Midnight Muse

“What?” She answers my groan, “It’s perfectly normal, Quinn. He’s cute and I can’t wait to formally meet him. Maybe he and Rory’s boyfriend can come up for New Year’s.”

“Really?” I ask, surprised. My family always spends the night celebrating the new year with the Wilsons. It’s an extravaganza with a lot of food and even more drinking and it’s always the best time. Mom’s suggestion of inviting Knox and Ace makes my heart kick happily in my chest.

“Of course, Quinn. You deserve to be happy. I love you, Sweetie.”

“Thanks, mom. I love you too. See you soon.”

“Thank you for meeting me,” is the first thing I say to Reid when he sits down in the seat across from me.

He looks good. He always does, and I don’t know why I’m acting like it’s been an eternity since I’ve seen him when we share the same class two times a week. His hair is a little longer, fluffier today, and his eyes are just as vibrant as they always are, even though they’re filled with a hint of sorrow.

Things have been tense between us since he found out about Knox and I. We still sit together in class, but he always chooses Rory to be the buffer, sitting on her other side as we work through our class periods.

I’d be lying if I said it didn’t hurt. I’ve missed the easy banter between us, teasing each other about our majors and our lives over coffee.

I slide a cup of his usual over to him and he thanks me with a tight smile.

“Reid,” I sigh, unsure of what route to take with this. We’re friends, and if there’s some hidden feelings, I haven’t been made aware of them. I know that he’s hurt because all I’ve done all semester is complain about Knox, but I wasn’t expecting to fall so hard for him either. “I’m sorry.”

His brows furrow as he looks out the window. The sun streaming inside makes the freckles dotting the bridge of his nose more noticeable. “You have nothing to be sorry for, Quinn.”

“What?” I almost splutter my drink, pounding on my chest to dislodge the drops from my esophagus. “Explain, because you’ve been acting weird around me since you found out about Knox and I.”

Reid winces and I immediately regret phrasing it like that. He did seem like he was upset about the entire encounter. He even walked away from me after Knox showed up outside of class to pick me up that one afternoon

“I’m sorry that it came off that way,” he starts, fingering at the cardboard sleeve wrapped around the hot cup. “I’ve been going through my own shit, and finding out that you’re dating Knox felt like maybe we weren’t as close of friends as I thought,” he sighs, settling back into his seat and I feel like a total piece of shit for being so caught up in myself that I didn’t even notice Reid was acting out of character because of his own problems in life.

“I’m sorry, Reid. I should’ve told you but it was still shocking and new to me at the time. I didn’t know how to tell you. Is it your family giving you trouble again?” I ask, reaching out and placing a consoling hand on his arm.

“Amongst other things.” He shrugs, and I don’t miss the way his gaze flits over to the counter where the same barista from the day that frat bro had made a fool of himself is making drinks. Her piercing eyes are already on us, lashes narrowed. She startles when I catch her, ducking her chin back into her work.

“Oh,” I tease, crossing my arms over my chest, unable to hide my shit-eating grin. Reid stares at me like he’s begging me not to bring it up, but I can’t help myself. I think he understands this, too, because he rolls his eyes at me before I can get a word out. “Does the ‘other shit’ involve a certain pretty barista? You should ask her out.”

“Yeah,” he scoffs. “Someday, maybe.” Reid checks his watch before shoving his chair back and offering me a hand. “C’mon, time for review. Are you ready?”

“Yep,” I answer, and he seems surprised at my cheer. I haven’t been excited for a drawing critique this entire semester.

“I can’t tell if you’re happy because it’s the last critique of class or because you’re actually excited about your project,” Reid says, leading me towards the door with a hand against my lower back.

I peer up at him over my shoulder, “Definitely the latter, Reid.” Then softly, to myself, I echo, “Finally, the latter.”

CHAPTER 33

KNOX

“Knox!” Quinn calls in surprise, and the smile on my girl’s face when she sees me makes me perk right the hell up.

“Hey, Princess,” I greet, bending down to kiss her when she’s close enough. Her hands wrap around my neck while mine frame her face, demanding a longer kiss than I should in public, right outside of the art building.

“What are you doing here?” She asks, breathless when we part. I don’t let her go far, wrapping my arm around her shoulder as Rory and Reid trail behind. Quinn’s cheeks are a pretty shade of pink and I can tell that she’s flustered over our display of affection but the truth is, I can’t keep my hands off her. She loves me, and I her, and I’m going to let everyone know.

I smile at Rory and regard Reid with a polite nod. Quinn told me that she was going to talk to him at the coffee house the other day and afterwards mentioned something about him having a possible crush on the barista there and that I needed to stop “pulling my cock out” every time Reid came around.

So, a nod he gets.

Reid tries to smile at me but it looks more like a grimace. I guess we’re both on the same page of trying to accept each other’s presence for the sake of Quinn. I can see Rory and her rolling their eyes from the corner of my vision but I ignore it, letting my shaky hand trail down her back to give her ass a playful pinch. She doesn’t notice the slight tremor because my palm is pressed flat to her jeans. The motion gets me an elbow to the stomach, but it’s well worth it.

“Came to meet you to hear all about how your Art History final and critique went,” I tell her, leading her towards the pathway to our apartments.