Midnight Muse

Stumbling across the living room to the other side of the apartment, I reach Ace’s door. I hope that it’s unlocked, because being alone right now sounds even better than having to be around anyone right now.

It’s fucking locked.

I pound on the wood. There’s an urgency to it that Ace must hear because he’s cracking open the door and I’m met with the oceanic blue of his eyes and his bare chest.

“Knox?” He frowns, immediately concerned. “What’s up? I’m a little…busy at the moment.”

I don’t need to peek over his shoulder to know that Rory is waiting for him on his bed right now.

I don’t care, though. I shove my way into his room and slam the door behind me. Rory squeaks, pulling his duvet higher over herself, but I’m not looking at her as I pace the length of his room, back and forth and back and forth.

“Knox,” Ace warns softly, raising his hands like I’m a rabid dog he’s trying to leash. “Are you okay? What’s going on?”

I ignore him, running my fingers through my hair and pulling on it in distress. I don’t know what the fuck is going on but I’m fucking reeling right now and someone needs to help me stop it.

“Did you know that your roommate is passed out in my bed?” I turn on Rory, ignoring Ace’s question.

“What?” She sits up, concerned, and the blanket drops to reveal her collarbones. She’s wearing a bra, but Ace scowls, helping her into the first shirt that he can find. “Is she okay?”

“Think so,” I mutter, retracing my steps. “She’s sleeping.”

“And you weren’t the one that put her there?” Ace asks and I’m halting my frantic pacing to stop and stare at him. Rory pins him with a glare as if she’s telling him not to go down this road, like this is something they’ve discussed before.

My voice is quiet when I respond. “Why would you assume I put her there?”

Ace is staring at me like I should know exactly why they think that, but I have no idea. Quinn and I haven’t done much other than bicker and fight since she moved in. Our petty nights where I play my music loudly and she bangs on the wall in response is our preferred form of communication. When she makes those little noises of pleasure and I slam my door when I storm out because I can’t stand the thought of another man?—

“Oh, Knox,” Rory says softly at whatever look is on my face. I don’t like the way that she’s staring at me all empathetic. It makes my hackles rise even more. “You like Quinn, don’t you?”

My mouth opens to deflect, to reject that with my entire being, but I can’t. Nothing comes out.

Nothing comes out because it’s true.

“I—” I start, but when the words get caught in my throat, I spin on my heel to escape.

I hear them calling after me but I’m already making my way through the crowd again. I spot Slate somewhere in the middle of the living room with a group of girls rubbing their bodies up against his. They’re so close together that they look like a pack of sardines and Slate is the king fish. He’s laughing, making suggestive eyes to at least three of them.

I wish I could be that carefree, but all I can think about are my feelings toward Quinn.

I definitely need a fucking drink.

CHAPTER 19

QUINN

Everything fucking hurts.

My head is throbbing like someone has been hitting me repeatedly with a hammer all night. I can’t open my eyes because the dots of light clouding my vision are swimming in circles, and I’m pretty sure even if I could crack my eyes open to squint around the room, I’ll surely lose the contents of my stomach, which is still housing all of the alcohol I’d stupidly drank last night.

Groaning in agony, I curl further into myself, tugging the blankets up over my head, trying to block out as much of the sun as I can.

I test a deep inhale to try and ease my stomach. With it brings the scent of a calming freshness, like midnight and pine. The smell is so perfectly balanced, familiar and crisp in my aching lungs that it almost lulls me back to sleep. It’s effortlessly masculine and with another luxurious inhale, my brain connects the scent to its familiarity. It’s the same soap I used when I was forced to stay the night at the apartment next door while Rory and Ace had been having their public nudie show in my living room.

I want to snuggle into it, wallow in its comfort all day, but my mind is quickly catching up to me, running that thought back for a second time, really spelling out all the words.

My eyes snap open and my body jolts into an upright position that makes my stomach roll. I shove my head quickly between my knees so I don’t make a complete fool of myself before I fully realize where I am.

Fuck. I drank way too much last night.