Chapter 12
Quinn
August, Sophomore Year
For Quinn, the summer after freshman year flew by, filled with teaching swim lessons at the swim club she’d come up in and spending time with her siblings.
She took the primary role as their driver for the season.
She’d always loved spending time with them—they were pests, but they were her pests—but after the conversation with Liv about her sister, she didn’t want to waste any time that she had with them.
She was also glued to her phone, in constant contact with Liv.
Liv had gone home to Chicago and was interning for her dad, and she was thriving in her role.
She was on the marketing team for the moment, and, though she was certain it had a lot to do with her last name, she was getting the chance to do actual work on a logo redesign, instead of running errands and grabbing coffee.
Based on what Quinn could tell, she was staying busy, and though they rarely talked about her life outside of work, Liv seemed happy.
Quinn hoped it wasn’t because she was in the same zip code as that guy, though… What business was it of hers?
It was just that Quinn was stunned by how much she’d missed her.
She talked to Emma quite a bit, as well, even though she was constantly with her boyfriend.
They’d attempted to make plans multiple times throughout the summer to meet up, but each time, something came up with Brandon that would prevent Emma from visiting.
Quinn wasn’t too upset about it. She understood prioritizing the folks at home before the next school year, so she just tried to enjoy her friends from a distance.
She hadn’t told either of them that Scarlet had ended things, though.
It had happened in early July, when Quinn told Scarlet that she didn’t want to come for the holiday weekend, that she’d preferred to stay and spend the time with her family.
Her dad worked as a journeyman in a factory, so he was usually pulled in for holidays for maintenance projects, but he’d made sure to take this time off, and they were planning to have a cookout and set off fireworks.
It wasn’t anything major, but Quinn didn’t want to miss it.
Scarlet had gotten emotional, which didn’t make sense, because it wasn’t like Quinn had promised she’d visit that weekend.
And then, she’d turned it into a rant about how Quinn always put her last, and that it wasn’t just her family, but it was Emma, and her roommate from last year.
And maybe it wasn’t the right time for Quinn to tell her that she was rooming with Liv again, but she’d said it, and within a few minutes, they were done.
Quinn was largely unaffected, if she was being honest. Her primary emotion was embarrassment at having let it continue long past when it should have ended. And, maybe Liv had the right idea, even if she was coming from a pretty toxic place… Maybe Quinn should take a break from dating, too.
Before she knew it, she was packing up her car to head back to school, preparing for another week of intensive swimming before the official return to campus that would flood the school with students.
She said goodbye to her family, through tears and plans to visit from everyone, and after stopping for her standard road trip snacks, drove the two hours to campus.
As soon as she got to campus, before even unloading her bags into her dorm, she grabbed her bag and headed for the gym. Swim practice wasn’t scheduled to start until the next day, and she didn’t think the pool was open, but she could at least run for a bit, maybe throw some weights around .
There was no one else around, so she started with a light jog on the treadmill, just trying to get out some of her energy after the car ride. After a few minutes of that, she moved to a weight bench, but she’d barely even begun before she heard someone come in.
“Oh, I’m telling coach that you were lifting without a spotter,” Emma called out.
She turned to her friend, grinning goofily at her and pretending to swoon. “I was just getting started. I’m so lucky you’re here to protect me.”
“You really are,” Emma shot back.
They started a light upper body workout, though they were careful not to push it, knowing that the first workout of the season was sure to be brutal in the morning.
They’d been hanging out for a while when Quinn noticed writing on Emma’s arm. She reached out, grabbing her, and saw that she’d gotten “Brandon” tattooed across the inside of her wrist in cursive writing.
“Whoa,” was all Quinn could say.
“You don’t have to say anything, I know it’s stupid, several people have already made it very clear to me,” Emma snapped, her defenses all the way up.
“Chill, dude,” Quinn replied, her hands up as if in surrender. “I wasn’t going to say anything like that.”
She would think it, sure, because they were basically children and Emma had chosen to get her boyfriend’s name permanently inked on her body, but still. She wasn’t going to say it. Why give her a hard time for something that she couldn’t change?
“Thank you,” Emma said, the tension deflating out of her.
“How was it leaving him?” Quinn asked.
