Page 12 of Whatever It Takes

As soon as the door swung open, my brain sobered up and my good mood disappeared.

There stood Quinn Walker, and I almost swallowed my damn tongue. He leaned against the doorframe with his lips spreading into that disarming smile that he was known for. He was wearing a white, crisp button-up with the sleeves rolled to his elbows. Who knew that arms could be such a damn turn on?

My eyes did a slow crawl down to his dark, denim jeans, and I calculated in my head how long it would take me to unbuckle the black belt that was clenched along his narrow waist.

A warm feeling bubbled up inside of me and I convinced myself that it was just the alcohol talking. Nothing more.

His intense stare locked on mine and I wanted to squash the trail of goose bumps that broke out along my skin. I hated that my body immediately responded to him. As if he could sense the drool that was about to fall from my mouth, he winked at me. Fucking winked. And it only fueled my anger.

Erica looked amused with herself while holding the door open so he could step inside.

What the hell was going on?

“Why is here?” I asked, pointing to Quinn and wishing I could make him disappear.

His eyes narrowed. “You asked me to come pick you up.”

My voice dripped in sarcasm because it was so much easier than allowing him to see how affected I was. “In what universe do you think I would ask you for anything?”

He pulled his phone out of his front pocket, swiped the screen and held it out. “According to this text, I would say this universe.”

I clearly underestimated my friends. I flattened my lips, trying not to let my temper get away from me. “What the hell is wrong with you two?” I snapped, turning my glare over to Erica and Mackenzie who seemed pleased with themselves. So much for keeping my emotions in check.

“Ignore her,” Erica said, flinging her hand out and waving me away. She walked into the kitchen and swiped a beer out of the fridge. “How have you been, Quinn? It’s been a while.” She offered him a bottle of Bud Light, but he shook his head.

“No thanks. I’m driving.” He then placed his hands on his hips. His height was so intimidating. He tried to catch my gaze, but I bent my head and looked away. “Does anyone want to fill me in on what is going on here?”

Embarrassment flushed across Erica’s cheeks. “Yeah…Um.” She gave Mackenzie a sideways glance. “Kenzie and I texted you from Charlotte’s phone when she was in the bathroom.”

“Shit,” he cursed, never taking his attention off me. “I should’ve known.”

“Yeah, you should have,” I scolded him, willing myself to take a deep breath. The air was thickening by the second. The only thing standing in our way was the damn coffee table in the middle of the room. “I’m sorry that you drove over here for nothing. Have a safe drive back to wherever you came from.”

I took the last sip of my wine hoping to calm myself down, but I was so pissed at my friends that it didn’t help. What they did was not fucking cool and it was going to take me a while to get over this.

He slid onto the couch and completely ignored my request, while I stayed on the other end and refused to talk to him. Erica and Mackenzie spent the next ten minutes getting caught up on the last seven years of his life.

I tried to block out their voices and pretend that I was uninterested, but I could tell Quinn was enjoying himself. He always loved being the center of attention.

I was mortified and felt betrayed that my friends would do this to me. My first night out in a month and I couldn’t even enjoy myself.

My life was pathetic.

Erica squeezed my shoulder, trying to bring me into the conversation. “Isn’t it great?”

“Yeah, sure. Whatever.” I shrugged.

Could I be any more of a bitch?

He deserved it. I reminded myself.

“So.” Quinn nervously rubbed the palm of his hands along his knees. “You ready to get out of here?”

I snapped my head up. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“The hell you’re not,” he snapped back.

I crossed my arms, giving him a warning. “Don’t talk to me like that.”

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