Chapter 27 Quinn
Quinn
“Idon’t know if I want to be here,” I said, looking out the Uber window playing with the hem of my dress.
It was a simple navy bodycon dress and I hated that I was wearing it instead of sweatpants.
I should have been curled up on my couch at home, a book in my hand, wallowing in self-pity.
Not sitting in the back of this car, pretending everything was fine.
Even though I’d agreed I needed to get out, I was seriously regretting it now.
“Do you want to go sit at home?” Aubrey asked from beside me.
Yes. “I didn’t want to come here.”
She let out a sigh and grabbed my arm, pulling me out of the car. “Listen, I know you’ve never been a big fan of going out but whenever you come here you let go and have fun. You feel safe here. Don’t let the asshole take that away from you.”
Since Aubrey and Max were fighting, she was in an all men suck mood. A train that I was okay to be on but I wasn’t mad, I was just sad. It felt like Theo ripped my heart from my chest and took it when he left. I was left with a hole and no way to fix it.
“He made me feel safe here.” I looked at the VIP entrance and noticed Dane was covering the door tonight.
“Do you know if he’s back?” Aubrey stepped in front of me and I bit my lip.
“Last I heard he was still in London. Not that it matters anymore.”
“It’s not Friday. It’s unlikely any of them are here,” she said encouragingly as she grabbed my hand and started pulling me toward Dane.
“It’s their business, they could be,” I muttered unconvincingly.
I knew that with construction about to break ground on the private club that they didn’t come here as much as they did before. I hadn’t replied to any of their messages aside from my brief conversation with Asher despite their constant pleas to get back to them to let them know I was okay.
But I wasn’t okay.
I’d been hiding from everyone, including them when they knocked at my apartment door.
Asher was particularly insistent and had taken to calling me every day and texting.
Leaving voicemails I hadn’t listened to and a constant stream of messages that I hadn’t opened after learning Theo was okay.
Better to start my grieving of them now too.
I’d lost Theo, I didn’t want to lose them but it was easier for me to back off. Because despite their assurances I knew it was only a matter of time before they had to pick a side and it would be his.
“Hey Quinn,” Dane said warmly. He wasn’t looking at me differently which meant that Theo hadn’t told his staff or revoked my privileges.
Did that mean that he didn’t care enough to bother or because we weren’t over?
“Hey…” I said awkwardly as Aubrey passed him as he stepped aside but I stopped. “Are Asher, Noah, or Jaxson here?” He frowned a little before shaking his head, because clearly I should know.
“None of them are here." He answered like I hoped he would. "Do you need something?” His frown had deepened.
“No, I’m good.” I smiled.
I followed Aubrey in and we went straight to the bar. Mike was there when we walked up and he had our shots lined up quickly after we ordered.
“Men suck. Let’s get drunk.” Aubrey clinked her glass against mine as we took our shots.
“Should I be paying?” I asked after our third shot. I dropped my voice. “I’m not dating him anymore. Free booze seems wrong.”
Aubrey rolled her eyes, grabbed my hand and dragged me off to the dance floor.
We lost ourselves in the music, dancing and ignoring our problems. Men tried to come over but every time they did, Aubrey would scream that ‘men ain’t shit’ or ‘men suck,’ and then they tended to leave us alone.
We took a few pee breaks and then did more dancing and then had more shots.
Two hours after getting there, I was just tipsy enough to feel good but not enough to make any stupid decisions. Unlike Aubrey who hadn’t switched to water when she went to the bar the last three times like I had.
She’d been acting weird. She still wouldn’t tell me what her and Max were fighting about, but switching to water seemed like a good call seeing as one of us needed to be together enough to get us home.
“More shots!” Aubrey yelled as we made our way back to the bar.
“Don’t you want a break. And some water?” I yelled in her ear so she heard me above the music. The alcohol was wearing off faster as I chased my drunk friend around.
“Bartender, I need more shots!” she yelled at the women who stood in front of us.
“And two waters,” I added.
