.” I put down my glass of wine along with hers and shifted her body into mine and planted a hot, slow kiss on her lips. It felt so good.
“I’ve been wantin’ to do that all night.” I whispered.
“I know what you mean. I’ve missed you this week.”
“Fuck yeah. Same here.” I brought my lips down one more time.
“Mmm, we should get back.”
I nod my head, gather our wine and spend the next hour getting to know Joey. That kid is something special, just like Sandy told me. I couldn’t believe the things he knows. He talked about his favorite subject in school, his friends, tv shows, games and also he talked about how he wants to help the environment when he becomes an adult. He hates smoking, and drinking. He didn’t like seein’ Sandy drink wine, but she made a good excuse as to why it was okay to have one drink. I noticed that sometimes he would stutter; Sandy privately explained to me that it’s hard for him to process all his words so it takes him more time to express his sentences.
This overwhelming feeling of wanting to learn more from this kid, hit me hard. I never wanted to be a dad - never crossed my mind, but being in the presence of Joey fuckin’ flipped my world upside down. It scared me shitless, but it brought something else that was missing from my life: Happiness.
Chapter 13
Sandy
Quinn desperately tried to change my mind about driving home, but the rain had led up and the roads looked pretty clear. As much as I would have loved staying the night with Quinn, I just couldn’t. But we made plans to go out on a date saturday night. Our first date - I was actually excited and nervous. It would be our first time doing anything normal together. Not that having great sex in his bed wasn’t normal, but just being able to go out with Quinn was exciting.
Peta and I talked on Saturday morning and she arranged for Joey and her nephew, Aaron, to stay at her house for the night. I told her it wasn’t necessary, but she wouldn’t back down. Gotta love your friends. She was one I could count on for anything; she listened to all my problems, was my cheerleader in life, and someone who had my back - and I did the same for her.
Peta insisted on picking Joey up at my place. “You didn’t have to do this.” I said.
“Yes I did.” She gave me a hug and whispered, “You deserve this, Sandy. Have a good time.”
“Thank you.” Peta was right, I did deserve this. I’m so proud of how grown-up and independent Joey has become. I’m proud of myself for being able to raise such a fantastic kid on my own - I wouldn’t have changed a thing.
“You ready, dude? Aaron is looking forward to this.” Peta announced as she wrapped her arm across Joey’s shoulders.
“Yes! Aaron! I can’t wait to play Skylanders with him!” Joey was very excited.
“Give me a hug, mister. I love you so much. Have fun.”
“Love you too, and I will!”
They had left, and it was time to get ready for Quinn. I had been thinking about what to wear all day and I think I drove my brain crazy going from outfit to outfit, with decision changes. He seemed to really like purple on me, but I can’t wear that color again can I? It would be so obvious that I was trying to impress him. Ugh, I’m such a dork. I didn’t want anything too formal to wear, but I didn’t want anything too casual either. Plus it was freezing outside. I finally chose a simple black dress that went a little above the knees, and black knee - high boots. I accessorized it with a green scarf and some green jewelry. Now for the hair; down, wavy, and green flower pinned on the side. Okay, I think I was ready.
There was a knock on the door. I bumped my knee on my bedpost while running to get to the door - dangit! Such a clutz! That’s what I get for rushing. When I opened the door I was rubbing my knee. Great way to start our first official date.
“Hey!” I said in a breathy voice. I didn’t even notice him staring at me until I stood straight up. My God he was smokin’ hot! How in the world did I end up with this creature? He was so gorgeous. I don’t think we said a single word for a minute or so because we were so engaged in each others eyes. His were so dark and haunting, and that stare went through the entire layer of my body. He took my breath away. Quinn had on a long sleeved buttoned collared shirt and blue jeans. He got his hair cut. Oh, my God it was so sexy - I mean anything about Quinn is sexy, but this was a new kind of sexy; slightly slicked back that curled at the ends. Wow. And he still had his two day, no shave thing going on, and that turned me on big
time.
“Holy Fuck, are you tryin’ to kill me, Shorty? You look so hot.”
Hot? Did I hear that right? I never thought of myself hot, but I could live with that - especially from Quinn.
“You don’t look so bad yourself, Wolf.” I smirked. And he smirked back.
