“There,” Quinn said, grinning. “The pinch proves it, and now you know you’re not dreaming. As cute as you are when you’re wearing that dazed expression, I prefer my men fully conscious during conversations.”
“I’m more surprised that you let me in here thinking I waspropositioningyou,” August countered.
He knew he had Quinn right where he wanted him when a blush lit up his beautiful face.
“You said you didn’t know if you liked men,” he said.
“I did,” August said softly.
“And you said that you trusted me to help.”
Had he?
“Yeah.”
Quinn’s mouth looked so pretty when he frowned. It looked pretty when he smiled, too.
“You can trust me,” said Quinn. “If you were being serious.”
Even though he didn’t want to, August dropped Quinn’s hand and leaned away from him. “I would never ask you outside of dreaming. I know ten years is a lot of time to heal, and you’ve definitely moved on, but I don’t like the idea of using you.”
That would be like cutting a dull knife through an old scar. August didn’t need Quinn to show him anything because he was ninety percent sure hedidlike guys, even if he was picky about it.
And since his plan of staying away was clearly failing, he would be happier to have Quinn as a friend, even if it meant lying to himself.
But Quinn didn’t look happy or relieved by August’s words; he lookedfrustrated.
“Remember what I said, August.” Quinn gripped the arms of the chair, slowly leaning into August’s space. “I’mgoing to useyou.If I didn’t want you here, I wouldn’t have invited you.”
August had been so out of it that he hadn’t thought of the implications of being in Quinn’s room. Pieces of their conversation were sliding into place, building a clear picture of what was happening right now.
“Wait, you—” August shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose just in case it decided to bleed again. “You want to have sex with me?”
Quinn backed away, folding his arms and shrugging like he was unbothered by the suggestion. “Don’t sound so shocked. I have very little time between taking road trips with Eren, raising my nieces and going to school. You seem to be struggling with your bisexuality, and you’re just as busy as I am. The fact that we’re always travelling together and staying in the same hotels makes the choice simpler.”
August was…starting to feel dizzy again.
“You say the nosebleeds and headaches are happening because you’re stressed about your career,” Quinn continued, like he was laying out a simple way to solve a complicated math equation, not convincing him that they should fuck. “Sex is the best stress reliever there is. I know I could use something fun to get me through all these boring hockey games and my coursework.”
August was not subtle when he pinched himself to double-check he was awake, and Quinn laughed when he saw it.
“What are you proposing?” he heard himself ask.
Tension flickered in Quinn’s eyes, but it was gone in the next second.
“Acquaintances with benefits,” said Quinn. “We fuck, and if you don’t like it, we stop. But if you do like it, we can continue for the rest of the season.”
August had never considered sex to be a great stress-reliever, but he was willing to try anything if it got rid of his headaches and stupid nosebleeds.
Maybe it would be different with Quinn. Maybe it had been different the first time, and he just couldn’t remember.
“Rules?” August asked because he needed to know where Quinn’s boundaries were.
Quinn smiled and said, “Don’t fall in love with me.”
August chuckled. Could he really fall if he had already hit the bottom and was now broken into too many pieces to be put back together?
“Kissing?” August asked.
