Page 36 of Temptation

“Sounds good.” Quinn went to the bedroom to change with a smirk. If it was the movie she was thinking about, she already watched it, and he was in for a shock. That particular actor rarely played romantic heroes, and while yes, the first half of the movie played out like a romance, the second was more of a thriller/horror movie. She knew he probably wouldn't enjoy the content very much, especially when the lead actress bites the lead actor's dick while giving him a blow job so she could rescue her friend and escape.

When Quinn came out, Joel was sitting on the couch with the popcorn in front of him, and she hesitated momentarily. He definitely expected to cuddle. Fuck. Then, an evil idea came to her. She was a prolific social media user, primarily for her artwork, but before Joel started his affair, she also took lots of couple pictures and posted them. Because she mostly used it to promote her art, her profiles were public, and she had a feeling Viki checked it to make sure they weren't doing anything too couple-like. A few days before Tenn had brought her the proof of the affair, Joel had taken her on a date that finished with a walk along Boston Harbor. She had posted a picture of him kissing her cheek and holding her close. He had been in a bad mood for two days after, and now she thought it was because Viki had something to say about it. She just needed to explain it to Tenn first.

“I just need to use the bathroom really quick.” Quinn saw Joel looking at her expectantly and gave him a hasty explanation before darting into the guest bathroom and pulling out her phone.

I have a way to piss off Viki and put Joel in the doghouse, but I don't want to upset you.

She waited anxiously for him to answer and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw he read her text and was responding.

What is it?

He wants to watch a movie and is expecting to cuddle. I could post a picture on my social media.

She was positive Tenn would agree, but she wanted to make sure he was okay with it because he would have to deal with Viki’s response.

Please do it. The rage I'm going to witness will make up for everything else.

Quinn grinned and remembered to ask if he wanted to join them this weekend.

??Sleepover at my house this weekend for a Mario Kart Tournament, if you're interested.

Who's coming?

Quill, Rilla, and Bishop.

She hadn’t asked Rilla and Bishop yet, but unless they decided to head to Bishop’s family home on Martha’s Vineyard for the weekend, she knew they would be up for it.

We could do it here. My basement is the perfect set-up.

That actually would be perfect. His rec room in the basement had more seating, and the TV was much bigger.

You provide the accommodations, and I'll bring the food.

Deal. See you tomorrow.

See you tomorrow.

Quinn flushed the toilet, left the bathroom and hurried down the hall, aware she had kept Joel waiting a while. “Sorry, something must not be agreeing with me.” She sat on the couch, noticing him side-eyeing her. “I wasn't throwing up; my stomach felt weird, that's all.”

“I didn't say anything!” Joel put up his hands in surrender and smiled apologetically. “Are you good to start?”

“Yep,” Quinn held back her snigger when she saw he had indeed picked out the movie she thought he would. Joel saw she was sitting with a fair amount of space between them and frowned.

“Can we cuddle? I promise not to let my hands roam.”

Quinn snorted. “Ha. Like I would consider that to be a problem.” She swallowed, immediately regretting her words. She didn't want him to touch her, but she couldn't deny that the continuous rejection of physical intimacy had been extremely hurtful. She slid over so she was next to him, and he put his arm around her shoulders.

“Well, if you want them to roam...” He leaned in and kissed her neck. Quinn almost put her teeth through her tongue to stop herself from snapping at him that she had a pretty good idea of where his lips and tongue were today and to not put them near her.

“Baby steps.” She said lightly and shifted away from him a little. He stopped kissing her neck and sighed.

“Quinn...”

“Shhh. Movie.” Quinn smiled and pointed at the screen. He settled beside her, and after a few minutes, she let her head rest on his shoulder. Joel immediately shifted so they were cuddled up more and rested his cheek on her head. Realizing she had to get this going, she pulled out her phone and pretended to check a message, then opened and flipped the camera around.

“What are you doing?” His voice was definitely nervous, and she felt him tense up.

“Rilla wants to know what I'm doing.” She lied smoothly. “I wanted to send her a picture.” She knew Joel would agree to it if she sent it to Rilla. He was constantly put out that Rilla, Bishop, and Quill refused to fully forgive him for putting her in the hospital and liked to prove she was happy with him anyway.

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