CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Traffic honked and squealed, and a gust of wind picked up, making my skirt billow. The Windy City had its days and today was one of them. I picked up the pace, darting around a grate a millisecond before my heel slipped into its cracks. I pushed my skirt down and climbed up Rory’s front stoop to hit her apartment’s call button.
She buzzed me in without asking who it was. I grabbed the door and scurried inside. Rory’s building had an elevator, but it always smelled like a weird mixture of bleach and vomit. Thankfully she only lived on the second floor.
“I’m here,” I sang as I knocked. The door opened right away, Rory’s peering eyes traveling up and down my body.
“Finally.”
I rolled my eyes. “Traffic, all right?”
She smiled. “I’m joking. Thanks for coming to help me.”
She waved me in then shut the door behind us. Her one bedroom apartment was small, but thanks to her knack for decorating, maybe the coziest place in Chicago. Strings of white and blue Christmas lights lined the living room walls. An oriental screen sat in one corner, and paper lanterns hung down from random spots.
“This thing is heavy,” Rory said, stepping around her loaded laundry basket and picking up one end of her new curtain rod.
I dropped my purse on the couch and went to test the other end.
“Oof,” I gasped. “You’re not kidding.”
“Okay,” she said through gritted teeth. “One, two… three.”
We both lifted and climbed onto the chairs she’d stationed at each end of the window. With another grunt or two, the new curtain rod was up, Rory’s beautiful deep purple curtains sweeping the floor.
“It looks great,” I commented, climbing down from the chair.
“Thanks. I don’t know how you manage to do everything in high heels.”
I lifted a shoulder. “Years of practice, I guess.”
Rory pushed hair from her face and went into the little open kitchen. “Want a beer?”
“Got anything else?”
“Iced tea?”
“Hit me.”
I brushed off the seat of the chair I’d just stood on and settled onto it.
“So what’s up with Lover Boy?”
I tried to suppress a smile but couldn’t do it. “We’ve been texting. I’ve been too busy to get away from work.”
“Just texting?”
“The good kind.”
“Hah! So sexting, you mean.”
“Sometimes.”
“Okay, let’s see them.” She waggled her fingers at me. “Come on.”
“No way.”
Her eyes went wide. “Since when do you keep text messages to yourself? Did he send you a dick pic or something?”
“Ew, no, thank God. Seth is way too good for that.”
“Okay.” She smiled in a knowing way.
“Tonight will be the first night I’ve seen him since Monday.”
Rory poured tea into two glasses and raised her eyebrows. “You sound pretty happy about that.”
I bit my bottom lip. I was happy about the event, but admitting it was a whole other thing.
“I like him… a scary amount.”
“Hmm. I can see that.” She brought me a glass and settled cross-legged onto the couch. “You’re coming up on your limit, aren’t you?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Most guys you keep around for about a week, if they’re good enough. This is your third or fourth date with Seth.”
“Fourth.”
“Ah.”
I gave her a stern look. “I haven’t forgotten what you said about his reputation. Don’t worry.”
Truthfully, I had, thanks to being a little too distracted by all of his positive attributes.
Rory shrugged. “It’s just something I heard. What do you think about it?”
“I don’t know… I haven’t really been obsessing about that. But you know, I’m sure that if I have a reputation myself, it’s not all that different from Seth’s.”
“Wow, that’s forgiving,” she snickered. “And I can tell by the way you get when you talk about him that you’re really into him. You’re all glowy.”
“Damn it.” I grinned.
Rory laughed. “Plus, you’re hoarding your texts, which means you would feel bad about betraying his trust and sharing them.”
I lifted a shoulder, purposefully not giving her much to work with.
“Hey, again. About his reputation… that was just something I heard. Maybe the people who mentioned it were wrong. You know how rumors grow. Or maybe Seth’s changing.”
“I’m not looking to hook a man and change him.” I grew serious.
“I know you’re not. Relax.”
I let out a slow breath. “Sorry. Of course, you know I’m not doing that.”
“I really can tell that this thing with him is different, though. You’re trying to act all coy, but I can see it in your eyes, Quinn.”
