“Jax and Willow were there too,” I point out.
“They’re kid-less,” she says, “just like you.”
I look at her, at a loss of what to say. I feel her slipping through my fingers before I’ve even gotten her. Figuring this is my last chance, I say what’s on my mind. “Look, Q, I like you. I want to take you out. I get you have all these reasons why you don’t think it would work between us, and in your head they very well may be relevant. But I don’t see why any of those reasons you mentioned should prevent me from taking a beautiful, hard-working, woman out—kid or no kid.”
When her eyes drop to the ground, I lift her chin. I hate when she feels like she can’t look at me. “I think you like me too,” I tell her. “But I also think you’re scared.” When she nibbles on her lower lip, I know I’ve hit the nail on the head. “So, here’s what I’m going to do.” I reach around her and pull her phone out of her back pocket. When I swipe up, it opens, indicating she doesn’t have a passcode on her phone. “I’m going to put my number in your phone. If, or hopefully when, you want to get to know me, text or call me. We can take things slow, I promise. I just want to get to know you.”
I type my number into her contacts list then hand her back her phone. “I hope to hear from you.” Leaning over, I give her a chaste kiss on her cheek before I wave to Kinsley one last time and then head up to my place. The ball is in her court now. I just have to hope she thinks I’m worth stepping out of her comfort zone for.
Eight
Quinn
It’s Friday night, and for the first time in I don’t know how long, not only do I not have any shoots booked, but I’m completely caught up on all my edits, and I’m off all weekend. And for the first time in what feels like forever, I’m kid-less. As I sit on the couch, with my Phish Food ice cream in one hand, I flip through the channels on the TV, hoping to find something to watch that doesn’t involve princesses or talking dogs. On the coffee table is my phone, taunting me, the same way it’s been taunting me the last five days since Lachlan input his number into my contacts list. I’ve typed out enough messages to have an entire one-sided conversation, but I haven’t built up the courage to actually hit send on a single one.
The truth is, I don’t have a lot of dating experience. Growing up, my two older, tattoo-covered, football playing brothers were several years ahead of me, yet made sure everyone knew who they were, so the boys tended to stay away. We lived in a small town. It wasn’t until my senior year of high school I convinced Tommy Pines to take my virginity the night of prom. I know, how cliché. He was boring, to say the least. A book nerd of sorts, and because of that, he didn’t know who my brothers were. A month later, he left to some crazy, smart college, and I started at the Art Institute. I dated on and off over the years, slept with a few guys, but never felt that spark you read about in those super mushy romance novels.
And if I’m honest, I’m not sure I ever really felt them with Rick. I think I was lost and felt lonely. I know I shouldn’t have felt that way when I have two brothers who love me like crazy. But it’s not the same thing. They were so career oriented. They knew what they wanted and were making it happen, while I was floundering around. First, I thought I wanted to work in a museum, so they picked up their entire life and moved to New York with me. Only a few months later, I realized I hated it, so I quit.
I did learn, though, my true passion was photography, and that’s how I came to start my own photography business. The problem was I had no idea what I was doing or how difficult it would be to try to build a business in New York. Every day I felt like I was failing while my brothers were succeeding. So when I met Rick, and he promised me the world, I took the easy way out by latching onto him.
At first, he was charming and said all the right things. He made me feel like an equal. But all too soon, his attitude changed, and I learned too late my husband was a snake. He had me in a trance, mesmerized, and before I knew what was coming, he bit his poisonous fangs deep into my flesh, and I was fucked.