Page 19 of Memories with Fire

Hailey.

Dang it. Now I feel even more uncomfortable.

“Oh, hi Hails!” Quinn says sweetly, popping her head over my shoulder to look behind me at Hailey. There’s no embarrassment or sheepishness about her and she doesn’t even try to let me go. “Just making Liam jealous cause I’m flirting with the new guy.”

Dang it. I want the parking lot to give way into a sink hole so I can fall deep inside it. Next time I think it’s a good idea to compliment Quinn, I’ll be smart enough to remember this moment. Not only is it probably giving Hailey the wrong idea, I also had no idea that Quinn and Liam were a thing.

Not that the Hailey part should matter. It shouldn’t. Hailey isn’t mine, and she’s made it clear that she wants nothing to do with me.Shehatesme.

“I’m shocked,” Hailey says dryly.

Suddenly Quinn releases me, opening the circle up again so there’s a new space between her and me that Hailey can step into. I glance over my shoulder, Hailey and I connecting for a brief moment, before I turn back to the group, breathing a sigh of relief when I feel her step up beside me.

“Where’s your date?” Quinn asks from Hailey’s other side.

We glance at each other again, neither of us ready for the question, and I see Hailey’s throat bob uncomfortably. Then, like a mask goes on, she smiles and looks to her friend.

“Change of plans. He couldn’t make it.”

Before anyone can ask anything further, a loud, commanding voice shouts from the entryway of the bar. “We’re ready!”

Nate is standing in the doorway, calling for us all to come inside. I’m thankful for the interruption. It means I don’t need to try and make small talk with anyone, and I can avoid any further awkwardness of me being the date that couldn’t make it. I should thank Nate for his impeccable timing.

There’s got to be nearly fifty people piling into the bar. When I’m finally inside, I go right, following Brody’s big frame, figuring he knows where he’s going. When he finally stops, Liam and Brody are both between Hailey and me, which is for the best. The mouth and the muscle can protect her all they want.

Taking a long look around the bar, since it’s the first time I’ve been here, I like what I see upon first glance. The country and western theme continues in the interior with dark wooden floors and a barnwood style bar. The booths and tables match the wooden bar feel, and all the seating around the place is black. I’m pretty sure if Hollywood ever needed a bar for a saloon scene, they could come here, and they’d only need to make minor adjustments for it to be perfect.

“Hi,” Quinn whispers, stepping up beside me. Her arm hooks around mine as she presses into my body.

I raise my eyebrows at her audacity. I’m not sure what her game is here, but I don’t appreciate it. “What the heck are you doing?”

“What?” she looks up at me, head cocked to the side. It’s the first time I’m truly looking at her face since I got here, and I notice that her eyes are unnaturally blue. It was weird the first two shifts, but I’ve gotten used to her crazy colors now.

“If you’re trying to make your boyfriend jealous, find someone else to help you,” I tell her, though I don’t try to extract myself from her grip. We don’t need to create a scene. “I’ll do a lot of shit with women, but I draw a line at cheating, or being a douchebag to my coworker to make him jealous.”

Quinn stares at me with a puzzled expression, but it must finally dawn on her what I’m talking about because she gives a snort of laughter and smacks my chest with her free hand. “My god. Liam? Hell no. Never. Not in a million years.” Then she comes up short, her laughter pausing briefly, but shakes her head. Whatever she was going to say, she changes her mind.

It’s my turn to look perplexed. Frowning, I tilt my head, not understanding. “Then why were you trying to make him jealous?”

“Jesus, Luke. Has no one told you about me?” she asks, and I stare at her dumbly. “I’m the resident flirt. Liam is also a big flirt. We like to flirt with each other. But we will never sleep together, or be a couple. Why? Because neither of us dips into the work pool. Plus, now that I know him as well as I do, I wouldn’t let him dip his sausage into my honey pot.”

“Honey pot?” I say, one side of my mouth lifting in a half grin.

“Pink taco?” she replies, lifting a perfectly arched eyebrow. “Cream pie? Beef curtains? Pink clam?”

“Stop,” I laugh, holding up a hand.

I’m seeing a side of Quinn that I haven’t experienced yet, and I’m not sure whether to be amused or horrified. I think I’m a bit of both. I will say that she can probably hang with any of the guys and not be out of place. In fact, I’d bet she makes a lot of men feel uncomfortable. I can respect that.

There’s a low murmuring from the crowd that’s standing around waiting, with Nate talking to a girl at the double doors that probably lead to the kitchen. I suspect we’ve got a couple minutes before the show fully gets started so I look back to Quinn.

“What’s wrong with him, now that you know him?”

Her nose wrinkles in disgust, then her face smooths out and she shrugs. “He fucks random chicks more than I do. Well, except in my case I fuck dicks and the occasional chick.”

“Nothing wrong with that,” I bristle. “Screwing is fun.”

It can also lead to serious complications.

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