Page 21 of When We Were Reckless
When he was gone, she refocused on me. “I’m being rude. He’s a good guy.” She raised her chin and stabbed her index finger at me. “Andyouneed to go.”
I had no intention of going anywhere. I crossed my arms over my chest and widened my stance, pinning her with my gaze. “How well do you know him?”
She shrugged. “What does it matter? We’re just having some fun. It’s harmless. And it’s safe.”
“Safe?” I laughed at her naivety in believing a horny eighteen-year-old who looked at her like she was an ice cream sundae with a cherry on top wassafe. “You think he’s safe.”
“Yes.” She looked me right in the eye. “He doesn’t have the power to break my heart. And not that you deserve an explanation, but just so we’re clear… I’m saving myself for someone who treats me like a queen. And that’s. Not. You.”
Having delivered her message, she turned and walked away, and this time, I let her go. Fuck, that hurt.
Quinn was stronger than she looked. Braver than she knew. What was braver than admitting thathedidn’t have the power to break her heart which implied thatIdid? Nothing. And maybe it was the alcohol that had made her so honest, but I didn’t think so. She was just being Quinn. And Quinn had always been honest.
As I strode to the front door, after yet another failed attempt to pick up the pieces of my life, someone grabbed my arm to stop me. I turned to look at Quinn’s friend, Evie.
She poked her finger at my chest and narrowed her eyes on me. “If you ever hurt my friend again, I’ll cut off your dick, spit-roast it, and force-feed it to you until you’re gagging on it.”
Jesus Christ.
I needed to get my act together. Losing my shit over a girl who was barely out of high school was not cool. Not to mention getting told off by her best friend.
It was official. I had reached an all-time low.
But her friend’s loyalty put a smile on my face. Evie, of course, mistook it for arrogance.
“You think that’s funny?”
I shook my head. “No. Not at all. I think you’re a good friend. And nobody deserves a good friend more than Quinn.”
“You get as good as you give,” she threw out before she turned and sauntered away.
She was wrong about that, but I didn’t bother setting her straight.
At eighteen, I used to believe the same thing.
Chapter Nine
Quinn
On Sunday morning,I drove to the track. I didn’t know what had compelled me to come here this morning. Last week at work, I overheard Jesse telling Mason he did moto laps every morning against a stopwatch. So maybe I just wanted to see for myself.
As if watching him ride would help me figure out who this other Jesse was.
Why should it even matter?
I rubbed my lips together, remembering the feel of his thumb brushing over them on Friday night. The tremors that had gone through my body, making it quiver and sing. His rough, calloused thumb gliding over my skin. The almost kiss, when our lips had been so close, and he told me all the things I’d wanted to hear the night I went to see him.
Even though he’d made me angry on Friday night, I couldn’t deny the thrill that had shot through me. He’d been jealous.
His touch had ignited my body in ways that Walker’s kisses never could. Not that Walker was a bad kisser. He wasn’t. It had been nice kissing someone who wanted to kiss me. A part of me had hoped and prayed that Walker’s kisses would erase the memory of Jesse. But they hadn’t.
The party had been a bust. Thirty minutes after Jesse left, Holden and Mason had turned up and shut it down. Then they’d lectured me about the perils of underage drinking. As if they’d never done it when they were my age.
But I couldn’t stay mad at them. My brothers were just looking out for me and trying to keep me healthy. I knew I wasn’t supposed to drink alcohol. Not excessively, anyway. It weakened the immune system. I was on a daily cocktail of immunosuppressants and had to watch my diet. There was a whole list of foods I wasn’t even allowed to eat.
My brothers agreed not to tell Mom as long as I promised to stay away from alcohol. It was an easy promise to make. I could live without it, not to mention the headache and nausea I woke up with on Saturday morning.
I got off easy.
