Page 52 of Temptation
“That was my original plan,” he nodded. “But I woke up this morning, did my workout, and went through my normal morning routine. She hadn’t come down by the time I would normally go to work, and she usually leaves while I’m eating breakfast. I knocked on her door, told her she was late and got no response, so I left to go to work like normal. When I got there, I started to worry that she vomited and choked in her sleep and came back in an Uber to check on her.”
“That’s fair.” Quinn nodded. “She was really drunk, and those toffee martinis had a lot of sugar in them that wouldn’t sit well.”
“Exactly. Anyway, she was snoring it off, so I just went downstairs and waited for you. I left the car at the museum for two reasons. One, her car is reeking of vomit, and she would want to drive my car. And two, I don't have to answer any questions if it looks like I've gone to work.”
Quinn laughed as she merged onto I-93. “Joel decided he wants to keep his distance from you and Viki. He said she's developed a crush on him and tells him things about you, so it's uncomfortable. However, he was very excited about the party next Friday because I told him your brother would be there.”
Tenn snorted. “Then we better get invitations out for that; Del and Trisha need time to find someone to watch the boys. Viki just went to bed mumbling about liars and assholes.” He shook his head and rubbed his hand along his jaw. “God, I can’t wait for this to be over. I’m so done with being her husband.”
“They're leaving tomorrow morning and won't be back until Sunday.” She smiled reassuringly at him. “We have this whole weekend without them, then we just have to get through until Friday, and I don't know about you, but I'm going to be very busy prepping for the party. I have to make food, buy decorations, and do so many other things; I won't have time to be a doting wife. Plus, the week will go faster if I'm busy.”
“I'll help you any way I can, even if it's just to keep you company, hand you things while you cook, and do the clean-up behind you.” He promised.
“That would be the best possible help in the world.” Quinn was touched. Joel's idea of helping was to get out of her way, usually by sitting and watching a game or heading out for a poker night. “We'll sit down and figure out the guests for the party and what we want to do on Saturday.”
“Sounds good to me.” He looked out the window at Boston slipping by. “Where are we going anyway?”
“Oh, that's a surprise.” Quinn grinned. “I have a fun afternoon planned, don't worry.”
Tenn grinned at her. “Did you mean it when you said you'd come with me if I switched the vacation to June first?”
She was surprised at the sudden change of subject and fell quiet for a second. She did want to go with him but felt a month’s vacation so early in their relationship would be a bad idea. “I don't want you to switch the dates for me. I just don't want to be in the house after Friday. I'm going to move in with Quill for the thirty days; we talked about it, and he's okay with it. That doesn't mean I won't go with you, but I'd like us to spend June and July figuring us out. I'll book the time off; I have enough vacation time to do it and can afford to without dipping into my savings. If everything works out, I'll go with you.”
“That's fair.” He smiled at her happily. “We're going to have to go on lots of dates throughout June though. I'm not going to be able to leave Viki there without worrying she'll destroy something, so I'll need breaks.”
“I'm very okay with that.” She chuckled, then became thoughtful. “Do you think they'll stay together? Or will the thrill of the forbidden wear off, and they'll have a messy breakup?”
“I think they'll stay together, get married, one or both of them will cheat, and the fallout will be glorious.” Tenn stretched out and put the seat back a little, tucking his hand behind his head.
“Are you going to go to sleep?” Quinn looked over, amusement playing on her face.
“Nope. I never get to be the passenger; I'm just relaxing.” His smile made her heart flutter. “Are your plans for this afternoon a surprise or just the destination?”
“We are going to relax, enjoy the sun, eat good food, and go to war.” She looked back at the road, knowing he’d never guess.
“Are we going to a Civil War reenactment thing? Because I'm not very good at acting and roleplaying.”
“Oh my god, no! I can't act, and roleplaying gives me the giggles.” Her cheeks heated up as she thought of those few disastrous attempts.
“Now you have to share that story.” He was looking at her with a smirk and reached out to cup her cheek, brushing his thumb across it and making her blush worsen.
“Before I do, I'd just like to say that I was blindsided by this. It wasn't discussed beforehand, and I tried to go along with it, but I was just horrible at it and couldn't stop laughing.”
“Excuses heard. Go on.”
She wrinkled her nose at him. “Not excuses, disclaimers. Anyway, I dated this guy in university for about six months, and about four months in, he took me to his parent's cabin for a getaway weekend. So, I'm down on the shore of the pond, sketching the lilies and lily pads, and he comes up to me and says, “What's a pretty little girl like you doing here all by yourself?” I'm totally into my sketching and just go, “Drawing, what does it look like?” but thinking, “What the fuck? Little girl?” He sits beside me and keeps going, “Little girls shouldn't be out here by themselves. Why don't I keep you company?”
“At this point, I realized he was trying to be sexy, but the little girl thing weirded me out, and I didn't know what to do or say, so I just kind of giggled and said, “Stranger Danger!” “Well, little girl,” and he puts his hand on my knee and starts sliding it up my thigh. “My name is Roy. Now, I'm not a stranger.” I start to giggle harder and manage to get out. “Bad touch, bad touch.” and I lose it; I can't stop laughing. I was so weirded out and didn't know what else to do.”
Tenn roared with laughter. “I think you handled it beautifully.” He said, wiping away tears. “Little girl, what the fuck was that?”
“He got arrested for statutory rape, among other charges, about three months after we broke up, so I think it was a way to see if I'd act younger for him. Apparently, he liked barely legal girls but usually stuck to eighteen-year-olds. A fifteen-year-old told him she was seventeen and her birthday was a few weeks away. He decided not to wait because what harm could it do? She missed her period, panicked, and told her older sister, who told her parents that a twenty-two-year-old knocked her up. She wasn't pregnant; she got her period a few days later, but by then, it was too late.”
“Wow. You know how to pick 'em.” He teased her gently.
“Believe me, Joel is the top of a steaming pile of crap.” She shook her head. “I didn’t date a lot, but after I backed out of the thruple with Bishop and Rilla, there were three or four “winners” before I met Joel.”
“I haven't done any better, so I'm not judging. I was the quiet, nerdy guy. Then, in grade eleven, nerdy guys suddenly became attractive, and I dated a lot of beautiful, shallow, mean girls. It got old, and I went to prom with my longtime, nerdy best girl friend, Amanda. Well, Amanda was shy and quiet too, and what I thought we agreed was going to be a summer romance before we headed off to university - I was going to Illinois, and she was going to Texas - became my summer from hell. She was no longer quiet and shy; she wanted to hang out every day. I wasn't allowed to hang out with anyone else, or she would throw tantrums or convince me to stay with her and have sex.”