Page 39 of What We Got Wrong

No, it wasn’t going to help her at all to wonder. And there was a more pressing issue here, one that also demanded Liv’s attention.

Why hadn’t Quinn told Liv that she and Scarlet were no longer together? Why keep that from her? Had Liv given her any reason to feel embarrassed, like Scarlet suggested? Had she somehow been a bad friend?

That was the worry that was echoing through her mind when Quinn walked into their dorm that night, late from a long practice.

She was wearing a tank top, her sweatpants slung low on her hips, and she looked so good that Liv had to remind herself that they needed to have this conversation, regardless of how uncomfortable it was. Regardless of how handsome Quinn was in this moment.

Quinn greeted her brightly. “How was your day?”

“Fine,” Liv replied, and she knew her answer was short. She moved from her desk to her bed, fidgeting with her pillows, then her blanket, trying to work up the energy to say what she needed to say.

“Are you okay?” Quinn asked. “You’re kind of…twitchy?”

“Why didn’t you tell me that you and Scarlet broke up?” Okay, so she was just going to say it, then, consequences be damned.

Quinn, who had been rifling through her gym bag, stopped still. She sat down on her own bed, opposite Liv, though she was staring at the wall behind her. “Did Emma say something to you?”

“No, your jerk of an ex is in my history class. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want to make it a big deal about it,” Quinn answered, her voice small.

“Okay, but you not telling me makes it seem like a much bigger deal. Especially since you just said Emma already knows.” Liv tried not to be jealous about that. They were friends as a group, but they also had their own individual sets of friendships that were special and unique, and it was okay, it was okay, that Quinn confided in Emma. Still… “What’s up, Quinn?”

“She ended it in like…July,” Quinn said, awkwardly pushing the hair that had escaped her ponytail out of her face.

“July!” She moved from her own bed to Quinn’s, leaving space between their bodies but reaching out to put a comforting hand on Quinn’s arm, trying to ignore the tingles she felt at the contact. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, Liv, it’s been like two months,” Quinn replied. Well, sure. This wasn’t new information for Quinn to process, like it was for her.

“Is there a reason that you didn’t tell me?” Liv asked quietly. Quinn grimaced, and Liv’s stomach dropped. “Did I do something to make you feel like you couldn’t trust me?”

“No.” Quinn answered firmly, and her gaze shifted so she was looking directly into Liv’s eyes, as if she needed to be sure this message was delivered clearly. “Don’t do that. You didn’t do anything wrong. I was in my head about it.”

Liv held her gaze for a long time, each of them stock-still. It was several moments before Liv spoke.

“She kind of made it sound like the breakup might have had something to do with…me.”

Quinn turned away again, clearly irritated. “What exactly did she say?”

Liv shouldn’t have brought this up. She didn’t want to upset Quinn, and honestly, she didn’t exactly know what was going to happen if she opened this Pandora’s box…but a part of her needed to know. She couldn’t stop thinking about what Scarlet had said.

“That you were too busy pining for a straight girl to see how good she was for you.”

That was the gist, anyway.

Quinn’s cheeks flushed, and Liv was momentarily distracted by how cute she was. “That’s…pretty embarrassing.”

“Embarrassing that she said it?” Liv asked carefully. Her hand, she realized, was still on Quinn’s arm. She'd started running her fingertips up and down subconsciously, tracing the line of muscle. “Or something else?”

“Does it matter?” Quinn asked, barely a whisper. “You don’t date, and I think that’s what I need this year, too. I don’t need to get wrapped up in another toxic situation.”

“That makes a lot of sense,” Liv said, and she finally let her hand drop. She was about to get up, to return to her own side of the room, but then… “What if we…don’t date…together?”

“I have literally no idea what you mean by that,” Quinn replied.

Clearly, Liv just needed to be honest with her. “I’m attracted to you. I know you have to know that, I mean, come on. Look at you! You’re gorgeous, and I’m basically obsessed with your arms. Like… I do not write poetry about them, okay, but I can imagine that a more artistic person might.”

What was she even saying? Liv cringed to herself, but the crinkle on the side of Quinn’s eyes made her continue. “I’m not dating, and you’re not dating…but if you’re attracted to me, too…maybe we could not date together?”