I took his hand and guided him inside. “Let me get my purse and jacket.” He tugged on my hand and whipped me around to his front. He lifted me off the ground and forced his sweet ass mouth onto mine. Holy hell I think I just died.
“You wouldn’t mind if I took you right here, right now would ya?” His husky voice got me.
“Um.” Clearing my throat. “Seriously?”
“Oh, babe, I couldn’t be more serious.” Still smirking. The smirk that could kill.
He placed me on the back edge of my couch. What was he gonna do? He lifted my dress up above my waist and took a good look at my black laced, thong underwear. He took a breath in. I guess he liked that? I planned right!
“Yeah, you want to kill me.” Quinn said breathlessly. And I giggled.
He slowly pulled down my thong and threw them to the side. He spread my legs and blew a pleasant breath on my sex. My heart started to pump hard - much harder than when I saw him at my doorstep. Chills ran up and down my body making me moan. My head fell back when his pointer finger braised along my folds and entered my wetness.
“You are so ready for me, Shorty.” He said while he was on his knees.
“Please, take me. I’ve missed you so much.” I was practically panting.
“That’s what I like to hear. I’ve missed you too.” Finger still playfully gouging inside.
He then planted kisses on my chest, leading up to the nape of throat, leading up to my chin, then before he pinned my mouth I lifted my head and saw him stick his finger into his mouth. He was licking off my wetness. Holy crap, why did I find that hot?
“Mighty fine, baby.” His eyes were dark and playful.
I couldn’t contain my patience anymore and brought his mouth to mine and took him like a wild animal. I ran my hand up and down his shaft. His hardness twitched and that got him moaning as well. He lifted me up, legs wrapped, and hauled me to my bedroom. He laid me down and the heat between our bodies became noticeable. We tore each others clothes off like this was our last time on earth. It was insanely rough, but passionate. Before he put on the condom I told him I was on the pill. He threw it behind him and entered me. I let out a yelp. A joyful yelp, that is. We messed up everything that I had put together; my hair, my makeup, my bed. All beautifully messed up. I had a feeling we were not going to out on our first official date after all. And that was just fine with me.
We were tangled, sweaty, and exhausted. Who needs to workout when sex was a better way to burn calories. We decided to just order pizza instead of going out. It was raining anyways, and being each others arms, in bed, was so much more cozier. I picked out the first thing I saw to cover myself while eating. Wearing Quinn’s shirt made me feel so sexy. What is it with wearing a mans shirt? Quinn got a kick out of it too by the way he was looking at me, when he brought the pizza and a bottle of wine onto my bed. Sex, pizza and wine - I couldn’t have asked for a better night.
We sat against the headboard of my bed, drinking wine after we finished the pizza. I became a bit tipsy since I was on my third glass of wine. Being a such a big guy, the alcohol didn’t hit Quinn, as it did me. We had a nice time just talking nonsense but the nonsense turned into seriousness.
“Tell me, Shorty, how did you discover Joey had autism?”
“Well, I’m not sure, really. I could tell something wasn’t normal by the way he played with certain toys. For example, spinning just the wheels of his trucks or staring at his shadow or a certain object. He had his own language, which was all so cute, but in the end it was the autism. He was behind on speech, but was super smart. He knew all his letters, numbers, colors and could read before he entered preschool. His fine motor skills were not where they should have been. Anyways, I got him diagnosed by a psychologist. I even had his school get involved. Got him a special plan, called an IEP, to help him throughout his school career. I’ll have to explain that one later, but just know that it’s been the best thing for him. For me.”
We both took a sip of our wine. He nodded his head and said, “I find you awe-inspiring, Shorty -. being the advocate for your son. You’re a fuckin’ great mom.”
“Thanks, that means a lot. I’m so blessed to have him. He’s the reason I get up everyday. If only his father wanted to be a part of his sons life. He’s missing out on such a wonderful boy.”
“He’s an asshole, that’s for sure. Where is he anyways?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “Last thing I heard he lost his football scholarship and quit college. It’s a shame. What am I supposed to tell Joey? That his father was a loser and didn’t want to be a part of his life? That he didn’t love him? Those questions are always going through my head. I feel awful because I haven’t had that discussion with Joey yet. He doesn’t even bring him up.”
“When the times right, you’ll know what to do, Shorty.”
“Yeah, I hope so.”
“What about your parents? His parents?”
