I gazed at the beautiful woman, tears pricking my eyes. A large letter Q was drawn on the woman’s shirt, with a red wine colored cape unraveling behind her. There was a proud grin on her face as she stood on the roof of Sharpe’s restaurant. Inside, two children ate at a booth with their grandmother. That was how he saw me? As a superhero?
Hugging the children close, I sent him a soft smile, sniffling as I tried not to turn into a blubbering mess. “Wow, thanks, guys. I love it!”
Time flies when you’re having fun. The evening went by in the blink of an eye, and it was spent with the five of us laughing together as we ate after I’d opened my presents, and dancing around the room as the music–which Jamal and Janiyah had been tasked with picking out–blared through the speakers. The kids clapped and stomped along to the music while Gran and I attempted to keep up.
Jasper watched with a bright smile on his face the whole time, his eyes following me everywhere. Even in my usual work clothes, his intense gaze made me feel naked.
When the kids grew tired of dancing and wanted a cake break, they would head straight over to Jasper. Janiyah found her way back into his lap and Jamal clung to the man, draping himself over his shoulders. It all felt so… natural. Familiar. The way it should be.
When the sky darkened and the kids and Gran had gone to bed for the night, Jasper and I remained in the dining room. He pulled me onto his lap without warning, his lips connecting with my own just a few moments later.
My lips parted immediately, our tongues tangling together, heads tilting to the side to deepen the kiss, both of us moving together in perfect sync as if we’d done this a million times before. His large hands splayed over my waist, my arms wrapped around his neck, fingers tugging at his hair.
Everything faded away and time ceased to exist as the two of us continued with our kiss for what felt like centuries and mere seconds all at once, but we were forced to pull away all too quickly as there was a sharp knock on the door.
I jumped, gasping as I hurriedly sprung up from Jasper’s lap. His eyes were just as wide as mine as I made my way over to the door, trying to figure out who could be knocking on it at this hour.
I cleared my throat and rubbed down my hair, trying to calm my nerves as I peered through the peephole. Releasing a soft groan upon seeing who it was, I pulled open the door and frowned.
“Marlon, what are you doing here?”
He gave me a sheepish smile, thrusting an extravagant bouquet of red roses toward me. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to just turn up. Iwanted to wish you a happy birthday, and give you these.” He glanced past me and I quickly stepped over the threshold, pulling the door closed.
“Thanks for the birthday wishes, but I can’t take these.”
I guess he forgot I like lilies.
Marlon’s smile dropped, but he nodded, surprising me. “I understand. Enjoy your night, Quinn.”
I nodded, confused and relieved that he wasn’t making a scene. “Night.”
As his head disappeared down the stairs, I backed into the apartment, still a little surprised, but now more interested in getting back to Jasper. I wanted to finally talk to him about… Whatever was going on between us. The kisses we stole from each other whenever we had the chance were nice, but I wanted to know what they truly meant.
“Jasper,” I called quietly, the only word I managed to get out.
The door was swinging open just a few moments later, causing us both to jump again. I whipped around, expecting to see Marlon standing there, but instead, it was Amanda.
“I’m here! Happy birthday, bestie! Listen, I’m sorry I’m so late, but I had to stop off for your chocolates and–”
Her gaze fell on Jasper, and her bags crashed to the floor a second later.
Jasper
“Please.” I clasped my hands together in a begging motion and put on a pleading expression. “How long has it been now? Well, over six weeks? I haven’t left this place even once!”
“And for good reason.” Quinn crossed her arms over her chest. “Need I remind you that the police are still looking for you? If we went out, someone could see you–could seeus. Together!”
“Come on, Quinn, it’ll be fine! The sun will be down soon, so no one will notice us, and even if they did, they wouldn’t be able to recognize me! Wouldyourecognize me if you saw an old picture and then took a look at me now?” I raised a brow at her, watching as she eyed me closely.
My hair was now much longer than it had been before. My full beard and moustache disguised half of my face. Large sunglasses could further help me be invisible. I also made use of the cane Gran had found at Costco. No one who knew me would expect to see me walking instead of rolling!
“I guess not, but–”
“I love it here, but I’m starting to lose my mind,” I told her. “Being trapped inside the same four walls for close to two months isn’t easy. Please, I just want to go for a drive. We can go downtown! There’s a Greek festival happening there. It would be fun! And you could use the break.” I sent her a pointed look.
Quinn’s Gran had demanded that she take the night off after an exceptionally busy last couple of days. Quinn had obviously been stressed with work–there had been delivery mixups, maintenance issues, and scheduling conflicts that led to the restaurant being understaffed during lunch and dinner rushes. Then, of course, there had been all the stress that came along with keeping me a secret… She’d nearly lost her mind when her friend, Amanda, had come in and saw me.
Although, her panic was short-lived. Amanda was her best friend and promised to not say a word about me. Quinn was sure of it, and if Quinn trusted her friend whole-heartedly, then so did I.
