“Yours, always. But would you rather Autumn talk to you when she’s too emotional to know what she wants? You want her to talk to you when she’s so mad she can’t see straight?” Madison asked.
Quinn hated reasonable questions when she was upset.
“Maybe,” Quinn mumbled.
“No, you don’t. Giving her time to process the night means that there’s a better chance for the two of you to work things out later. If you talk to her tonight, she might just tell you to fuck off.”
“Hey!” Quinn protested.
“Sorry. I mean it is true though. Take her needing time as a good thing. And a sign of emotional maturity on her part.”
Quinn smiled at that.
“You’re right. This is actually the very least I can do. We’ll talk tomorrow and hopefully things will go better,” Quinn managed something that resembled a smile.
They sat in relative silence as Quinn finished her drink.
“Are you going to drink that?” Quinn asked Madison pointing to her discarded drink.
“Absolutely not. That drink is strong enough to knock out a Viking. I want to be able to make it home and sleep in my own bed,” Madison laughed, and Quinn joined her.
Madison left a few minutes later. Quinn found Madison’s discarded drink and drank it. If anything would put her to sleep it was this. She was disappointed when she still tossed and turned several minutes before finally drifting off.
Chapter 22
Autumn hadn’t slept particularly well the previous night. She couldn’t help replaying that moment with Quinn. Watching her dance with Rory had been hard. Then Rory leaning in so she could fasten the necklace around Quinn’s neck, and the kiss. Not that it had been a sexy moment, it didn’t even qualify as romantic. But it had felt intimate enough to make Autumn uncomfortable.
This morning she was going to a local park to meet up with River and Piper. After her accident River had taken a long break from running. She hadn’t quite gotten all her mojo back, but today the friends were meeting up for a jog. Cardio was Autumn’s least favorite form of exercise, especially jogging or running. But she’d do anything to help support her friend. On top of that she wanted their take for what she should do about Quinn.
The park was busier than Autumn had expected for an early morning jog. She found her friends underneath a large palm tree. They both waved at her smiles wide as she approached. Autumn felt a pang of guilt. They’d planned this outing a few days ago, before everything that had happenedwith Quinn. Autumn wondered if she should have cancelled, so she could save her friends from her bad mood. Autumn forced a smile and waved back to her friends. It was too late to cancel now, she would have to do her best to smile through the morning.
“Good morning,” River beamed. She watched as her friend stretched out her hamstrings then her quads.
“Morning,” Autumn smiled.
Piper arched an eyebrow, a clear indication that somehow she already knew something was wrong. Autumn only offered Piper a head nod. A clear signal that they weren’t going to talk about it now.
“How far are we going?” Autumn asked.
“Let’s start easy this morning. Two miles,” River answered.
“Sounds perfect,” Piper offered.
They took off towards the path that overlooked the ocean. Autumn allowed herself to get lost in the view. The sound of the waves crashing against the shore was soothing. The sun beat down on them but Autumn found it soothing. She sucked in every bit of the warmth.
The run ended sooner than Autumn expected. She must have been more lost in her thoughts then she realized. River andPiper slowed into a walk and Autumn pulled up beside them. Her surroundings were familiar. Autumn turned around and it instantly dawned on her where she was. There was the taco truck, and just past it was the bench. Her and Quinn’s bench. Autumn sighed, staring at the bench.
“What’s going on with you today?” River asked.
“Nothing,” Autumn tried to plaster a smile on her face. She knew she had failed when her friends grimaced at her expression.
“Autumn, what’s going on?” Piper asked, her eyebrow raised.
Autumn groaned, there was no way out of the conversation.
“Quinn and I are in a fight. Well, kind of a fight. We haven’t really spoken since last night.”
“Why don’t we sit on that bench, and you can tell us all about it,” River suggested.
