Chapter Thirty-Six
QUINN
L ater that morning, I sat on the floor in front of the couch with Gia, soothing the pain of everything that had happened with a carton of ice cream. “Gia, I can’t believe we thought that was a good idea.”
She pushed the tub of Ben & Jerry’s back toward me, frowning as she ate, and I dug in for a heaping spoonful of comfort. I’d finally stopped crying—that was a plus. But I couldn’t get past this obnoxious follow up stage where I went back and forth between questioning my decision to join The Quest in the first place and feeling like I’d failed miserably.
Gia grimaced. “To be fair, at the time we had been drinking boxed wine. No girl makes good decisions after a few glasses of the cheap stuff.”
I laughed and ended up snorting because my nose was clogged with all my pesky emotions. “Oh, gross.” Wiping my nose with my napkin, I tossed it into the empty bowl of ice cream I’d been using before I swapped it out for eating straight from the carton. “I need to figure out what the hell I’m going to do now.”
Getting the shit kicked out of me had really thrown me. When Vivian had said what she did about Landon, it felt like pieces clicking into place, even though my brain had been occupied with fighting for oxygen at the time. His hesitation every time I’d pushed for more finally made sense.
It also left me with a million questions and a storm of conflicting emotions.
Questions I hated because it meant he hadn’t shared things with me. Feelings I couldn’t stand because I’d acted on them impulsively.
Maybe I should’ve given him a chance to explain. Maybe I should’ve demanded the truth. Maybe I shouldn’t have fled from his room.
But as Gia put it, I had just been waterboarded by some basic bitches and flight mode seemed like my safest bet. I was trying not to be too hard on myself. And sitting there with my nervous system calmed down, I still felt…
Stupid.
Na?ve.
Overly trusting when fed lines from hot dickheads.
I still didn’t know what it all meant, being the King’s Maiden, and why it had anything to do with what happened between me and Landon. But as much as I wanted answers, a part of me wanted to leave that place and never look back.
Leaning back on the couch, I closed my eyes and tried to breathe, thinking through my options.
So, Landon had lied to me when he said he was mine. So, Kingston might’ve had a hand in that. So, Max was still…Max.
And yeah, maybe I’d made some questionable life choices in the heat of the moment, seeking help from someone I wasn’t sure I could trust and making moves I couldn’t take back.
Big deal. I wasn’t going to sit here and cry about it.
…Any more than I already had.
I still had a pile of bills to pay and no incoming prize money from The Quest. The time for questionable life choices had passed. I needed to figure out a plan and get myself out of debt.
Selling a kidney on the black market was shaping up to be my best bet.
Gia’s hand covered mine. “Are you sure you want to quit?”
My head whipped to her. “It’s a house full of entitled sociopaths, Gia. A bunch of hot narcissists on power trips using girls like they own them. And a bunch of spoiled, lying brats that hate me for being an outsider. Not to mention they’re all liars. I would literally rather light myself on fire than go back there.”
“I don’t think that word means what you think it means.”
I elbowed her. “You know what I mean.”
“I do know. And that’s why—don’t kill me for saying this—but I know you’re hurt right now, and I’m worried you’re not thinking this through all the way.”
My eyes nearly bugged out of my head, and I opened my mouth to defend myself.
But Gia put her hands up and beat me to it. “Hey, you know as well as I do that the only time a girl makes worse decisions than boxed-wine decisions is when she’s reeling from catching feels. Especially if the guy was a grade A fuckboy.”
That was true.
I huffed and scooped out another spoonful of ice cream. “So, what? You think I should go back there?”
“I think you should do what you set out to do, without giving a fuck about what any of those hot assholes say or do. And you went to win. So, your vagina was an idiot and grew a heart for the Tin Man, and he didn’t get one himself. He lied to you while harping on and on about trust, and I know that stings. But don’t let it make you doubt yourself. Trust that you can still win and take all their money. Honestly, I think it’s even more reason to go see this through.”
I thought that over as I licked my spoon clean, grumbling because she was right. “I did tell him I wanted to win more than anything or anyone.”
Gia nodded, looping her arm around my shoulder. “So, go prove it.”
“You’re right.”
She tossed her hair. “I know I am.”
