Chapter 12
“Soooo,” Miles says as he drops into the chair beside me.
I laugh, shaking my head as I take a sip of beer. “Yes, little brother, can I help you?”
He snorts out a laugh. “So, you’ve really not had any ‘friends’ over?” he asks, air quoting the friends part.
I wave my beer around the backyard. “I have friends over now.”
Miles rolls his eyes as he kicks my leg with his barefoot. “You know what I mean, smart ass.”
“Do I?” I ask, even though I know exactly what he’s asking.
“Yeah, you do,” he says, swallowing a mouthful of beer. “Your tourist pick-ups, some random chick you meet on the beach. You really haven’t had anyone over?”
“Nope,” I tell him, shaking my head as my gaze wanders to where Quinn is sitting with Sage and Daisy. They’re laughing and chatting like old friends, and it makes me smile to see how easily she’s fitting in here.
“What about Lisa?” Miles now asks.
I huff out a laugh, pulling my phone from my pocket. Without answering him, I open the message app, scrolling to my conversation with her before handing my phone over. I watch as he reads the exchange from earlier this evening.
Lisa: Hey, you wanna hook up tonight? Need to blow off some steam.
Me: Sorry, no can do tonight. Having a BBQ though, if you want to come and just hang out?
Lisa: No worries and thanks, but I’ll pass. Have to work anyway.
Miles hands my phone back to me, a confused look on his face that makes me laugh. “What?”
“You actually turned down a booty call with Lisa?” he asks, as though he doesn’t believe the text messages he just read.
“I actually did,” I confirm.
“So like, is this a permanent thing or a just-for-tonight thing?”
I blow out a breath as I sink into my chair, my gaze back on Quinn. “I don’t know. I guess it’s a for-now thing.”
I can feel Miles watching me, probably trying to make sense of what I’ve just said. Even though we no longer live together, we did for ages. And Miles knew that Lisa often dropped by after work when she felt like scratching an itch.
It’s not like we were or are a couple. We’re friends. With benefits. A mutually agreed upon arrangement that both of us willingly participate in. I don’t want to date Lisa, and I know she doesn’t want to date me. We just fuck—that’s it.
Or apparently not if my latest reply to her is anything to go by.
“This is because of Quinn, isn’t it?” he eventually says. When I don’t respond to his question, my brother nudges my leg again and says, “Kai?”
I sink even lower in my chair, my head resting against the back, my beer resting on my thigh. “I don’t know,” I eventually say. “Maybe, yeah.” Miles doesn’t say anything, and when I turn to him, he’s watching me, an easy smile on his face. “What?”
Chuckling, he shakes his head. “It’s finally fucking happened.”
“What’s finally happened?”
“You,” he says, pointing his beer at me. “Have fallen for a girl.”
“I have not,” I immediately scoff.
Miles lets out a loud laugh as Eli wanders over and sits on the other side of him, handing us both fresh beers. “What’s so funny?” he asks.
“Oh man,” Miles says, still laughing. “This is fucking great.”
“What is?” Eli asks, confused.
“Kai has fallen in love,” Miles says in an annoying sing-song way.
“I have fucking not,” I snap, finishing off my beer before opening the one Eli gave me.
“What the hell?” Eli scoffs with a laugh.
“Okay, so maybe it’s not love...yet,” Miles says, an annoying shit-eating grin on his face. “But my man-whore brother has officially turned down a booty call in favor of hanging out with his ‘friend,’ Quinn.”
“Holy shit, seriously?” Eli says, grinning as he turns to me. “Dude, what the hell?”
I sit up in my chair, flipping them both off as I say, “I hate both of you right now.”
“No you don’t,” Miles says with a laugh.
“And besides, you know it’s true. You might not be in love with Quinn, but you sure as shit want more than this whole friend thing you’ve currently got going on with her.
And it’s even more than that because you, big brother, are actually turning down no-strings-attached sex in the hopes that Quinn might change her mind and take you out of the friend zone. ”
Beside him, Eli chuckles as I turn and say, “You know, I think I liked it when you were a grumpy shit and talked less, little brother.”