“That’s sixteen-fifty.” I frowned at the woman behind the bar. I wasn’t sure if I had seen her before, not that I spent much time down here.
“What?” I asked confused.
“Sixteen dollars and fifty cents for the shots.” She shot me an annoyed look. But not because I was asking, she sounded smug.
I frowned trying to place her. I thought her name was Riley, Noah had pointed her out to me once. Telling me that Theo never let her bartend in VIP because she had a thing for him.
“She doesn’t pay here,” Aubrey slurred her words from beside me.
“Just because you drink here for free doesn’t mean Theo cares about you. You aren’t the first woman who’s gotten the special treatment,” Riley said with a glare.
I didn’t miss that she used his first name, literally everyone but me called him Knight. Before our fight or breakup or whatever was happening, I wouldn’t have believed her. But now, I was hurting and full of alcohol, so her words landed.
“Fine, get the machine.” I pulled out my phone to pull up my credit card. Aubrey looked like she wanted to say something, but she decided taking her shots was more important; she grabbed them and wandered off.
“Sorry, honey. But I guess since I get to drink here for free now, I’m not that sorry,” she said with a smirk.
“Are you trying to insinuate that you slept with him?” I narrowed my eyes, trying to act brave when I felt on the edge of falling apart.
“Yeah, before he took off to London but he’ll be back.
And when he does,” she placed the machine in front of me, “it will be me he calls to fuck.” I was frozen, my phone hovering away from the machine.
“And that man is something else in bed, an animal really. His dick is huge, hits you in all the right places. And he has an insatiable appetite.” All the alcohol felt like it had left my blood stream, leaving me cold.
“And he does this thing with his tongue…”
I stood there for another few moments, trying to push down the jealousy and disgust that was burning a hole in my stomach.
Guess my answer was that it wasn’t just a fight, or space, that it was a breakup. I’d worried he would sleep with someone back in London, not that he would do it here before my tears were even fucking dry.
I’d been holding on to the fact that he couldn’t tell me that he didn’t love me anymore, but I guess his actions spoke louder than his words. He didn’t care about me. I really had meant nothing. That would be the only reason he could’ve slept with her the day after we broke up.
Because if he felt a fraction of the way that I did, he wouldn’t have been able to even look at someone right now, let alone fuck them.
I shoved my phone on the reader and the second it beeped I turned, walked away and went in search of my drunk friend.
“Hey.” Wade stepped in front of me and grabbed my arm, stopping my search. “Did I just see you pay for a drink?”
I pushed down my emotions and let the numbness take over. I needed to get the fuck out of here right now.
“It’s not a big deal. I won’t be back here anyway,” I replied dismissively as I pulled my arm out of his hand.
I saw Aubrey on the dance floor and made my way to her without looking back at Wade.
“Aubrey, it’s time to go.” She whirled to me with a smile on her face but she frowned as she looked at me.
“What happened?” she asked concerned, already pulling out her phone. She may be drunk but at least she could get us a ride.
“Nothing, I just don’t want to be here anymore,” I said as I crossed my arms over my chest. She nodded and we made our way to the door, stepping outside, the summer air had lost the heat from the day and there was a chill, like it was going to rain.
“How long till the car is here?” Aubrey tilted on her heels and I grabbed her arm to steady her.
“Max was nearby and I wanted him to pick us up,” she said as she sank down on the curb.
I looked behind me to see Dane watching us closely with a deep frown on his face. I smiled tightly at him and sat down beside my best friend. She rested her head on my shoulder, I rested my head on hers.
“I’m sorry you’re hurting,” Aubrey said. I just shrugged, I really didn’t know what to say. “He wasn’t good enough for you.”
That wasn’t true. But I appreciated the sentiment.
“Quinn.” I lifted my head and turned to see Dane standing beside me. “Do you want me to call Asher to come get you? Knight wouldn’t be happy you're taking a cab.” I just managed not to roll my eyes.
“It’s all good, my friend’s boyfriend is picking us up.”
“And he’s less than a minute away,” Aubrey added, now getting sleepy from the alcohol.
