Page 67 of Temptation
“You really put a lot of thought into all this.” Tenn shook his head, both amazed and surprised that she had come up with the theories and that he thought she was probably right.
“I have a lot of body issues, which led to sex issues.” She shrugged. “There was a lot of therapy around sex, especially around sex with Joel, because of all the other reasons.”
Tenn pulled into the driveway and parked. “Your theories make sense and made me feel better, so thank you.”
“Anytime.” Quinn smiled. “Come on, we both have a lot of work to do.”
Chapter Thirty-Four: Guilt & Bets
While Quinn got started on the cooking, after Tenn assured her that whatever she needed to use, she could use, and to dig through everything to find what she needed, he headed up to get started on the mess in the spare room.
The first thing he did was open the window, hoping to air out some of the Eau de Viki in there, a mixture of her dirty clothes and perfume, because she hadn't cleaned a thing. Dirty and clean clothes were all over the floor, and makeup and hair products were left everywhere. He kept his promise, threw it all in garbage bags, took pictures, and brought them to the garage. In a fit of petty anger, he texted Viki with pictures of all her things in garbage bags and told her they were in the garage. If she didn't get them before the garbage went out on Monday, they would go out for the trucks, and she would only have herself to blame. Then he put her on “do not disturb.”
After a couple of missteps, he got into the groove of patching the walls, and it didn't take him as long as he thought it would. While he waited for the spackle to dry, he unscrewed the broken mirrors from both the dresser and makeup table and carried them down to the garage. Back upstairs, he changed the sheets on the bed, cleaned the main bathroom, painted over the places he had to patch, and went down to help Quinn.
“How are you doing?” Tenn kissed her temple as he passed her.
“Great!” She smiled up at him. “All the different doughs have been made and are either rising or chilling. The sauces are done, the barbecue pork is in the slow cooker, and everything that needs to be chopped or diced has been chopped or diced. The Creme Brulee Cheesecake bars just went in the oven, and I'm about to start on the brownies.”
“You're amazing. What can I do to help?” Tenn shook his head. Quinn was a force to be reckoned with.
“Could you empty the dishwasher and reload it, please? Everything on that counter can go in. Everything in the sink needs to be hand-washed because I’ll use it again soon.”
Tenn got started and noticed again that they seemed to move seamlessly around each other. When he was finished, she put him to work spreading the dough for the pizza and adding sauce and ingredients. Rilla and Bishop arrived a few minutes before six and got to work helping out immediately, with Bishop hooking up the Switch in the basement while Rilla carried things downstairs. Tenn was loading up the dishwasher for the last time while listening to Quinn tell him about Quill's girlfriend coming to see her.
“I have no idea if I massively overstepped and ruined things or what. Quill hasn't said anything, and I haven't heard from him; usually, he calls or texts.” She frowned, her expression worried.
“It doesn't sound like you did anything wrong to me; she came to you; you didn't hunt her down to fix it,” Tenn reassured her. “From what you said, it sounded like someone had to step in.”
“Maybe. But when we talked before, he said he was kinda done. It might have been a case of too little, too late.” Quinn finished putting the last of the cheesecake squares on a plate. “This is why I need to be introduced early in the relationship, to interpret Quill for them.”
“It was a friends-with-benefits thing, not a relationship, remember?” Tenn smiled. “In this case, I don't think you overstepped. She came to you, and you explained things so she would be comfortable keeping the tires, and good on you for that because the old ones were an accident waiting to happen. If you had gone to her and inserted yourself, it would have been overstepping.”
“I thought about doing that.” She admitted. “Quill deserves someone who appreciates him.” She looked at the clock and picked up the plate. “Come on, let's go join Rilla and Bishop.”
Tenn took the other plates and followed her down the stairs. Rilla and Bishop were in the middle of a game, so they set the food on the coffee table and sat down. “Have either of you heard from Quill?”
“Sorry, Q. He's been dark since Wednesday night.” Bishop stretched out and grabbed her hand, pulling her in to kiss her cheek. “Food is incredible, as usual.”
“Thanks.” Tenn watched as she curled up on the couch, pulled out her phone, and sent a text, the slight worried frown still on her face. “I think I need a drink. Rilla, want a Gilligan's Island?”
“Oh! Yeesss, please!” Rilla nodded eagerly. “Need a hand?” Quinn shook her head.
“I got it. Do you two want a drink? I picked up Sam Adams and Guinness.” Tenn and Bishop nodded, and she got up and went upstairs, clearly needing something to keep her busy.
“So, I heard you met my dad.” Bishop grinned at Tenn. “Made quite the first impression too.” Rilla giggled as Tenn put his head in his hands and groaned.
“Yeah, first kiss, first impressions, first time on Martha's Vineyard... Just a day full of firsts.” He laughed sheepishly. “It was honestly the best fucking first date I've ever had. I don't know how I'm gonna come close, never mind topping it.”
“Oh, we've got your back, Hun.” Rilla winked at him. “We know her better than anyone except Quill, and he'd probably help too if you asked.”
“Thanks; I'll be taking you up on that.”
“I wonder where he is.” Bishop frowned. “It's not like him not to respond.”
“He hasn't responded to you guys?” Tenn frowned. “She thinks he might be mad because she met Chrissy.”
“Q went to talk to her?” Bishop raised an eyebrow. “Cause yeah, if that's the case, he would be mad. They have an unspoken rule not to insert themselves into friendships until they're invited in.”