I groaned, the dam finally breaking. “Oh my God, it is different, and I don’t know what to do about it! I’m going crazy, Rory!”
“Calm down, first of all. The earth is still spinning. The sun hasn’t died yet. It’s still rising and setting. So, calm down.”
“I don’t know if I can even do that.” I bit the inside of my cheek.
“It’s scary falling in love.”
I held up my palm to stop her. “I didn’t say I was falling in love.” Not out loud anyway.
“No, I said it, and it kind of seems like you are. You’re focused, Quinn. You have a lot on your plate, and you have a thick skin on top of it all. A guy wouldn’t be shaking you up like this unless you were really, really, really into him.”
“I’ve known him, like, two weeks. Not even, really.”
“It can happen in that amount of time. My aunt and uncle got engaged after four months of knowing each other, and now they’ve been together for forty years. And it’s not a sham. They have one of the best marriages I’ve ever seen. So, don’t tell me true love can’t happen.” Her dark eyes pierced mine, daring me to question her.
Elation filled me, followed by a desire to throw up. Falling in love was one thing. Finding your “true love” another. I didn’t even know if I believed in soul mates.
“What time is it?” I asked, suddenly realizing I had no clue how long I’d been there.
She glanced at her wristwatch. “Seven ten.”
“I have to go. I’m meeting Seth at this rooftop bar downtown.” I stood up.
“Ooh la la. Now that’s romantic.”
“His friends are going to be there.”
Rory laughed. “Okay, that makes it a little less romantic, but he definitely at least wants you to be his girlfriend if he’s introducing you to his friends.”
My heart skipped a beat. “You think so?”
She looked at me like I was stupid.
I gasped. “God, you’re right. Wow… I’m not even thinking straight.”
“You don’t need to be. It’s all part of the experience.”
“This is gonna blow up in my face.”
She stood and took my glass from me. “Don’t say that. You’ll sabotage it yourself if you have that kind of attitude.”
“It just seems too good to be true.”
“What did I just say? Stop talking like that.”
“Okay,” I nodded.
“Tell me one more thing before you go. Whatever happened to him being a cocky bastard?”
I bit back a grin. “He still is sometimes.”
“But he has other attributes that make up for it?”
“Yes.” I laughed.
Rory rolled her eyes. “Go have fun, you crazy girl.”
I called an Uber on my way out the door and met it around the corner from Rory’s. The driver took me to a spot downtown, midway down a block. I scanned the sidewalk as the car pulled up, looking for Seth, who’d said he would meet me out front.
To say he stood out from the crowd would be an understatement. While everyone else pushed and scurried around him, he stayed in one place, his feet still and his hands in his pockets. The dress pants and button-up shirt were a new thing for him and gave him a look that was smooth and shined and sexy as hell.
When he caught sight of me climbing from the car his face lit up, his eyes sparkling and his smile stretching from ear to ear.
He’s just as happy to see me as I am him. Heat spread over my face. Funny, I’d rolled around naked with the guy, and yet I still blushed in his presence.
“You look beautiful,” he told me as I approached.
He slipped a hand from his pocket to take mine. The warm touch of his fingers against my own sent a wave of peace traveling up my arm and throughout the rest of my body. I sighed slightly. And had to fight an actual swoon.
“Thanks. You look great as well.”
He squeezed my hand and then let go to press his palm against the small of my back. We entered the lobby and rode the elevator up to the rooftop with a gaggle of college age girls in cocktail dresses. I shifted my weight to lean against Seth, proud to be seen with him.
The elevator opened to trance music, its beat filling up a rooftop swathed in blues and whites. Golden light spread across the sky, peeking between the skyscrapers before it disappeared for the night. Seth guided me around cocktail tables and to a bar lit up by blue lights.
I glanced around us as he ordered our drinks, wondering if any of his friends were there yet. How would Seth introduce me to them? If he called me his girlfriend, what would I do?
I’m not his girlfriend. Chill.
Yet I was so proud to be here with him. My heart fluttered when I remembered Rory suggesting he wanted a relationship status from me.
“Seth,” someone called.
He spun around to greet a young, buff blond guy. The two men clasped hands and hugged.
