Chapter 16
Quinn
September, Sophomore Year
Quinn woke up before Liv the next morning, as she had almost every day since they’d first moved into the dorm.
She got ready for practice as normal, but felt strange leaving after everything that had happened, what had almost happened, the previous night.
Her body was buzzing, though there was a tiny voice in the back of her head telling her that she was a complete moron for letting that opportunity slip through her fingers…
As quietly as she could, she ripped a half sheet of paper out of her notebook, scribbling a note to Liv.
I didn’t want you to wake up to nothing this morning. Have a great day! We’ll talk later. :)
A smiley face? She cringed but folded the sheet and left it on Liv’s desk, propped up against her water bottle, where she was sure to see it.
Quinn tried not to panic as she went through the day without hearing from Liv. It was totally normal for her to go through classes or practice without any texts from her friend, and it likely had nothing to do with the fact that they’d kissed.
It was just… Quinn couldn’t stop thinking about it. She was distracted in class, doodling in her notebook instead of paying attention, thinking about how Liv’s lips tasted, of the sounds that she’d made as they kissed.
Luckily for her, though she felt terrible for thinking it, Emma was fighting with Brandon, so she was also struggling to get through practice.
Their swim drills were possibly the worst since they’d started at Livingston, to the point that they’d both been ordered to stay late after the second training of the day to do additional laps in the pool as punishment.
Even though she was late getting back, she still hadn’t heard from Liv, so she was a bit surprised when she walked into their dorm at the end of the day to find her roommate sitting in bed, clearly waiting for her.
“Hey, how was your day?” Quinn greeted her tentatively. She set her gym bag down at the end of her own bed and moved to sit across from Liv.
“It was…good, I think,” Liv answered, in a way that didn’t make Quinn feel at all better about the worries flitting through her mind.
“Okay…do you want to talk about last night?” Quinn didn’t know how this conversation would go, but they needed to rip off the band-aid, right?
“Yes… I’ve been thinking about it all day,” Liv said, deeply earnest, pulling the notebook that had been sitting beside her up into her lap. Quinn was taken with how prepared she was for a discussion about the possibility of them having sex.
“I mean, me too, but I didn’t make notes,” Quinn joked, trying to lighten the tension of the moment.
“You wrote me a note this morning,” Liv replied.
“Fair,” Quinn said, sufficiently put in her place. “Did you…write a contract?”
“I’m not my parents, Quinn,” Liv huffed before shuffling the papers in front of her and then adding, almost under her breath, “I did write up some suggestions for rules.”
“You wrote some rules for us?” Oh, well, if that wasn’t the cutest thing.
Quinn tried not to laugh, though she wasn’t sure if she successfully covered it, because Liv looked self-conscious.
Quinn certainly didn’t want that, so she reached out her hand, interlacing their fingers. “Okay. Hit me with your list.”
“I know it’s silly,” Liv replied, but Quinn just shook her head, waiting patiently for Liv to speak.
“I just want to make sure we’re on the same page.
We’re not dating… No feelings. I think that should be with other people, too.
Like, obviously I’m not going to want to start anything with anyone here, but if you find someone that you want to actually date, this would need to stop. That kind of thing.”
“I told you, I’m not dating this year,” Quinn said. “But okay, I agree with all of that.”
“I also think this shouldn’t leave this room,” Liv added.
Quinn raised her eyebrows. “You mean, like, in a ‘we don’t talk about Fight Club’ kind of way?”
“Well, yes, that,” Liv said. “I think we keep it between us. And part of that is that anything physical stays in this room.”
Quinn held up her fingers in a scout salute. “On my honor, I promise not to eat you out in the library.”
Liv blushed, though she did finally crack the slightest hint of a smile. “I just want to be clear on what this is. Because we both know it’s only while we’re here. I have a plan that’s not changing.”
“You have a plan that’s not changing,” Quinn confirmed.
“And if either of us wants to stop, it stops, no questions asked,” Liv added.
“Hey, hey,” Quinn said, and she used her hand that Liv wasn’t clutching to take the notebook, before running her finger under Liv’s chin, lifting her face so they were eye to eye. “Liv. You seem nervous. Are you okay? We don’t have to do this.”
“You don’t understand,” Liv replied. She stood from the bed, letting go of Quinn’s hand and putting space between them.
“What do you mean?” Quinn asked. She was well and truly worried now, that maybe they’d overstepped the previous night, that maybe their friendship was already ruined.
