Page 74 of Flipping the Script

“So, did I settle anything?” I asked them.

“Not at all.” Quinn shot me a grin. “But at the same time, yes.”

“Glad to help.”

Quinn nodded at someone, his gaze fixed over my shoulder. “I have to go help Adam with something.”

“What?” Jesse asked as Quinn tried to slip away.

“Nothing. Be back in a bit.” He slapped Jesse’s chest in the brotherly way he always did.

“That was weird, right?” I asked, my eyes on Quinn as he disappeared into the kitchen.

“That was weird,” he confirmed.

Silence descended on us.

I shifted awkwardly and took a few swallows of my drink.

“Everything been good since…” Jesse’s question trailed off.

“Yeah. Mostly.” I didn’t bother telling him I was almost positive I was being followed and had been since that night. There wasn’t anything he could do about it. And he’d already helped me enough. I could handle this on my own.

Another pause.

“I didn’t think you’d come today.”

“Why not?” I asked, my voice sharper than I’d intended.

“Didn’t think it was your kind of thing.” He shrugged and looked into his drink. “You’re not really the festive birthday type.”

“Yeah, well, you know me. I can’t say no to a good spread.”

“You haven’t touched the food.”

“I’m waiting for everyone else to finish before I dig in. Being polite and all that.”

“Right,” he said dryly.

“I didn’t realize I needed your permission to accept an invite.” I shot back the rest of my drink. “I’ll see myself out.”

“Of course you’d leave.”

I stopped mid-step. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I didn’t say you couldn’t be here, or even that I didn’t want you here. I just said you weren’t the festive birthday type. You looked like you were attending your own funeral every time your parents threw you or Hannah a birthday party.”

“That’s because those parties were about as fun as a funeral. No ten-year-old wants a black-tie party complete with ice sculptures and servers wearing tables.”

“Yeah, that was a weird year.” He chuckled into his drink. “Ten-year-old me felt very uncomfortable chasing down servers wearing tables on suspenders to get snacks.”

“Every year was a weird year with my parents.”

“Have you gone back to Envy?” he asked casually.

“No. Not my scene.”

“You seemed to enjoy it the other night.”

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