Page 88 of Love Marks
“He’s sitting right here,” I grumble and Quinn’s smile only grows along with Jackson’s. “You can run along now, you’ve said your hello.”
Jackson feigns offense. “Can you believe how rude he is? I can’t believe I ever had a crush on him,” he conspires with Quinn and she raises her eyebrows.
“In college,” I clarify.
Quinn nods. “You two go that far back?”
“Unfortunately,” I quip, and Jackson rolls his eyes. “You should have seen Wesley in college. A skinny little thing and much too smart for his own good. A total nerd. But the ladies still loved him.”
Quinn chuckles. “I bet he was breaking hearts left and right.”
“Mine included,” Jackson agrees and they both giggle together.
“Yes, yes, it’s all hilarious.” I shoot daggers at Jackson. “Would you just send us some free food and get out of here?”
“Of course, my liege. Nothing less for you, sir.” He salutes me and walks away, sending Quinn a wink before he does.
She chuckles as she watches him go. “He’s quite a character.”
“He’s annoying,” I correct her.
She smiles. “I’m trying to imagine you in college, but I can’t. What did you study?”
“Music at first. But then I switched to a double in Business and Psychology when my father threatened to stop paying for my education.”
She frowns at that. “Do you play an instrument?” She asks, her brow furrowed.
I swallow. “Piano. I used to.”
“Why did you stop?” She asks. My first instinct is to shut her and this entire conversation down, but when I look at her, her face is open. Curious.
“I guess…I don’t really have a good answer. Something stupid about my dad sort of ruining my love for it.” I shrug. “When my dad gave me the ultimatum about my major, he basically told me I wasn’t any good at music, nothing special, that kind of thing. Painfully mediocre were his exact words. Every time I sat down to play after that, it’s like I just kept playing those words in my head, and I couldn’t play.”
A wave of anger rises in me at the thought, and I clench my wine glass a little tighter. Taking a deep breath, I force myself to look back at Quinn and shake it off. “Anyway. It’s kind of stupid.”
She shakes her head. “I don’t think it’s stupid at all. The same thing happens to me sometimes. That voice in your head that tells you you’re worthless…sometimes that voice comes from somewhere.”
Her words are heavy, and I feel a wave of anger at the thought of someone saying that to Quinn. She reaches for me and puts her palm over my hand like she did in the car, the familiar gesture sending a comforting warmth where she touches me.
“For what it’s worth, I bet your dad was completely wrong about your music. Everything you do is incredible, Wes, and I’m sure this is no different. I’d love to hear you play sometime, if you ever wanted to.”
She squeezes my hand and pulls back. As soon as she does, I miss the warmth. I want her hand back on mine immediately, but just then, our waiter and Jackson arrive with a few appetizers. Quinn’s eyes go wide as Jackson explains what everything is and rushes off, not bothering to tease me further.
She looks down at the food, her eyes still wide. “We didn’t even order this!” She whisper-yells at me.
I smile. “I tried to hide us from Jackson so we could order our food and try to be normal, but now that he’s seen us, get ready. This is only the beginning. We’re going to be stuffed when we leave here.”
She smiles and grabs her fork. “Fine by me.”
* * *
A few hours later, I’ve stayed true to my word. Quinn and I have to beg Jackson to stop bringing us food and he relents. He still brings us a small soufflé for desert that we manage a few bites each of.
When we stumble from the restaurant, we’re both completely full and Quinn is decently tipsy from what I can tell. She’s leaning into me, groaning about how she’ll never eat again. The valet sees us, but I hold my hand up to him.
“Do you mind if we walk for a bit?” I ask Quinn. It’s a rare warm spring evening and neither of us needs a coat.
“Sure,” she agrees, and I tell the valet we’ll be back in a few minutes to get the car. “Are you okay to drive?” She asks me.