But then his shirt was gone, and August smacked his hands onto the marble countertops as his gaze landed on the three faded, but visible scars on his back. Three long strips of split flesh that had never healed properly, marking the three hits his father landed before he had the decency todie.
Just as he’d felt the moment he’d shattered into a million pieces, August felt the instant he was made whole again—remade into himself. The world sharpened around him, turning colours more vibrant, and sounds clearer. It was as if he’d been living inside a glass box smeared with grime, and someone had finally wiped it clean, letting the light back in.
The feeling of joy was indescribable, until the realization of what had happened came crashing back down like an anvil.
“Oh, fuck. Quinn, what have I done?”
Chapter 13
Quinn
Quinn gave it a week before he went to another hockey game. A week was how long he needed to take a step back and really decide if revenge was the right thing to do in this situation, and all answers seemed to point towardyes, no matter how hard he tried to deny it.
But he had set rules for himself because he wasn’t aterribleperson.
Firstly, August had to approach him on his own because Quinn wasn’t about to pursue a guy if he had moved on from the past. That sounded far too desperate.
Secondly, if August wanted to hook up in any capacity, Quinn would ensure that it stayed afriends-with-benefitsscenario. The point was to tease August’s interest enough so that it stung when Quinn put a stop to it, but it wouldn’t break his heart.
Third, and most importantly, Quinn was, under no circumstances, allowed to fall in love with August again.
If he stuck to those three rules, it wouldn’t come close to the betrayal that Quinn had suffered, but it would give August a taste. It wasn’t like he was going to leave him at the altar on their wedding day. He wasn’t even going to date him. From Quinn’s perspective, this would be an enemy-with-benefits arrangement and nothing more.
And it all depended on August, as per rule one.
To make things fair, when Quinn went to the next home game, he invited Bea and bought two tickets in the stands, away from the Bigfoot’s bench, so August wouldn’t see him. The people around him were loud, and Quinn had to cover his ears when there was a goal to keep from going deaf, but he was enjoying Bea’s company.
“Number eight is on fire tonight!” Bea shouted, her voice lost in the hollering and blaring horns. “He’s one away from a hat trick!”
Number eight was…
Quinn searched the numbers on the backs of the players, brows lifting when they landed on the nameSnow.
That was surprising because Eren had been grumbling about his star player all week, asking Quinn probing questions about what happened during the charity ball, like he could use the information to solve a problem.
“Logan said the guys are worried Snow may be traded if he didn’t step his game up,” Bea said after the screaming had died down enough to hear each other. “I don’t think it will happen, but they’ll do anything to pressure their players if they think it will help.”
That fitted with August’s personality. In high school, he had been the same way; one critique, and he would be sure to prove that person wrong.
Bea elbowed him. “You’re making a face.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Quinn.
She leaned into his space, coming so close that her nose was practically poking his cheek. “Give me the tea. You said you knew him when you were kids.”
The whole point of not sitting in the box where it was quieter was to avoid talking aboutthe tea, but he hadn’t accounted for Bea’s stubborn streak.
“We crossed paths. Our parents were familiar with each other, and we went to the same school.”
“That’s it?”
Quinn became a wall of steel. “That’s it.”
He was staring intensely at the ice, like he was captivated by whatever the fuck was happening down there, but he could tell that Bea wasn’t convinced. She sighed and flicked her hair to be dramatic, and then slumped in her seat.
“Fine, keep your secrets. You’ll tell me eventually.”
Not likely.
