16. Quinn
Quinn
“God why am I so nervous?” I asked Aubrey over Facetime. She was in the nurses’ lounge on the break she’d taken to talk to me. Because I was freaking out a little.
Okay. A lot.
“Because you like him,” she commented casually as she ate her dinner.
“Yeah, but I’ve hung out with him a handful of times. And he’s seen me when I was snotty and gross with no makeup on my face and hair that resembled a rat’s nest.” I tilted my head at my reflection and pulled on my skirt.
“The length is fine, Quinn.”
I was wearing a forest green skirt that went mid-thigh and had a small slit on the front. I’d paired it with a black long sleeve that had a sweetheart neckline, and I was going to pair it with my leather jacket and a pair of tall leather boots.
And maybe I was wearing a matching lacy bra and thong in case the night ended with us in bed. It had been a while for me so every kiss and lingering touch from him was driving me crazy. And maybe I’d touched myself last night and given myself an orgasm imagining it was his hands instead of my own.
Sue me, I had the hots for this man.
“Is it okay for dinner?” He didn’t tell me where he was taking me but I assumed it would be nicer, even though I tried to argue with him that we could go to a bar or regular restaurant. “He’s seen me in jeans too much.” I adjusted my gold necklace one more time and then fluffed my hair.
“You look great. Stop overthinking this. Don’t think of it as your first date. He knows you, you know him. Just have a good time, you won’t have any of the weird first date stuff.” I smiled at her as my doorbell rang. “Call me tomorrow.” She winked and then ended the call.
She was right, I did know and like him. There wouldn’t be any of the awkwardness associated with the first date. I’d already slept in his bed for crying out loud.
With those thoughts fortifying my resolve, I grabbed my purse and went to the door.
“How do you get in here?” I asked as I pulled it open, it was the third time he’d gotten into the building without me buzzing him in.
“Good timing,” he said with a smile. His gaze dropped from my face and roamed down my body and then back up.
“Is this okay?” I barely resisted the urge to pull the skirt down again.
“You look beautiful, Love,” he said quietly, almost reverently as he leaned down and pressed a kiss to my cheek.
“Well, you look pretty handsome yourself.” I looked him up and down as well.
He was wearing charcoal grey suit pants, a classic white button up but today he had it paired with a black coat. His suits never failed to be perfectly tailored to him and this coat was no exception.
“You’re going to need to stop looking at me like that or we might never leave.” His voice was rough.
I snapped my eyes up to his to see his heated gaze watching me. I smiled sheepishly and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “Sorry.” I wasn’t at all convincing.
“Here.” He passed me a bouquet of flowers from behind his back that I hadn’t noticed.
“These are beautiful.” I smiled up at him as he passed them to me. They were yellow lilies. My favorite. “Come in, I want to get these in some water before we go.” Once they were in a vase, I grabbed my bag off the counter.
“You don’t need that.” He dipped his chin, looking at my purse. I clutched it to my chest.
“Why not? It has my phone, keys, an emergency book and—”
“Wallet,” he finished for me. “Which I don’t trust you with.”
“Theodore…” I started, earning a glare.
“I invited you on this date. I’m paying. I’m also driving, well Arthur is, so you don’t need a licence. I’ve got you, Quinn, you don’t need anything.”
When this man’s tone went all low and gravely, I’m pretty sure he could convince me to do anything.
“What if I leave my wallet, then can I take the purse?” I tried negotiating.
“Don’t think I’ve forgotten about the credit card on your phone.” He raised an eyebrow at me as I shook my head before I tossed the wallet back on the kitchen counter.
He didn’t know I had anticipated this and tucked a few cards in my purse, just in case.
“I won’t use it, I promise.” I grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the door. He stayed close, his hand my back until he helped me in the car. Once we were buckled in, he kept his hand in mine, rubbing his thumb on the back of my hand.
His hands were distracting. The strength of them, the veins, the things they could probably do.
“Can’t believe you made me work this hard to get a date,” he teased.
“Will you get bored of me after this?” I tried to keep my tone equally as light, but I knew it didn’t work when he put his free hand under my chin and made me look at him.