“Troy,” Seth crowed. “Where have you been, man?”
Troy’s eyes flicked toward me, noting my presence. “I’ve been traveling out west. Did some backpacking for a couple weeks with my friends out there.”
“Sounds great. Troy, this is Quinn Laurent.”
I extended my hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Troy’s eyes lit up, his surprise over my very existence obvious. Just by reading his subtle expressions I could assume my being there was unusual.
So, Seth doesn’t bring girls around much. Damn, that made me feel smug.
All my earlier anxieties about what it meant to meet Seth’s friends went out the window. I was honored to be in the thick of Seth’s life.
Troy led us to a low table at the other end of the bar, where three more people clustered together on white cushioned seats — three guys and a girl, which I hadn’t expected. For some reason, I’d assumed I would be seeing Seth’s “buddies,” and that women wouldn’t fall into that category.
I imagined their names stamped across their foreheads as Phil, Lou, and Justin were introduced, a trick I’d learned for remembering names years ago.
“And this is Blaire,” Seth said, introducing the young woman last.
She stood to shake my hand, her blonde hair falling over her shoulders as she did. Her big blue eyes gave her the look of an innocent version of a Barbie doll. It was hard to imagine her wielding a gun in the line of duty or crawling through mud in basic training. I knew better than anyone else, though, that many women were capable of far more than their appearances suggested.
“Good to meet you.” Blaire smiled, giving my hand a firm shake. Though her grip was strong, her voice was light and airy, further proving the complexity I’d already picked up on.
Phil unfolded his tall frame, grabbed two seats for Seth and me from a nearby table and we settled at the table.
“Blaire is visiting from Cyprus, just south of Turkey,” Seth explained.
I gazed at her in interest. “Really? That’s great.”
She nodded. “I’ve only lived there a few months. I love it, though. It’s really beautiful.” She reached for her drink, the giant diamond ring on her left hand throwing off a glint of light.
“And you’re back so soon?” I asked.
“I have family to see here and things to take care of. I’ll be traveling back and forth for quite a bit. To settle things here and get ready for my wedding next year.”
I was desperate to gather more information, but the curt way Blaire cut off her sentences then looked away said she wasn’t willing to give it.
“Who’s going to the game tomorrow?” Phil asked.
The conversation moved quickly from sports to Troy’s new apartment to a story about some old friend of theirs having just been left at the altar.
“It was awful,” said Lou, his mixed complexion darkening as he shook his shaved head.
Justin snorted. “She could have let him know a little sooner that she was gay, right?” He raised his beer. “Here’s hoping that doesn’t happen to Blaire.”
The others raised their drinks as well.
“Oh, can it!” Blaire snapped, though she was smiling.
“I’ve met the guy,” Seth said with a smirk. “And I don’t think he’s gay.”
Justin shook his head. “Just because he didn’t hit on you, Seth, doesn’t mean he’s not gay. You’re not everyone’s type.”
The group crowed with laughter.
We ordered another round of drinks, and the main conversation broke off into smaller ones. In the middle of telling Troy about how I went about breaking off from freelance work to start my own company, I caught Blaire watching me. The second I turned my face, she whipped hers away.
It happened again ten minutes later. I bent down to retrieve my phone from my purse, and when I straightened up, Blaire was flat out staring at me.
Did she want me to go over there and talk to her? She was already involved in a conversation with Seth and Troy. The giant ring on her finger caught my eye again. If I hadn’t felt such a good vibe coming from her, I would have thought she was sizing me up high-school-mean-girl-style. Maybe she was just protective. I didn’t open up to my friends’ boyfriends until they proved themselves worthy in some way or another. Likely Blaire was no different.
Throughout the next hour, she snuck glances my way. I ignored it, thinking that if she wanted to talk to me, she would.
When Seth caught my eyes, I waggled my eyebrows at him. He smirked, inclining his head toward the door. I knew what that meant, so nodded. Yes, I’m ready to go.
We gave goodbyes all around, and Blaire stood and hugged Seth tight. I watched their embrace stretch on, and a new theory struck me. Maybe Blaire and Seth had been an item at one time, or at least had some kind of thing. That would explain why she looked at me like I was a museum display up for her critique.