A knock sounded on the front door. Gia and I shared a look before I pushed up from the couch and went to open it.
Landon Scott stood in my doorway, dressed in his usual sleek black attire and looking as put together as always. Which made me painfully aware of the state I was in—hair a mess, makeup probably smudged under my eyes from crying, and ice cream staining my shirt.
If that wasn’t just fucking perfect.
My hand clenched on the doorknob, and I let it go before I could slam it in his face. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to get you. And I came to explain.” He stepped toward me, halting when I reached for the door. “What Vivian said?—”
I propped my hands on my hips. “Was she lying? Or are you?”
He ran a hand over his face. “She wasn’t lying. But things between us…” Amber eyes jumping between mine, he searched my gaze for an answer I didn’t have yet. “Things changed, Quinn. You know they did.”
“So, you’re fine with taking me for yourself, knowing someone loses everything? You or him—I don’t even know what the hell Vivian meant.”
He stepped closer to me, tipping my chin up and holding my gaze. “You don’t have to worry about that. Whatever the fallout may be, I can deal with it if it means you get a choice.”
“And what about you? Do you have a choice? Or did Kingston put you up to this, too?”
“This is my choice, Quinn. I choose you.”
Well, shit.
“Oh, damn…” Gia whistled. “He’s good.”
I stepped back, needing to keep my head clear and unable to do that while he touched me. He’d crumbled my walls a bit with that response, but I didn’t want to give in too easily.
“You still lied to me.”
“I know, and I’m sorry.” He nodded, releasing a sigh. “This is…It’s new to me, Quinn. And I’m trying to figure out how to choose you without hurting my best friend. I promise I’ll tell you everything I know, and I’m sorry I didn’t start there.”
I huffed, feeling more of my anger deflate. Turning away from him, I faced Gia.
She gave me a sympathetic smile from the floor, seeing how hard he was making it to stay mad at him.
Stupid, smooth-talking butthead.
When I faced him again, but still didn’t say anything, he scratched behind his ear. “You know, some might say I simply delayed your satisfaction in receiving details.” His hands shot up when I glared at him. “Sorry, okay. Not a good time to joke.”
“You think?”
“But still.” His tone shifted into the firm one I associated with my Knight. “You’re not quitting The Quest, Quinn.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. And even though I had just decided to go back, my stubborn pride dictated my immediate response. “And what if I want to quit, oh gallant Knight of mine? Are you planning to force me to go back?”
His eyes narrowed, searching my face before flicking over my shoulder to Gia. A quick assessment of her returned his pointed stare to mine. “You already decided to come back, didn’t you?”
“No,” I said right as Gia shouted unhelpfully from the living room, “Yes, she did! Man, he really does know all your secrets.”
“You’re not helping, Gia!” I said in my sweetest voice possible before turning my iciest glare on Landon. “Fine. Maybe I did decide to come back.”
“God, you’re so fucking stubborn.” He shook his head and dropped down, bending to pick me up and throw me over his shoulder.
“Landon!” I screeched. “Put me down, you maniac! I’m still mad at you!”
“You can be mad in the car. And in bed later.” He swatted my ass and dipped, and it took me a second to realize he was saying goodbye to Gia. “Pleasure to meet you, Gia. I’ll return her to you as soon as The Quest is over.”
“No rush!”
Landon spun me around. “Say goodbye, Quinn.”
“Don’t tell me what to do. And Gia, whose side are you on here? Traitor!”
She laughed and hopped up from the floor, her eyes darting down to Landon’s ass and her hand waving towards it and my current situation. “Girl, the guy just threw you over his shoulder caveman-style to take you back to his bedroom.” She kissed my cheek and whispered in my ear. “And you didn’t tell me he had an ass like that. Honestly, who cares if he’s a fuckboy?”
“I heard that,” Landon chimed in, boosting me up in his grip so I jostled over his shoulder. “Time to go, Maiden.”
I grunted and slapped his butt, which only earned me another swat on mine. Gia giggled like a schoolgirl witnessing a real-life fairytale, and I rolled my eyes at her. “So not helpful.”
She waved as Landon carted me away like a sack of potatoes. “You’ll thank me later!”
I called out from down the stairs. “Jury’s still out on that one! Bye, traitor!”
