Chapter Fourteen Medical Advice
Tenn was up early the next morning, did his workout, and was in the kitchen eating his Almond Joy overnight oats when Viki came in looking a little pale and very tired. “Late night?” He raised an eyebrow, smiling politely.
She glared at him as she grabbed the frozen berries from the freezer to make her breakfast smoothie. “I was up past midnight trying to put everything away. It was just a few pieces of clothing on the floor, Christ. Overreact much?”
“A few pieces of clothing on the floor after it took me an hour to clean up yesterday morning.” He corrected her. “Also, when you see the doctor about your wrist and ankle, I'd ask him about something for your yeast infection.”
“I don't have a yeast infection.” She frowned, shaking her head at him in confusion.
“Well, you have something, given the state and smell coming off of your underwear.” He kept a mildly concerned look on his face. “I'm not trying to be mean; I'm genuinely concerned.”
Viki's face went burgundy. “I'll have him check me out.” She stammered. “I think I'm past due for my pap smear anyway.” She quickly put things away, grabbed her purse, and hurried from the room.
“Not having breakfast?” He called, trying to keep the laughter from his voice.
“Not hungry.” She called back. He heard the door shut and smiled to himself. That little exchange made the ten minutes he spent scrubbing his hands after he cleaned up her dirty clothes worth it.
Before he went to sleep, he made the decision to put this house on the market and see if there was anything in Quinn's neighbourhood for sale. It was closer to the museum than his current place, and he wanted a fresh start, and not having to drive thirty plus minutes to Quinn would be an added bonus as well. He went to his bedroom to get ready, realizing he was quickly becoming obsessed with her. He loved how she melted into his arms when he hugged her, how open and honest she was about her anorexia and food issues, and how animated she got when she talked about something that interested her, not to mention how absolutely stunning she was.
He hadn't needed porn since he first laid eyes on her. The last time he had jerked off this much while fantasizing about a woman had been Greta Hildenburg in his senior year, and even as a horny seventeen-year-old, he didn't get off as fast to Greta as he did to Quinn. He hadn't even gotten to the point of fucking her in his fantasies. Picturing her thighs tightening around his head while he buried his tongue deep inside her while she called his name or her on her knees with his cock in her mouth, his hands buried in her thick locks of fire, and her gorgeous green eyes on his were more than enough to get him off. Tenn groaned and headed to the shower to take care of himself for the second time that morning. She was driving him crazy in all the best ways.
When he got out and dressed, he quickly moved through and did a mental checklist of where he wanted the cameras to go and how many he needed to buy. He hadn't lied when he told Viki he wouldn't step out on his marriage, but he was already considering them over and separated, and while he fully intended to follow Quinn's lead, he would be letting her know he was interested in a relationship with her. Tenn was not one to hide his feelings or pass up opportunities and had never experienced anything like he felt with Quinn.
At nine-thirty, he pulled up in front of Quinn's house and smiled as she came out, her lengthy hair in a pile on her head, wearing an adorable navy-blue shorts and t-shirt romper combo and carrying an oversized white purse. “Hey!” She said brightly as she climbed in, leaning across the console to hug him. He put his arms around her and breathed in her sweet orange blossom scent.
“Hey.” He grinned. “You look incredible.”
“Thanks!” She pulled back and settled in to buckle her seatbelt. You look good enough to eat.” Her eyes swept over his blue jeans and black T-shirt. Nothing special, but everything fit him perfectly.
“Is it odd that I kinda want that?” He mused, making her blush and chuckle. “How was your night?”
“Interesting. Joel won't leave me because he thinks I will spiral and end up in the hospital.” Tenn glanced over at her in surprise as he backed out of the driveway.
“What?”
“I mean, obviously, his standard of living will drop, and he doesn't want that, but when we were arguing, I was trying to make the point that he doesn't care unless I'm at a breaking point and he got concerned I wasn't eating. He pulled up my shirt to check my ribs and got upset, saying he couldn't go through me being in the hospital again. I think he's afraid I'll spiral, and it'll be his fault.” She explained her thought process to him, and he noticed she was leaning on the center console so she was closer to him, which made his heart flutter. “I will say for him, he was very remorseful when he did it the first time and he accepted that his actions led to it. He was the one who told Quill what he had done, not me, and he felt he deserved the beating Quill gave him.”
“Huh. I wonder if that's why they have an agreement. Like this is fun and great, but I won't leave my wife, so don't even ask.” Tenn rubbed his jaw thoughtfully as he headed toward the cafe he had chosen for breakfast.