Now it’s Miles laughing as he says, “Whatever. Just admit it, Kai. It’s the first step in acknowledging there’s something more going on here.”
“There’s nothing going on here,” I snap.
Eli laughs, chiming in with, “Really, dude, ‘cause you haven’t stopped looking at her all night.”
“Fuck,” I groan, sitting forward as I rest my elbows on my knees, really not wanting to have this conversation right now.
“You know it’s actually okay, Kai,” Miles now says. “The whole falling in love thing is pretty fucking awesome.” I glance sideways, hitting him with a look that does nothing except make him laugh as he adds, “Seriously, one woman, the woman of your dreams. Every single night. What could be better?”
“I hate you right now,” I mumble.
Eli laughs, holding his beer up as he says, “Look, not gonna lie, losing my wingman will suck, but dude, if you like her, why not go for it?”
“Not fucking helping, Eli,” I tell him, glancing over at Quinn again.
As I look over, for some reason, she turns to me, our eyes locking across the yard. Sloane and Alana have joined their little group, but all I see is Quinn.
Fucking hell, she’s beautiful.
Why the hell has this woman done this to me? Never in my life have I felt this kind of pull to someone. And never in my life have I turned down sex in the hopes that someone, Quinn, will throw me a bone and finally give me a shot.
“Fucking hell,” I groan, my head falling.
Beside me, Miles and Eli laugh as Miles leans over, his hand resting on my back. “Trust me, Kai, this is a good thing,” he says, before he pushes out of his chair and walks over to where Daisy sits with the girls.
It’s late by the time the barbecue winds down. It’s been a good night, though, and even though I haven’t spent a lot of time talking to Quinn which, given the earlier conversation with my brother, is probably a good thing, she’s still here.
“Maybe you should ask her to stay,” Eli says, nudging me with his shoulder. I turn and hit him with a look, and he laughs and adds, “Or at the very least, walk her home?”
“This is not a thing,” I tell him, knowing that of all people, Eli gets it. He’s like me, having no desire to be tied down to one person.
“Sure it isn’t,” he says with a grin. “But it’s still a nice, friendly thing to do.”
I roll my eyes at him before turning to where Quinn stands, clearly saying goodnight to Sage as Nate patiently waits for them.
“Jesus, fuck,” I mutter to myself as I walk over to them, saying my goodbyes to Nate and Sage before I turn to Quinn. “Hey,” I say to her.
“Hi.”
Chuckling, I wave my beer around as I say, “You look like you were having fun tonight.”
“I was,” Quinn says with a nod. “Your friends are really nice.”
I finish off my beer, dropping the empty bottle on a small table. “They’re your friends too, Quinn.”
She shrugs, tucking her hair behind her ears. “Yeah, I guess,” she says, eyes wandering around the nearly empty backyard. “I guess I should probably go.”
“You don’t have to,” I quickly say. “I mean, you can stay if you want. Crash here or...” I trail off as Quinn looks at me, her eyes so dark in the low light of the festoon lights decorating the backyard.
“I should probably go,” she says, her words quiet.
“Yeah, okay,” I say with a nod. “Come on, I’ll walk you home.”
“You don’t have to—”
Laughing, I take her hand in mine as I turn us toward the side of the house. “Yeah, I do.”
I can feel Eli’s eyes on me the whole time Quinn and I cross the yard to walk back out onto the street. Just as we disappear around the side of the house, I flip him off, not missing the chuckle he gives in response. I swear, I am never going to live this, whatever it is, down.
“So what are you up to tomorrow?” Quinn asks as we make our way toward the street.
I blow out a breath, running my free hand through my hair as I say, “Surfing in the morning and then working with my dad. You?”
Quinn shrugs. “I don’t know, not much. I don’t start work until next week, so I’ll probably just do some more exploring.”
I glance over at her. “Wanna come for a surf in the morning, maybe test out that new board of yours?”
She looks up at me, her dark eyes shining. “You wouldn’t mind?”
“Hell no,” I say, the words coming out far quicker than I expected. “I like hanging out with you, Quinn. And I know you like surfing with me. Especially when I give you a glimpse of my bare ass.”
