Page 52 of Dad Next Door
He gasped against my mouth. I swallowed the sound.
Loud laughter broke through the cocoon of desire surrounding us, and we pulled away at the same moment.
We stood there, frozen in time and holding each other, as couples danced around us.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
I nodded, not quite trusting my voice.
Was I?
I’d just kissed my best friend because I wanted to. I’d enjoyed it, and I wanted to do it again.
“Do you think anyone will miss us if we leave?” I asked when I finally found my voice. “I just…”
“Let me say goodbye to Kim, and we can go. Should I get us an Uber?”
I glanced at my watch, grateful for the distraction. The reception was set to go on for another two hours. It would take almost that long for Vlado to get here, pick us up, and then go back to get Nick after his shift.
“Yeah. That’s probably a good idea. I’ll text Nick to let him know what’s going on and order the car while you find her.”
He smiled, but it was that forced one I hated and not his real smile.
Before I could reassure him that we were fine and this was a me issue, he turned on his heel and left me standing in the middle of the dance floor.
11
TRISTAN
The ride back to our street was the longest sixty minutes of my life. Unlike when we’d gotten a ride from Nick, we couldn’t talk freely in front of the Uber driver. Luckily they seemed to sense we weren’t in the mood to chat, and we spent the ride listening to music and staring out the windows.
We didn’t speak until we were on the sidewalk and the Uber was driving away.
“Do you want to go to your place or mine?” Quinn asked.
“Yours.”
He motioned for me to follow him. I did, trailing behind him like a kid on their way to the principal’s office.
What had we done? What had I done?
Trying not to let my anxiety take over, I focused on each step so I didn’t face-plant and ruin my tux on top of destroying our friendship.
Wordlessly, Quinn unlocked his door and waved me inside. I followed him into his giant great room and stood awkwardly as he unbuttoned his tux jacket.
“Are you mad at me?” I asked. God, could I sound any more pathetic?
“No.” He stripped off the jacket and tossed it over the back of his easy chair. “Not even a little.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry.” He raked one hand through his hair, messing up the perfectly styled strands and looking even sexier with the disheveled look he had going on. “I’m just… I’m processing a lot of stuff right now.” He waved to the couch. “Sit. Please. We need to talk about this.”
I perched on the edge of the couch. My bow tie felt like a noose around my neck. Distractedly, I tugged the knot free and let the ends hang down over my chest.
Quinn sank onto the couch and yanked on his tie to undo it, his movements jerky and rough.
“I shouldn’t have done that.”