The Panty Whisperer: The Complete Series (19 page)

I try to disregard her snarky comment, but something in me just won't let it go.

"What did I do to make you hate me so much?"

"Really? You want to do this right now? While we're at work?" She pushes her plate aside and folds her arms across her chest.

I couldn't care less about where we are at this point. It's killing me. "Yeah. I want to know why you're treating me like this. I didn't do anything to you."

She glares at me and I swear I can see Satan dancing around in her eyes, with flames and shit. Maybe a pitch fork thing.

She gets up and storms out of the cafeteria. Without thinking, I follow after her. It's difficult. She knows this place better than I do and there are people everywhere I turn. I set my plate and drink down on a table and weave through the crowd. I can barely see the top of her head as it disappears around a corner.

I finally make my way through the ruckus and see an exit door closing at the end of the hallway. Hauling ass down the hall, I pause momentarily in front of the door and try to catch my breath. I've been hitting the gym but I definitely have some work to do.

I put my hand on the door and take in a huge breath, pausing for a moment. Then I ease it open and she's sitting there. A tear streams down her cheek. I knew she felt something for me.

She looks up, and her gorgeous blue eyes look lighter in the sun. My collar feels ten times more snug than usual around my neck and I tug at it. I can't help but feel responsible for the tear I just witnessed. I have to do something to take her pain away. Without thinking, I start walking toward her like a man on a mission.

What the fuck are you doing, Joel? Pull yourself together.

She wipes the tear from her face, and a scowl replaces the sadness in her eyes.

"Here for another ass whipping?" She nearly chokes on her words.

Her face reddens more with each step. I've completely lost control of my actions at this point. I don't have a fucking clue what I'm doing. When I get to her my palms flatten on both sides of her face, and I press my lips to hers.

What the fuck are you doing?

Her eyes widen, but she doesn't push me away. She presses back into me and our tongues intertwine. My hands find their way into her hair, and then slide down to the sides of her neck as I taste her on my lips and feel her in my palms. We're both momentarily in another world. It's the best kiss of my life, and I never want to let go of her. It's a new experience, something I've never felt. Colors and energy come alive in everything, and it's like floating on a cloud, invincible from anything that could possibly go wrong. The rest of the world does not exist. For this brief moment in time, I'm in another place, feeling something that's indescribable.

We finally release, and I stare into her eyes. A tear forms, and she pushes me away.

"I-I can't. I can't fucking do this. I'm sorry." She hurries toward the parking lot, and I don't follow her. I can't—physically—my body won't let me.

She disappears into a sea of automobiles.

"Yeah, I'm sorry too."

QUINN

I
SIT
ON
the couch curled up in the fetal position, trying to contemplate what just happened. My brain is running a marathon. Jesus Christ, that kiss. No, I can't do this. What about Livi? What about everything I know about Joel? He's a player—an asshole, yet he won't leave my mind. I want to know what he's thinking, what he's doing. Why'd he have to fucking kiss me? And why does he kiss so fucking good? Livi is going to hate me, and I have to tell her.

Voices from the porch jolt me from my thoughts. What the hell? It's two in the afternoon. I recognize Livi's giggle, and she has someone with her. A key rattles inside the door handle, and I grab a pillow, pulling it close to me.

Livi comes through the door, and a guy falls in behind her. So much for her being in love with Joel. It takes them both about 15 seconds to even realize I'm there.

"Oh, shit. I thought you'd be at work, Quinn."

"Yeah, I came home. Didn't feel well."

The guy she's with checks me out.

Asshole.

Bringing another guy home after just meeting them, Livi? What a shocker
. Usually I'd be nice, but I'm just not in the mood.

"This is Christian."

"Sup." He leans over to shake my hand. I smell the douchebag on him from a mile away. "Damn. Two hot chicks livin' here? Bet you ladies have some fun." He slow nods like an idiot.

What a prick.

"You guys want me to go?" I stand up.

"No." He answers immediately before Olivia can say anything. "We was about to have some fun if you wanna join?"

It takes me a moment for his words to sink in. Are you fucking kidding me? Livi's face turns to disappointment knowing her new hook-up is interested in me. I need to be nice even though I'd like to throat punch the sack of shit.

"I'm going to go." I turn and look at the prick. "Forgive me. I've forgotten your name."

I doubt he caught the sarcasm and it was the most diplomatic response I could muster.

Livi's eyes light up. She obviously wants to get rid of me, and I'm going to knock the shit out of this asshole if I stick around much longer. I walk past him and whisper to Olivia. "I need to talk to you for a sec."

She turns to Christian. "Go hang out in my room. I'll be right there."

"Ooh, sounds hot."

I'm not even going to try and talk her out of this. Fuck it.

She plops down on the couch next to me. "He's hot, isn't he?"

I can't help myself. I have to tell the truth. "No, he's not hot. He's an idiot."

"Don't be bitter. God, what's wrong with you?"

"I have to tell you something. I did something, well, kind of. I don't know how to explain it—" I rake my hand through my hair.

"What happened?"

"I saw Joel today." Nerves roll through my stomach.

Her eyes light up. "Really? How'd he look? Fucking gorgeous I'm sure. Did he say anything about me?"

