Quinn spotted me halfway across the living room and rushed over so fast that I took two steps backward. "Did you set this up? You invited me on purpose?" she asked.
I stepped closer to her and looked down over my chest. "Let me guess, a Thief named LonesomeTown invited you. That would be Winton. Not me. I'm not in the habit of stalking newbies."
"Oh, so now I'm a newbie?" Quinn asked. "No more 'this is how you really lead your life’?"
"Look, Quinn, I'm not going to apologize for having an opinion or sharing it with you. If you don't want to listen to what I have to say, that's fine with me. Your life is your life. Don't think I want to get in the way," I said. Then I stepped around her and headed for the kitchen. I was glad to find a bowl of Winton's legendary blue punch on ice.
Winton himself poured me a glass. "So, I met your girl Quinn and I gotta say, man, she is perfect for you."
"Isn't she, though?" Artemis kissed my cheek and smiled. "You are so happy when you're around here. I mean the difference is huge. I'm so glad for you."
I had to laugh. Everywhere I went my friends told me how great Quinn and I were together – on the one night we had never been farther apart.
Scottie found me. "Don't worry, wingman, I've been doing just fine without you. Though I had a nice side chat with your girl Quinn. Man, she is wonderful. It was good seeing you two together in Vegas. Finally, someone that makes you happy, lets you be you," he said.
That was it. I put down my blue punch and turned to find Quinn. We ran into each other in the narrow back hallway.
"I was looking for you," Quinn said.
"And I'm supposed to say that I was not looking for you," I said. She was too close and I did not know what to do with my hands.
"I'm sorry for what I said earlier. You were just trying to help," she said.
"No, you're right. I shouldn't be pushing you towards something that I want. This is your life, Quinn. I don't want you to feel any pressure from me."
As soon as I said it, all I could think about was the pressure of her lips against mine. Her firm body pressed against me. The pressure that built between us when we moved together.
"Quinn! Hey! I was hoping you might be here," the young desk clerk from the Wynn Hotel called down the hallway.
"It’s okay, go mingle. Have some fun," I said.
She squeezed my arm and smiled. I wished she had noticed the hoarse longing in my voice. I cleared my throat and watched her go. Quinn was still free to make her own decisions. We both were. What had happened in Vegas might have just been a one-time deal.
#
Watching Quinn make the rounds of the party with Dave was too much. Her smile was too bright. I could not look away. He got her a drink, helped her through the crowd, and listened intensely to everything she said. Quinn enjoyed the easy flirting and it lit her up like a sparkling firework.
"Oh no, man, don't do this," Scottie said. He handed me a full cup of blue punch. "Not tonight. I need my wingman tonight and a wingman cannot have that look on his face."
I tore my gaze from Quinn and looked at my friend. "There's no look. See? I'm fine," I said. "Let's check out the game on the back patio."
"They went that way," Scottie said. "How about we head back to the kitchen? There's a redhead there who's making flaming drinks. I could use one of those."
I nodded, but headed towards the back patio. Quinn was sitting on the railing of the deck with Dave leaning next to her. They were chatting and laughing over something. It made my skin crawl the way he was too close to her bare knee.
"No, see, this is the look I'm talking about," Scottie said.
"There is no look," I said. "I just want to make sure she's safe. We don't know anything about this guy."
"Or we know everything about him. He went to our high school, man, he's a year younger than Quinn. And, it’s pretty obvious that he adores her and would do anything she said."
"Great. Now I feel better."
"No, sarcasm can't chase it away. I still see it there in your eyes," Scottie said. He jumped in front of me and pretended to flash a penlight in my eyes. "Yup. You've failed the first test. I better take you down to the station."
"What look are you talking about?" I batted him away.
"Love, man. That's how you look at someone when you're in love." He took an ominous sip of his drink. "I recognize it. And your symptoms are bad."