Chapter Twenty-Five Hosed Off
When Quinn and Tenn got outside and into the parking lot, they could see Joel standing beside Viki's car. She was in the passenger seat and had started the car, blasting the radio. Quinn said goodbye to Rilla and Bishop, hugging them tightly. Bishop gave her a huge bear hug, lifting her off her feet. “I'm so proud of you, Q.” He gave her a sloppy kiss on the cheek and turned to Joel. “I'm gonna convince her to come back to us one day.” He called, and Quinn knew he was trying to get under Joel's skin. “You'll see.”
“I wouldn't hold my breath,” Joel called back. There was a clear undercurrent of irritation under his joking tone, but Quinn didn't know if it was because of what Bishop said or because Viki was singing “Call Me Maybe” very loudly through the window. Tenn walked her over to where Joel was standing. Quill met them and said good night, shaking Tenn and Joel's hands before giving Quinn a tight hug.
“See you on Friday, Q.” He kissed the top of her head and stepped back.
“Can't wait!” Quinn stepped back as he let her go. “You may have kicked my ass at bowling, but we both know you're going down when we play Mario Kart!” She grinned and waved as he got aboard his '21 Mustang Shelby GT 350 and drove off. She gave Tenn a quick hug and turned to Joel. “Are you good to drive her? Because I can, and you can follow.”
“Nah, I'll spare you her drunken ramblings.” He smiled, but it was very strained and turned to Tenn. “You lead, and I'll follow.” Tenn nodded and got aboard his Buick Encore. Quinn followed Joel out of the parking lot and watched their silhouettes as they drove. It looked like Viki was trying to get Joel to let her suck his dick. He was holding her off with one hand when she started slapping at him. Quinn giggled; she could tell they were having a nasty argument and wished she could be a fly on the wall. Suddenly, Viki leaned over and was clearly vomiting on Joel's lap. Joel almost drove off the road but managed to right it, and wanting to share what she was seeing, she called Tenn.
“What's going on back there?” Tenn asked immediately. “Can you tell?”
“Well, I think she tried to give him a blowjob, then they argued, but he almost drove off the road because Viki was throwing up in his lap,” Quinn explained, breathless with laughter.
“No! You're joking!” Tenn's voice was full of barely suppressed glee.
“Nope, she definitely threw up in his lap. I hope your garden hose is hooked up because he is not getting in my car covered in that.”
“Oh, don't you worry; I got this.” Tenn laughed. “What are you doing tomorrow? I have a feeling Viki is going to call in sick, and I don't want to be home with her all day. Hangovers hit her hard.”
“I'll pick you up at ten,” Quinn promised. She had a sudden idea that she thought he would enjoy. “I think we need a break from them and the project.”
“I agree. What should I wear?” She could hear Tenn's smile and grinned. She felt a little guilty, going on a date with someone when she was married but she was pushing that down and out of her mind. Joel and Viki didn’t seem to care, so why should she?
“Dress casually and comfortably.” They pulled up to Tenn's place and got off the phone. Joel immediately pushed the door open and got out, cursing loudly. Quinn rolled down the window as Tenn got out of his car. “Is everything okay?”
“No! She threw up all over my lap!” Joel urged but managed to keep himself from throwing up as he shook out his pants, bits of sick dropping to the pavement.
“You deserved it.” Viki got out of the car and slammed the door. She was also covered in vomit, and she tried to storm past Tenn, who stopped her.
“Oh no, I'm not cleaning up vomit trailed through the house.” Tenn shook his head and directed her to the side of the garage, where he turned on the hose. “Stand still.” He began hosing her off while she shrieked and tried to block the water. When he had thoroughly soaked her, he turned to Joel. “Want me to hose you off?”
“Might as well; Quinn won't let me in her car like this.” Joel sighed. “Not that I can blame her.”
Quinn had to admit that she thoroughly enjoyed watching Tenn hose the two of them off. The water must have been cold; Joel visibly recoiled and winced. When he was done, Tenn said he would get them towels and went into the house. While he was gone, Quinn pretended to scroll through her phone and eavesdropped on their conversation, which was travelling nicely in the cool spring night air.
“I can't believe you lied to me!” Viki hissed angrily as she shivered.
“It was none of your business.” Joel snapped quietly. “Whatever Quinn has been through is none of your damn business, and it doesn't matter if she's okay talking about it or having her story told; I'm not okay with it.” He put his head in his hands. “This is so messed up. You were never supposed to meet her, and I wasn't supposed to meet your husband. It was all nice, separate, and contained. Now it's just a mess, and you've lost your damn mind.” He fell silent as Tenn came out holding towels and a change of clothes for each of them.
