Midnight Muse

They don’t seem to notice us, I don’t think, and Quinn shuts the door as quickly as she opened it, wincing as it slams loudly. If they didn’t know we saw anything then, they sure do now.

Quinn locks it once more, jolting away from it like it’s on fucking fire, and she stares at me, her eyes wide in disbelief.

“Was that?—”

“Yes,” I breathe. “Yes it was.”

Quinn runs her fingers through her hair as if she can’t believe what we just saw. It tangles easily from the rain and she frowns, ripping her hands from the knots. “That’s my couch!”

I try to hold it in, I really do, but my laughter bubbles out of me without permission.

Quinn looks more shocked at my laughter than she did at the explicit porno she just walked in on.

After a second, she joins in.

“That’s what you’re worried about?” I wheeze. “Your couch?”

“Hey,” she scowls, the smile still lighting her face even as she glares at me. “I paid good money for that! Half of it is mine!”

I shake my head, more than amused.

A noise from the other side of the door startles her and she stumbles back a step. Apparently, Rory and Ace aren’t letting our interruption affect their night.

“Come on,” I tell her. “You can hang out at our place until they’re done.”

Quinn looks reluctant, but she has no other choice, so she follows, muttering, “Who knows how long that will be.”

“You’ll know it’s safe when you can’t hear them through the walls anymore.”

An entertained smile curves Quinn’s lips but falls when she finds me staring. She turns away but I still catch the way her cheeks go pink. “Right.”

I open the door to my apartment and it’s all I can do to pray that Slate isn’t here for once, enjoying the easy laughter between us. I don’t want a buffer. The apartment is dark and silent when we enter and I mentally cheer knowing that I get to have more of Quinn’s attention on me. Maybe I can finally right the entire mess from the day we met.

I duck into Slate’s room, double checking to see that he hasn’t just fallen asleep. When I find his bed empty and the blankets a crumpled mess as always, I know he hasn’t arrived back from class yet, either.

Drifting over to the hall closet, I pull out two towels, tossing one to Quinn where she’s still standing awkwardly inside of the threshold, clutching the fabric as tightly as he can.

“Slate isn’t here, yet,” I explain, sliding my phone from my pocket. I shoot off a text to my friend and set it on the counter. “You can take a shower here, if you want to warm up. I can get you some clothes. I don’t know if we have any of that fruity scented shampoo that you probably use, but I know Slate has a three-in-one mix you should stay away from.”

Laughter spills from her lips and she looks almost affronted that she wasn’t able to hold it in. “Knox, did you just make a joke?”

“I don’t know, did you just laugh at my joke, Princess?” I retort, amusement filling my tone.

Quinn can’t hide her smile now. For the first time, she seems to actually be enjoying my presence, and I’m not about to take that for granted.

“Yeah, I think I did.”

CHAPTER 13

QUINN

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I groan at my reflection in the mirror.

I’m currently locked in Knox’s bathroom after he handed me a fluffy towel and offered me their shower. I’m staring into the mirror, fingers white-knuckled where they’re curled around the edges of the counter, totally freaking out.

I look as much of a mess as I feel like. There’s a part of me that appreciates Knox for not mentioning my state, but the other part of me is fucking mortified that I’d been talking to him while looking like a drowned raccoon. My mascara has run from the rain, streaking dark down my cheeks that are pale from the cold. My hair hasn’t fared much better—glued to my head from Knox’s helmet. It’s tangled in knots around my shoulders.

Of course, Knox had looked like a fucking God when he’d run his fingers through his own drenched hair. It had stuck up in all different directions but he only managed to make the hairstyle look even better. And worse, the black t-shirt that clung to his skin only showed off his impressive arms and the tattoos lining them. It gave me a closer look at his forearms and the scarred patches of skin crawling from his hands up.