Page 71 of Temptation

Tenn wasn’t sure how he felt about that. On one hand, Quinn made it very clear that she wasn’t able to be with them because of her own thoughts and feelings around monogamy and polyamory, but at the same time, he had a bit of an issue with potentially dating someone who was so close to someone she once had a romantic relationship with and who was still hopeful she would come back to him. His thoughts must have shown on his face because Quill quickly elaborated on what he meant.

“Don't worry, he's polyamorous, but cheating is a huge no for him. He knows it will never happen, accepts their current relationship, and will respect Quinn's relationship with you, but his perfect life would be him, Rilla, and Quinn. That being said, if Bishop was monogamous, he would have left Quinn for Rilla. It would have hurt him to do it, but from the moment he first saw Rilla, he was infatuated. He was even willing to give up polyamory to be with her if that's what she wanted, something he wouldn’t do for Quinn.”

“Anyway, back to the problem I had with their relationship.” Tenn had to smile at that. Quill often went off on small tangents when telling stories and had to circle himself back. “Bishop has so much love to give it’s kind of amazing. He loves Rilla more than anything, but it doesn’t diminish his love for Quinn at all. Like I said, if he was forced to choose, Rilla would win, but it would - and did - break his heart to lose Quinn. And he can love Rilla and Quinn and whoever else they bring in, or he sees on the side all the same.”

“So, with Bishop, you have to be willing to share him, and Quinn can't share. It would have ended badly, and I would have lost my best friend because I'd have to take Quinn's side, not to mention Bishop's parents, who also would have taken Quinn's side because they didn't - and still don't, even if they accept it now - understand Bishop and Rilla's lifestyle. It would have caused a rift in a lot of different relationships.”

“Despite what's happening, I'm monogamous, so it wouldn't have been the same.” Tenn pointed out, still not understanding what Quill was trying to say.

“Like I said, I didn't know if you'd want to fix things with your wife, and she was flip-flopping on Joel. You guys would have definitely hit it off, but if one of you decided to fix your marriage and walked away, it would have been heartbreak for the other one, and then I'm in the same situation, losing a very close friend because I will always take Quinn's side, even if she's wrong. I'd tell her she's wrong and get mad at her for it, but at the end of the day, that's my twin sister, and I can't lose her. The three years before we reconnected in university were the hardest of my life. I felt like a piece of me had been ripped away, and the wound was infected and painful. I wanted to join her in New York, but I was a minor, and while my parents didn't care if Quinn was there, Dad refused to let me so much as visit her.”

“Quinn always thinks with her heart; she follows it blindly unless I step in and point out potential problems. I always think with my head and don't consider emotions unless Quinn steps in and points out what I'm missing.”

Quill frowned. His frustration with himself showing very obviously on his face. “I didn't think about Chrissy feeling like she was taking advantage of me because of our different financial situations; I couldn't understand why she wouldn't let me help her. To me, it was logical; she needed new tires and couldn’t afford them, so I would buy new tires for her. I didn't think to tell her I owned Quinn's house and rented it to her for next to nothing; I just offered her a better house with rent that would help her save some money. If Quinn hadn't stepped in, I would have lost someone I want a future with because I felt rejected.” He turned onto Quinn's street and slowed down. “Quinn and I need each other. We balance each other out. I don’t have a lot of friends, and I don’t want to lose the few I have because of Quinn because I know I would start to resent her.”

“You had to be sure.” Tenn nodded as he understood. Quill made excellent points.

“I had to be sure.” Quill pulled into the house's driveway across the street from Quinn's. “Come on, this place is almost perfect for you, and it's right across the street.”

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Brunch Plans

Quinn woke up to an empty bed, feeling like her mouth was full of cotton balls. She groaned and dragged herself up to use the bathroom and rinse her mouth out. Then went down to the kitchen, where she immediately put the kettle on for her and Rilla and prepped the coffee machine for the boys. Looking around, she noticed Tenn had cleaned up the mess from last night, but he was nowhere to be found. Figuring he must be working out, she pulled out the stuff for breakfast and got started with blueberry scones. When they were in the oven, she began making apple pie pancakes with vanilla maple syrup while she waited for everyone else to wake up.

She hummed to herself as she cooked, feeling happier than she had in a very long time. She loved that Tenn was fitting in so well with her friends, although she wasn’t really surprised. If someone got along with both her and Quill, they generally got along with Rilla and Bishop as well. She was extremely happy Quill was planning to try to work things out with Chrissy. She only had to get through another week with Joel and then she would be free of him and free to be with Tenn. And just Tenn in general. He made her feel wanted and beautiful and she hoped she made him feel the same.

Rilla and Bishop came down just as she was taking the scones out of the oven, and she saw them exchange an amused look to find her humming while she cooked. “Morning Q.” Bishop kissed her cheek and grabbed a scone as he passed, tossing it back and forth between his hands. “Ow! Hot, hot, hot!”

“Literally just came out of the oven, Bish.” Quinn rolled her eyes as he took a bite and immediately started huffing air in and out rapidly to cool his tongue. Rilla chuckled as she made herself some tea, then handed Bishop a glass of cold water to soothe his tongue.

“That's when they're best.” He gasped, his eyes watering a little as he drank half of the water in a hurried gulp, and then he got an impish look on his face as he sat down. “Didn't hear any noise last night; don't tell me he's a dud in the sack.”

Quinn laughed, feeling her cheeks warm up. “I don't know the answer to that yet. He was a gentleman 'cause I was drunk, you guys were across the hall, and he was tipsy, and I passed out almost immediately after he told me that.”

“He's a good one.” Rilla nodded her approval with a huge smile, turned on the coffee machine and began washing Quinn's dirty dishes. “Where is he and your brother anyway? They were the least intoxicated; they can’t be that hung over.”

“No idea; I’m assuming Quill is still sleeping, and Tenn might be working out; he was already up and gone when I woke up.” Quinn flipped a pancake expertly, tossing it using the pan with practised ease.

“I'll go get them.” Bishop jumped up with a grin and disappeared down the stairs, only to come up a few minutes later with a frown. “They're gone.”

“What?” Quinn looked up in surprise.

“They aren't downstairs.” Bishop went to look out the living room window. “Quill's car is gone.” He called.

“Maybe they went to get coffee,” Rilla suggested as Bishop came back, looking sour.

“Maybe.” Quinn glanced at the clock. “They've been gone for over an hour. Maybe they went to the gym?”

“Tenn practically has a full gym in his basement; why would they go somewhere else?” Bishop grumbled, and Quinn laughed at his expression.

“Aw, are we feeling left out?” She teased, watching him sit at the table with his arms folded.

“Yes,” Bishop said immediately, making both Quinn and Rilla laugh.

“You still have us, Lovebug.” Rilla went and hugged her husband.

“If Tenn is gonna steal Quill, I'm keeping Quinn. It's only fair.” Bishop huffed, leaning into Rilla’s hug.

“Oh, come on, no one can steal Quill from you.” Quinn tossed him another scone. “You've been practically attached at the hip since you were eighteen.”

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