Chapter 10 #3
As promised, Quinn is waiting for me when I get to my rental, but it doesn’t look like he’s been there long. I wave at him as best I can with my keys, phone, satchel, and all the food.
He relieves me of some of my burden so I can get the door unlocked, and we head into the kitchen, where he helps himself to my shit, because of course he does.
Quinn is one in a family of four Deaf kids though, so he’s used to being a little feral when it comes to food and nosy as fuck when it comes to personal stuff.
I get a couple of plates out when Quinn starts eating directly out of the box, and I give him a pointed stare.
His lips part with what I know is a scoff, but he fills his plate like a dignified human being and leaves me with the rest. It isn’t as much as I wanted, but it’s probably more than I need right now.
My stomach is still in knots, and I don’t want to lose my dinner before it digests.
Cracking a couple of beers, we head outside to the little patio because being inside feels way too closed in. It’s nice out, and the porch light in the back is bright enough to make conversing easy.
‘What do you have for me?’
Quinn frowns, his mouth stuffed full of pita. ‘Mom made you a quilt.’
My heart warms a little. She made me one a few years ago when I first met Robbie, but it’s in storage with all the shit I put there before I left for Paris. It probably has a bunch of moth holes in it by now.
‘I’ll come over to say thanks.’
Quinn grins and nods before taking a large enough bite of chicken to choke a small animal. ‘Why do you look bad?’
There are times when I resent Deaf blunt, even if it is my second nature.
I purse my lips. ‘No reason.’
He lifts a brow at me.
‘It’s nothing,’ I repeat, but he’s unmoved. ‘It’s been a weird transition back home.’
He softens. ‘You miss the wine, the cigarettes, the cheese…’
‘Cheese, yes. Wine is good here. I don’t smoke.’
He laughs and reaches over, stealing the pita I’m clearly not eating. I dig a carrot into the hummus instead and wait for him to free his hands. ‘Can I help you feel better?’
He can’t. He really can’t. ‘Do you know Thom’s brother?’
‘Sex?’
Oh god, tell me that hasn’t become his actual sign name. ‘DEX,’ I spell.
Quinn laughs and shrugs. ‘Yeah, I know him. Funny guy. Gives us all discounts at the gym.’
Of fucking course he does. I never got a damn discount. Saint Dex. I should make that his sign name, the asshole. I do my best not to let any of that show on my face.
Instead, I set my nibbled carrot down and pull out my phone, scrolling until I find a photo of them.
Of Dex and his fiancée.
I show it to Quinn.
‘You know her?’
‘LEXI,’ he spells.
Oh, good. Now I have a name to the face, and it fits. ‘You like?’
‘She’s nice,’ Quinn answers, looking unbothered. ‘Interpreter at the college.’
That explains so much. I want to hate her, but how can I? She’s keeping Dex attached to the community, and she’s giving him a safe space on his language journey, and—as I cannot help but fixate on—she’s so beautiful.
If I liked women, I would have immediately gone up to her in a bar.
‘Pretty.’
Quinn shrugs. ‘If you like that sort of thing.’
Okay. I thought he did, but whatever. Not my business. I set my phone down and lean back. ‘Tell me something interesting. Distract me.’
‘I have a new job. I’m working for Thorne.’
I blink at him. ‘For…the FBI?’
He laughs and rolls his eyes. ‘No. He opened a private investigation office. I got certified last year. Just had my first case.’
Well. Holy shit. I don’t know what I expected from Quinn, but it’s not that. It’s not that he’s not capable, but also…I’m not convinced he is capable. He’s always been the disaster one amongst all the brothers.
‘Why you look at me like that?’
‘It’s nothing,’ I sign quickly.
He leans forward. ‘I’m perfect for the job. Deaf eyes. See everything.’
I’m also not convinced he knows what that means, but I don’t want to be rude. ‘Tell me about it. Your first case. What was it?’
‘Cheater,’ he spells with a shrug. ‘Mostly cheaters. Some rich guy. His wife hired Thorne, and he put me on it. I caught him with video and photos. She left him. Divorce.’
Sounds sketchy, to say the least, but Quinn seems happy. ‘You have more cases?’
‘Start next one soon.’
‘Tell me,’ I say. This is, at the very least, keeping my mind off Dex.
He swipes his hands on his pants, then sets his now empty plate down and stands up. ‘Sorry. Can’t. I have a date. Let’s get coffee soon.’
And then he just…leaves. Of all the fucking times to ditch the Deaf goodbye, it has to be tonight. He’s going to leave me here to wallow in my quiet, angsty, horny mood that I have no plans to do anything about because I’m not helping Dex cheat again.
I’ve become a person I don’t like, and yet I worry if I see him again, I may not be able to help myself. The least I can do in this moment is not jack off to thoughts of him, how good he felt, how nice he tasted.
My cock jumps in my pants, and I glower at it.
No. I will not. I refuse.