Well, so much for Christian replacing him. This girl is so sweet, but fuck she is dumb when it comes to men. How do I respond? He did mention her, but it was not flattering. I don't have the heart to lie to her. It's time to just rip the Band-Aid off.

I turn and look at her. "He kissed me."

She adjusts herself on the couch and looks as if I just murdered her puppy. "You kissed him?"

That's not what I said, but fuck it.

"Yeah, I guess. It happened so fast."

"How could you do that to me? You're supposed to be my best friend. What the hell?"

My jaw starts to grind. I didn't do anything wrong. At least I think I didn't. The whole incident races through my mind, and my head begins to spin. It all happened so fast. He kissed me, and I kissed him back, but then ran away. What's the big fucking deal? She's the one who got me in this mess.

"Look, he's consulting at my firm. I was being a bitch to him. I left. He followed me out the door and kissed me. I kissed him back for a second, but then pushed him away and left."

"I don't believe you did this. I've always been there for you and then you what? Stab me in the back?"

"You dragged me into this! I didn't want any part of your childish bullshit, remember?" I stare at her.

"Oh, whatever. You've wanted him since you met him. Brandi told me all about it."

Beautiful. Add another bitch to my shit list. I sigh. "What'd she say?"

"That you were all flirty and left with him that night." She glares.

I seriously need to be taking crazy pills. It's time to be honest with Olivia. If she doesn't like it she can kick rocks. I'm pretty much done with her anyway.

"That's what you told me to do. I can't believe I'm having this conversation. You already have a new fuck buddy waiting for you in the bedroom. Fuck it. I do like him. I like him a lot actually. But I haven't acted on it, because of
you
, out of respect for
you
. Even though you're too fucking stupid to realize he used you for sex. And you know what? He probably does like me. But that didn't matter because you're my friend. I didn't want any part of the silly games you wanted to play with a guy you fucked within 10 minutes of meeting, but I did it anyway.
For you!
"

She shakes her head at me. "Well, now the truth comes out. You are so self-righteous. Always perfect. Perfect little Quinn who looks down her nose at everyone. In the meantime she's stealing their men from behind their back. So fucking fake!"

I can't believe what I'm hearing. I'm quickly realizing it wasn't Joel who was the problem. It was her. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, and banged the wrong girl.

"You're a fucking psycho. I'm done. Have fun with pencil dick back there."

I ball my hands into fists and stare her down. But it's my own fault. I should know better than to be friends with her. Should know better than to stoop to her petty games. It's like I have this need to fix people. My friends are projects and I'm out to change them. For some reason—like always—I feel the need to apologize though. I was pretty harsh.

"Look, I'm sorry. I tried to do what you wanted me to do. Obviously I fucked it up."

"Yeah, you did. I need some time to think about this. To see if we can still be friends."

"Call me when you figure it out." I stand and walk out the front door, with no idea of where I'm going.

Nice job, Quinn. Enable her some more. Make her think she's in the right. I don't know what my fucking deal is. I always have to be the peacemaker. Jesus Christ, I need a shrink.

I'm at the bar, picking at the cardboard coaster, sitting next to my third scotch in an hour, drinking my sorrows away. It smells like peanuts and fat married guys in here, but I don't mind. The whiskey burns my throat as it goes down, and I love the feeling. It sounds like a terrible place for a single woman to hang out, but it's actually nice and low key. The bartenders know me and it's one of the only places in town where I won't get hit on every two minutes. I fumble through my purse and manage to find my cell.

"Megan. Hey, what's up? I hate to do this to you, but can I borrow your boyfriend for an hour or so?" I run my hand through my hair.

She chuckles on the other end. I'm pretty sure I am the only person on the planet who could get away with asking her a question like that. I can't help it. I need to laugh, and I need an intelligent person's take on my predicament. Tommy knows the situation better than anyone. I pick at my fingers when I think about not asking them both to come, but they'd sit there and stare adoringly into each other's eyes, and I'd most likely vomit on the table.

Thirty minutes pass, and Tommy comes through the door. He's frowning, probably because I pulled him away from his hot new girlfriend. I'm a disappointment to everyone I suppose, but with scotch number four going down, I don't give a fuck about much at all right now.

"You're a cock blocking devil woman. You know that?" He stands in front of the table.

I'm a bit tipsy and laugh a little more than I should. There's just something about Tommy. He's like a funny big brother. I can't help but smile when he's around.

"What's this all about? Why are you halfway to hammered before the sun goes down?"

"I fucked up. I fucked up bad."

He stares at me like I'm wasted, but it's just a slight buzz. So maybe I slurred my words a little. So what?

He takes a seat. "Okay. How did you fuck up?"

"Joel kissed me."

"I know." He chuckles.

"Bullshit."

"I know everything, woman. No secret is safe from me."

I relax a little when he smiles, and I sigh. Why does life have to be this complicated? "I told Olivia. She hates me now. I don't know what the fuck is going on. My life is in some kind of tailspin."

"Let me guess, Olivia acted like a spoiled little bitch? And this surprises you? I swear I thought you were smart." He grins, possibly to hide the sting from his jab.

"Come on. Don't be mean. I need to laugh."

"Well fuck, you need some tough love too, son. Yeah, Joel got a little wild with her. It's who he is, or well—never mind."