“You can change in the garage.” Tenn walked over and unlocked the side door. Joel went inside, and Tenn left Viki standing by herself and went over to speak to Quinn. “You okay?”
“Yeah, I'm looking forward to climbing into my bed.” Quinn yawned.
“Yeah, me too.” It sounded like Tenn was saying he also wanted to go to bed, but Quinn knew that he meant her bed based on the look he was giving her.
“Hopefully, it won't be too much longer.” Joel came out, and Viki walked into the garage, slamming the door. He shook his head and came over to the car, holding his wet clothes and wearing a pair of Tenn's jogging pants and a t-shirt. Joel was slimmer than Tenn, and the clothes hung off his frame.
“Oh, sorry, I forgot.” Tenn pulled a garbage bag out of his pocket and passed it to him. Joel nodded his thanks and put his clothes inside, tying it up and tossing it in the backseat. “Thanks for driving her car home, and her too, I guess.”
“No problem,” Joel shrugged. “If she doesn't want a hefty car cleaning bill, I'd make sure she gets it to the dealership to be detailed before it gets hot. She'll never get the smell out if that stuff bakes in.”
“I'll let her know. Good night you two.” Tenn turned and walked into the house as Viki came out of the garage and glared at Quinn's car as she backed out of the driveway and headed home.
Quinn didn't try to make conversation as she drove Joel back to the bowling alley. She could tell her silence was bothering him, so she decided to let it drag. Finally, he couldn't stand it anymore.
“You aren't going to ask?”
“Ask what?”
“I know you could see us arguing. You aren't curious about why?”
“Should I be?” Quinn yawned; she really didn’t care about whatever story he was going to spin to cover his tracks; maybe she was a little curious about what he’d tell her, but not enough to invite it.
“I would be.” He looked hurt that she wasn’t interested in what he had to say, and that really made her night. He hadn’t been interested in anything she had to say for four months.
“Joel, she was wasted. Did she say anything important or extremely inappropriate?” Quinn glanced at him. “Cause otherwise, I don't care. You seemed like you were handling it, and you're the one who has to work with her.” She paused. “Or is it something you want to discuss?”
“I just don't want you to think there's more going on than there is, that's all.” He ran a hand through his hair and shifted. “She's been becoming increasingly... I think she has some kind of crush or something.”
“I see.” Quinn frowned as she pulled up beside Joel's Porsche. “Well, it's pretty clear she doesn't like me, but I'll just go the distant and polite route.”
“I'd rather not have her or Tenn around anymore. It's uncomfortable.” He cleared his throat and avoided her gaze.
“What does Tenn have to do with anything?” She raised her eyebrow. “He’s been nothing but cordial to you.”
“Viki keeps telling me stuff about him, and I'd rather keep my distance from their whole mess.” He shook his head. “I don’t want us involved in their problems.”
Quinn somehow managed not to roll her eyes at him. Considering he was a major part of their problems, that was an incredibly hypocritical statement. “That's fine. I can respect that, but you do realize Tenn and I are partners on this lecture series, which has been approved by both our supervisors, right? I can't do this without him; it's too big, and he has a lot of contacts, not to mention he's just as excited to do this as I am, so I'm going to be spending a lot of time with him, and there will be times we will be working at our house or his house.”
“Just give me a heads-up,” Joel sighed, looking disappointed. “I just need some distance from them.”
“You're spending a weekend in Atlanta with her, remember?” Joel looked panicked that she knew about it for a moment, then seemed to remember he told her it was training and relaxed. Quinn had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep the mildly concerned look on her face.
“It's fine; I'll just spend time with the guys. Colin is still an instructor, and we're pretty good friends.”
“I'm sorry you feel like you're being shoved into something that's making you uncomfortable, but I have a tiny favour to ask.” She gave him an apologetic smile.
Joel let out a small, nervous chuckle. “Oh yeah? What's that?”
“Next Friday, Tenn and I are hosting a small party to celebrate and announce the series. Like his family, our families, and all our friends. I need you there because we have special surprises for you and Viki to thank you both for being understanding and supportive of us doing this.”
“Well, if it's going to be big like that, I think I can avoid Viki and be polite but distant with Tenn.” His eyes lit up. “Does that mean Del Aston will be there?”
“Yeah, him and his wife.” Quinn nodded, smiling. Joel wouldn't dream of missing an opportunity to meet one of his favourite players.
“Then yeah, absolutely, I can do that.” Joel nodded and leaned over to kiss her. She quickly turned her head and let him kiss her cheek, but he didn't seem to notice; he was getting out of the car, practically buzzing with excitement about meeting Del. He grabbed the bag of clothes from the backseat and grinned at her. “See you at home!”