Chapter Fourteen So Now I Have a Real Date? #3
This is clearly a conversation they’ve had before. I liked Kaitlyn the first time I met her, but not anymore. I mean, technically I’m a criminal. And Noah’s in community service for the same reason as me.
Nanabapa always calls people bleeding-heart liberals when they talk about being kind to people struggling, like drug addicts or the poor.
It’s something Mom and he have argued about a lot.
She always said that it’s society’s duty to help people who need it.
I wonder if she’d still argue with Nanabapa about politics, now that she’s married to a wealthy man and spends all her time in a country club.
I stand, needing to get away from Kaitlyn. “I think we have white cheddar popcorn. I’ll get some and more drinks.” I head toward the sliding door straight into the kitchen.
I’m so annoyed. Okay, angry. People like Kaitlyn are why people like Noah can’t get ahead. To her, he’ll never be anything but a burnout. At least Sadie, Liv, and Quinn seem more accepting.
But I also feel weird. Here I am enjoying Jason’s pool, in an expensive new bathing suit so that I’ll fit in with Sadie and her friends. How long until I turn into one of them like Mom has? I grab the bag of popcorn from the pantry and find a big bowl to put it in.
The sliding door opens. It’s Quinn. “Do you need help with the popcorn?”
I shrug. He comes into the kitchen and stands so close to me that I can feel the heat generated by his body. I can see the faint outline of his golden abs.
So far I’m failing spectacularly at staying away from guys.
He’s looking at me with genuinely concerned eyes. At least I think they’re genuine. “Are you okay, Meera?” he asks.
“I’m fine,” I say. “I’m just having trouble getting used to this place.”
He sits on the barstool by the counter. I start filling the big bowl with popcorn.
“Getting used to this house, to Cherrybridge, or to my friends?” Quinn asks. He’s looking at me with those blue eyes so intently. Like he one hundred percent cares about my answer.
“All of the above?”
He chuckles. “It must feel like another planet from the city.”
“Yeah.” But I doubt that Quinn’s Toronto and my Toronto are the same. “What did Kaitlyn mean when she called you a bleeding heart?”
He pushes his floppy blond hair off his forehead.
“Last summer there was a homeless encampment at a park near the club, and I made the grave error of posting on social media that there’s something seriously wrong with Cherrybridge if people have no choice but to live in a tent next to a country club with annual dues that could pay their rent for a year. ”
My eyes widen. Is that how much the club’s dues are? “What happened to the encampment?”
“What do you think? The people were removed. The town chartered a bus to get them out of Cherrybridge.”
“Really? Where did they send them?”
He shrugs. “Kitchener? Toronto? Who knows? A place that has resources for unhoused people.” He sighs. “I wouldn’t worry about those guys,” he says, indicating outside. “They’re still in their Cherrybridge bubble. Once they get out of this town, they’ll see what the real world is like.”
I wonder what Quinn knows about the real world. After all, he was born and raised in the same Cherrybridge bubble as his friends. But before I can give it any more thought, he looks at me, his expression changing into a smile.
“I have a confession to make.”
I frown, confused. “Okay…”
“I didn’t come in here to help you carry popcorn. I’m pretty sure you can carry popcorn on your own.”
I laugh. “So why did you follow me?”
“I wanted to ask you if you would go for dinner with me tomorrow night.”
My eyes widen. Quinn is asking me out? “Oh… Um, I mean—”
He raises an eyebrow. “Unless there is something going on between you and that singer?”
I laugh nervously. Something tells me that “kind of” would be the wrong thing to say. “No. I mean, Noah and I are friends. But I had kind of a messy situation before getting here. It’s a long story… that ends with me in community service. I think—”
“You think dating is a bad idea right now? I hear you.”
I smile, relaxing. Quinn’s all right. Yeah, he’s the most conventionally handsome guy I’ve ever met, but he’s nice, too.
I kind of understand why Liv said it’s a heady feeling to be on the receiving end of attention from Quinn Carrigan.
It feels different from when I’m talking to Noah, but it still feels good.
And… I’m thinking about Noah again. I need to stop. Something Noah said to me pops into my mind. It was my lack of experience, not the curse, that made me make a mistake with Gabe. But how can I get more experience dating when I’ve decided never to date?
“How about going to dinner with me as a friend, then?” Quinn offers. “No strings, I promise. I can show you that Cherrybridge is more than country clubs and dive bars with donuts.”
Why not? It’s not a real date. And who knows, maybe getting attention from another guy will cure me of this Noah Jacobs obsession.
“Okay,” I say, smiling. “A friend date.”
The smile Quinn gives me almost melts my insides, and I wonder if I’ve just made another monumental mistake.