“That's what I think too.” She nodded in agreement. “Which is also ridiculous. An affair would be more likely to trigger my eating issues than him leaving, but I guess it’s whatever he tells himself to justify it.”
“Still being selfish though, it's about him not wanting to deal with his guilt more than it is about what he's doing and how you would feel if you found out.”
“Exactly.” Quinn nodded emphatically. “If he were really worried about me, he would end the affair, but he's not.” She went on to give him a basic rundown of the conversation. “So now he knows he has until June first, or he's getting a thirty-day eviction notice and divorce papers.” She concluded. “Then, when I went to leave the room, he grabbed my hand and just said “Stay” really quietly, like I was supposed to just fucking cuddle with him and has the gall to say I'm not giving him much incentive when I said no thanks! Like it's my fault he started fucking another woman!” She put her face in her hands. “I'm not crazy, right? That was messed up.”
“No.” Tenn chuckled sympathetically and reached for her hand. “You're not crazy, but remember, they don't know we know, so now they're trying to damage control. But what I took from all that is he doesn't want to leave you because of guilt, and he doesn't want you to leave because he's gonna have to become a better car salesman.”
Quinn laughed. “That’s true! What happened with Viki?”
Tenn smirked. “Well, I started by telling her about us walking in on Joel and kinda directly but indirectly made fun of her. Now, I need to preface this by saying she has this habit of leaving her clothes everywhere, clean, dirty, whatever. She would leave them in piles if I didn't fold and put them away or hang them up. I skipped my workout yesterday morning and spent an hour cleaning the bedroom, so when I walked in and saw the room in a mess again, I lost my temper. I went to the kitchen, grabbed some garbage bags, and began throwing her stuff in them and throwing them over to the spare room. This morning, she said I overreacted, and I explained my reasons... and may have told her she should get her yeast infection checked.” He snorted with laughter.
“Yeast infection?” Quinn tilted her head at him. “What do you mean?”
“I had to pick up her dirty underwear,” Tenn said by way of explanation.
“Oh. OH! Oh, my god!” Quinn gagged as she put together what he was trying to tell her. “Tell me you wore gloves!”
“I picked them up by the waistband and washed my hands really well afterward.” He assured her. “Still totally fucked with my day that I handled my wife's underwear with another man's cum in them.”
“I'm so glad Joel's been insisting on doing his own laundry.” She looked faintly nauseous, and Tenn laughed as he pulled up to the Lighthouse Cafe.
“I also told her about bowling. She hasn't said yes or no though.”
“Neither did Joel.” They went inside, and once they were seated, they slipped into a conversation about university and their hobbies, both of them deciding without saying it that they had discussed their cheating spouses enough.
“I like to travel around and take pictures of historical architecture. I'm planning a trip to Quebec City over the summer; it's one of the oldest European settlements in North America, the oldest French settlement, and the only fortified city with the walls still intact.” Tenn enthused. “Not to mention it's stunning. Then I drive to St. John, New Brunswick, the oldest incorporated city, and then take the ferry to Newfoundland and visit St. John's, the oldest city.”
“That sounds incredible.” Quinn sighed. “I've only gotten to travel to places where big car shows are happening. Of course, I always do my own thing while there, but I've been all over the US and a few European countries and did everything as a solo tourist.”
“You should come with me. As long as you can handle lots of walking and me going on about architecture, I'd be happy to take you places you want to go and listen to you tell me all about it. I've always done the solo tourist thing too.” Tenn mentally froze after he finished speaking. Did he seriously just invite her on his vacation after knowing her for less than a week? Was he losing his mind? He admitted to himself that he did want her to come, but this was way too early to ask… unless she wanted to, of course.
Quinn bit her lower lip as she contemplated the offer. “That's insanely tempting.”
“The invitation is there. I'm planning to leave August first and come back September first.” He shrugged nonchalantly. “And it'll be a mixture of hotels and camping.”
“A whole month?” Quinn's eyes widened, and Tenn felt a shiver of disappointment. She was going to say no. He nodded reluctantly.
“Yeah, I want a week in each city, and then there's travel time between them. It's about a day's drive between Quebec City and St. John and two days between St. John and St. John's, plus allowing for distractions and side trips.”
“What am I going to do without you for a month?” Quinn pouted, and Tenn chuckled in relief. She may not have said yes, but she hadn’t said no either. He’d take it.
“That's why I said you could come with me.”