Quinn 14.
I yawn for the fifth time since we left karate. My right eye slits as I wince, hoping my incredibly observant son won’t noti—
“Are you tired, Quinn?” Apparently, his best friend is picking up that particular baton.
“Yeah, Sammy, I am. Had a hard time sleeping last night.” There. That sounds reasonable.
Enzo snorts, “Cuz she was up super late talking on the phone with her boyfriend .” Why do we teach our children to speak?
“Boyfriend?” Sammy asks with obvious excitement. “Who’s your boyfriend? It’s not Ford, is it?”
I glance at Sammy in the rearview, biting my lip to stop from laughing at his sour expression.
“Heck no, it ain’t Ford! Mom’s dating Polk and they are super in love . And he’s probably going to be my stepdad and bring home dogs for us to play with.”
“Stepdad and dogs? Dude. That’s unfair!”
“Sammy!” I can’t believe he’d say that. “Lincoln is awesome. And so is your Auntie Kadisha and Uncle Carver.”
“They aren’t dogs. Or cats. Or a goat.”
I roll my eyes, flicking on my blinker to turn onto the road to the clubhouse. I’m dropping Sammy off…and if I happen to catch Polk, what a happy coincidence. “What’s with everyone and goats?”
Both boys make distinct sounds of disbelief. I’m quickly becoming uncool. I’m okay with it. “They’re goats.” Ah, yes, that explains everything.
I’ve barely parked the car in the clubhouse lot, when they throw the backdoors open and rush into the building. At a more sedate pace, I make my way into the clubhouse. I’m walking slower because I’m a grown-ass adult, a confident woman…it has nothing to do with nerves. Those murderous butterflies are back and this time they’re hopped up on cocaine. I press my hand to my stomach and breathe in deeply through my nose and out through my mouth. I wasn’t expecting Polk, wasn’t expecting such a wonderful man to want me, let alone pursue me with so much passion. The butterflies make no sense because Polk has always been around, he’s so easy to talk to.
That was before he tongue fucked your snatch on the living room couch and you inhaled his cock like a cum-slut.
Wow. My inner voice is not friendly. How rude.
I shake my hands at my side, crack my neck and brace myself as I open the door and step inside. My entire body tingles with anticipation, and it gets unbearable when Polk’s heated stare finds me from across the room. He ignores Keller, striding over to me with a confident swagger that he wears effortlessly. Gosh, he’s dreamy. I jolt as his arm loops around my waist. I whimper when his lips drop to mine. I moan when his tongue finds mine and treats us to a thorough welcome.
In the light of day, he still wants me. I wish I wasn’t surprised by that information. I wish I could accept this totally without question. But history is hard to ignore. We break apart as the clubroom erupts in hoots and hollers. I drop from my toes, feet firmly on the ground, and eye the room bashfully. Several of the lobbyists glare at me. Well, fuck that and fuck them.
With a winning smile, I grab Polk’s hand and raise them above our heads, waving with my free hand like we’ve won a race. Polk laughs as I swing our hands down and bow.
I blow kisses to the lobbyists, then Audrey and the other ol’ ladies, “Thank you! Thank you so much! We couldn’t have done this without your support!” Polk shuts me up with his mouth on mine, his hands wrapping around me to grip my ass.
“THE FUCK?!?” I swallow Polk’s grunt, latching onto him to stop him from going after Ford. He pulls back, his brow furrowing, his lips thin, nostrils flaring.
“Polk. Don’t.”
Heavy footsteps force both of us to turn. Ford is barreling toward us. If it was possible, steam would be pouring from his ears. His face is an alarming shade of red.
“Ford—” I start, but his body locks up, his eyes roll back, and his legs give out. I rush toward him, but I’m only successful in cushioning his fall to the floor, our heads knocking violently together and my wrist bent unnaturally beneath us. My vision swims, black spots dancing, and an intense wave of vertigo washes over me. I drop my head back and knock it hard off the floor.
“QUINN!” Polk yells for me, but I can’t focus on him. Not when Ford is convulsing on top of me. “Get him off her!” I’m only vaguely aware of what’s going on. I know the heavy weight is gone. I know people are yelling. Some are crying. I feel someone run their fingers through my hair and kiss my forehead. “Quinn, darlin’, I need to hear your voice. Can you talk?”
“Ford,” I manage to whisper.
“He’s had a seizure. The ambulances are on their way to take both of you to the hospital.”
“No. I’m fine.” I attempt to sit up, but Polk pushes me back down.
“Do not move, Quinn. You hit your head twice.”
“Enzo?”
“Audrey has him and Sammy upstairs.”
“I don’t need an ambulance. Help me up. Someone should go with Ford.”
“Fuck,” Polk mutters, then leans down until he’s inches from my face, his eyes intent on mine. “You have a concussion. But I need to know…tell me, Quinn…do you love him?”
I rear back in shock, dry heaving when my entire body protests the movement. “No. Why would you ask me that?”
“Because your first words to me are to check on him .” I force my eyes open so he can see my sincerity. My heart hurts at the pain I find in his.
“Bently. He just had a fucking seizure. And he’s my friend. Sort of. I’m concerned as I would be about any of the men here because I care about all of them. He shouldn’t be alone.” Polk sighs, dropping his forehead to mine.
“Madison is going with him.” He kisses the tip of my nose softly. “I’m sorry. I just…”
“I’m yours. I mean, I’d like to be, if you want—”
“I want. I very much want.”
“Good.” I close my eyes again when the spinning becomes too much. “Then help me up.”
“Yeah, I’m not going to do that. Ambulance will be here soon, and we’ll get you checked out at the hospital.”
I’m not going to win this and the more I internally examine my body the more I agree with him. “Can you call Joe? He’s got Marco and Salvatore. I’m supposed to pick them up.”
“I’ll take care of it, baby. Just let us take care of you.”
“Hmm. Otay.” Everything feels heavy, especially my eyes. Maybe a concussion won’t be so bad if I can sleep like I did before I had kids. That was some good fucking sleep.