“No. Quinn, wait.” He sighed and ran his hand through his dark hair. “You don’t have to leave. Sit down.” He gestured to the loveseat opposite him.
“Really, it’s fine. I might just go to bed.” I didn’t want him to feel like he had to be sociable just because his parents were away.
“Quinn, it’s like…” he paused and looked at his watch, “six thirty.” I fidgeted in the doorway, biting down on my bottom lip. “Look, I know I’ve been a jerk these last couple of weeks. There’s no excuse. I’m sorry. Please, sit down.” Hesitantly, I closed the door behind me, dropping all my snacks onto the loveseat. “Hungry?” he asked, eyeing all my food.
I smiled. “I like to snack while I’m watching TV.”
“Oh yeah? What’s your favorite?”
Digging through the pile of treats, I held up a bar of Hershey’s Cookies 'n' Creme. “I would kill for this.” I hugged the bar to my chest and he burst out laughing. “Hey!” I exclaimed. “Don’t laugh at my chocolate obsession. It’s my weakness.”
“Chocolate’s for girls,” he scoffed.
“Well in case you hadn’t noticed, Brode, I am a girl,” I laughed and rolled my eyes at him.
“Yeah, I’d noticed once or twice,” he mumbled.
“So,” I said, eager for the conversation to continue. “If chocolate's not your thing, what is? What’s your guilty pleasure.” He suddenly started coughing and spluttering and I held my can of soda out for him. “Are you okay?” I watched him take the can from me and take a long swig. Nodding, he handed me the can back.
“My guilty pleasure?”
I nodded. “Yeah. What do you eat lots of that you know you shouldn’t?”
“Erm… potato chips, I guess.”
“Well then it’s your lucky day as I’ve got some of those too!” I declared triumphantly, holding a large packet of chips up in the air.
“Movie night then?” He sounded nervous as if he thought I might say no.
I nodded and smiled. “Sounds good.”
“Your meatballs are amazing,” he said, standing up, his empty plate in his hand. “Thanks for dinner.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Why don’t you choose a movie while I’m cleaning up? The DVDs are in there.” He pointed to a cabinet beside the huge TV. “No girly shit though, yeah?”
I laughed. “Okay, no girly shit,” I promised as I opened the cabinet and started to look through the hundreds of DVDs. I heard the door close behind me and I smiled to myself. Maybe this weekend wasn’t going to be all bad after all.
Brody
Leaving the den, I closed the door behind me. I’d planned to go out tonight with Beth, but seeing Quinn in my goddamn shirt again, her hair wet and her face flushed from the shower… she was like a walking wet dream and I found myself suggesting a movie night. Grabbing my phone from my pocket I fired off a text to Beth telling her I wasn’t feeling well, and that I’d catch up with her next week.
I’d been acting like a jerk since my run-in with Savannah. She had been right. I was attracted to Quinn, and I didn’t know how to deal with it. Any other girl would have been in my bed by now, and I’d have moved on to the next one. Quinn was different though, and I had no idea what I was supposed to do. It was no secret I’d never had a real relationship. I’d dated alot,but I’d never dated anyone who made me want more. Her age was also an issue, although I wasn't sure why. The more I thought about it, the more I began to wonder if my problem with her age was just me trying to find a reason to stay away from her.
I’d ignored her and made her feel like she was in the way. When she didn’t turn up for the rest of her week with me, I knew it was because of my behavior. I couldn’t blame her. I’d been an ass.
After a quick shower, I threw on some sweats and a t-shirt and went back downstairs. Putting my head around the door to the den, I found her still rifling through the DVDs. “Hey, do you want a beer?” She turned around to look at me, hesitating before she answered.
“Erm… yeah, sure. Thanks.”
In the kitchen, I pulled two cold beers from the fridge before heading back to the den. After seeing the amount of food she’d brought in with her, it was clear we had enough snacks for the night. Opening her bottle of Bud, I walked over to where she was kneeling in front of the cabinet and held the bottle out to her. Smiling, she took it from me.
“Thanks.” She took a small pull, her face scrunching up as she swallowed.
“Is it okay?” I lifted my bottle to my mouth to check it tasted okay. I swallowed a mouthful down and found it tasted like it always did.
“It’s just a bit stronger than the beers I’ve had in the past. I’ll get used to it.”