“Love you too, trollop!”
Landon chuckled as he set me down on my feet, and I found myself smiling before I realized what I was doing and frowned. He gripped my chin and tilted my head up. I pursed my lips, waiting for whatever he had to say.
He surprised me by pressing his lips to mine, pushing me backwards until my back hit the side of the black SUV parked on the street. His tongue swept in and literally swiped away the last dregs of my anger. I moaned into his kiss and wrapped my arms around his neck, rising onto my tiptoes so I could bring us closer.
Maybe I was an idiot for giving him another chance. Maybe I was a fool for falling for him to begin with, but I had. And I wanted to believe him.
He kissed me so thoroughly that by the time he pulled back and put me in the car, my panties were drenched. I straddled his lap in the backseat, paying little mind to the pledge driving the car away as we pulled out onto the street. Before we pulled onto the main road, Landon disentangled me from his arms and put me in the seat beside him.
With an obvious amount of care and gentle movements, he reached across me and slowly buckled my seatbelt. When it clicked, our eyes met. He smiled and pressed his lips to mine.
Pulling back, he stared into my eyes and said, “I really am sorry. I should’ve told you the truth when you asked why I was holding back. I was trying to decide how to tell Kingston and?—”
I cut off his words with my lips. “You don’t have to explain.”
He took my hands. “Yes, I do. And I need to explain to him, too…He’s my best friend, Quinn. Whatever there is between the two of you, he still deserves to hear how I feel from me.”
I nodded. “Whatever you need to do, you should do it.”
He kissed me again, deepening the kiss this time until we were both panting in the backseat. A throat cleared to alert us that we’d arrived back at Camelot Court, and Landon kissed me one more time as the pledge climbed out of the car.
“Climb up front,” he said, unbuckling my seat. “I have something I’ve been wanting to show you. We can go there and talk before the ceremony tonight. I just need to grab some things from my room.”
My eyebrows lifted, as did my curiosity. “What kind of surprise?”
Chuckling, he climbed me out of the car and nodded toward the front seat. “If I told you that, it wouldn’t be a surprise.”
With one last smile, he closed the door and jogged around the back of the car. I climbed into the front passenger seat and watched him go inside the main house.
Staring up at it as I waited for him to return, I thought through everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours.
We had a lot to talk about. There was a lot I needed to know, and things I had to share with him, but for the first time, I felt like the walls between us had fallen away.
Or been taken down by choice.
I liked that.
Flipping the sun shield down, I wiped the makeup under my eyes. Gia had cleaned up most of the mess, putting ointment on my cuts and forcing me to ice my cheeks. But the stray smudges I’d suspected would be there, I removed them before tackling the nest that was my hair.
I probably should’ve insisted on cleaning up, but before I could get out and follow after him into the house, Landon appeared at the doors. With a fluffy, rolled up bag under one arm and a smaller leather tote in his other hand, he gave me a sly smile before stowing the items in the trunk of the car. Once he climbed into the driver’s seat and took my hand, my concern over the way I looked faded away completely.
He kissed the back of my knuckles and put the car in drive. “Ready, beautiful?”
“Yes.” I smiled as his thumb drew soft circles on my skin. “I’m ready.”
Before we drove off, Landon’s phone vibrated in his pocket. He checked the screen and silenced the call, smiling at me without a hint of hesitation in his eyes. “I’ll talk to him later. Right now, it’s just you and me.”
My heart soared, watching him choose me for real. I returned his smile and nodded, buckling my seatbelt so we could leave. As we pulled out of the gate, I watched as Camelot Court disappeared in the rearview mirror. I caught a glimpse of the building that held the Round Tableau, as it faded away in the distance.
Later that evening, our twenty-one days as Maidens would start and end in the same place. Everything, including me, felt completely different from the way it had the first night. And in that moment, with or without my hand entwined with Landon’s, I did feel ready for whatever came next.
No matter what the universe threw at me, I believed I could get through it. I could win The Quest. I could survive on my own.
Though, I was glad I didn’t have to do it by myself, too.
Maybe I would’ve felt differently, if I had known exactly what lay ahead.
Maybe I would’ve made different choices, if I’d seen it coming.
But I didn’t.