AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It’s been a few weeks since we’ve been intimate. I’ve been really busy with my new nannying job, and he’s a workaholic in general. Who knew chasing three kids under the age of seven would be so exhausting? But I also knew deep down if I wanted to, I would have made time for it. The sex isn’t bad, but it isn’t what I’m used to. It lacks passion and pure need.And I have come to crave those things.
A little over an hour later, we’re parking in my parents’ driveway. Taking a deep breath, I look in the mirror, checking my makeup one last time.
Nothing to see here. Totally just my best friend… friends only… nothing more.
Fake it till you make it, right?
“Oh, I didn’t realize your shirt was backless, too.” Luke’s obvious statement has me cringing as I turn to see the distaste all over his face for my daisy dukes and backless top.
“Isn’t it cute?” I patronize. He’s been good to me since the very first date, but lately, his jealousy has been getting under my skin.
Probably realizing he pissed me off, his response of “You look gorgeous” holds no weight to me.
“Come on, let’s go find my parents,” I say, ignoring his back-pedaling compliment.
We find them on their front porch, about to make their way down the street to the annual Memorial Day block party. My parents, along with the Bartons and the Kings, started this tradition when we were just kids, inviting all the neighbors on the surrounding blocks.
“Luke, could you help Brad carry our cooler down?” My mother all but throws the cooler into my boyfriend’s hands. “Quinn, I was going to have to make two trips, but now that you are here, let’s go inside and grab the rest of the goodies I made.”
My mom always goes above and beyond for this party. It’s like Thanksgiving with all my favorite things between my own mom, Cindy, and Lydia.
Helping my mom turned into a twenty-minute ordeal, and by the time we make it down to where everyone is set up, I notice Luke talking to Wes and Eli.
Nervous jitters scurry across my skin at the sight of them standing beside each other. I give Luke a little wave with my free hand as we approach. It isn’t until my eyes land on Eli’s that my stupid heart does a nosedive straight into the butterflies swarming inside my belly.
Consciously, I go to Wes first as I greet the guys. “Long time no see, Zeus.” I hug him, even though I just chugged multiple beers with him last night in Yankee Stadium as we cheered on our bestie.
“Yeah, how’d those beers treat you this morning?”
“Pretty damn good, actually.” Moving over to hug Eli, I say, “We have this guy to thank for all those beers. Each strikeout meant another one chugged.” Eli chuckles, running his fingers down the center of my back as our hug lingers for a beat too long. I have to stop myself from visibly shivering because I can feel Luke’s eyes boring into me.
“Luke, did you know your girl can hang with the best of them? She used to have the record set for keg stands back in the day. We once told her there was no way she could beat Josh… one of the huge linebackers on our school's football team but, of course, in true Quinn fashion, she showed us all up,” Wesley says, loving every minute of his trip down memory lane.
“No… can’t say I do,” Luke answers dryly. “I’m going to go refill my scotch. Do you need anything, Quinn?”
“No, thanks.”
“He doesn’t know the wild child version of Quinn,” I say when Luke is out of earshot.
“Well, he should,” Eli immediately responds, sincerity in his voice.
“Yeah, Q, I mean… that’s who you are. How has he never seen that side of you?” Wes asks.
“Have you ever heard of maturing, Wes?” I let out a fake laugh because deep down I know it has nothing to do with that and everything to do with the person I’m dating.
He points over to our parents’ setup. “Like that?” We all laugh as Cindy holds the beer funnel while my mom chugs one.
“Maybe it’s time I show him that side of me tonight… no better time than the present, right?”
Wes and I fist bump as we all make our way over to our moms. Eli moves to pass me on the way to the cooler, but he barely stops and whispers in my ear, “You look so fucking gorgeous, Queenie.”
Somehow, every cell in my body knows he one hundred percent means it. His husky words stoke the flames of desire, ready to set them on fire.
Passion.
Need.
Yearning.
