Chapter 33 – RHETT
RHETT
“Hey,” the tall man greets her and goes in for a hug, but his sharp gaze is locked on me. Uncle Callan. Fuck. “Who is this that you’re here with?”
“Oh.” She laughs. “I came in to grab something to eat because I was too lazy to cook and ran into Coach Jones. Apparently, he lives in this neighborhood too. Have you two met?”
I shake my head and stand. “No. Hi, I’m Rhett Jones.”
“Yes, of course. I know you or should I say I know you from Asher.” We shake hands, and he has a no-bullshit grip.
“Callan and my dad are lifelong best friends. They were in Central Square together and Callan is a doctor at my hospital in the ER.”
“Not much anymore,” he chimes in. “Now I mostly watch my grandchildren while my daughter and her husband work as surgeons.”
“That’s amazing. I’d say it’s probably less stressful than working in the ER, but children can be a handful.”
He chuckles. “That’s for sure.” He notices our plates, and something crosses his features. It’s an intimate thing to share a meal with someone the way we are. “I didn’t mean to interrupt your dinner.”
Quinn is blushing. I wish she weren’t blushing. “No, it’s all good.” She waves him away. “Are you eating here? Are Layla or Katy joining you?”
He lifts two large plastic to-go bags in his right hand. “I’m picking up dinner for us and bringing it home.”
“Cool. Tell them I say hi.”
“Will do.” His tone has changed, and he’s giving me the male once-over, not even bothering to hide his suspicion. “It was nice meeting you, Coach.”
“You too, Doctor.”
Without another word, he leaves, and that’s it. We retake our seats, both of us quiet for a moment, our food going untouched.
“Well that wasn’t good.”
“We’re having dinner, Quinn. It’s not like he caught me fucking you in the bathroom.”
“I know. I know,” she repeats. “I’m still thinking coming here was a bad idea.”
Maybe. I thought I had it all mapped out.
“I didn’t think through all the people who live in this neighborhood or who frequent this place,” she continues. “I mean, I saw you here when I was with my girlfriends a few months ago.”
“Quinn, it’s fine. Nothing we can do about it. What’s he going to say? That he ran into you, and we were eating dinner together?”
“I don’t go out for dinner alone.”
My brow scrunches. “What?”
She twists to me. “I don’t go out for dinner alone. I never have. Not ever. I’d bring it home.”
“Okay,” I say slowly.
“He knows that. He knows me. And if he tells my dad, he’ll know that for sure. I’m also dressed up. I don’t get dressed up for no reason. I’m not that girl.”
“Quinn, what do you want me to do?”
She stares down at her plate, moving a fry through ketchup. “I don’t know. All of this is a mess.”
“I think you’re making a bigger deal out of this than necessary. We’re having dinner. That’s all.”
She pops the ketchup-soaked fry into her mouth and chews for a long moment, leaving me here in suspense. After what feels like forever, she relaxes a little. “You’re right. I’m being silly. It’s just dinner. But I’m thinking maybe we keep our dates a bit more down-low from now on.”
She picks up the burger half and takes a bite, but the night is tainted now. She’s going to be worried about Callan and whether or not he’ll say something and what he’ll say when he does.
We haven’t even been officially doing this for a week, and we’re already running into snags that challenge it.
The rest of dinner is edgy and tense and not what I wanted for tonight at all. It’s not what Quinn wanted either, but there isn’t much either of us can do about it.
It has me taking her hand as we leave the restaurant. She glances down at it, and I can feel her tension. Her unease.
“You know you’re worth it to me, right?”
Her chin lifts.
“If you told me right now that you wanted me to go to your dad and your brothers and Russel and tell them that I’m crazy about you, I would.
It’s what a man would do and it’s bothering me that I’m keeping you a secret.
Do I want to lose Russel? Absolutely not.
I can’t think of much worse than that. But I don’t like lying to him either.
I get that we need time. I’m not disputing that, and it was my idea from the start.
I agree it’s likely too soon to come out with all of this.
But if that’s what happens, then we’ll face it. ”
She sniffles and glides a hand under her nose before she twists away to hide it. “How do you know?”
“What do you mean?”
“I dated Russel for three years. I loved him. But being with you is so different, and it hasn’t been that long. It’s barely been any time, and the things we’re talking about—”
“Hey…” I stop us and cup her jaw. “Relax. I’m old, remember? I’ve had seventeen more years than you have, and I get carried away because of that. Our date went a little off course. Let’s take a step back and recalibrate.”
She gulps. “Why are we so intense?”
I laugh. “I have no clue, but it seems we can’t escape it. I think that only happens when you know something is real but forbidden all the same. You’re forbidden to me. Forever offsides. That doesn’t mean it’s not worth the penalty.”
She considers this for a long moment and finally nods. “You’re right. We are. I’m fine. Better than fine.” She glides up onto her tiptoes and plants her lips on mine. “I have toys in my nightstand.”
My dick just became a fucking rock.
