The Panty Whisperer: The Complete Series (21 page)

But Quinn doesn't fall for bullshit lines or corny antics.

I decide to shoot straight with her. "Look, if I just know you don't hate me, I can live with that. I never meant to hurt your friend. I really didn't. I swear that's the truth."

"Fuck her." Her hands grip the table.

This is an interesting turn. They must've had a falling out. I try not to chuckle at her choice of words when she realizes what she said.

"I mean don't! I mean, not again anyway, shit." She turns pink in the face and looks away.

We both laugh, but I need to draw her attention away from the fact that I did indeed fuck her friend, pretty hard. My old confidence returns in a way, but it's different this time. It's not confidence that I'm going to get in her pants. That's a long shot at best. But the confidence to talk to her, knowing she's not bulletproof.

"I promise, trust me. It shouldn't have happened in the first place."

I get a text from Tommy just as the conversation is getting good. I can't help but check it though. How do you not read a text when Darth Vader's voice comes through your phone saying "I am your fatherrr"?

I look down to read it.

Tommy: The goose finally buried its beak

I tell Quinn what happened without thinking. "I guess ol' Tommy boy finally found the Holy Grail."

Her eyes widen. "Shut up! Megan finally gave in, huh?"

"Looks like it."

I say aloud what I'm texting back so that Quinn can hear.

Me: I know you're excited Obi Wan, but you might clear it with your ol' lady before you tell people she let you break out your light saber.

"I swear. You boys and your Star Trek quotes." She chuckles.

My face begins to heat up and I realize she's fucking with me. "Don't ever say that to him. He will disown you."

"Yeah, well he shouldn't be telling the world about how he just became a Jedi."

God I love this fucking woman.

Whoa! Get your fucking shit together, Joel.
How about you try to be friends with her before you pop the question?

The prophecies from Mom's couch are coming true. I can vividly see her and Tommy teasing me about marriage, about Quinn. Fuckers. I give myself a quick mental slap for saying "fuck" in front of my hypothetical mother.

"I warned him."

"Seriously, Megan is a pretty private person. I don't want to see him fuck it up. He's so happy being with her."

"Yeah, he better be. He betrayed me and hung out with my mortal enemy for a shot with her."

Quinn drops her gaze back down to the table. "Is that what we are? Enemies?"

Her head lifts slowly, and I want to hug her. I don't want her to hurt. It's obvious she doesn't like the way things are going down with the psycho redhead. They must be really close. That doesn't bode well for me. Quinn seems like the type to stick around and remain loyal, even when someone doesn't reciprocate.

"It's not what I want." I take a sip of coffee.

"What do you want?"

"For you not to hate me. I mean, I'd like us to be friends, but I'll settle for being able to be in the same room together."

"We're in the same room right now." She smiles.

I glance around, then back to her face. "I guess we are."

I look to my watch, fuck. I'm supposed to be meeting with Quinn's boss. I don't want to go anywhere though. I just want to sit here and talk to her. I'm not going to be able to focus for shit all damn day.

I shoot Tommy a quick text.

Me: So Quinn and I are getting along

Tommy: Bullshit

Me: She hasn't dick kicked me once

Tommy: We're all hanging out tonight. Don't even reply. You're going!

I set my phone on the table. "Looks like we're all hanging out tonight."

She sighs. "Yeah, I just got a text."

"You know they're going to spend the entire time trying to make us a couple, right?"

She turns away, but I can see her cheeks turn pink. I can tell she likes me, but it'll take way more than a nice little chat to win her over.

She shakes her head. "I know. They'll probably want to do something nerdy too, like watch Star Trek."

It's a trap!

"Like we'd ever want to see that piece of shit, when we could have a
Star Wars
marathon. Am I right?" I smile.

"Oh, good one. Nice redirect." She mocks me for a second, and then stands up from her chair. "Unfortunately, I should go do some work."

"Yeah, I'm late for a meeting with your boss as it is."

"You better go. He's a stickler for punctuality. And I don't think your charm will work on him."

"I think you u-underestimate, I mean, umm, d-don't value. Fucking hell, just—" I pause and collect my thoughts. "Have yourself a great morning." I smile.

Jesus, what a clumsy fucking buffoon. I can't help but think about the scene in Goodfellas when Spider is stuttering all over the place. If Tommy were here he would act the whole thing out. "Spidah, ya stutterin' prick ya!"

I'm laughing my ass off at the mental image of Tommy dancing around. Quinn almost shoots coffee out of her nose at the last thing I said to her.

I shake my head. "I'm sorry."

She smiles and bites her bottom lip. "I like clumsy Joel. He's real. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Looking forward to it."

QUINN

M
EGAN
AND
I
are standing in the parking lot of the bowling alley, waiting for the boys to show up. Finally, I can get to know Joel without the Livi situation constantly hanging over my head. A cool breeze sends a few strands of hair across my cheek, but I don't care because the wind makes the heat bearable.

"This is going to be fun." I bite one of my nails.

"I know. We're so excited to hang out with you guys. Tommy won't shut up about it. Hopefully, we can keep the boys' attention. They tend to get distracted around each other."

"They're pretty close, aren't they?" I look around the parking lot for them.

"God yes. It's cute and annoying at the same time. Sometimes it's like babysitting a couple of grown toddlers. It keeps things fun though." She looks over at me. "Don't worry. You'll hear them when they get here."

Fuck. The car. It's not going to help me resist him. At all.

Stop thinking about it.

I look over at Megan. "I hope Joel's the good guy Tommy says he is."

"You like him a lot, don't you?" She grins.

I tense at her question, but I don't see a way to get anything past her.