“This is not a game to me, Quinn.” I knew it was serious with the way he said my name. “You are not a game to me. The only thing that is going to happen after this is you’re going to have an even harder time keeping me away.” He squeezed my hand, emphasizing his words, his eyes locked on me.
“I’m okay with that,” I replied softly.
He didn’t drop his hand or my eyes. “Tell me you believe me.”
“I believe you, Theo.”
And I did. Despite some of my earlier lack of confidence in his interest in me, I believed him now, especially after the conversation I’d heard between him and Asher the night at his house. It might not last, but he wasn’t playing a game.
When we were spending time together, he was focused and engaged. He listened, made eye contact when you talked, I saw him do it with me and all the guys. I really liked that quality in him. Even though sometimes it was a little intense.
He waited another moment before he nodded, satisfied by whatever he saw on my face.
The conversation in the car flowed easily after that.
He told me how his day was and the new project he was looking at undertaking for Knight Enterprises.
He told me about a time in high school when Noah had decided that for a senior prank they should drive the principal’s car from his house and leave it in the school.
He’d seen it in a movie. Asher and Theo weren’t thrilled but the three of them did it together, because that’s what they did for each other.
They were caught and driven home with nothing but a shake of the head from the security guard. Noah’s mom was pissed, but his dad laughed which had them being sent to their rooms and the dad getting a lecture.
I ate up every piece of information he was sharing, the glimpses into his life were fascinating and thrilling for me.
Before I knew it we were pulling up to a restaurant with valets out front. Theo helped me out and the second Theo gave his name, we were shown a table despite the line.
I was relieved to find that although the place seemed nice and popular, it wasn’t overly stuffy or so fancy that I felt out of place.
The lights were low and the music was soft so you could still have a conversation.
Booths surrounded the outside with tables in the middle, all done in dark fabrics that gave the place a rich feel.
We were given a private table near the back. Menus were placed in front of us, a wine appeared like it had been already selected and then they left us alone telling us they’d be back for our order soon.
Theo lifted his wine glass up. “To finally getting to take you out properly.”
Smiling, I clinked my glass against his.
“To your persistence.” That got me a small twitch of his lips as we both took a sip.
The wine might have been the smoothest I’ve ever had, probably because I usually went for cute bottles that were under twenty dollars.
I didn’t even want to think about how much this glass of wine cost.
“I haven’t been here before but Will told me it was great,” Theo said as he picked up his menu before looking back at me. “Can I guess what you’ll order?” A cocky look crossed his face.
I thumbed the corner of the menu, looking it over quickly before meeting his eyes. “If I can guess yours.”
“Do you need a minute to look it over?” He put the menu down and leaned back in his chair grabbing his wine glass.
“No.” I copied his posture. “Shall I go first?” He lifted his hand, offering for me to continue. “Well, the most expensive thing on the menu is the steak so Mr. Money Bags probably goes for that.”
His lip twitched again. “Sides?”
I smiled, leaning forward. “Potatoes, probably mashed and the side salad with the dressing on the side, since you hate when food has too much sauce.” I’d eaten around him enough over the last few weeks, noticing that he didn’t like things dripping in sauce or getting soggy.
“Impressive,” he said with a tilt of his head. I smiled widely at him but considered for a moment.
“Would you actually tell me if I was wrong?” I asked, taking a sip of my wine. I wasn’t so sure the man would.
“Your turn.” He put his glass down, evading my question.
Which probably meant I was right and something about him letting me be right had my stomach feeling all gooey.
“If we weren’t on a date, you would have ordered hot wings with a side of fries.
” I gave him a surprised look. Because that was my go-to order.
“So instead, you’ll order a Cajun chicken sandwich with the side of fries, of course, because you would prefer if fries were considered a main food group. ”
I blinked at him for a second. He was a hundred percent right. “How did you know that?”
“About your love of fries?” I nodded at his question, trying to remember if I’d said something. “You mentioned it as part of another story on our first coffee together.” I was rambling a lot that day, answering his questions. I couldn't even remember what I’d told him.
“Wow, you really pay attention.” I shook my head, feeling my cheeks get a little pink.
When was the last time a man cared enough about me to pay attention to something so small?
“To you, yeah, I do.”