My fingers tighten around the beer bottle and Alistair notices.
“Hey,” he says quietly.“Don’t.”
“I’m not doing anything,” I say without looking at him.
“You’re thinking about it.”
“Thinking is legal.”
“For now.”
The conversation at our table fades into background noise and all I can focus on is the booth across the room.The way Quinn’s shoulders slowly curl inward, the way she stops talking completely after a while, and the way Emette doesn’t seem to notice or care.
Finally, Quinn slides out of the booth, she says something to him, and he waves a dismissive hand without looking up.She heads toward the door and my body reacts before my brain finishes processing the movement.
“I’m going outside,” I say.
Laine grabs my arm briefly.“Damien.”
“What?”
“Be careful.”
“I’m just getting air.”
He studies my face for a second before he nods.“All right.”
I step outside into the evening air.The sky has turned a soft shade of orange as the sun dips toward the horizon.Quinn stands near the railing outside the bar, staring down the street like she’s trying to collect her thoughts.
She hears the door behind me and turns.“Oh.Hey.”For a moment neither of us says anything before she smiles.A tired kind of smile.“You guys came, too?”
“Adam owns the place.”
“Right.”She looks back toward the street.“Nice night.”
“Yeah.”Silence settles between us.Comfortable but also heavy with things neither of us is saying.
“Are you okay?”I ask finally, unable to keep the words back any longer.
“Of course.”
“That sounded automatic.”
“It was.”
I lean against the railing beside her.“You don’t have to pretend.”
“I’m not pretending.”
“You’re very good at pretending.”
She sighs softly.“I just needed a little air.”
“Understandable.”
Inside the bar someone laughs loudly while the music shifts to a new song.Quinn watches the sky for a moment longer.Then she says something that makes my chest tighten again.
“Sometimes I think he doesn’t even like me.”