“I’m not nervous,” Liv breathed. She was leaning on her desk now, her fingers gripping the edges so hard they turned white. “I mean, I am. Of course. But…”
“But what?” Quinn asked softly. “We don’t have to do anything tonight. I’m not trying to pressure you. ”
“Quinn,” Liv said, and it was practically a gasp. “Stop trying to be so chivalrous and look at me. I’m not upset. I don’t feel pressured.”
“Okay, so what’s the issue?” Quinn was confused.
Liv bit her lip, her face pained like she wasn’t sure she could say what she was thinking, before she gave in. “Quinn. I want you so bad that I can barely function right now.”
“Oh.” Oh . Quinn could work with that . “Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Okay. Come here,” Quinn said. She waited for Liv to walk back over to her and pulled her down so that she was propped on her lap. Quinn kissed her neck, and it was sweet, gentle even, but Liv still gasped, leaning into her. “If we do this, though, you have to promise me one thing.”
Liv pulled away, turning her body so that she was fully facing Quinn, and smirked. “If the next words out of your mouth are ‘promise you won’t fall in love with me,’ I’m out.”
Quinn laughed, pulling her back close. “That does sound like something I would say! But no, I just want to say that our priority needs to stay our friendship. That’s the most important thing to me.”
“Agreed, completely,” Liv said.
They looked at each other for a long moment before Quinn spoke again. “Okay, so. You’re attracted to me.”
Liv practically hissed her response, her cheeks red, which just was adorable, if you asked Quinn, considering the way they’d been all over each other the previous night. “Yes.”
“And I’m attracted to you,” Quinn said.
“Yeah?” Liv replied, sounding like she might not believe it.
“Yeah,” Quinn said, wanting to be sure that Liv had no doubts. “So…let’s see how tonight goes? And if it doesn’t work, or if it doesn’t make sense, then it was just a silly idea that didn’t work, no worries. No pressure. ”
Liv thought for a moment before she nodded. “That sounds good.”
Quinn leaned in and kissed her, and yeah.
It was just as good as the first time. Liv adjusted almost instantly, moving her legs to either side of Quinn’s so that she was straddling her, in the same position she’d been in when Quinn had stopped them the previous night.
Quinn pulled Liv into her, pressing their bodies together, and her fingertips slipped under the back of Liv’s top.
Quinn made slow, small circles against the softness of her skin, and when Liv broke their kiss, she was panting.
“Can I take this off?” Quinn whispered, tugging on Liv’s shirt.
Liv nodded, so Quinn pulled it up and over her head before tossing the shirt onto Liv’s bed.
Quinn focused on Liv, so much skin on display now, and she dragged her fingers up and down the softness of her sides, from her hips to the undersides of her breasts, covered only in a thin black bra. “Fucking hell, Liv. You’re gorgeous.”
Liv blushed, dropping her gaze from Quinn’s, before she reached her hands around back and unclasped her bra, throwing it so that it landed on top of her shirt.
She ran her fingers over her own breasts, as if she couldn’t believe that she had so fully exposed herself to Quinn, before meeting Quinn’s eye again.
“Will you take your shirt off?” Liv asked timidly. Quinn readily complied, ripping her T-shirt off, leaving her in just a sports bra that mostly compressed her chest. Liv’s hands immediately went to Quinn’s arms, tracing the lines of her muscles.
Quinn chuckled. “You and my arms, I swear.”
“Quinn, they’re so hot,” Liv replied, almost squeaking, as she took the moment to squeeze her bicep. At the same time, she ground down into Quinn’s thigh. Even through all the clothes they were still wearing, Quinn felt the heat between Liv’s legs.
At that, Quinn flipped them, rolling Liv over in her bed so that she was on her back, Quinn on top of her, and Liv’s legs still bent at Quinn’s waist. Liv gasped at the move, and Quinn saw that her eyes had darkened, filled with desire.
“You like that I’m bigger than you…” She said it like it was a revelation, because it was .
The thought had never occurred to Quinn before, not with the other women she’d been with.
“Do you like that I can pick you up? Is that why you have this fixation on my arms?” The whimper that came from Liv was unlike anything that Quinn had ever heard. “Answer me.”
Slowly, she nodded. “I mean…everyone I have ever been with has been bigger than me. But there is something about you being a woman, and knowing how strong you are…” She stopped for a moment, thinking about how to explain it, though Quinn mostly noticed that her tongue darted out in the pause, wetting her lips.
“It doesn’t feel threatening, just…hot. So hot. ”