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Eli
Let’s just say, Quinn showed Luke exactly how much fun she can have.
When I overheard him ask after her third shot if she thought she’d had enough, I made up my mind right then and there that I didn’t like him.
Let’s be honest, he had what I wanted more than anything in this world, so of course I didn’t like him, but this made meloathehim.
I could tell he was used to the perfect bubble he created for Quinn in the city, but his eyes were certainly seeing her wild side tonight. The side I loved most. He must think I'm blind to not have noticed the way he tried to tame her all night. Shushing her when she would get a little too loud or say something inappropriate. The eyes he’d throw her way when he thought she was out of line. What the fuck is Quinn doing with this guy? No one should ever try to dull her sparkle. It's what makes her so damn special… it's what makes her my Queenie. I never in a million years would think she’d put up with someone like that. Maybe this is out of character for him, and he isn’t typically like this. Or maybe I’m searching for reasons she shouldn’t be his because all I want is for her to bemine.
After several hours of hanging out on the streets with everyone, my dad was antsy to move things inside and play a round of poker. When he asked Quinn if she was buying in and Luke spoke up for her, I could have kissed my dad for his response.“Boy, if that girl wasn’t intoxicated right now, she would wipe the table clean with all of us. She still might, even with a fifth of tequila in her system.”
Quinn decided to sit the poker game out because she didn’t want to miss the fireworks. I knew she really did it because her mind was too blurred with liquor, and she didn’t like doing anything half-assed. Worried it would be too obvious if I sat out as well, I played, but purposefully lost in the second round. Even though I wanted so badly to beat Luke’s ass, I wanted to hang out with Quinn uninterrupted more.
It doesn’t take long for me to find her. She’s sprawled out on the front lawn, staring at the dark sky above, waiting for the colorful displays to appear. I thought I was being stealthy in my approach, but when I'm just within earshot, she teases, “Don’t tell me you lost already…”
“What if I told you I did?”
“Then I’d say you’re losing your touch in your old age.”
Lying down next to her, I stare up at the sky. “What if I lost on purpose?”
“Then you’re a fool,” she says, grinning cheek to cheek.
“Maybe I am,” I say in a whisper, more to myself than to her. She seems to be deep in thought as she continues staring at the stars.
When I hear her let out an audible sigh, I can't help but ask, “Okay, Queenie, spit it out… What are you thinking about?”
“Hmmm… I'm wondering if we could make it to the bluff before the show starts. The view is way better there.”
“You want to go there now?”
“Yup!” she says, hopping to her feet with more enthusiasm than I can muster after a day of drinking.
“All right, let's go then… I’ll grab us a car.” Taking out my phone, I see the closest Uber is only two minutes away.
“Be here in two.”
“Sweet, let's go!” she says, grabbing us two waters from the cooler on our way.
We’re at the bluff in no time. It's a quick drive; hell, we’ve even walked here when we were younger. But there was no way we would have made it in time tonight if we did.
Walking down the stairs to the sand below, we find the perfect spot to watch the fireworks show.
“I knew this was a better spot.” Her smile lights up her face like the skies above.
Quinn links her arm through mine and rests her head on my shoulder, her hair whipping around us in the breeze. The scent of her shampoo brings me a sense of comfort… she smells like home.
What the fuck am I going to do? I don’t know if I can go through life feeling this way. Having the one person I want being so close and yet so far.
It's a real shitty feeling.
“What are you thinking about?” she asks after the fireworks stop, probably realizing neither one of us has spoken much since we got here.
“Wondering how the rest of our season will play out… what about you?” Which is a lie, one she would normally see right through. But tonight is different. Her brain appears to be too preoccupied.
“The future… and all it has in store.”
