Page 47 of Fast Break
We smile at each other before he drops his gaze. “I need to tell you something though. You know how I said I was meeting up with the boys for dinner last night?” I nod and he continues. “Well, turns out it was just Jace and me.”
“What?” I ask, something ugly twisting in my gut.
“I didn’t know,” he assures me. “Jace organised it. I wouldn’t have gone if I’d realised.”
“Was it … was it meant to be a date?”
“Yeah. I think Jace could tell that my attention has been a little waylaid of late. By you. And he wanted to set his cards on the table I guess.”
“Oh.”
“Get that look off your face,” Quinn smirks at me. “I told him I only saw him as a friend. And then I left him at the restaurant and beelined across town to go sit in a musty gymnasium to watchsport. For you, JT. I did that for you.”
“Yeah, you did,” I concede, feeling my lips tug up. “And I’m so glad you came last night. You have no idea how glad. But just so we’re clear, I’m pretty pissed at your bestie.”
Quinn chuckles. “Yeah, me too. I was pretty angry about being tricked into a date. I told him so too. But at least now that whole thing has been cleared up. It’s just you for me, JT. Surely you know that by now.”
“It’s you for me too,” I tell him softly.
“Good because the way Jace was talking about you and Chanel last night had me ready to throw a punch,” Quinn huffs.
“Really?” I can’t say I mind that look of jealousy crossing his face.
“Really.” He leans forward and presses a kiss to my mouth and I return it. We keep it tame even though I’m pretty sure both of us are wanting more but we break apart and move to the kitchen to pack away the dishes.
Just me, washing dishes on a cool Saturday morning beside the boy of my dreams.
CHAPTER 17
jt
I’m still floating on a cloud later that afternoon, long after Quinn drops me off back home. I really hadn’t wanted to leave him, and I made sure he knew exactly how I felt before we parted ways.
My parents assume I spent the night at Trey’s. That’s where they think I’ve been every time I’ve stayed at Quinn’s. I’ve had to go so far as to ask Quinn to drop me off around the corner because I have no doubt there will be a whole lot of difficult questions if I rock up in the driveway in his WRX.
I press my fingers to my lips, certain I can still feel the way they tingle from Quinn’s kisses. I sigh and return to my attempts at studying for my upcoming maths quiz, wedged into my little corner desk in my room. I agreed to Amy’s sleepover conditions after all, and I am gonna make sure I uphold my end of the bargain. It is literally the least I can do.
I’m barely back into it when I’m interrupted by a soft knock on my door. My insides freeze right before Trey’s face peeks in from the hallway. I let out a breath of relief. I should have known it would be him. Nobody else comes to my house to see me.
“Hey,” he says. There’s something tentative about him this afternoon as he watches me, face closed off.
“Hey,” I reply. I nod at my bed and he steps inside, closing the door before moving towards my bed. He sits heavily, elbows on his knees and an expression on his face that has me feeling anxious.
“What’s going on with you and Quinn?” he drops. He’s looking at me expectantly while I swallow, certain my face has paled. Denial springs to my lips but before I speak the lie, I shove the words back down. Trey is looking at me in a way that makes me sure he doesn’t want to hear any lies. And for some reason, I don’t want to give him any lies either.
I blow out a breath and slump in my chair. “I like him,” I admit.
Trey shows no reaction as he mulls my response. “Like him as in you want to watch Netflix with him? Or you want to watch Netflix and chill?”
“Um, both.”
Trey blows out a breath. “You know what I mean by Netflix and chill?” he clarifies. “Like, you want to see him naked?”
“Yeah, I know what you mean,” I huff. “The answer’s still the same.”
Trey leans back on his elbows, eyes studying my face. “And have you? Seen him naked?”
I hesitate before answering my cousin. I mean, this feels really private but at the same time I’m kind of bursting to talk to someone about what’s been happening with me and Quinn. Which is why I shift and quietly say, “Yeah.”
