Quinn’s punishing me, right? She was clearly miffed at my playing hot and cold on the practice field today, so this must be her payback- getting me killed by her brother.A little extreme, eh? It’s my own fault, though; I should’ve known better. Messing with this girl is like playing with fire and it’s only a matter of time before I get burned.
“Atta girl,” Theo says, clapping her on the shoulder.
I choke on my own saliva, launching into a coughing fit.
“You alright, man?” Gray asks, stepping beside me and slapping me on the back.
“Yeah,” I manage, practically wheezing as I get my breathing back under control.
Quinn’s still smirking, looking pretty damn pleased with herself.
I must be a masochist, because in that moment, I want her more than ever. I want to exact my own brand of punishment on her until she’s panting and writhing and coming undone.What the fuck is wrong with me?
“Well I’d better head in,” Quinn says, tossing her hair over a shoulder as she starts walking backwards. “Gotta fuel up before afternoon session if I’m gonna keep up.” She waggles her eyebrows, raising her fingers to her forehead in a little salute before spinning around and jogging toward the complex.
Gray chuckles, shaking his head and looking to Theo. “My god, she’s you in girl form.”
“No kidding,” I snort.
“Whatever,” Theo laughs, rolling his eyes. He turns to me, and the smirk on his face looks so similar to his sister’s that it gives me pause. “She isn’t giving you too much trouble, is she?”
“Nah,” I sigh, watching after Quinn as she enters the complex. “Nothing I can’t handle.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Quinn
“How much farther?” Kyla groans, tossing her head back exaggeratedly.
“Oh, c’mon,” Fallon urges, coming up beside Kyla and linking arms with her. “We’re almost there.”
“She’s just being dramatic,” I laugh, following behind the two of them.
“If I’d known we had to hike to get to this bar, I would’ve thought twice about wearing sky-high heels!” Kyla laments. “Carry me, Quinn?”
I wrinkle my nose, shaking my head. “Nuh uh, you aren’t the only one in heels!”
“It’s harder for us short girls,” Vienna says as she comes up on the other side of Kyla, giving her a little smile in solidarity. “We’ve gotta take two steps for every one of yours!”
I just met Vienna tonight, but I already like her. She’s a spunky little Latina who seems to have a huge personality packed in her small body. She’s like a spicy version of Kyla, though a tad more sunshiny. We’re already getting along great.
Fallon assembled this fun little group of ladies and we all got ready together at the complex tonight before heading out for the bar in Goldenleaf. There are six of us- me, the twins, Kyla, Vienna, and Fallon’s friend Shay. I really like Shay, too- she’s another real one that seems to speak her mind. I have a feeling that we’ll be fast friends.
Apparently all of the guys in Fallon’s group of friends are meeting us at the bar- I know Davis and Boyd from back home, and I guess there are a couple other squad members that they usually hang with. I’m assuming Fallon’s mate, Alpha Gray, is going to be there, as well as Brooke’s mate- my brother. Gosh, that’s still so weird to say! I’m not sure if I’ll ever fully wrap my mind around Theo being mated to one of my friends.
And speaking of hooking up with your siblings’ friends, of course I’m wondering if Jax is gonna be there tonight. I don’t know what that guy’s deal is- first he basically tells me he regrets our night together, then he eye-fucks me for hours the next day and starts flirting with me, and then he suddenly apologizes, says he can’t, and bails. What’s with the mixed signals? It irritated the hell out of me, so I couldn’t resist messing with him a little bit after practice, making him squirm in front of Theo. Maybe I’m a monster, but when he started choking it was just the teensiest bit satisfying.
And yeah, I hope I see him tonight. Because even though some of the things he’s said and done over the past couple days have rubbed me the wrong way, I still can’t forget about him rubbing me all of therightways a few weeks ago. I swear, the guy has ruined me for all other men- if they can’t set my body on fire like Jaxon can, then I’m not interested.
Maybe Kyla’s right… the more forbidden the fruit, the sweeter the juice.
“Finally,” she sighs as we round a curve in the path and the bar lights come into view through the trees. “My feet are killing me! How am I gonna dance now?”
“That shifter healing, sweetie,” Vienna laughs, patting Kyla’s arm. “You’ll be good as new after your first drink.”
“Thank god for that,” Kyla gasps.Such a drama queen.
Fallon’s the first to the door, pulling it open and leaning back against it while the rest of us file in. We’re all dressed to the nines in tight dresses and high heels, and lots of eyes wander our way as we enter and make our way to the bar to order drinks. I order my usual- two shots of chilled tequila- and turn around to scope out the crowd while I wait for the bartender to deliver them.