Page 21 of Midnight Oil

Suzy and I sat on the deck, sipping margaritas and watching the sunset. We'd been dating only a month but I felt more at ease and happy with her than anyone else I'd ever met. We were instantly best friends and perfectly suited in bed, only confirming my initial feelings that we were made for each other. It was early and still tenuous, so early in the relationship that I hadn't dared mention it to my brother. He would be annoying me with fatherly lectures about not blowing it, and if it ended, then he'd never let me live it down. Our coworkers knew nothing either, even though we'd risked being caught more than once. That was mostly due to the fact that the Red Knight just couldn't seem to keep his hands off the pretty tavern maiden.

We'd both had the night off, a rarity. Normally, I would have been up for a night out at a club or dancing, but I'd discovered I didn't want to share Suzy with anyone. I wanted her all to myself, and since we both spent many hours in a crowded, noisy dinner theater, we were happy to stay home and order food in.

"My brother called earlier today. He's taking thePlaything Iout for a day on the water next weekend. Do you think you're ready to meet him?" Trey would expect me to bring a date but what he didn't know was that this wasn't just a date. This was the woman I'd been admiring for months. I would definitely have to prep him ahead of time so he wouldn't embarrass the hell out of me, a skill he had honed in his lifelong role as my older brother.

Suzy twisted her pink lips in thought. "Not sure. That sounds kind of scary." She sat forward. "Wait, did you sayPlaything I. Since it's on the water, I assume it's a boat. But does the one mean there are multiplePlaythings?"

"Just two. What can I say, sex sells. A lot."

"Guess he certainly picked the right business. Seems kind of soon to meet the family but I'll give it some thought."

"It'll just be Trey and Georgie. I could make it really stressful and invite the whole darn gang," I suggested.

"Definitely not ready for the whole gang but I would like to me Trey and Georgie. If my work schedule permits, I think we can consider it a date." Suzy stretched her long legs out on the lounge and patted her stomach. "I hope the food arrives soon. I'm withering away with hunger."

I put my glass down next to the lounge and folded my arms behind my head. "I'm hungry too. Who knew a night in could burn so much energy?"

She turned her head to face me without lifting it from the lounge. "It might have been the three hour adventure session in the bedroom," she quipped. "I must admit, sex with you is like a few hours of exercise boot camp. It always leaves me exhausted, achy and extremely satisfied."

"As your personal trainer, I'm happy to help you meet those training goals." The doorbell echoed through the house. "Ah ha, nourishment has arrived. Which is good because we need calories for the next adventure." I lowered my feet to the ground.

Suzy sat up too and flashed her empty glass. "I'm going to head to the kitchen for a refill. Are you interested?"

"Nope, I'm good." I waved her past and into the house. We split off as she headed to the kitchen and I walked to the front door. I pulled it open, expecting a pimply faced kid holding two bags of food. Instead, Ginger and Ellie, two friends, strode right inside in tight mini skirts and high heels. Ginger was carrying a bottle of wine.

"We are tired of the new hermit style Quinn," she said as she waved around the bottle.

Ellie took my arm and started pulling me toward the kitchen. "We haven't seen you at the club for weeks so we decided to bring the party to you." Something behind me caught her attention. I didn't have to turn to know exactly who was standing behind me . . . with a look of pure hurt on her pretty face.

"Ginger, Ellie—" I pulled my arm free of Ellie's grasp. "This is Suzy."

"Fun, she can join the party," Ginger chirped. She cast a sly smile my way. "After all, what's that you always say? The more the merrier." She winked and poked my side. Ginger smiled at Ellie. "Though we've never gone past a threesome. Maybe tonight is the night."

"Actually, I was just leaving," Suzy said with a waver in her voice. "If you'll excuse me." She hurried past us. Once again I was freeing myself from Ellie's grasp.

I hurried after her.

"Quinn," Ginger called after me.

I glanced back. "It was nice seeing you both but if you could see yourselves out that would be great." I wasn't so much angry at their uninvited intrusion as I was at myself for living like a partying playboy for the last two years. It might have been fun at the time but now it was coming back to bite me in the ass big time.

I reached the bedroom and knocked lightly on my own door. I could hear Suzy sniffling as she rummaged through the drawers for her things. I opened the door.

"Suzy, they just showed up. I haven't seen them in months. I haven't seen any other woman since you came into my life. I swear. I haven't even so much as returned a text." Fuck, I sounded like a pathetic loser pleading for a lifeline. I sensed right away it wasn't working.

She swiped clumsily at her tears. "I don't blame your friends." She pushed her clothes into her duffle bag. "I blame myself. I don't know what I was thinking jumping into this. I'd just come out of bad relationship and then without thinking, I —"

"Jumped into another?" I asked, feeling about as hurt as she looked. "This isn't a bad relationship, Suzy Q. Far as I'm concerned, it's the start of something brilliant. I know I have a lot of baggage from my previous life but I swear I can change."

She struggled to close the zipper on her bag but got a shirt stuck in it. Then she struggled to open it. It wouldn't budge. She shoved the duffle away, sat on the bed and dropped her face into her hands.

I walked over and freed the fabric from the zipper, then sat next to her. "Don't give up on this, Suzy. Please."

She lowered her hands and turned to me with a pink nose and glassy blue eyes. "I think I just need to step back for awhile, Quinn. I was reeling from my breakup, then you swept in with all your knightly gallantry and those pecs. Damn those pecs. I just need some space. I need to just be me, with no strings attached, for awhile. I need to get my head straight. I can't do that around you because you have the opposite effect. You make my head spin." She placed her hand on my arm. "In a good way, mind you, but I think I need to take some time to clear my head."

She stood up from the bed. It felt as if a tether she had attached to my heart snapped in two. She was leaving me. Those were the only coherent words in my head and they were brutal.

"Where will you go?" I asked.

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