Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
ANORA
T he death of me is what this man is going to be.
Quentin and I had been dating for a little over a week, and I was more wound up now than I was before. Apparently, he had taken a vow of celibacy, because he hadn’t done more than give me a quick kiss since our date at the arcade where he finger-banged me into oblivion.
And I knew he damn well knew what he was doing. He was teasing me and doing a ridiculously good job of it. He had a filthy mouth, and I had only gotten a taste of it, yet I so desperately wanted more. I wanted him inside of me, wanted his mouth over every square inch of my body.
“The wait will be worth it, little moon,” he had said at dinner the other night, red wine coursing through my veins, making me brave.
“Keep it up, Quentin, and you won’t ever get me,” I had snapped back.
“Tell me that again when I’m inside you,” he said with a smirk.
Damn my vagina for being so physically attracted to this man. Just that little comment, and the image of him naked had my thighs slick with my arousal.
I thought that would have been the night—he was wining and dining me, after all—but I went to bed that night with the female version of blue balls.
I wasn’t sure what exactly he was waiting for. Hell to freeze over? The world to change? The grass to grow?
Whatever it was, I’d had enough.
Tonight, I was getting this man in my bed, one way or another. Not that he hadn’t been there last week, staying the night at my apartment. But tonight, we were going to do a lot more than just sleep next to one another.
It’s as if he switched places with Rory; she hadn’t been here in a week except to grab more clothes and let me know she was still alive and well. It had been nice to enjoy some alone time with Quentin, but I did miss having girl time with my bestie every once in a while. I tried to remember through my wine haze to text her soon and set up a double-date do-over since our last one went so swimmingly.
I sat at the dining room table, candles lit, wine poured, food cooked, lingerie worn under a silky robe, tapping my fingers in anticipation for him to come home.
But time kept passing, and he wasn’t here.
He usually got off at the same time every single day and most days he beat me home. But lately he’d been having late nights at the office, and I knew there was a chance that he was busier than usual, but part of me didn’t believe him. He was in the middle of an internship, so I guessed it was possible, but there was something in my gut that told me I didn’t know if I could fully trust him. How much did I truly know about him?
My phone chimed on the counter, and I wobbled over to it, already almost done with an entire bottle of wine. My vision blurred before clearing and focusing on the text message that spanned the screen.
Quentin
Running behind at work. Don’t wait up.
I laughed angrily at myself, grabbing the bottle and downing the rest of the wine, blowing out the candles, and taking my sorry ass to bed.
* * *
“Fucking hell,” I grumbled, waking up the next morning to an empty bed and a massive hangover. Two reasons for my infinite anger.
I heaved a sigh before getting up and making my way to the living room. The remnants of last night’s dinner were gone, cleaned up by a ghost.
“Whatever,” I mumbled, making my way into the bathroom for a shower. My mind wandered as I massaged shampoo into my hair.
This wasn’t the first time that Quentin had come and gone at such weird hours of the day. I had no idea his job was like this, demanding such extreme hours. Did the man even sleep?
I knew he worked at a tech company, but what the hell did those people need at all hours of the night?
My mind landed on two possibilities: either he was cheating on me, or his work really fucking hated his guts.
For his sake, I hoped it was the latter.
I had told Quentin all about my failed online dating endeavors, but what I hadn’t told him was how hopeless it had made me feel. Like maybe there weren’t any good guys left in the world. Now I was actually interested in giving a man a chance. The annoying voice in the back of my head was determined to make me regret it.
Overthinking had, and always would be, my worst enemy. When it came to my love life, it was a different breed of fixation entirely. Chalk it up to shitty ex-boyfriends and a lot of insecurity over the years.
Any and every man in my life seemed to lie or hide things from me before they eventually left.
Thank you, daddy issues.
I scoffed at the voice in my head, because damn it if she didn’t have a point. The first man I loved, who was supposed to love me back, was the one who made me learn the truth about men.
But that was something I didn’t plan to delve into this early in the morning.
