Quinn tiptoes around a table and slinks past Evan to the far corner of the couch. She could have walked past me, but she took the indirect route. She tucks a chunk of her long hair behind an ear. “Thanks for having my appointments rescheduled today, or whomever you had do it.”
“I did it,” I answer almost too eagerly. “I didn’t want them waiting around for you if you slept all day.” Evan twists his head at an angle that looks almost unnatural, his eyes furious as he pierces me with his gaze. Quinn’s brow wrinkles.
Shit, that came out wrong. “I mean, yesterday was a long day. I knew you wouldn’t want to keep the kids waiting if you didn’t make it to your office. That’s important to you. I knew that.” I step all over myself trying to fix my blathering mouth. It must work, because Evan rights his head and Quinn’s brow eases.
I snap my mouth closed, deciding I should keep it that way until I can rein in my wayward tongue. But then I think of all the things my tongue could do to Quinn that have nothing to do with talking, and I have to adjust myself on the sofa so she’s not given an eyeful of my hardened cock in my pants.
Silence falls, I’m not safe to begin a topic, and it seems Evan is all out of things to say. Quinn braces her palm on the arm of the sofa, preparing to excuse herself. I know it as sure as I know my own name.
“I have a television,” I blurt.
Quinn’s startled by my loud announcement. Her hand goes to her chest to settle the uptake in her heartrate. I see Evan shake his head slowly out of the corner of my eye. Asshole, I’m going to love watching him squirm when he fucks up.
“Wanna watch some TV, Quinn?” Evan drawls casually, while digging into the side table drawer.
“Sure, okay,” she answers slowly. I may not have been smooth with my invitation, but it served its purpose. She’s not running away.
“Would you like some tea? I got some of the kind you have in your room.” Why am I still talking? Now I sound like a stalker. Which isn’t a lie, but that’s not the point. It’s not in a creepy way, well…it’s not in a I want to hurt you way.
“Tea?” Quinn half winces at me and purses her lips. I think back to the last time I offered and then promptly stuck my foot in my mouth. I can tell that’s what she’s thinking about too.
“We’ll make tea and popcorn. Find something you want to watch.” Evan leans forward and places the remote on Quinn’s thigh then stands. I follow suit. When did he become the cool one? Usually I’m so unaffected, but not when it comes to her. I open the fridge—thankful she can’t see into the kitchen from the living room—and grab a bag of blood. I don’t even bother warming it. Instead, I suck it down like a shot of whiskey and wipe my mouth with my forearm.
Evan is staring at me when I come up for air. “Make the tea, I’ll make the popcorn. Be yourself…well, be the you, you are when no one is watching.” He slaps my bicep and gives me a squeeze before turning around.
I toss the empty bag into the trash and wash my hands before doing as I was told.
Quinn
I hitthe power button on the remote and the large television screen flickers across the room. It’s centered into yet another bookshelf, taking up a lot of real estate. The picture settles on a woman on her knees with a dick in her mouth. The sound kicks up next—a loud moan with lots of slurping. I fumble with the remote, looking for the volume or the arrows to change the channel, but end up dropping it instead. Another loud groan, from the man this time, followed by his heavy breathing and several, ‘Yeah babys.’
Griffin walks into the room, finding me half sprawled on the floor searching for the remote that’s obviously kicked under his sofa at this point. “I just turned it on,” I mutter, my voice a little horrified and embarrassed all at once.
Griffin’s eyes widen for a brief second, then he lunges over and hits the side of the TV. The screen goes black immediately. He either shut it off or broke it. Frankly, I don’t care which.
I place my palm on the couch to lift myself off the floor, avoiding eye contact. I’m hit with the image of Griffin sitting on his couch watching porn. My cheeks flush with heat. I imagine his hand on his dick, much the same as it was the night I kneed him, but not because he’s in pain. Then an unwelcome image comes of Letty crawling over to him to finish what he started.
I force my mind to go blank. My immediate reaction is to apologize, but I don’t have anything to be sorry for. It’s not like I was watching porn on his TV. So I lower myself back to the couch and pretend like that didn’t just happen, that’s a great coping technique, right? We’re all adults.
“What the hell?” Evan pauses next to Griffin, a large silver bowl in his hands.
“Nothing,” I blurt. If we were real friends, this is something we could all laugh about together. I might even tease Griffin, but I just can’t bring myself to do that. Hell, some of the girls I roomed with would watch porn with friends, even guy friends. That seems kind of weird to me. Maybe with your boyfriend, but I can’t imagine sitting with any guy friend and watching it together.
“I dropped the remote,” I add when Evan just continues to look between Griffin and me. “I think it went under the couch.” I bounce up again and kneel on the floor. Now that I’m not in such a mad dash to fix the TV, I see the remote mere inches from where I was looking just a few moments ago. “Here.” I hand it over to Griffin as I pass him. “I have to run to the bathroom.” That will give him a chance to change the channel and give me a moment to splash some cold water on my cheeks.
In the bathroom, I place both of my hands on the sink and lower my head. I should just go to bed after that epic awkwardness, but I’m not tired yet. I’m not used to sleeping as late as I did this morning. It would take me forever to fall asleep right now.
I take my time in the bathroom, making sure I’ve given them enough time to take care of the TV, and when I do walk out, I’m purposefully loud, clearing my throat and making my steps a little heavier than needed.
Griffin is relaxed back on the sofa in the same position he was in when we walked in earlier, and Evan is on the sofa in the corner I was sitting in. My steps falter as I realize I need to head to the chair. Before I can sit, Evan lifts the single bowl of popcorn from his lap. “Sit here.” He tilts his head to the middle cushion. “We can share.”
The couch is oversized, but the two men on it take up a lot of room. “Sure,” I find myself agreeing. Not accepting would be silly, right? If it was one of my friends from college, I wouldn’t have any problem plopping down between them. I make my way around Evan, he just seems safer, and slowly lower myself onto the cushion.
There’s plenty of room between me and the guys so I relax a little. Evan places the bowl on the space between us and turns his attention back to the television. It’s the first time I allow myself to look at it. Denzel Washington is sitting in a small diner, talking to a young woman with a black eye and a bad wig.
“There’s your tea.” Griffin lifts his arm and motions to the steaming mug on the table. I reach for it, just to give myself something to do. When I pull the cup back, I curl one leg under me and hold the mug to my chest, absorbing the heat and the earthy aroma.
“What movie is this?” I blow over the liquid.