“Eh, it’s hard,” Emma responded. Quinn stayed quiet, waiting for more. “He just doesn’t like that I moved away for school. ”
“You’re not even that far from home?” Emma was from a small town just outside of Grand Rapids, the opposite direction across Michigan than where Quinn was from, but only about an hour and a half from their school.
Her friend huffed. “I know. It’s just hard, you know? He’s working with his dad at a car dealership, focused on building his career… He wants to get married and be a full adult, I guess.”
“Married,” Quinn replied, spitting it out like the word tasted bad on her tongue. Okay, maybe she was going to give Emma some pushback. “You’re thinking about leaving school to get married? You’re only nineteen!”
“Remind me where I said that I was thinking about leaving,” Emma responded, and this time, she wasn’t defensive, just irritated.
“I know he and I are going to get married eventually. But I’m also aware that this is the only time I’ll ever have to swim and be on my own. It’s just…well, it’s tense right now.”
“I’m sorry, bud,” Quinn replied, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself. “That wasn’t very supportive.”
“It wasn’t,” Emma said. “But I told him I want to graduate before I get engaged, before we start that part of our lives. It’s important to me.”
“I’m glad that you were able to draw that boundary,” Quinn said.
Emma rolled her eyes at Quinn’s therapy speak before playfully poking her in the shoulder. “When is Liv getting in?”
Quinn blushed, warming just at the thought of seeing Liv again. “Haven’t you been talking to her nonstop, too? Why don’t you know when she’s flying in?”
“I do, but I just wanted to see your face light up when I mentioned her,” Emma admitted, laughing.
Quinn just shook her head, trying not to engage.
Emma liked to tease her, was all. She couldn’t actually see Quinn’s mind racing at all times with thoughts of Liv.
“And when will your girlfriend be here? ”
Emma made a face as she asked that, laughing again when Quinn’s face fell, probably because she’d made her point. “As you know, Scarlet commutes. She’ll be here on the first day of classes, I assume.”
“You assume,” Emma replied, confused.
Quinn didn’t meet her eye. “We broke up. In July, actually.”
“Are you serious?” Emma responded. “I mean, like…hallelujah, but why didn’t you say anything?”
“Wasn’t ready to talk about it, I guess,” Quinn answered shortly.
“Well, I’m glad because she was the actual worst,” Emma replied before stopping for a moment. “I’m not being helpful right now, am I?”
“You’re not,” Quinn admitted, though there was a hint of a smile on her lips.
“Did you tell Liv?” Emma asked, obviously careful with her words.
Quinn shrugged at that. “I’ll tell her soon. Maybe when we’re in person next week? I’m assuming she’ll be happy about it, too.”
“Hmm. You have to tell her sooner rather than later. I think her feelings are going to be hurt if you don’t.”
“I think she’d understand,” Quinn said, and she was pretty sure that she meant it.
Emma pressed her lips together, but Quinn didn’t push it. After several moments of silence, Emma said, “Do you need anything?”
Quinn shook her head and then turned her attention back to the weights. “Another set?”
The next week, on move-in day, Quinn was vibrating with excitement.
She’d moved all her things into the dorm she and Liv were going to share, in the same building as the previous year but on a different floor, so she was just waiting, stewing in her anticipation.
She’d tried to temper it by taking herself for a long walk, but when Liv texted that her rideshare was arriving in a few minutes, her adrenaline started to build again.
Which was totally normal for someone to feel when they were excited to see a friend after a long time apart.
Just like it was totally normal to meet your friend in the drop-off zone of the parking lot, to give her a quick hug by way of greeting and insist she let you carry her bags across campus.
They’d walked maybe a hundred feet before Quinn stopped, turning back to Liv, looking directly into her ice-blue eyes, her long hair shining in the sun. She was as beautiful as ever.
“I really missed you,” Quinn said softly before pulling Liv into another hug.
When she stepped away, Liv’s hand lingered on her upper arm. Quinn enjoyed it for a moment, until she accidentally looked, noticing the way Liv’s fingers were splayed across her bicep, drawing attention to the movement. Liv pulled away like she’d been burned.
“Sorry,” Liv murmured before clearing her throat. “I just. I really missed you, too.”
Quinn practically preened at that, before picking up Liv’s bags and continuing to walk. “How was your summer?”