I grin and nip her bottom lip. “What kind of toys?”
“Fun ones. For me. Things that’ll make me come.”
“Things that I can put in your pussy while I’m in your ass?”
She pants out a breath, and her skin grows warm against me. “I don’t know. Let’s go find out.”
I sweep her off her feet right here on the street and drop her onto my shoulder.
“Oh my gosh! What are you doing!”
“Saving time. You’re not moving fast enough.”
“Anyone could see us.”
“No one’s on the street but us.”
I run us up the hill, and she laughs as she bounces against me. The leaves on the trees are changing, and I’m excited for fall in New England. I’m excited for everything right now.
We reach her door, and I set her down and make sure she’s steady before I release her.
She unlocks it, we slip inside, and she relocks it.
Now it’s just us. No more outside world.
No more questions or drama. It’s her eyes and smile and sweet, beautiful face.
It’s the feel of her body and the sound of her breath and the way she smells.
But then there’s that other thing. Toys!
Yet another first, but I have every intention of learning all there is to know about making Quinn come with her toys and feeling what she feels when I’m inside of her.
She jumps back up into my arms and clings to me like a spider monkey. I bring her up the stairs, my mouth all over hers as I go.
“Are you the kind of second date who puts out?”
She makes a dismissive noise as her mouth moves to my neck. “Obviously. I put out hard.”
I nibble on her earlobe and walk us into her bedroom. “Best date ever.”
“Is this even our second date?”
“I have no clue. It feels like it’s our hundredth.” Her ass lands on the mattress, and I’m all over her, kissing her and running my mouth up and down her neck and over her shoulder. Her fingers snake between us, and she works at the buttons of my shirt only to grow impatient and tear.
Buttons go flying, and I pull back and quirk an eyebrow at her. “I would have unbuttoned it.”
She shakes her head, her hair splayed out across her bed. “It would take too long.”
I shrug out of my ruined shirt and wiggle a finger up and down at her sweater. “Take it off or I’ll rip it.”
“You can’t! I love this sweater.”
“I love it too, which is why I gave you the option.”
She rolls up into a crunch and pulls it over her head. “Better?”
“Much. Bra next. I’m going for your nightstand drawer. Do I have permission to open it?”
“Yep. Go to town.”
I slide open the drawer and stop. “Um, Quinn?”
She laughs. “I told you I had toys. Plural.”
I rub a hand along my jaw. “This is a fun house of pleasure. I have no clue where to start.”
“Come on, Coach. Don’t tell me you’re afraid of a little challenge.”
I cock an eyebrow at her from over my shoulder. “Baby girl, I own your pleasure.”
I leave it at that and I pick out two items I want to use along with a bottle of water-based lubricant.
My pants hit the floor, but I leave on my briefs for now.
Probably because while I own her pleasure, she most definitely owns mine, and one innocent graze of my dick while we’re doing this might be my undoing.
I leave the toys on the nightstand as a promise or perhaps a threat.
As a way for her to know that I do own her pleasure and that I won’t be using them on her until I say so.
I kiss a trail down the center of her chest, through the valley of her breasts, until I reach the top of her leggings.
I cup her pussy over them and rub my hand up and down.
She squirms, her breath coming out in a harsh pant.
I press two fingers against her opening and feel how hot and wet she already is. Then I pause. “Quinn, are you not wearing any panties?”
She bites her lip and shakes her head, being coy and teasing me.
“And to think, I didn’t take advantage of this during the movie. Take these off too,” I whisper against her lips before I lower my mouth to her nipple and bite her hard enough to make her gasp. Her leggings slide off her long legs, and I peer down while my tongue flicks the stiff peak.
My hand returns to her pussy, and I hold it, cupping it firmly and moving my fingers without touching or giving her pressure where she wants it.
I use my free hand to cup and squeeze one breast while my mouth gives the other its full attention.
Quinn is already so worked up she’s leaking onto my hand, and I fucking love that about her.
She gets so turned on for me.
I work my way down to where my hand is and slowly slip it back so I can lick at her clit.
“Spread your legs wide.”
She complies, and I look at her plump clit.
It’s pulsing with blood, and I suck it between my lips, giving it a long pull that makes her moan.
Her hands fly up her bed to the headboard, where she pushes against it so she can rock up into my mouth.
Only I don’t let her do that. I draw back and blow cool air on her.
She writhes, and I grin against her wet flesh. She just gave me an idea.
Snatching her leggings up from the foot of the bed, I take her wrists in my hands and bind them with the black fabric.
Her lips part, but she doesn’t say anything as I tie them together.
Her headboard is fabric and therefore not something I can tie her to, unfortunately, but having her like this is still seriously fucking hot.
It’s what she told me she wanted me to do to her when she mentioned me stalking her into her house. So here I am.
“How’s your circulation?”
“Fine,” she says softly.
“I’m going to buy you a blindfold, and next time I tie you up, we’ll do it at my place so I can tie you to the bed.” I reach over for the pretty blue bullet wand. “Ready?”