make you miss me • q. hughes

06

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Who was knocking at my door? Val doesn't knock. She walks in and announces herself only every so often. That's something I might not miss when I move. Y'know, walking out of the bathroom to someone on your bed is not the best experience. Neither is opening the door to see Quinn Hughes getting ready to knock again.

"God, am I ever going to go a week without seeing you this summer?" I ask.

He rolls his eyes. "Val wants to know if you want to go to the store with her and the others."

"What? Why aren't you going?"

"I could."

"Are you?"

"Probably not."

"I'm not leaving you in the house alone," I say before I can stop and think.

"That's cute, Scout," he says.

My blood starts to heat up to a boil. The way he's looking at me pisses me off. "No. I don't trust you."

"It's not even your house."

"How am I supposed to know you won't snoop around my shit or something?"

"You would have to trust me." He smiles. "Right, you don't trust me."

"Fast learner." I fake a smile right back to him.

"Don't be like that."

"Don't tell me what to be like."

"I didn't--"

"You literally did."

He doesn't respond. It gives me a moment to really look at him. White's a basic ass color. Most people can wear white and it won't be revolutionarily good or bad. Christ, though. White is Quinn's color. The color underlines something about him. Emphasizes him.

What the fuck am I doing? I'm pissed off with him. Calling me Scout. Telling me not to be like that. Being generally annoying and irritating and every other synonym. Get it together.

But I can't. He does that same thing at dinner last week. His eyes flicker down just slightly. My breath catches slightly when his thumb reaches up and swipes at his bottom lip. It's a ghost of a touch. He probably didn't even catch he was doing it. Looking at my lips made him think of his lips.

"What are you hiding to not want anyone snooping around?" He asks, his voice completely different than it was a few moments ago. Deeper almost.

I'm so going to regret this. "Come in and I'll show you."

"You trust me all of a sudden?"

"Absolutely not. You'd be the one walking into the lion's den though. Not me." I step to the side, opening the door further.

"Good point." He mumbles it as he walks in, taking his chance to look around.

"Of course it's a good point." I am very aware of my heartbeat the second the door closes. "I made it."

"You're so full of yourself."

"Don't set me up like that."

He stops looking around. Staring at me with his brows furrowed. Fuck it, we're already here. I wink. I wink at Quinn Hughes, the most annoying person I know right now. Realization washes over him, jaw dropping slightly.

"Warned you." I shrug, leaning back against the closed door. "Lion's den."

No response. Another chance to look at him. The tan that's getting its start. While he's looking at me, his fist clenches and I can't help but watch the way his forearm reacts to it. I want to tear him to shreds. I want him in the most hate-fuck way possible. I want to make him shut up.

Our eyes meet. Done assessing the other. I hope he gets my invite. Understands what exactly is going on here. How cruel would it be for him not to? Lucky me, he walks closer. My brain tells me to run but even if I wanted to, I couldn't. My back is to the door.

His cologne fills my brain. It's nice. Expensive, probably. He's close enough that I can see the way his chest rises and falls while he looks down at me. Looks down at me. As if. But, in this scenario, yeah he has to tilt his head down to look at me. We're that close together.

"You're irritating," I mumble.

He rolls his eyes. "Don't ruin this."

"I don't like you."

"Then why are you being so fucking good to me?"

I'm so going to regret this later. Right now, I couldn't give a fuck.

My hand reaches up and around the back of his neck, pulling him to me. Our lips crash together. It's everything but gentle. It's sparks flying, harsh breaths. His hands find my waist, even that being a bit rough. My fingers lace into his hair and pull him back slightly.

"We--" He interrupts me, pushing forward and I pull back again. "We have to tell them neither of us are going."

"Fuck," he breathes it out. It makes me want to take it back. We don't have to. He reaches into his pocket and rushes out a text, his arm off to the side. There's no room between us for anything. Not even air. He glares at me slightly when he tosses his phone away, on to the rug off to the side. "Happy?"

"Oh, I'm stoked."

"I can't stand you."

My brain short circuits for a moment. I reach up with the hand not in his fucking great hair and swipe my thumb over his bottom lip. A ghost of a touch. "Babe, I can think of a scenario where you don't have to be standing."

* * * * *

The aftermath feels like a secret mission. Or cleaning up a crime scene. I send him to shower in the farthest shower from me. I put my bedding in the washer. Remake the bed with new sheets and blankets. Shower myself. Redo my makeup. Throw on a bikini and some shorts like it was a regular day.

By the time I'm downstairs, the kitchen is covered in grocery bags. Music is playing out on the deck, the screen door the only buffer. The guys' laughs float through with the music. It really could be any old day. Except it's not.

Val smiles when she sees me and motions to the cabinet she's got open. "Look! I'm following your system."

"Did hell freeze over?"

"Haha. I figured I'd be nice today since we were gone way longer than we meant to be."

"What a sweetheart," I joke. My eyes wander to where the guys are messing around on the deck, playing Cornhole. Only trick shots seem to be going on. Quinn's laughing at some ridiculous move Luke attempted.

I must have zoned out. All I caught was the end of the sentence. "...Quinn and you all alone."

"What?" I ask.

Val frowns. "Said sorry for leaving Quinn and you all alone."

"Oh. I was in my room for most of it."

Her frown deepens. "Uh, he said you were down at the dock for a while."

"I was for a bit." I shrug. "Not that it's any of his goddamn business."

"You guys are so ridiculous," she mumbles though there's a hint of amusement in it.

"You love it."

"It adds some spice."

"That's what life is all about."