Chapter Eighteen
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
There you are!
It was a rare thing for Quinn to spot anyone from behind the decks; her focus was on her work. Her mother could enter the club, and she wouldn’t know it. Somehow, she spotted Kya from the moment she walked in – tight black tank, loose jeans, long braids spilling down her back. Hit with relief and a rush of excitement, Quinn tracked her moves as she sliced through the crowd right up until Nick blocked her.
Earlier, he’d come around to say hi. ‘Things were awkward last time,’ he’d conceded. ‘I’d like a second chance to make a first impression.’
Since Quinn wasn’t the type to hold a grudge, she said yes.
Nick was nice enough, but also a nuisance. He had a knack for robbing Quinn of her time. Kya would be leaving for San Jose soon and Quinn feared she’d waited too long to reach out. In a moment of weakness, 4.45 a.m. to be exact, she sent the text and hoped for the best.
For now, Nick and Kya were banging on about something in the middle of a hyped-up dance floor, of all places. In the time it took for Quinn to blend one track with another, the exchange was over, and Kya was moving towards the stage. She motioned to the security guard to let her through the ropes and got back to work. Just knowing she was there made Quinn’s night. Her day, actually! It was six in the morning. Time to get to work and give these people what they came for.
As soon as the set was over, with the crowd still chanting her name, Quinn grabbed Kya by the hand and dragged her off stage, down a hall, out the first door she encountered, which, as luck would have it, opened to a deserted back alley. It wasn’t the ideal spot for reconciliation. On the outside, the club was a nondescript concrete block dropped on a busy downtown corner. The noise from the highway overpass was as loud as the music inside. The morning sun was punishing on the eyes. When the door slammed shut, locking them out, Quinn wished she’d thought this through, but no matter. They were together again.
‘Did you bring me out here to kill me?’
‘I brought you out here to clear the air.’
‘You know what they say: nothing like car exhaust to clear the air,’ Kya quipped.
Quinn added Kya’s unfailing sense of humour to the long list of things she liked about her. ‘I don’t want you dead,’ she said. ‘If anything, you’ll need your last breath to apologize properly.’
‘I’ve apologized twice!’ Kya cried.
‘Yes, well … now I’m ready to hear it.’ Quinn waited. ‘Go on. I’m listening.’
‘I really am sorry,’ she said. ‘Though, to be honest, I’m a flight risk. When things get intense, I get lost. I’m not proud of it, and maybe I need therapy. Scratch that. I absolutely need therapy. You’ve every right to be angry. Really, you shouldn’t speak to me again. Although, I’m glad you reached out. I wouldn’t want to leave things like this. You’ve been so good to me and—’
‘Kya!’
‘Yes?’
‘Shut up and kiss me!’
That was all it took. Kya had her back against the chain-link fence and locked in a hungry kiss. Although she’d asked for it, Quinn wasn’t prepared. She gripped the steel wire for support, which came in handy when Kya abruptly pulled away. She stared at her, wide-eyed, lips parted. She was so lush, so insanely beautiful, Quinn just wanted more and more and more of her.
Kya stepped away from her. ‘That can’t happen again!’
‘Why?’
The door swung open. A security guard poked out his round head. ‘You two shouldn’t be out here. It’s not safe.’
‘Sorry, officer,’ Kya said. ‘We’ll abide by Space rules.’
The guard didn’t so much as crack a smile. He didn’t budge, either. They dutifully filed back into the club. There was time enough for Kya to figure out that Quinn didn’t follow rules.