It was Quinn’s turn to start cackling, laughing so hard he ended up with a stitch in his side, and the laughs quickly died into curses.
“Revenge sex,” Quinn wheezed, cringing through pain and lack of air. “I was going to fuck him and ghost him—but that’s why I need help. I don’t think I can do it.”
Bea began fanning herself, letting out an impressed whistle. “Damn, Quinn. Revenge sex? And here I’ve been thinking you were a sweet, harmless thing.”
The stitch went away, and Quinn sighed happily, sinking back into the bed and going limp. “You’re not wrong, which is why I’m pretty sure I’m already fucking up by going through with it.”
Silence followed—and in that silence, Quinn and Bea stared at each other, allowing a moment for feelings to be conveyed through expression instead of words.
“The sex was good?” Bea asked.
“The sex was great,” Quinn admitted. “He was a lot more…willing to do things that he hadn’t done before.”
She nodded, and Quinn realized that this conversation was slowly shifting into an interrogation. “And you didn’t mind being around him? He didn’t give you the ick, or upset you in any way?”
Quinn shook his head, sending his hair scattering. “If anything, he’s been pretty vulnerable around me. He used to be arrogant and bullheaded, but he’s beensweetduring all our conversations. Yeah, sure, some of the stubbornness popped up, but never to the level it used to be. I think he’s dealing with something—probably realizing that his freaky, religiousmother can’t control him anymore. So, I think seeing me reminded him that he can be his own person. Does that make sense?”
“It does,” said Bea. “And you think the reason he ghosted you was that his mother didn’t approve?”
Quinn had a list of reasons why August chose to stop talking to him, but it all boiled down to—
“His dad died the same day he ghosted me,” said Quinn. “I thought that was the reason for the longest time. He didn’t come back to school, and no one knew where he was. I wasn’t mad until I heard he moved with his mom to a different province and was dating a new girl less than a month after he slept with me.”
Bea didn’t say anything. She waited patiently, allowing Quinn to say what he needed.
“He got drafted to the NHL when he was eighteen. I followed his socials for a long time because I wanted to understand why he threw me away, but when he started going through girlfriends every other week, I stopped paying attention. It fucked me up because I truly thought he loved me, but seeing him with so many people led me to believe he had been a psychopath the whole time, which turned the sadness into anger, and then into hate.”
“And you had no idea he was on Eren’s team?” Bea asked.
Quinn scoffed. “The night you and I met, and we took the kids down to greet their dads—that was the first time I’d seen him since he stopped talking to me.”
Bea’s mouth formed the shape of a perfect ‘O’, and Quinn gave her a weak smile.
“So, like, what possessed you to sleep with him?” Bea flipped her hair over her shoulder, as if she needed to see Quinn unobstructed to help her solve the mystery. “I know you said you’re doing it to get back at him, but you’re telling me you’re not a bad person, and I believe you, so why?”
Quinn had been asking himself the same thing, but he didn’t have an answer, so gripping his hair and growling in frustration felt like an appropriate response.
“Do you still love him?”
Wasn’t that the fucking question of the year?
“No?” Quinn grimaced at how unsure he sounded, so he cleared his throat and tried again.
“No.”
“Bullshit,” said Bea.
“Is not!”
“It is!” Bea jabbed him on the cheek, narrowly avoiding his eye. “You’re so cute, but so dumb. You can lie to yourself in the mirror all you want, Quinn Harlow, but I know the truth.”
Quinn was tempted to call Logan and tell him to collect his wife, but that would have been a petty move. He didn’t think Eren would be thrilled if one of his teammates showed up to carry her out, either.
“It’s hard to hate someone when they’re like…August. My memories built him into a monster who lurks inside my mind, and at the charity ball, I thought I would get that version of him, but…”
Quinn sighed and dropped his arms back onto the bed.
“He’s not like that,” he said softly. “He looks lost and scared, and I’m a fucking bleeding heart who always tries to take care of everyone.”
