Page 33 of Chasing Temptation
Thinking about reality is a sobering thought, one I’m not ready for. “I’ve no idea what I’m doing, man. It seemed like a good idea, and I guess it was because I met this one.” I wrap my arm around Quinn’s shoulders and pull her into me, kissing the top of her head. “But I’ve no idea what comes next.”
“Well, we’ll support you whatever you decide. If you want to go part-time so you can study or anything, all you need to do is ask. There are definitely opportunities for progression as long as the work keeps coming like it is if you’d like to stay in the industry.”
“That means a lot. Thank you. But we’ll see. I’ve got more important things to worry about now.”
“I get that, man. I really do.”
The evening is just like so many we’ve had in the past, aside from the obvious additions of Quinn and Eddie. I feel more like myself than I have in a long time. I hadn’t realised the strain keeping my evening school and Quinn a secret were, but now it’s all out there I feel like I can breathe again.
Once we’ve eaten, the girls insist on cleaning up, leaving me alone with the guys. While Eddie sits sipping on his beer, probably wondering what his life has become—at least he didn’t turn up wearing his tie pin and pocket square—the three of us watch our girls as they clean, chat, and laugh. Quinn seems to have fitted in perfectly, and I couldn’t be happier. Stories of her past are depressing at best; having a couple of girlfriends is exactly what she needs. I’m busy scheming up things I could plan for the three of them to do when Ben drags me from my thoughts.
“I never thought I’d see the day, you know?”
“Sorry, what?” Turning to look at him, I find amusement written all over his face.
“The day you looked at a girl like that.” He nods over to where Quinn is and I can’t help but follow his gaze. I just can’t get enough of her. Her dark hair’s been pulled back from her face with a couple of clips, and she’s still wearing one of my hoodies over a pair of leggings. It’s so fucking sexy. I look away as she goes to bend over to load the dishwasher because I don’t need my boner trying to break through my joggers while I sit with these dickheads.
“You’re just still shocked that I didn’t fall for a guy. Don’t even try to tell me you lot didn’t have bets going on.”
Ben holds his hands up in defence as Eddie blanches beside him. He clearly wasn’t expecting me to openly announce that I’ve swung both ways in the past. My sexuality isn’t something I’ll ever hide, and I smile thinking that it’ll just give him something else to judge me for, but all he does is shrug his shoulders and take another sip of his beer. Maybe I’ve proved that no matter who was in my past, Quinn’s it for me now.
Quinn laughs at something, and my head snaps around to find her once more. A smile twitches my lips and my chest swells with everything I feel for her.
“Fucking hell, he’s gonna beat us to it, isn’t he?”
Turning back, I find Ben elbowing Trey in the ribs. Trey laughs, clearly having a better idea about what Ben’s talking about than I do.
“You bought the ring yet?” I damn near spit out the beer I’d just tipped into my mouth.
“Ring? No.”
“You’ve thought about it though, right?”
“I...uh…”
“You’re so fucking whipped, man.”
Ben and Trey joke about me falling for the teacher while Eddie sits nervously playing with his can. I’d figured out the first time I saw him with Quinn that he wanted her. I’ve no idea how he’s feeling now aside from knowing that anything between the two of them is never going to happen. Or maybe he’s just worrying about having a member of staff shagging a student. Who the fuck knows? He’s so stiff and unreadable it’s hard to get much from him.
“So what about you then?” Ben asks turning to Eddie. “Got a girl on the scene?”
“No, not currently.” Ben’s eyebrows rise at his posh tone.
“You’re into girls though, right?”
Laughing to myself, I watch as Eddie’s eyes almost pop out of his head at the suggestion.
“Yes. I’m very much into girls.”
“You should come out with us sometime. I’m sure we’d find you a few willing candidates, right Joe?”
The image of some of the women I’ve met on nights out come to mind. They’d eat Eddie alive.
“No, no, I think I’m good,” he says, sounding horrified by the suggestion.
“We’ll see. You can’t be the only single one in this little group.”
The way Ben’s accepted him kind of surprises me. Eddie’s not really our kind of guy, but I guess he’s thinking the same as me. If he’s important to Quinn, he’s just been baptised into this crazy little family we’ve got going on.
