“Well, you never know,” I reply with a shrug before turning to Quinn. “Drink?”
“Um, yeah, thanks,” she says, clearly nervous at being the center of attention.
I squeeze her shoulder once before dropping my arm, knowing I’m probably contributing to that nervousness. Which I don’t want to do, especially after what happened earlier this afternoon.
When Quinn had bolted on me at lunch, I figured it was because she thought I was coming on a bit too strong and that she’d had enough of it, especially when Helen came over and pressed her tits against my arm.
But then I found her on her porch, bawling her eyes out, and something weird happened in my chest. Something I couldn’t quite define, but which I definitely didn’t like. And when she told me why she was really in Hawaii and that she wasn’t just a tourist and she really wasn’t interested in a hook-up or whatever, I wanted to punch something.
Not because that all but put the final nail in the coffin of me getting anywhere with her, but because of that asshole husband of hers.
What a fucking dick.
“Come on,” I say, steering her toward the fridge under the back stairs, my hand on her lower back.
We walk over in silence, and when I open the door, I run through everything we have: “Beer, wine, soda?”
“Um, I’ll take a beer. Thank you,” she says quietly.
I grab two, popping the caps on them before I hand one to Quinn. “You okay?”
She nods, her gaze dropping to the beer in her hands.
I tilt her face back to mine. “I’m not just talking about that whole introduction thing,” I say.
“I know,” she whispers.
“It’s okay to be upset, you know.”
She huffs out a breath as she says, “I think I’m more angry than upset. Although I’m upset that I’m angry too.”
Chuckling, I clink my bottle against hers as I say, “It’s okay to be that too.”
Quinn smirks at me as she says, “Is that so?”
“Uh huh,” I reply with a nod. “And besides, look at all the new friends you just made,” I add, waving my arm at everyone, who thankfully have now gone back to their original conversations. All of them except Daze, who is still watching me, a suspicious look on her face.
“I literally just met them,” Quinn says, pulling my attention back to her. “I’d hardly say we’re friends.”
“Bullshit,” I tell her, slinging my arm around her shoulders again. “You got invited to the barbecue, so you’re definitely part of the gang. But just remember, I’m your first friend and therefore the most important.”
“The most important?” Quinn repeats, the ghost of a smile on her face.
“Yep,” I confirm with a nod. “Basically your best friend.”
“My best friend?”
Chuckling, I give her a wink as I tease, “Is it normal for you to repeat everything?”
She rolls her eyes at me, but that smile gets a little wider. “Just making sure I understand what you’re saying.”
“Gotcha,” I say as I lead her over to a couple of chairs. “So just to reiterate: everyone here is now your friend, but I’m the best and most important friend.”
“Got it,” Quinn replies with a nod as she sits down.
I do the same, leaning over to add, “And for the record, I’m totally okay with a friends-with-benefits arrangement too.”
This earns me another eye roll, but her smile gets a little bigger as she tries to hide it behind her beer.
