Page 80 of Mark & Don't Tell

Quinn is waiting for me when I get to my apartment. All it took was one voice message, telling her what happened, and she took the day off. I called Terrance on the way home and told him I wasn’t feeling well. Lying sucks, but he simply told me to feel better.

Quinn’s brunette hair is swept up into an effortless bun that I can never pull off with my curls. So many things about her are effortless. Her pretty smile, the light in her eyes. No one’s ever accused her of being too loud. Maybe that’s why we’re friends. Opposites attract and all that.

“Can I send Dylan after him?” she asks as she hugs me tight. Quinn smells like honey and musk, comforting and familiar.

“Let’s hold off on the assassination plans for now,” I say, resting my cheek on her shoulder. “I kneed him in the nuts.”

“Good.” Quinn squeezes me before pulling back and searching my face. “Are you okay?”

“I will be.” I unlock my apartment and let her in first, not realizing my mistake until she inhales sharp and hard, whirling around to look at me.

“Daria?”

Crap. I forgot that I have Kai’s jacket and how much my apartment still smells like me and Vic. Probably because I haven’t washed my sheets. I’m not exactly comfortable taking my sheets to my dads’ house, where Letti might scent her brother. Not to mention, I love having his scent surrounding me.

Quinn is still waiting for an explanation.

“I had a friend over,” I tell her with a smirk.

She arches an eyebrow. “I’m your friend. This”—she indicates the air around her—“is definitely fuck buddy territory. Or maybe a boyfriend?”

“Undecided,” I admit. “It’s probably going nowhere.” That’s not a total lie. I don’t want her getting too excited because my relationship is about to become nothing.

“Well, either way, how’s the sex?”

“God, it’s so good,” I confess. “So good.” Dropping my things on the kitchen counter, I open the fridge. “Do you want a drink?”

“Wine?”

“Of course. I’m not a monster.”

“Monsters drink beer?”

I shudder. “You mean piss water?”

“It’s not so bad once you get used to it.” She grabs two glasses from the cabinet and places them on the counter.

“What are those alphas doing to my best friend?”

“So many things,” she says with a dreamy sigh.

“Ugh, get out of here with your lovey-dovey shit.”

“Sorry,” she says quickly.

I shake my head. “No, that’s my bad. I didn’t mean it like that, I meant to tease you.” Filling our cups, I let out a harsh breath. “I don’t want you to feel like you can’t talk to me because my love life is one massive failure.”

“It’s not a failure,” she says softly.

“It’s definitely not a success.” I grab my glass and the grapes from the fridge, fully prepared to feast on them while they’re still in perfect condition. Only demons like squishy grapes.

We sit on my worn-out couch and face each other, the bowl of fruit between us. I recount the whole encounter again—purposefully leaving out the part about Ryan’s dads.

“I hope his balls fall off.”

I snort. “That would be hilarious.”

“So, work is good, then?”

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