“Quinn.” Dane looked down at me.
“It’s sweet of you, Dane, but I really think Knight won’t give a shit if I get in a car with a stranger or not.” He frowned but luckily Max’s car pulled into the parking lot, coming to a stop across from us.
I helped Aubrey stand up and shot Dane a little wave over my shoulder.
Hopefully it would convince him not to call Ash, I couldn’t deal with him right now.
If he knew about what Theo was going to do and didn’t tell me I would never be able to forgive him, and since I was likely losing him anyway, I didn’t need to add to my hurt.
I opened the door for Aubrey and froze. It smelt like alcohol in the car and we weren’t even in it yet.
“Are you getting in?” Max grumbled, looking agitated. I sniffed again, it still smelt like beer.
“Where were you?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.
“What is this? A fucking interrogation? Do you want a ride or not?” Max snapped at the same time Aubrey sighed.
“Quinnnnn,” Aubrey complained. “Let me in the car. I’m cold.”
I sniffed again and the smell was gone. I straightened and took a step to Aubrey, lowering my voice.
“Why don’t we get a cab? Dane can call one for us.
” I was even contemplating calling Arthur.
I could’ve imagined the strong smell, maybe I was smelling Aubrey or myself.
We had a lot to drink tonight, it was possible.
We didn’t drink beer, but I could’ve been drunk enough that I wasn’t smelling right.
“No. Max never drives me home. He never picks me up. He never does anything for me. He is doing this.” She stepped past me to climb in the car.
“Is there a problem?” Dane was now standing on the curb not far from me, looking at me with narrowed eyes.
“Quinn,” Max barked. “In or out?” I looked back at him and then at Dane again.
Max may be an ass, but I didn’t think he would risk Aubrey, he did care about her. I must have imagined the smell or maybe he’d had one beer while he was out. Either way, I was probably being paranoid for no reason.
“I’m good, Dane.” I smiled at him and climbed in the car. I wasn’t even buckled in before Max hit the gas.
The silence in the car was tense, Max’s tapping on the steering wheel was the only sound until Aubrey spoke up.
“We’re driving Quinn to her apartment.” I looked over at Aubrey in the passenger seat, pulling my attention away from the city flying by us too fast.
“She can take a car from our house,” Max said shortly.
“It feels like we’re going a little fast?” Neither of them seemed to hear my comment as we exited out of the core and onto a less busy highway.
We were already going in the opposite direction of my place.
“No, we are driving her home.” Aubrey crossed her arms over her chest.
“No.”
“Listen, you went out with your stupid friends tonight, but you said you would pick us up, so stop being an ass.”
“I don’t want to drive her home. I’m fucking tired.”
“Well, I don’t want you still talking to Lucas and all those stupid friends in that group but you don’t seem to care. He hurt her!”
“It was an accident. I can’t believe we’re back to this. Get over it, Aubrey, for fuck’s sake. He didn’t touch you. He’s not even in town.”
That was news to me, but I couldn’t let that distract me. “How about we not fight and just get home. I can take a car from your place no problem,” I said, trying to calm them down.
Max seemed to be speeding up as they argued.
“She’s my best friend. I won’t get over it!” Aubrey yelled, pulling her seatbelt loose so she could turn to face Max.
“You’ve been a total bitch lately. She shacks up with a billionaire, you get all pissy. Thinking you’re too good for me now. She won’t last with him, then she can go back to being your friend who dates mediocre men till they decide to move on.”
“Hey,” I said firmly. This sounded like a conversation they’d had before and I wasn’t interested in hearing it.
“He cared about her. She never had to pay for anything when they were together.”
“That’s not true.” Neither of them paid me any attention.
“This is so fucking stupid.” He turned to look at her and took his eyes off the road.
He screamed at her some more, but I didn’t hear it above the rush of blood in my ears. The world was moving in slow motion.
Max yanked on the wheel in anger, sending us to the left, the headlights turned the corner and we were in the wrong lane.
“WATCH OUT!” I screamed as the headlights blinded me and the screech of metal colliding filled my ears.