“Do you think this Rory person will be easy enough to get rid of?” Jordan asked.
“I don’t know about that. Rory likes to have things go her way. I doubt she’ll allow herself to be purposefully rushed. But I do think Quinn will move her out of there as quickly as she can.”
A strange kind of peace settled over Autumn. She’d initially been wary of Rory demanding to see Quinn. But while Rory’s trustworthiness was clearly questionable, Quinn had shown her nothing to indicate that she was. Autumn trusted Quinn. Autumn held herself to impossibly high standards, but she hadn’t found many people who did the same. Quinn might differ in the way she went through life, but she had a kind of unshakable character that made Autumn trust her.
They arrived at the bar a short time later. The place was packed, which was a good sign. Autumn was pleased that the bar was doing so well. She knew she couldn’t take credit for Quinn’s success, but whatever part her design work had played she was grateful to have been part of the project.
Jordan took the place in, a hint of a smile tugged at the edges of her mouth.
“What are your thoughts?” Autumn asked genuinely curious.
“This place is amazing. I really like the way your design comes together. I’m going to have to bring my friends here. And my partner, Reese, of course. I think this would make for a fantastic girls’ night for all of us.”
When Jordan complimented her design choices for some reason it held more weight than with other people. Probably because Jordan seemed well put together from head to toe.
“Shall we go inside?” Madison laughed.
“Let’s,” Autumn answered.
It took Autumn’s eyes a moment to adjust to the low lighting in the bar. As soon as she could see she scanned the space searching for Quinn. Her eyes found Quinn on the dance floor; she was dancing with a woman. The woman with Quinn had long purple hair and was wearing loose fitting jeans with a black t-shirt. She knew instantly that this had to be Rory. Autumn bumped Madison with her shoulder and nodded towards Quinn.
“Is that Quinn with Rory?” Autumn asked.
Madison followed her line of sight until her eyes landed on Quinn. Autumn didn’t miss the way Madison’s eyes widened at the sight of Quinn dancing with the woman.
“That’s definitely Rory,” Madison answered sheepishly.
“Why are they dancing? I thought the two of them didn’t get along.” Leave it to Jordan to cut right through the bullshit.
“That’s what she’s been telling me,” Autumn answered. She wanted to give Quinn the benefit of the doubt. But the sight of Quinn and Rory that close rubbed her the wrong way. The growing tension wasn’t lost on Madison who tried to interject, as a good friend would.
“I’m sure they both just want to say goodbye on friendly terms. Maybe they buried enough of the hatchet to wish one another well.”
“Maybe,” Autumn answered. Doubt was already starting to creep in.
The song ended and Autumn watched as Rory slid what looked like a necklace around Quinn’s neck.Did she have to be so close?Autumn almost felt a growl escape her, but she held everything back. She could and would be asking Quinn about this later. As Rory fastened the necklace Autumn watched as the woman went in for a kiss on Quinn’s cheek, her hand rested on Quinn’s chest. Autumn had seen enough; she would be asking Quinn about this right now. Before her brain had timeto interject, her feet were moving, propelling her towards Quinn and Rory. Liquid fire burned beneath her surface.
When she reached Quinn, Autumn not so subtly bumped Rory out of the way. She wrapped her arms around Quinn’s waist pulling her tight. Quinn practically melted into her touch. She watched as Rory’s eyes widened then narrowed, clearly accepting her challenge.
“Hey, babe,” Autumn said.
“Hey.” Quinn met Autumn’s eyes. She leaned in and gave Autumn a kiss on the lips. Autumn was pretty sure she watched Rory’s brain explode in front of her. She turned, meeting Rory’s eyes. They sized one another up for a moment.
“I’m Autumn, Quinn’s girlfriend. You must be Rory.” Autumn watched Rory process the word girlfriend.
“I must be,” Rory stiffened, her gaze fixed on Autumn.
“Thanks for hand delivering Quinn’s necklace. It was nice of you to come all this way.”
Autumn could hear the sarcasm dripping from her own words. If Rory noticed she played it cool.
“I knew it was important to Quinn. I wanted to make sure it got here safely,” Rory announced with a clearly faked smile.
If Autumn could have hauled Rory out of the bar herself, she would have. But Autumn wasn’t the type to cause a scene, especially not in her girlfriend’s bar.
“It’s a shame you didn’t bring your girlfriend along. We could have all gone on a double date,” Autumn said pointedly.
She watched as the insult landed. Rory smiled but Autumn knew the woman was done with the conversation.