I chuckle without humor. “That’s another shameful situation. I left Seattle because my parents weren’t supportive of me keeping Joey. They wouldn’t help take care of him for me while I worked. In the beginning they wanted me to give him up for adoption. In the end it was about me finding ways to help myself. So I saved my money and moved down here. Thank goodness I had some good friends who had some amazing parents that took care of Joey while I was able to do that. Overall, I’ve been very lucky.”
I took a breath, and took another sip of my wine. Quinn was quiet and let me continue.
“Joey’s other grandparents, again, were unsupportive. Didn’t give a damn about him. I’m so disappointed by so many people who are missing out on this precious, amazing kid. It saddens me. But, I have Peta, who is like an aunt. She’s done so much for me. Plus, I have Red and Vivian, who are like his grandparents. Unfortunately Vivian is leaving, but I have every intention of visiting her, so I’m not counting her out.” I chuckle.
“You forgot one more person. You have me.” Quinn takes my hand, brings it up to his lips.
I smile up at him. “Yes. I do. I never thought it would be you though. Reds son - the son who was never mentioned by his own dad, for that matter. Why is that, Quinn? What happened between you two?”
He lowered my hand, took a huge gulp of his wine and began talking. “I haven’t told anyone this story. Not sure how to explain it.”
I furrowed my eyebrows. “Well, tell me as best as you can, Quinn. I’m here, wanting to listen.”
“Yeah.” He replied, staring at his wine, rubbing the tip of the glass. “I had a brother, Jake. He was a couple years older than me.”
A brother? Wow. This was news to me.
Quinn turned his body toward mine, and took a deep breath. “He was the one who was gonna take over Reds one day. He was the son that did no wrong - the one who had passion, drive, dreams….. me? I wasn’t goin’ in any direction. I was the rebel. The one who never thought about my future. I was just a kid who made a huge mistake and cost my brother his life.” He paused.
I didn’t interrupt his silence, and let him take his time. I wasn’t sure where his story was going, but from the looks of things it wasn’t good.
“I was nineteen. Jake and I were driving home from a camping trip - we always did stuff like that. He was a great brother. Anyway, I insisted on driving home, because he drove on the way up. It was gettin’ late and I dozed off. Next thing I knew we were headin’ on the wrong side of the road. Almost hit a semi-truck, and swerved out of the way, flipped over, rolled a few times and landed in a ditch. The impact of the rolling crushed my brother. He had no idea what happened, since he had fallen asleep too.” Quinn's voice became sullen, distant, sad.
I was shocked and sad for h
im. I couldn’t believe he went through that. What an awful situation.
“My God, I’m so sorry.” I whispered.
He nodded, and cleared his throat. His glass was empty, grabbed the wine and poured another drink. “Our family pretty much crumbled. My mom left us, and my Pop became a distant relative. He couldn’t look at me, couldn’t speak to me, so I moved out and went to Nevada. I was messed up, Sandy. Did some shitty stuff. I was surprised my Pop helped me out of some fucked up situations, but he did. It didn’t last, though. He gave up on me. I had to go through a lot of bullshit in order to get my act together. I eventually did and made a good life in Nevada.”
“Oh, Quinn.” I put my wine glass onto my nightstand, crawled over to him and wrapped my body around his. “What an awful thing to have happened. I’m so very sorry you lost your brother.” I put my hands onto his face. He looked at me and saw a gleam of wetness in his eyes, but he kept it in and kissed me instead.
“Thank you for telling me. I know how hard that must have been for you; having to re-live that story.”
“You’re worth telling, babe. You don’t seem to resent or judge me.”
Surprised by that statement I said, “Of course not! Everyone makes mistakes. You’re a good person. A good man, who did the unthinkable. Your own mother abandoned you. She didn’t just lose one son, she lost two. That was her choice - her mistake. And Red, he loves you. I know he does. He wouldn’t have helped you back in the day if he didn’t. Plus, he asked you to come back to take over his place. I may not know all the details, but I believe Red shows his love in a very different way. It’s awful that he treated you the way he did, but he had lost a son and mistakenly blamed you. I don’t think you are to blame. You fell asleep - it was an awful accident. I think it’s time you forgive yourself, don’t you? Don’t you think you’ve been through enough?”
We just stared at one another. Quinn’s eyes were dark and glassy.