At the end of the day, all I knew was I was hooked, obsessed. If dating Quentin didn’t work out, I might move to Europe, adopt a cat, and never let another man into my pants. Just live my best life. Maybe I could convince Rory to come with me, although I doubted she’d leave Joey behind. They were both so far up each other’s asses, I didn’t think she would even notice I was gone.
I chewed on my cuticles as the thoughts continued to plague my mind. Maybe I should have been giving Quentin the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he was insanely busy at work, doing whatever it was that he did as a data analyst.
Or maybe he didn’t like staying at my apartment and felt more comfortable at his.
Oh my gosh.
What if he wasn’t comfortable here?
God, I’m an idiot.
The urge to facepalm hit hard. Why hadn’t this crossed my mind earlier? I didn’t even remember asking if he wanted to stay at my place or his—I’d just kind of assumed, especially since Joey and Rory were always at Quentin’s apartment, and we wouldn’t get as much alone time as we would here. But I also totally understood wanting to sleep in your own bed, so maybe that’s what was wrong.
I swiped my phone off my nightstand table so fast that I was surprised I didn’t break a nail and pulled up our latest thread of texts.
Me
Hey. Missed you last night. Did you make it home okay?
It took every last drop of self-restraint I had left to demand an explanation from him as to why I woke up to a cold, empty bed. This was probably a conversation better had in person, and I couldn’t resist seeing him again even if I wanted to.
Me
Want to stay at your place tonight?
I waited for the three dots to pop up like a psychopath.
Get it together, Anora.
Shaking my head, I locked the screen and headed for my closet to get dressed for the day, forcing myself to be patient.
It only took him half an hour, so I didn’t have to wait long.
Quentin
Hi gorgeous. I just saw your text. I’m at work but I made it home fine. Early morning meeting.
Why my place?
I stared at the message and tried my damnedest not to overanalyze what he was saying, or why he was asking.
Me
I just figured since we were spending so much time at my place, you’d want to sleep in your own bed. Maybe we can even have a game night with Rory and Joey.
I waited again while I made my iced coffee and eggs for breakfast.
Without Quentin and Rory here, the apartment felt so quiet and empty. It was also kind of eerie at night, being here all alone. I shook my head to dislodge the dark thoughts that crossed my mind.
No one was going to break in. Besides, any burglar that broke into here would have a rude awakening. I grew up in a martial arts studio and proudly had my black belt. I may have looked all small and dainty, but I could kick some serious ass.
I laughed to myself, thinking about my aunt’s favorite quote that she always used to tell me when I was growing up and got bullied on the playground.
Though she be but little, she is fierce.
I hadn’t thought about my aunt in a long time. Not since my mom died and she practically decided to shun all technology and live in the wilderness. I mean, no judgment here; I just missed being able to talk to her whenever I wanted to. I got to see her a couple of times a year when she’d pop in unexpectedly, but other than that, life felt lonely.
Lost in my thoughts, I almost didn’t hear my phone ping on the counter, and I tried to pretend I wasn’t chomping at the bit to see who it was.
Quentin
I don’t care where I sleep, as long as you’re there.
But I’ll text Joey and let him know we’ll be staying there tonight so he doesn’t fuck Rory too loud next door. Do you want to meet there? Or want me to pick you up?
This man has no filter, I swear.
It was no surprise to anyone that Joey and Rory were completely and utterly smitten with one another and banged anywhere and everywhere they could.
I mean, get yours and all of that, girl.
Rory had always been a wild, free spirit, so it surprised me very little that she had fallen for someone like Joey, who was just as carefree.
Me
I’ll meet you there. See you tonight!
Before I even had the chance to put my phone down, another text popped up from Quentin.
Quentin
Good news, little moon. Joey and Rory won’t be home, so we have the place all to ourselves ;)
Although I was still annoyed at Quentin, I would not have been the slightest bit mad if he made it up to me with sex.
With that in mind, I made a beeline to the bedroom to find my best and sexiest lingerie.