Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 90290 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 451(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90290 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 451(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
“What’s Elle doing?”
“Uh . . .” Quinn runs his hand over his beanie. He’s so much like Harrison, it’s uncanny. “I think she said something about taking her last semester off.”
“Trimester,” I say, correcting him. “Pregnancies are tracked in trimesters.” This is probably more information than he needs to know, but at least when Nola and he decide to have a baby, he’ll be ready.
“Oh, right.” He twists the cap off the bottle and takes a drink. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Shoot.”
“You knew with my sister that she was the one, right?”
“I did. Are you thinking Nola isn’t the one?”
Quinn shakes his head. “No, but I wonder if I’m her one. Something’s off and it has been for a while, but she’s my first real girlfriend and I don’t know if I’m just looking too deeply into things or what.”
“Maybe she’s just under a lot of pressure from school.”
He shrugs. “Maybe. I’ve told her she doesn’t need her masters, but I also understand her need to be independent. Depending on someone isn’t exactly . . . I don’t know what word I’m looking for.”
“I know what you mean. And I gather from the last time she was here, she’s not excited about the tour?”
Quinn shakes his head again, but this time he’s looking at me and his movements are much, much slower. “She’s pissed, actually. I guess I didn’t ask her and assumed she would go. She wants to spend time at home, which I get. I’m sure she’s homesick. I’ve suggested her parents come out here, but I don’t think they like me much.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Because when I offered for us to go out there, she said it would be better if she went alone.”
“Oh.” Now that he’s said this, I believe Peyton or Elle may have mentioned it. “Well, they’re being ridiculous.”
Quinn chuckles a bit. “I’m sure I’m not the picture they had in mind when their daughter brought someone home. They’re definitely prim and proper. Her brother wears a suit every day, and her sister is the lovely housewife, raising babies. According to Nola, she should’ve been married by now.”
“So why not get married?”
Quinn scoffs. “I’ve tried. She wants to get married at her parents’ property, which I get and I’m all for. However, the only time her parents have available are dates when I’m on tour. When I’m not on tour, her parents have their yard booked for other weddings.”
“Oh.” I am totally not good at this talking shit.
“See why I think they don’t approve of me?”
“Yeah, it’s becoming clearer. I stand by my earlier sentiment.”
Quinn picks at the label on his bottle until he’s pulled a corner clean and then takes the rest of it off. I reach for it and throw it away.
“You know, you’re like a brother to me,” he says, and I find myself wanting to give the guy a hug.
“Same,” I tell him. Even though I’m close to a couple of my teammates, Quinn will always be my best friend. He’s the brother I never had and always wanted. “Do you remember when we first met?”
He nods.
“I hated you,” I tell him. “I was so jealous of your relationship with my dad, the only thing I could do was hate you.”
“I know,” he said. “And I was jealous because you had a mom. Well, two if you count Katelyn. Her and Josie were so good to me, accepting me right away, I couldn’t understand why you didn’t want to be my friend. I also didn’t have any friends because I toured all the time and had a tutor on the bus. I thought we’d be band buddies or whatever until my dad told me you had just met Liam. It took me a bit to understand what he meant because I’d always known him and this world we lived in.”
“Yep,” I say. “That pretty much sums it all up.”
“Look at us now.” Quinn quips and makes a heart with his hand. “Should we get matching tats or something?”
“I think Peyton would kill me.”
He laughs. “She probably would.”
He spins the top of his bottle on the counter and sighs. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Have you asked her what’s going on? Believe me, when I tell you communication is key, it’s key. I avoid so many misunderstandings with your sister by communicating. Granted, she bottles shit up and sometimes I have to poke the bear to get it out of her, but nothing festers. We don’t go to bed angry at each other. I don’t think I’d be able to sleep if we did.”
“We’ve talked but not in depth. I don’t want her to feel like she has to go on tour. I’ll miss her and will try to come home as much as possible, but we have shows every couple of days. There’s no way I can fly back and forth all the time. I’d miss rehearsals. And once Elle leaves the tour, the last thing she needs is for me to fuck shit up.”