“It still is. But things are a little easier now that I’m away from home. I have my own place. And I have good friends who remind me to stay out of my head.”
“It’s important to have good people around you. I’d be in shambles without Madison,” Quinn chuckled.
An invisible string tugged Quinn even a tiny bit closer to Autumn’s heart. They locked eyes and neither of them gave voice to the deeper feelings beneath the surface. If Autumn felt any kind of deeper connection she didn’t show it. Instead, she cleared her throat.
“We should get going before it gets dark,” Autumn suggested. If Quinn wasn’t mistaken there was a rasp in the woman’s voice that hadn’t been there a moment earlier.
“I’ll walk you to your car,” Quinn offered.
Autumn gave her a slight nod of her head. Quinn’s eyes took in Autumn’s body. She had the perfect amount of curve to her hips. Quinn pulled her eyes away and focused on looking ahead.
“I had fun today,” Quinn said smiling.
“Even though you almost died?”
“You caught me. That’s all that matters.”
Quinn leaned in and gave Autumn a respectful hug. She was careful not to linger too long with her contact, though it was hard to pull away. She stared long after Autumn’s taillights disappeared. Quinn gave a long and breathy sigh. There wasno denying that where Autumn went Quinn’s heart wanted to follow.
Chapter 10
What the hell had just happened? If Autumn wasn’t mistaken, Quinn had just staked a claim on her. What was more surprising, Autumn hadn’t hated hearing Quinn promise to ask her out.People say things all the time. Quinn will probably forget before the bar ever opens.Autumn tried to manage her own expectations.
Throughout her dating life Autumn had usually needed to make the first move. Apparently, there was something about her that most women found vaguely intimidating. Not Quinn. From the very first moment they had met, Quinn had seemed completely comfortable with her. There had never been any hesitation on Quinn’s part besides needing to get over her recent breakup. After the story Quinn had shared Autumn completely understood why she’d needed time to recover. Not given to bouts of extreme emotion, Autumn had been surprised by how angry she’d been on Quinn’s behalf. Quinn was so sweet and wonderful. She couldn’t imagine anyone treating her that way.
Autumn knew she needed to get out of her own head. Her friend, Piper, had already agreed to meet her for dinner at Autumn’s place. It was later than Autumn usually stayed up.She knew that was something that Piper would have taken note of. Autumn couldn’t go home to her empty place. Not tonight. She opened her front door and found that her place felt more empty than usual. Autumn disliked the feeling of her life being somewhat off kilter and was glad when Piper knocked on her door.
Piper Sorella had a way of always looking elegant. She wore black pants that seemed to be tailored just for her, and a shimmery dark green shirt. The shirt was silky and hugged Piper in an attractive way. Piper and Autumn had been close from the moment they’d met. They each had a direct approach to communication, that belied a natural warmth.
Piper took one look at her and held up a bottle of red wine. Autumn smiled; Piper always knew how to make her feel better.
“Go sit. I’ll pour.”
Piper’s words were a command not a suggestion. Autumn’s mouth curved upward as she made her way to the couch. She didn’t allow anyone else in her life to order her around. When Piper made demands they were almost always motivated towards Autumn’s self-care. It made swallowing her pride much easier.
There was a loud pop as Piper uncorked the bottle of wine. The sound made Autumn jump; her nerves were obviously frayed from the day she’d had. Piper met her at the couch withtwo newly poured glasses of wine. Piper had spent so much time at Autumn’s place that she was able to move through Autumn’s kitchen as if it were her own. Piper extended a well-manicured hand to Autumn to hand her the glass.
“What brings me here this evening?” Piper’s lips curved up as she smiled.
“I think I have a crush,” Autumn began.
“Oh wow. I didn’t think that was even possible.”
“Hey,” Autumn gasped.
“Sorry. I’ve just never seen you with a crush on anyone before.”
“I’m sure I’ve had a crush before.”
“Name the last crush you had,” Piper demanded.
Autumn huffed a sigh in frustration when she couldn’t remember a single crush.
“I’ve liked people before,” Autumn insisted.
“Sure. We’ve all liked people. But liking is different than crushing.”
Piper gave a too casual wave of her hand. Autumn thought about her friend’s words. She knew Piper was right, Autumn had liked plenty of people. But the way she felt aboutQuinn was different. No one had ever been able to make Autumn’s heart run wild or turn her cheeks red quite like Quinn.