"Yes. I want to give in so bad. I just know his type. Not his personality type, just the playboy type. You know what I mean? I'm babbling. Please tell me to shut up."

"No, it's cute. I don't know a lot about what happened. Tommy talks a lot but it's hard to pry useful information out of him."

"It was stupid. We were both stupid. I just—"

That car.

The roar of a familiar engine rumbles across the parking lot and interrupts me. The vibrations under my feet reset my brain into "fuck me now" mode. We both look up and there are the boys, pulling through the parking lot in the Mustang. My thighs squeeze together. I'd forgotten how beautiful she is. If it were a man I'd marry it right now.

I look over at Megan and can tell her heart is racing too. I don't think many men besides Joel know what a car like that really does to us. We don't want to get into an expensive, fully loaded Lexus. No, it is gorgeous raw power that does it. For me anyway.

"Good god." Megan's words come from under her breath.

"That car is not going to help me have self-control tonight."

She reaches over and grabs my arm. "Stay strong. I'm here for you."

I laugh at her joking tone.

"Thanks."

"No problem. So—you think he'll take me for a ride in it?" She winks at me, and I push her shoulder playfully.

"Better back off, bitch."

She gasps.

Tommy's window is down and I hear a voice yell, "Sexy bastard coming through! And a fucking beast car."

We both giggle like school girls in a high school parking lot. Joel is revving the engine, knowing what it's doing to us. Prick. I catch a smile from the driver's side. I smile back, but it's not really for him. Well, maybe a little.

They park, and Tommy gets out first. He immediately presses himself against the car and wraps his arms around the windshield. "Oh, I missed you so much, baby."

"Hey!" hollers Megan.

"Hey yourself, woman! She's my first love."

Joel steps out of the car looking hot as hell in a pair of dark denim jeans and a tight, gray v-neck tee. He's always dressed perfectly. I can't help but notice that he's appearing leaner. I wonder if he's working out for me? I know it's presumptuous, but a girl can hope. His smile, and those eyes, and that hair—every one of them styled perfectly as his jawline flexes with his smile.

Everyone's attention immediately turns to Tommy. He's still hugging the car. He starts to dry hump the side of it, and I'm about to lose it, trying not to snort when I laugh. Megan has her mouth covered and pretends she doesn't even know him.

"Tommy!" Joel fakes a glare. "What'd I tell you about that?"

Tommy jumps back from the car with his hands in the air and stares at Joel. "I'll tip her!" He fans his face off like he just went ten rounds with a porn star.

"Nice, Rocco." Joel shakes his head.

"She gets me all flustered." He turns to Megan. "I wasn't cheating I swear."

My sides hurt, and we've been here all of 30 seconds.

Megan is staring at him with her hands on her hips. Her foot is tapping the ground, but there's a smile on her face. "You're out of control."

Joel walks over while the two lovebirds flirt with each other. A lump grows in my throat the closer he gets. Damn this beautiful man and his gorgeous car.

"Hi." He looks at me and then gestures towards Tommy. "Sorry, I don't even try to compete with his sense of humor."

"Yeah, he is one-of-a-kind."

"That's the truth. You look great by the way. I mean absolutely beautiful. Just, you look wonder—Jesus, I'm shutting up now. Sorry."

There he goes being awkward again. I like it. I relax a little, knowing he's not perfect. Nobody could live up to dating someone like that. Wait, are we dating? Are we hanging out as friends? My mind goes into a tailspin and needs to right itself. I fake a chuckle at Joel. Not to be mean, but to buy some time and compose myself. I'm still a little hot from seeing the car and I keep staring over at it.

"Eyes up here. She's not a piece of meat."

I genuinely laugh this time, and look over at her and smile. "Sorry, I meant no disrespect. I just missed you."

"Everyone always misses the car." He sighs and gives me his best dejected look. I wrap my arm around his without even thinking about it and look up at him. "Aww, poor baby. I missed you too."

What happened to slowing things down? Just being friends? It just feels right with him, and yet I know I'm heading down a road that ends with me getting hurt.

"Thank you for taking pity on me." He bats his eyelashes, and I want to jump on top of him.

My thighs tingle, and my heart thumps rapidly. I try to snap out of it when I realize I'm biting at my lip.

Do not sleep with him, Quinn.

God, I hope he has some will power, because I don't think I can hold out now that I've rid myself of Olivia.

"You guys ready to watch me go all Bill Murray in this bitch?" Tommy stares at us.

Joel releases my arm, and we start toward the entrance.

"We don't have a cow. We have a bull," Joel hollers back at him.

Echoes from their laughter ring out through the parking lot. Megan and I stare at each other, apparently unaware of the inside joke.

"What the?" Tommy bugs his eyes out. "You haven't seen Kingpin? We have to culture these women, Herbert. I'm telling you, they need an education in proper cinema." It looks like he's karate chopping his palm in time with each word.

"I concur," says Joel.

We walk through a hallway back toward the lanes, weaving through a sea of kids running wild, parents chasing them, teenagers trying to look too cool to be there. The walls are painted like graffiti murals with bowling themes, and 80s rock is blasting over the speakers, making it difficult to hear each other. There's a faint sound of air hockey tables and an arcade that grows louder with every step. Suddenly, it comes into view, and lights are flashing with mostly boys beating on machines, completely engrossed in their own little worlds.

Stale beer and pizza with a hint of cigarette smoke permeates my nose. It's not too overwhelming, but it's familiar, and reminds me of coming here when I was a kid. This should be fun.

I glance around and see at least three boys standing in front of their mothers with big smiles, holding their hands out, asking for money to go play games at the arcade. I look up as Megan takes it all in. We both look forward at the same time, then look back at each other and die laughing.