“We talked every day,” Liv replied, as if to remind her. “But it was good. My parents were gone for almost all of it. So it was…not nearly as stifling as it could have been.”
“Did you get the chance to spend time with any of your old friends?” Quinn asked, and she was proud of her subtlety.
“Of course,” Liv said, before carefully adding, “Conner was in Austin for the summer, though.”
Ah, so not subtle at all, then. “Remind me… Is Austin in the same zip code as Chicago?”
“You’re a bit of a dork,” Liv said, but there was pure affection in her tone. “Did you take your sisters to the aquarium like you promised?”
“That’s not how I remember the conversation going,” Quinn replied .
Early in the summer, they’d been on a call, and Quinn’s sisters had crashed downstairs, demanding her attention.
She didn’t want to hang up with Liv, so she’d asked if they could switch to a video call, and they all sat on the phone for an hour, Juliette and Everlee giving Liv updates about their lives.
This became a weekly event, and the last one, Juliette had begged for an end-of-summer trip to her favorite place.
The twins had pulled Liv into the argument, and they all ganged up on Quinn, but against the three of them she didn’t stand a chance.
“I did take them, though,” Quinn continued.
Liv smiled at her. “And? Did you see the stingrays? The octopuses?”
“We did,” Quinn replied with a dramatic shudder.
“Are we still afraid?” Liv asked.
“We are not afraid,” Quinn responded, puffing out her chest. “We are cautiously respectful. From a distance.”
“Uh huh,” Liv replied, and Quinn didn’t care that she was being laughed at, because Liv was absolutely beaming at her.
They walked closely together, Quinn’s arm brushing against Liv’s.
She knew she couldn’t, that it was insane to even think it, but she wanted to reach out and take her hand.
It was like a magnet, like she’d forgotten how drawn she was to her, but now that they were together again, her body was feeling the full blast of the attraction.
When they got to the dorm, overtaken already with Quinn’s stuff, because of course it was, Quinn set Liv’s bags on her bed.
“Thank you,” Liv said.
“Of course, you know, I’m such a gentleman,” Quinn joked, a hint of flirtation in her tone.
For reasons that Quinn didn’t understand at all, that made Liv blush.
And, oh, Quinn knew it was fun to tease Liv, but her pretty pink face was such a lovely reward.
“Are you hungry? Emma asked earlier if we wanted to meet her for dinner. ”
“That sounds great,” Liv replied. “I’m going to change out of my plane clothes, and then we can go?”
Quinn turned, attempting to give her some semblance of privacy. “Sounds good.”
“Have you seen Scarlet yet?” Liv asked.
And something about this moment, standing in the room that they shared, while Liv was undressing and Quinn was desperately focused on trying not to think about that fact…
It didn’t feel like the right time to disclose how truly pathetic Quinn was, that even someone mean-spirited like Scarlet didn’t think she was worth her time, so…
she hedged. “She’ll be around next week. ”
Once Liv was ready, they walked to the cafeteria, meeting Emma outside. Liv and Emma squealed when they saw each other, long-lost friends, and Quinn just laughed at their antics. The three of them walked inside together, moving through the long queue to grab their respective meals.
“Okay, so I want to talk about making an adjustment to Sunday movie night,” Emma said as soon as they sat down to eat.
She’d started joining at the end of the previous year, happily trashing their taste in films. “I understand that I’m the interloper here, and you are amazing people, but you both have truly terrible taste in movies, so I would like to request some semblance of input on what we watch. ”
“You’re lucky we let you join us,” Quinn replied, handily shooting her down.
“You should probably invite Scarlet, too,” Liv added, attempting diplomacy, and the way she said it made Quinn think that she’d been thinking about it for a while.
Emma’s eyebrows shot to the top of her forehead, and she turned to Quinn, waiting for her to offer the correction.
When she didn’t say anything, Emma just shook her head, altogether indiscreetly, Quinn thought.
Before Liv noticed that, though, she stood from where she’d been sitting.
“Oh, I forgot a drink. Can I get anyone anything? ”
Both Quinn and Emma declined, so Liv scampered off, back toward the line of people, Quinn watching her the whole time, though she could feel Emma’s eyes like laser beams on the side of her face.
“You. Are. So. Dumb,” was all Emma said, under her breath.
And yeah. Quinn was fully aware of that, thank you.