Chapter Four #2
I had kissed many women; I had been told that I was a good kisser at that.
It had never felt like this. Enjoyable, yes. A bit of fun, yes. But this was consuming, hot, commanding. He was definitely good at this, and he was definitely a dominant kisser.
My knees went weak when his tongue touched mine, and a sense of electricity ran through me. I was pretty sure I made a little mewing sound as he pulled me in closer and swept through my mouth.
I had never felt like this.
I didn’t know how long we stood behind those trees, kissing, but I had no interest in finding out.
But Quinn eventually pulled back, slowly. His eyes were closed, and his lips were red, swollen and wet and he looked good like that.
Christ, I was so, so gay.
***
Quinn
Andrej had surprised me with his request, but he was more surprised when I pulled back. I could see the moment he realized that he had been misdirected his whole life.
I’d hesitated before I kissed him. The rules were supposed to be that the date was nothing more than hand holding and platonic interactions. Andrej had been so earnest, so confused, so willing that I just couldn’t resist his request.
It was the first time I’d ever seen anyone realize they hadn’t been pursuing the right people for romantic endeavors, and it was actually sweet.
“Okay?” I asked, putting a hand on his cheek.
“That was amazing,” he whispered.
“What are you thinking?”
“I’m gay,” he stated, his voice just above that previous whisper. “Wow, am I gay.”
I chuckled. “Didn’t realize it, eh?”
“Not a clue, but I don’t know how. My one girlfriend even told me I was just adequate in bed.”
“Adequate? Ouch.”
“She never complained, really. But now I’m wondering so many more things about me , and what I haven’t been paying attention to.” His blue eyes sparkled. “This is going to be a fun adventure.”
“Uh, oh. I’ve created a monster.”
“You may have.” He glanced down the hall where we had come from. “Let’s head back to the party. I don’t want people to wonder where I am or what we’re doing.”
My eyebrow lifted. “Really? I think most people would easily guess what was going on just now. You and me and a tree.”
He snorted. “That rhymed.”
“It did.” I tried to keep the grin off my face and failed, mostly.
The room was starting to feel like the party was winding down when we got back. Most people were clustered in little groups, women holding their clutches, men looking for jackets and younger children starting to bob and weave in their seats, fighting sleep.
“Andrej, Quinn,” Sofia said, floating over. “Max and I are going to go to Golph’s Bar. Want to go with us? He sent over some of his security to make sure that there aren’t a lot of papps there so we can have some quiet drinks.”
Andrej looked at me. “Want to go?”
“Your call.”
He hitched. He’d forgotten that I was rented for the night and I would follow his lead until time was up at three in the morning. He forgot; I didn’t. I’d already busted the rules by kissing him and I had to trust that Foxy wouldn’t find out.
“Right.” His voice was quiet.
“Do you want to go?”
“I love hanging out with my sister…”
“And Max is fun. Let’s go,” I offered.
He brightened a bit and nodded. “Let’s go.”
Golph’s Bar was a good solid Irish bar not all that far from the theater.
Max had his driver pick us up from a different door so that we could avoid the majority of the paparazzi.
It was weird to be hanging out with Max again—not because he was now one of the hottest names in Hollywood, but because it was another lifetime.
Not a good lifetime, either.
Still, Max was a good guy, and he was treating Sofia like she was a prize, and he wasn’t sure that he deserved it. She was just gaga over him.
Andrej took my hand at some point, and I hadn’t realized it because it felt natural. That was scary—I wasn’t that long out of a disasterous relationship that destroyed me. Feeling like holding hands was natural after just a few hours felt weird, and frightening.
But I couldn’t make myself let go.
The few people in the bar were shocked to see Max walk in but quickly got it out of their system and we settled around a table. It was only the four of us, and the other patrons, so it was nice. We just…talked.
All the while Andrej played with my hand under the table. He had an electricity running through him, and it seemed like he wanted to find another tree and make out for a few hours.
It was already too close to the end of the date for me to even consider that. As it was, I was going to have to call my ride-share soon.
I was torn inside. Andrej was a cutie with a big heart. He was far better than some of the other dates I’d been on over the years, but these past six months, the dates were paid for, so I didn’t care how they went. I could fake my way through them.
I couldn’t with this one.
The phone in my pocket buzzed, and I pulled it out look at the face.
The alarm to call the ride-share was buzzing, and I quickly paged down to the app and put in a request, knowing how likely it was that someone was going to go all the way to Bainbridge.
I might have to settle for just getting to the ferry dock and jumping on the last ferry.
I glanced at the clock. “Oh, no.”
Max, Sofia and Andrej looked at me.
“The last ferry is at 2:10 a.m.,” I grumbled. “It’s two right now.”
“The dock is ten minutes away,” Sofia said.
“If I can get a ride.”
“I can have my driver take you,” Max offered.
“It’s not gonna work,” I said. “By the time the car comes around the window would have passed. Shit. Shit. My sister…”
Tara was expecting me by four. If I tried to drive all the way around it would take me three hours. And she needed me to be there for her in-house physical therapy. “Damn it. I need to get back.”
“Sof, do you think dad would mind if we took the boat?” Andrej asked.
I looked over at him. “What?”
“Dad has a boat. It’s a small yacht, but I’ve been driving it since I was six. I know the waters, and I know how to get to Bainbridge.”
“In the dark?” Max asked.
“I’ve brought it in under dark,” he said. “A few times. Dad had a habit of forgetting that the sun sets fairly regularly.”
Sofia shrugged. “I mean, I guess. It’s up in Salmon Bay though. Can you get someone to work the locks at 3 in the morning?”
“I’ll call the lockmaster on the way.”
Sofia nodded. “If he needs a ride, he needs a ride.”
“I can take the first ferry in the morning. I think it’ll get me there on time. I can just hang at the terminal.”
“No,” Max, Sofia and Andrej chorused, and Andrej continued alone. “No, you don’t want to do that. There are some aggressive panhandlers there, and you don’t want to hang around—someone will call the cops on you.”
“But you’re okay with taking your yacht across the sound in the middle of the night? That’s just as crazy dangerous.”
“Not really,” Sofia said with a shrug. “Call dad. Ask him.”
“Do you at least have your marine license?”
“Yes, I have the license,” Andrej laughed. “I have the experience, and I know the area.”
Max shrugged as Andrej was already on the phone.
Looked like I was getting a private boat ride back home.