Was she jealous? Judging by the size of the rock on her finger, she had her own hands full back in Cyprus.
But that didn’t mean she didn’t still harbor feelings for Seth.
Seth called a taxi and then took my hand, leading me to the elevator and back onto the street. The sidewalk spun slightly, thanks to an exhausting week at work and the bottle of champagne on the rooftop.
“Does she not like me?” I asked before I could stop myself.
Seth stopped walking to stare at me. “Who?”
“Blaire.”
His face stayed frozen. “I’m sure she does.”
I let those words sit while I tested them for weight and authenticity. “All right,” I finally said. “I was just wondering. She seemed to be staring at me a lot.”
He shook his head. “She’s really nice, though. That’s just Blaire.”
His answer wasn’t much of an explanation, but I ended it there. I had never been a jealous woman, and I wasn’t about to become one. The most irritating thing, more annoying than Blaire’s staring, was that Seth now seemed to be as mum about his friends as he was his family. Was he going to be that way about everything and everyone in his life?
The taxi arrived, and we climbed in, Seth putting his arm around my shoulders and pulling me close. I let my head drop down against his chest, not from fatigue, but from the desire to be as close to him as possible. For a Friday night, it wasn’t anywhere close to late, but I was ready to get Seth somewhere alone, ready to do the things to him I’d dreamed of since Monday.
He walked two fingers across the top of my thigh, teasing me without being inappropriate. “I’m really falling for you.”
My breath caught, and I lost control for a second, not sure whether to inhale or exhale.
Fear.
Exhilaration.
His words brought up so many different emotions. The old me would have opened the taxi door, tucked and rolled out into the street if it meant escaping the trap of a relationship.
But that old me was pre-Seth.
So, who was I now?
Someone who’s falling in love.
I’d known it since Saturday night. But the shared moment made it more real. Our affection for each other was becoming something so strong it was nearly tangible, something I could almost hold in my hands.
Something I could rest in my heart.
I took his hand and tilted my face up toward his. “Good,” I breathed.
His face drifted so slowly toward mine its movement was barely perceptible. Anticipation throbbed through me. When his lips finally brushed mine, it was like a dam breaking.
Our bodies shook and our breaths caught as we shared the slowest kiss in the history of mankind and made the city spin around us.
When we got to Seth’s place, he squeezed my hand tighter, whisking me through the lobby and into his home. The door banged closed behind us, and we fell against the foyer wall. Seth’s hands went everywhere, pushing my dress open and off and touching me in each new place revealed. His tongue hungrily lapped at mine as he pressed my back against the wall. His hands found my panties and pulled them all the way down then lifted one of my legs. Tight against me, he unzipped his pants and pulled his dick out, quickly rolling on a condom. Its heat greeted me, teased me as I waited.
Seth plunged into me with a strength that made me groan. Again and again, he drove into me, sending me sliding up the wall with each thrust. I grabbed his hair in both hands and twisted, holding on tight. With one hand under my leg and the other curled into my back, he had me tightly contained.
I lost control, kissing his chin and jaw, sucking on his lips, putting my mouth every place I could reach and loving my ability to do it. With Seth, I could let go. He had a hold on things.
He had a hold on me.
Seth lifted my other thigh, my foot leaving the floor, and pushed me flat against the wall. With my legs suspended in the air, there was nowhere to go and nothing to do but accept what he gave me. Pleasure grew and popped in tiny spurts until finally I shook with the orgasm and Seth held me tighter throughout it until he followed me in release. Groaning, he pulled away and gently lowered my legs to the floor. His sweaty forehead pressed against mine.
I closed my eyes as he did and we leaned against the wall, gasping for breath.
I’m really falling for you.
His words spun around me as I held him close and breathed his scent in. There were so many reactions I could have. I could be afraid. I could run for the hills. I could go find some other guy who would let me take control and call the shots like I was used to doing.
Or I could stay. I could dive headfirst and let go of the reins. I could trust. I could believe that, just maybe, Seth would be there to catch me if I fell.