Page 54 of What We Got Wrong

As soon as she said it, Quinn’s face changed, like the pieces had come together. And yeah, amongst other things, Liv and Rhea had bonded over their tragic losses at such a critical time in their young lives. Liv had also thought, more than once, that Rhea had become like an older sister to her, but she couldn’t get started on that, not with Quinn, not right now.

Liv needed a subject change. “Can we also talk about my cousin and your friend for just a second?”

Quinn laughed lightly, shaking her head. “Audrey is a trip.”

“Right? I’m pretty sure they made out on the dance floor last night,” Liv said, and Quinn’s jaw dropped. “Does Mel have some sort of queer magic? I feel like almost all the femmes at the bar last night were checking her out.”

“Not just femmes,” Quinn replied. “She’s into anyone female identified. Equal opportunity, and all of that.”

There was something in the way she said that, something deeper, something she wasn’t saying. Liv knew she shouldn’t ask, but she couldn’t stop herself. “Have you two…”

Quinn was striking as a blush rose from her chest up her neck. “No, not… Almost, once, but rational thought prevailed.”

Liv was equal parts intrigued and jealous, if she was being honest. “You did always try to use that rational brain of yours.”

Quinn laughed again, a soft, tender sound, before quietly responding, “Not always.”

When Quinn stepped to Liv, pulling her in for a sweet kiss, Liv was thrilled at the feeling of closeness it elicited. They kissed for several moments, and it was gentle, warm. The opposite of the complete debauchery from earlier.

“Just so you know. I did not come to your hotel room just for this,” Liv said, gesturing weakly at the bed.

“Uh huh,” Quinn teased, before she shrugged, adding, “I just can’t resist you.”

Okay, well. Liv didn’t like that. She knew she’d been persistent, but she’d thought that, on some level, they both wanted this. “Quinn, that’s not how I want you to feel. I don’t know if you’ll believe me on this right now, but I don’t want you to feel pressured or—"

“Liv, stop,” Quinn said, attempting to pause Liv’s ramble. It was only after she said her name again that Liv shut her mouth, fully paying attention to Quinn. “I didn’t mean it like that. I don’t want to resist you. I wanted you. I fell asleep last night thinking about you. And the night before, and the night before…”

Quinn was embarrassed, but she didn’t say anything to try to change the honesty of her words, instead letting the awkwardness linger.

“Maybe this is an opportunity for us,” Quinn finally offered, her tone sounding vaguely optimistic.

Hope blossomed in Liv’s chest. “You think so?”

“Yeah. I’d been thinking about all the reasons that this was wrong, but…” She paused again, and Liv had the utterly irrational thought that the wait might actually kill her. “Maybe we can take these few days and, I don’t know. Do the ending over? Get it right this time?”

Liv deflated. She’d become incredibly good at getting things so incredibly wrong with Quinn. There’d been a part of her that thought they could be different, more, this time. But she’d thrown away any chance for that back in college.

Still, she nodded, and still, her body warmed at the way that Quinn reacted, pulling her in and squeezing her in a tight hug, their bodies melding together like they were meant to cling to each other.

If a couple of days were all she got, she’d take them. She’d happily take whatever scraps Quinn would give her.

Chapter 20

Quinn

December, Sophomore Year

The strangest thing, at least for Quinn, was that nothing much changed between her and Liv when they started sleeping together. They still got along well. Maybe better, with at least part of the unspoken finally said aloud between them, and they still planned most of their free time around each other. They existed almost entirely as they had before.

It was just, more nights than not, they ended up in bed together, bare skin rubbing against bare skin.

They weren’t dating. Categorically, nothing changed about their relationship. And Quinn was good with that. Things were great, actually. Quinn had never considered that this type of situation would work for her, but adding a physical element to her relationship with Liv was…easy?

She was continuing to enjoy her best friend, and the mind-blowing sex they’d added to their friendship. They were extremely attracted to each other, and exploring that while maintaining the fun of their friendship—hanging out with Emma, movie nights, study groups, events on campus, even continuing their routine video calls with her sisters—felt right.

Not that they were talking about how any of it felt, of course. Because none of this had anything to do with feelings.

It was all just so normal.