Page 6 of Midnight Oil

"Manage what?" He motioned to the bench and sat next to me. "I'm going to wait with you until what's his name shows up."

"How do you manage to make a girl feel like swooning just by wrapping her in your coat?"

He looked over with that impish grin he wore when he was feeling extra cocky. "Are you close to swooning, Suzy Q? Then my night has been a triumph after all."

I laughed lightly. The sound of it spread out and disappeared into the dark night. All of the despair I'd been feeling about my life seemed to float off with it. My bench partner's coat was more magical than I first thought. Just feeling warm, protected and suddenly the center of someone's concern had done it. I lacked all those things with Tate.

"You know, Quinn, it's a shame you're such a player, bouncing from one girl to the next. You would make some unbelievably lucky woman an incredible boyfriend."

"Ouch. Don't believe all the rumors. And thank you. There I think I addressed everything you just tossed at me. I'm not that much of a player—"

I cleared my throat. "I've been inside the dressing room when the actresses are getting ready. Let me just say, I know more personal details about you, then you probably know yourself."

"Shit." His face dropped. He pushed his long hair behind his ear, giving me a stunning view of his perfectly chiseled profile. There was just enough bump on his nose to be extra masculine, which worked perfectly with his strong jaw. "Sometimes I wish we didn't work together. That way I could be a complete stranger, and you wouldn't already have such a bad opinion of me."

Without thinking, I reached over and put my hand on top of his. His large, capable hand was warm. For a fleeting second, my mind dashed back to the short fantasy I was having just seconds before. Some of the heat was still nestled between my legs. Or that might just have been from sitting next to him.

"I don't think badly of you, Quinn. Frankly, you're one of the most decent guys in the group. You like women and you like fooling around. I can't fault you for that, or I'd have to fault half the men in the world. You just happen to be extremely successful at it."

"Huh, not sure if that makes me feel any better, but I promise you, it would be different with you, Suzy Q."

The oversized coat shifted around me as I laughed. "I hate to sound cliché, but I bet you say that to all the girls."

"Not true." He turned slightly to look at me. I realized I had left my hand on his and reluctantly pulled it away. "With the exception of Britney Hooper in sixth grade, I have never said that to any woman. And I meant every word of it."

I drew the coat tighter around me and hid my smile beneath the tall collar. "Britney Hooper, eh?"

He leaned back against the brick wall and stared out at the darkness. "Yeah, she had the cutest spray of freckles and long hair that she clipped back with little rhinestone butterflies. She broke my heart. She used to ride over to our house on her bicycle to play video games. I thought she was there to see me. Turns out she had a big crush on my older brother." He shook his head without lifting it from the wall. "I felt so cheap and used."

I chuckled. "That must have stung. I was going to say that I felt honored to be in the same lofty group as Britney Hooper, but it sounds like she fell from grace after that."

Quinn sat up straight, reminding me just how tall he was. "She did indeed and it was all for naught. Trey was three years older, and there was never any shortage of girls in his teenage world."

"I've heard he's quite the businessman. Probably no shortage of women now either," I suggested.

"There was plenty for awhile but now there is just the one. Georgie, his soulmate. She's an award winning journalist. I think he might even pop the question soon. So, you see, we Armstrongs can commit. It just takes finding the right person. And speaking of thewrongperson, it seems like your ride is not coming. I'd be happy to give you a ride home."

I was more than embarrassed that Tate had decided to just leave me sitting alone outside of work. Quinn wasn't showing pity but I was sure it was there beneath the layers of hunkiness.

I pulled out my phone, knowing full well that Tate hadn't texted or called, but I wanted to at least give the illusion that he might have been trying to contact me to let me know he'd be late. To save face, I made up a lie and pretended there had been a text. "Actually, he says he's on his way. You go ahead, Quinn. And thanks for keeping me company." I stood up to take off the coat.

He pushed to his feet and pulled the coat shut around me again, giving me a little tug so that I inadvertently fell against his hard chest. He didn't release me. I stayed pressed against him. Every inch of him exuded warmth, strength, confidence. I wondered how dizzying it would feel to be wrapped in his strong arms. With slow reluctance, he released me and my body peeled away from his. Heat seemed to swirl around us as we both gazed into each other's eyes for a silent few seconds.

"You can keep the coat for now. Seeing you wrapped up in it is the best thing I've seen in a long time."

I shrugged my thin shoulders beneath the giant coat. "Maybe I'll start a new fashion trend. Thanks again." I motioned toward his car. "You should get going. I'm sure you're tired after your performance. And Tate will be here any minute so I'm fine."

He pointed at me. "Ah ha, so you were lying about Tate coming to pick you up."

I blinked up at him in question. "No, really. He's coming," I said with little conviction. My cheeks heated with shame. I sighed. "How did you know?"

"The coat. Most women wouldn't stay wrapped in another guy's coat while they were waiting for their boyfriend to pick them up. Unless, of course, he doesn't care, which makes him an even bigger asshole than I previously thought."

"Well, this is embarrassing. Guess I need to plan my lies out better. Look, just go home, Quinn, so I can stop feeling completely humiliated and ashamed and forgotten . . . and, frankly, lost. I've been feeling so alone these past few months, I sometimes just want to hop on an eastbound train and ride the rails until I find a new existence." My hand flew to my mouth. "Wow, I'm pathetic. First I embarrass myself by getting caught in a lie and then I lay out a whole pity party spread. I'm not always this much of a downer. I'm just tired."

"You're never a downer. In fact, when I get to work and find out my favorite food server is not working, it ruins my whole night."

I flashed him one of those 'oh please' smiles. "As much as I would like to believe you—"

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