This makes her laugh as she swings our joined hands between us. “It is a very nice ass.”
The words are said so softly that, for a second, I think I imagined them. But when I risk another glance in her direction, I can see she’s smiling, her bottom lip caught between her teeth as she stares straight ahead.
Leaning in, I put my mouth close to her ear as I say, “You can have a feel of it if you want to.”
She snorts out a laugh now, immediately covering her mouth with her other hand. “Oh my god, Kai,” she murmurs, shaking her head.
“What?” I say with a grin. “I’m just saying, you can both look and touch if you want.”
She looks over at me, shaking her head a little. “You really are a huge flirt, aren’t you?” she asks, smiling to let me know this isn’t a jab.
“I mean, maybe a little,” I admit with a wink.
She laughs again, turning away as she says, “So Daisy maybe sort of warned me about you.”
“Oh, and what did Daisy say exactly?” I ask, wondering if my future sister-in-law has completely thrown me under the bus here.
Quinn looks at me again, her eyes sparkling with amusement. “She said you’re a huge flirt and you’re pretty much only interested in a one-time type of thing.”
I let out a relieved breath, figuring this isn’t too bad, considering the other ways Daisy has described my lifestyle. “I mean, do I like to flirt? Yeah. I’m a people person, what can I say?”
“And the whole one-time thing?” she now asks, turning away again.
I shove my free hand through my hair, wondering how the hell I’m supposed to answer this. If you’d asked me this question a week ago, my answer would have been a resounding hell yes. I am strictly a one-and-done type because I do not want to be tied down in a long-term relationship.
Now though, I’m sort of wondering if maybe that’s no longer entirely true.
I have no idea why it might no longer be true, and even though I barely know Quinn and she has pretty firmly indicated she is not interested in being anything more than just friends, a tiny part of me hopes I can change her mind.
And that maybe she could be someone I’d be willing to consider more with.
Or I don’t fucking know, maybe I’m just losing my mind and have no fucking idea.
“Kai?” she prompts as we turn down the long drive toward her house.
“Yeah, that’s pretty much true,” I finally say as we make our way up the steps to her front door. “I don’t really do the whole relationship thing.”
Quinn is watching me, and I can practically hear the questions turning over in her brain, all the things she wants to ask me. “So, is that what you wanted with me when we first met? A one-time hook-up?”
“Yes,” I say with a nod.
Quinn blinks in surprise. “Okay, wow. I, um... I wasn’t really expecting that level of honesty.”
I turn to face her, her hand still in mine. “If there’s one thing I am, Quinn, it’s honest. I don’t bullshit, and I don’t lie. That’s not who I am.”
I pause, blowing out a breath as I reach for her other hand. Quinn watches me, an unreadable expression on her face as she waits for me to continue.
“I’ve never really...never really had this before,” I say.
“This?” she questions.
“This,” I say with a laugh.
“What is this, exactly?” she asks.
“A friendship with a woman I really want to sleep with.”
Quinn lets out a huffed laugh, shaking her head as she mutters something I don’t catch.
“I told you I’m honest,” I say, taking a step toward her.
“Yeah, you did,” she says. “It’s just, well, it’s not something I’m used to with men.”
“You can get used to it with me,” I say, my words a whisper.
I let go of one of her hands, lifting mine to tuck some loose strands of hair behind her ear before cupping her cheek.
“I like you, Quinn. Like a lot. And yeah, when we first met, I definitely wanted to fuck you. But then you turned me down, and I... well, no one has really done that to me before.”
Quinn giggles at this as she says, “Well, glad I could be your first.”
“Me too,” I tell her. “Because you saying no meant we could only be friends. And being friends has meant I got to know you, and this has only made me like you even more.”
“It has?” she asks.
“Yep,” I say, smiling as I close the distance between us a little more.
“And the other part?” she whispers, and I can feel the hard beat of her pulse in her neck.
Smiling, I step even closer so my mouth is against her ear, so I can feel the warmth of her body and inhale her intoxicating scent. “Oh, yeah, it’s also meant I want to fuck you more than ever, too,” I whisper, my lips barely grazing the shell of her ear.