Beautifully Hurt (Beautifully Broken)

“Coffee would be nice,” I say, and when her face lights up with a glow of happiness, my mouth lifts into a smile.

Christ, she’s like a gentle, happy breeze that has the power of a tornado to knock me on my ass.

Chapter 4

QUINN

“It was so hot,” I say dreamily. “Watching his muscles ripple… sigh.”

I turn my head to glance at Katie, where we’re lying on her bed.

“You’ve got it so bad,” she chuckles at me.

“Just as bad as you have it for Jason,” I tease her as I turn onto my side.

Katie grins at me, her dark brown eyes sparkling. “He’s been texting me.”

My hand darts out, and I grab hold of her shoulder, giving her a light shake. “Ooh… tell me everything.”

She lets out a happy shriek and then begins to ramble, “Every morning, he tells me to have a good day, and before bed, he’ll tell me to have sweet dreams.”

Just then, her phone begins to ring, and when she looks at the screen, she darts up and starts to bounce on the bed. “It’s him! Jason’s calling.”

“Answer,” I urge her as I sit up in a kneeling position.

She presses the device to her ear, and then she blushes hard as she says, “Hey.” Her eyes are locked on me. “I’m just hanging out with Quinn.” She listens to whatever he says, and then she grabs hold of my arm, squeezing the life out of it as she begins to nod. “Yes, ah… that would be great… okay… uhm… can’t wait.”

Katie ends the call then lunges at me with an ecstatic shriek, wrapping her arms tightly around my neck. “He asked me out to dinner! We’re finally going on a date on Sunday night.”

We bounce together, giggling and basking in the moment she’s waited such a long time for.

“Finally,” I chuckle as we let go of each other.

Katie stares at me, and then her eyes begin to shine. “I’m so happy, Quinn.”

I pull her back into a hug. “Enjoy every second.”

She nods, then says, “Hopefully, Eli will ask you out soon, then we can go on double dates.”

A burst of laughter escapes me as I let go of her. Shaking my head, I lie down on my back and stare up at the ceiling. “I’m not getting my hopes up. Besides, just being friends with him will be enough.”

Katie frowns as she lies down beside me. “Really? You’ll be okay with that?”

I shrug. “It’s better than nothing. At least he’ll care about me in some way… right?”

“Oh, Quinn,” she sighs, giving my hand a squeeze. “I’m sure Eli already cares about you.”

Turning my head, I give her a smile. “The BBQ is tomorrow, and you have a date on Sunday. So you’ll practically see Jason the whole weekend.”

“Right!” she shrieks again, her excitement bubbling over and making the atmosphere feel magical.

Mrs. Conley nudges the door open and comes in with two plates of food. “Time for dinner, girls.”

Katie shoots up. “Jason asked me on a date.”

Mrs. Conley smiles at her daughter. “Oh, when and where?”

“Sunday night, we’re going out to dinner,” Katie tells her mom as she takes the two plates with homemade burgers and potato salad.

She hands me one, and I murmur, “Thank you, Mrs. Conley. You make the best burgers.”

“I know,” she chuckles, giving me a wink. “And I also know how much you like them. That’s why we’re having them for dinner.”

“You’re the best.” Mrs. Conley is the closest thing I have to a mother.

I sink my teeth into the goodness and almost groan from how great it tastes.

Eli’s house is a good thirty-minute walk from town, but it’s such a lovely day out, I don’t even notice.

Mrs. Conley let us take some of the potato salad, and when Katie tries to relieve me of the Tupperware bowl, I say, “It’s fine. Let me carry it.”

Just then, the wind catches my white cotton dress, and I let out a startled chuckle as it whips up to my thighs. “Catch my dress,” I laugh, and Katie darts down to keep the fabric from flying up.

She begins to laugh as she straightens the dress, then she takes the bowl from me. “You need your hands free, or you’ll end up giving a passerby a peep show.”

I fist the fabric at the sides of my thighs to keep it in place as Eli’s house comes into view. My eyes dance over the beautiful two-story. “Gosh, to think Eli built that by himself. He’s so talented.”

“Hmm… wonder what else he’s talented at?” Katie murmurs mischievously.

I nudge her with my elbow as my cheeks tinge pink from the suggestive meaning behind her words. “Hush, Katie!”

Reaching the open front door, I curiously peek inside. Katie, being the brave one between us, just walks into the house, calling out, “Hello, anybody home?”

I follow behind her, my gaze darting everywhere. There’s an empty space, which I guess could be the living room, and then we walk into a kitchen that has beautiful cherry wood cupboards.