14. Quinn #2
“Smells way better than beer at eleven in the morning.” I knew from comments made by Theo that Asher wasn’t overly talkative, which was why I felt the need to over explain so he didn’t have to add much. I appreciated that it seemed like he was making an effort with me.
“What is it exactly that we’re doing here?” I asked as I scooped the muffins out of the tin and onto a plate. “Theo gave me very little information.”
“Watching a football match,” Jaxson answered as he came into the kitchen and leaned on the island beside me. “We rotate the person hosting but if Theo is finally going to spend time here, I say we force him to do it every time.”
“You guys hang out a lot. You must really like each other.” I slapped Jaxson’s hand away as he reached for a French toast and pointed a finger at him.
“We do like each other,” Noah boasted as he, Oli, Will, and Theo came into the room.
“It’s a lot,” Theo muttered as he grabbed the coffee pot and everyone started grabbing the food and cups off the island.
Guess they did coffee before beer.
“Let’s get settled, the game starts soon and I feel giddy getting to watch it here,” Noah said as he walked out of the room first, heading down the stairs and we all followed behind.
From my conversations with Theo, I knew there was a gym, a bedroom and bathroom down here along with a movie and games room. We passed the gym that had fancy equipment and a treadmill heading toward an open door at the back.
It was a big room, blackout curtains covering a window on the side.
A TV took up most of the back wall, I’d literally never seen a screen so big.
A speaker ran along the bottom and there seemed to be speakers in the ceiling as well.
There was a massive sectional couch and two chairs on the right side.
A massive coffee table was starting to fill with all the things everyone had brought.
At the back there was a pool table and a bar, both still with good views of the screen.
“That TV is huge,” I marvelled as Oli passed me.
“He had it custom ordered for down here,” he said, heading to the table.
“So do you watch football often?” Will asked me as he settled into one of the chairs.
I lingered near the back of the room, trying to let everyone claim their place before moving. Theo looked at me with a quirked eyebrow and held his hand out for me. I grabbed his and let him pull me around the couch and down in the middle of the sofa between Theo and Asher.
“Nope, never have. The last time I watched any sports was with Lucas when we were together.”
“Don’t mention his name,” Theo practically growled from beside me as everyone started filling their plates with food. I was pleased to see someone did bring fruit and they were starting with egg muffins and French toast before the rest of the junk.
“I forgot to ask, how are the bruises?” Noah dipped his chin to my arms before he took a bite of his eggs. “Damn, these are really good!”
I smiled at him. “Glad you like them. And my arms aren’t that bad, thanks for asking.”
“She’s lying.” Theo threw his arm on the back of the couch behind me. “She winces every time something even brushes her arms.”
I turned to look at him, a little surprised that he noticed. I thought I’d been hiding it well. Good to know that the man was that observant.
“Oh shit!” I glanced back at Noah. He was looking at me with what could only be described as apologetic puppy dog eyes. “Did I hurt you with my hug earlier?”
“No, no, it’s fine.” I said at the same time that Theo spoke.
“Maybe that will teach you to keep your hands to yourself.”
I shoved an elbow into Theo’s ribs, getting a grunt.
“Sports!” I exclaimed as Noah opened his mouth to fire something back. “Someone better teach me the rules before it starts or I will be completely lost.” I heard a single laugh from Asher beside me as Will took up the task of teaching me the rules.
Oli, Jaxson, Noah, and even Asher piped up and added things to try and help me understand all the rules and players on their favorite team.
I was lost about three minutes in, but they were clearly enjoying explaining it to me, so I ate some food and threw questions out once in a while to seem engaged.
The game started, stopping their explanation so they could focus.
I pulled my legs up to my chest, leaning slightly to be closer to Theo as I watched the massive screen in front of us.
Well actually, I watched the guys as they yelled at the TV, screamed at the referees and jumped up when their team scored.
Everyone but Theo who had moved his arm over my shoulder and was absently twirling my hair around his fingers, yelling more quietly than his friends.
As the game went on I snuggled deeper into his side and gave in, leaning into him.
Half time came and the men moved to beer and cracked open more snacks.
The thumb that Theo was using to circle my shoulder stopped and tapped me twice, pulling my attention to him, his eyes were already waiting for me.
“Are you free the third weekend in May?”
I shifted back so I could see him better. “That’s five weeks from now.”
“I know. All of us are going to a charity event for an organization we support.”
“And you need me there for marketing or something?” I shifted in my seat trying to sort out what he was asking me.
I knew it was stupid, but my mind was an exhausting place to be and despite the last twenty-four hours, I didn’t want to get my hopes up and think he wanted me there for something other than work.
Before I could continue to spiral, he sent me a dry look, clearly unimpressed with my question. “No, I want you to come as my guest.”
“Guest?”
“This is hurting me physically,” Noah muttered. It was then that I realized that everyone had gone quiet, clearly listening to us. Theo shot a glare to Noah before focusing back on me.
“Yes, I want you to attend it with us, we’re all going and I want you there.”
“Oh.” I bit my lip to try and hide my smile. Five weeks was a long time from now. Maybe he liked spending time with me as much as I was enjoying it with him, especially if he was planning ahead like that.
“Yeah, oh.” He leaned a little further back and ran a hand over his jaw, watching me closely. “So…”
“I think I can make myself available.” He rolled his eyes at me but did relax his shoulders, like he had been bracing for me to say no. Fair enough given my track record, I guess.
“Did you think your success would be higher if you talked in a riddle?” Oli leaned over, throwing a piece of popcorn in his mouth.
“I’m honestly impressed she said yes,” Will commented. Asher just shook his head and rolled his eyes.
