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E I G H T E E N
- Quinn -
Ever since Maddy joked that she was wearing her lucky underwear, the tension between us had been thicker than our milkshakes.
I knew then that it didn’t matter if I referred to our date as an outing, a field trip, or even an interview. The fact of the matter was that she didn’t care that I was her older brother’s best friend, which meant all the pressure was on me to do the right thing. And that pressure was mounting. Especially below the belt.
Her indifference made sense, though. After all, if something happened between us, she might get scolded, but she’d always be his adorable little sister. I, on the other hand, stood a very real chance of losing my best friend and the girl of my dreams in one fell swoop, which would leave no one to visit me in the hospital after James broke all my fingers and gouged my eyes out. At least, that’s what he told me he’d do to Tanner if he ever did more than joke about “giving Maddy one.”
“Fancy a nightcap?” I asked, figuring a mutually agreed upon activity that would keep our hands busy was probably our safest port in this storm.
“Sure,” she said, leaning against the wall while I fumbled with my keychain outside our front door.
“Do you want to go in first so you can do that little happy dance women do after an epic evening with me?” I asked. “I could count to thirty or something before I follow you inside.”
She rolled her sparkling eyes. “I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about. But I’m glad you thought our date was epic.”
“Didn’t you?” I asked, pausing after I slid the key in the door.
“Epic is a strong word, Quinn.”
“What word would you choose?”
“Hmmm.” She drummed her fingertips on her chin and squinted at me. “I thought your company was…”
My ears perked up.
“Adequate.”
“Adequate?! That’s not even a compliment!”
“Well, the night isn’t over,” she said, waggling her brows. “You still have time to redeem yourself.”
“Redeem myself?! Good God, woman.” I shook my head, turned the key in the door, and pushed it open so she could lead the way.
“That’s a start.”
“What is?” I asked, swinging the door shut behind me while Maddy flicked on the two dimmest kitchen lights.
She spun around to face me. “I like it when you call me that.”
“When I call you what?”
“Woman,” she said, leaning a hip against the kitchen counter. “No one’s ever called me that before.”
My lower body surged at the realization that she didn’t want to be just Maddy with me. She wanted more. “What kind of nightcap do you want?” I asked, walking past her into the narrow, open kitchen. “Whiskey? Gin?” My eyes scanned the bottles in the wooden wine rack on top of the fridge where James and I kept our spirits. “There’s a little vodka left, as well.”
She opened the fridge in front of me. “I’d rather have a Smirnoff Ice.”
“Oh no you don’t,” I said, snatching the frosted white bottle from her hands. “That is not a legitimate nightcap.”
“Hey!” She stood on her tiptoes and reached towards the end of my outstretched arm. “Give me that!”
“This is not what you want,” I said, easily holding it out of her reach. “Trust me. You’ll be up all night if you drink this now.”
She planted a hand on my left shoulder and tried to pull herself up, her chest crushing against mine as she reached her right hand towards the bottle. “Stop it, Quinn. Give it to me already.”
So I kissed her. It just happened. She was crushed against me and I turned my face towards hers and bam. My lips found her mouth as urgently as if it were my last breath. And when she kissed me back, she stopped struggling for the bottle and touched my face before grabbing my shoulders, her hands scrambling for fistfuls of my shirt seconds later.