“I’m just proud he worked up the nerve to do it at all,” Jaxon mused.
“I hate all of you,” Theo growled as he pulled me back into his side and I let out a laugh.
“It will be fun to have you there,” Noah said with a smile.
“What’s the charity supporting?” I asked.
Oli opened his mouth to answer but Theo cut him off.
“We have a rule, on Saturdays and Sundays we don’t talk about work.
We spend too much time together, if we didn’t have the rule we would never stop.
So although it’s charity, it’s still work.
Now that I know you can come, we can cover the rest later. ”
“Smart rule, you guys do seem to hang out a lot.”
“Some might say too much,” Asher muttered in a low voice beside me.
“Come on, Ash!” Noah pointed at Asher. “Don’t be that way, you would be lonely without us.”
“I’ll have Shelly book it for you and send you all the details.” I nodded at Theo as the men started talking about sports again.
“How often are you together on Saturdays?” I asked as I leaned back into Theo deciding to let it go. I would overthink it when I was alone anyways, might as well save it for then.
“Every Saturday.” He pulled me closer and tucked me under his shoulder. He went back to twirling a piece of my hair around his finger.
“Wow. So every Friday you drink together at Pulse then drag your asses out of bed to get together on Saturday morning?”
“Sometimes this will go all day, we’ve been all known to drink too much and crash at each other’s place,” Theo added.
“And you guys don’t get sick of each other?”
“None of us have much family so we created our own. Since most of us didn’t grow up with it, it’s like we are making up for lost time.”
My heart warmed at his words and I could feel what he meant in this room, they seemed more like brothers than friends, certainly not like simply business partners.
The game ended and then more beer was passed out and we moved to the patio to enjoy the warm spring day.
We spent a few hours on the couches out there, playing a card game they created.
The rules made absolutely no sense. I laughed so much my ribs had started to hurt.
Someone suggested ordering a pizza and so we had supper together.
I was in the kitchen collapsing the pizza boxes with the men still outside, laughing about something when Theo came in looking for me.
“What are you doing in here?” he asked, leaning his hip against the counter beside me.
“Just cleaning up.”
His brow furrowed and he grabbed one of my wrists, pulling me toward him.
My hands went forward to stop myself from falling over, conveniently landing on abs.
His six-pack was unfair. “You don’t need to do that, Love, I’ll handle it later.
” His voice was gruffer, his eyes darkened with us this close.
As I tilted my head back and looked up at him with a smile, his gaze locked on my lips.
Based on how badly my body wanted him, how I attracted I was both to his physical appearance—I mean come on, who wouldn’t be with the dark hair and tattoos and chiselled muscles, but it was also because of his personality and how sweet he was with me—I knew our next kiss was going to be just as hot as our first.
The way he gently gripped my throat during that kiss last night… I was tempted to tell him to tighten his hold. I was getting wet just thinking about it now.
Going on my tiptoes, I rubbed my hands along his abs, moving them to his back. He watched my every move closely, especially as I leaned in, my lips parting softly.
He bent down, his lips about to touch mine when a throat cleared.
I pulled back, startled by the sound as Theo pretty much growled.
“Sorry.” Will smirked as he looked between us. “Didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“Then leave,” Theo snarled. I had to hold in a laugh as I reached for his hand. I was sad that our kiss was interrupted but it would be better without an audience. He threaded his fingers through mine while still glaring at his friend.
“Can’t do that. Noah’s very upset he lost and he’s demanding another round.”
Theo sighed but this time I did laugh and started pulling him back toward the patio. “Come on, Money Bags, we don’t need Noah upset.”
He let out a deep sigh and mumbled something about kicking them all out as we went back to the group.
The time flew by, and I couldn’t remember the last time I had so much fun. Theo was never far from me, always touching me, I caught him a few times watching me with light playing in his eyes and I’m pretty sure I blushed each time.
After the sun set, one of the guys lit a fire in the pit further down the yard and we all settled around it. I was on another couch but this time only Theo and I were sitting there, the others in comfy chairs around the fire. Theo really hadn’t skimped on anything for this house.
It was crazy to me that he chose to stay in a cold downtown apartment when he had all this land. It was so quiet you could hear the crickets chirping.
I yawned for the third time in the last few minutes trying to follow what the others were talking about.
“Here.” I looked over at Theo as he put a pillow on his lap and tapped it.
“If I lie down, I might fall asleep,” I said around another yawn.
He used his arm to push me halfway down and I decided not to fight it. I pulled my legs up on the couch, laid on my side and rested my head in his lap. He rested a hand on my head and ran his fingers through my hair, making my eyes even heavier.
The conversation continued on around me.
They talked about a new show some of them had watched, how Noah’s parents were doing and a surprisingly passionate discussion about the best kind of jam.
The men’s comfortable ease with each other had made my heart happy all day.
They never seemed to run out of things to discuss.
I’d never experienced this since I was an only child of divorced parents and grandparents who weren't around anymore. It had only ever been Aubrey and I, it was never this lively. I didn’t want the night to end, but I lost the battle and started falling asleep somewhere in the middle of a discussion about the merits of living somewhere with seasons versus climates that didn’t have any changes.
“Knight,” Asher’s soft voice carried over the fire to me. I was in that space between consciousness and dreams where everything seemed farther away. “She asleep?”
“Yeah,” Theo said after a pause, his hand still running through my hair making it hard to focus.
“She’s good. Don’t fuck it up.” Asher seemed to emphasize his words, his accent deepening.
“I have no intention of letting her go,” Theo replied after a moment.
They didn’t say anything else, or at least I couldn’t be sure, since I lost the battle to sleep.
I woke up in the morning confident that their quiet conversation hadn’t been a dream.