Chapter 6

Quinn - One Month Later

I tapmy finger against my leg as I look at myself in the mirror in my room, wondering if I need to change again.

Alex should be here any minute for our sixth date.

I don"t know why I"m so nervous…. Okay, I do. He"s my student"s father, and though it says nothing in my contract about dating a parent, I can"t imagine the other parents would be too happy about the situation. Then there is the fact the man has come on strong, a lot stronger than I"m used to, though I do attract assholes and cheats.

The man seems to be too perfect to be true. Every date we"ve gone on, I"ve met up with him, and he hasn"t bitched about it. Heck, we haven"t even kissed more than a peck, and he's not shown any signs of being bothered by the lack of intimacy. He"s attentive and caring, and puts my needs first. Honestly, he reminds me of how my father dotes on my mother, and that scares me because, well, he strayed.

I think that"s why I"ve steered toward assholes.

I'm contemplating changing my dark purple and white camisole top when my phone rings. I groan, knowing it"s going to be my brother. He"s becoming more relentless.

With a sigh, I answer the phone, knowing he won"t give up. I don"t want to explain to Alex why I"m dodging my brother"s calls.

"Jack, I"m about to head out?—"

He cuts me off, growling, "Tough shit. We"ve barely seen you for two years since we I tried to force you to make amends with Dad?—"

I cut him off angrily, "You didn"t want ‘amends'. You fucking set me up, and you know it, so don"t try and downplay it. I was seven, Jack, when I walked into a room to see our father, the perfect family man and doting husband, screwing someone else, destroying Momma. And what was his excuse, huh? ‘She"d been coming onto me for months,' he said. ‘I stupidly gave into temptation.'"

He grumbles, "This was eighteen years ago, squirt. Momma forgave him…."

I huff a laugh. "Yeah, she forgave him alright, after he wormed his way back in when her mother died. He used her vulnerability against her, and you know it, and the fact you think it"s okay to admire a man who cheated on his wife when she needed him, then you"re no better than him."

"Squirt, please?—"

I cut him off again and snarl, "No! He ruined my childhood. He ruined how I looked up to him, and made me realize no man could ever be trusted! I don"t care why you called, Jack, but as far as I"m concerned, this is the last time you try to force me to be okay with a man who could hurt his family that way, especially when his wife never did anything to warrant it. She loved him so much. She worshiped the ground he walked on, and he screwed someone else. End of!" I angrily wipe away the few tears that escape and state, "If you call me about him and Momma again, then I"ll be done with you!"

He sucks in a breath at my threat, "Squirt…."

I ignore him and hang up to prevent myself from falling apart, and throw my phone onto my bed.

I miss my family, but walking in on that, seeing Momma fall apart, watching her in the aftermath…. I shake my head, unwilling to think of that fateful day that only she and I know about.

Swallowing, trying to rid myself of my thoughts, I grab my bag, leave my phone on my bed, not needing it, and head to my small living room. I look around and smile. I worked hard for this place. Lots of summer jobs and saving up. I painted the walls an off-white, the back wall is a dark blue, with a light gray couch in front of it. I forked out hundreds for a nice glass coffee table in front of the fireplace, and a small TV on a glass stand in the corner.

I love this room. It"s so cozy.

A knock on the door brings me out of my head, and I sigh. Today is the first time I"m allowing Alex to pick me up. I know I feel something for him. My stomach flutters, my hands sweat, but part of me just won"t let myself fall.

Men are liars, and they cheat.

I open the door with a deep breath, only to be tackled by little arms.

I chuckle as Noah looks up at me, grinning. "Hi Quinny!" he bubbles.

I grin, running my fingers through his messy black hair, and say, "Hi, little man," before looking at a very sexy Alex. His hair is messy on top in a way I like, while his dark gray shirt hugs his muscles, his tattoos peeking up at the V around his neck.

I raise a brow at him, and he shrugs, commenting, "Noah decided he wanted to come tonight."

I hum and nod, seeing right through him. Still running my hand through Noah"s hair, I reply, "Pulling out the big guns, huh?"

He grins. "We both know you"ve been closed off, unwilling to open up to me. I need the big guns. this way, you can see how in I am with the people I love."

I look down at the boy hugging me, who asks, "Can we go on a date, Quinny?" My heart melts.

I chuckle but nod as he steps back. I quickly grab my bag and walk to the door. Noah holds his hand out to me. I take it willingly as Alex shuts my door, ensuring it"s locked, before wrapping his arm around my waist and guiding us outside toward his dark green truck.

Thirty minutes later, we"re all sitting at the local diner, Noah"s favorite place. I chuckle as he shoves four fries into his mouth at once.

"Slow down, little man, or you"ll choke."

He looks at me and grins around the food, making me laugh as Alex slowly runs his fingers up and down my arm from over my shoulder. He decided to sit next to me while Noah was happy to have a whole booth seat to himself.

Alex gently kisses behind my ear, rasping, "I love how good you are with him."

I hum, taking a sip of my vanilla milkshake. I keep my eyes on a happy Noah stuffing his face while coloring. I state, "I"d kind of suck at my job if I wasn"t."

He chuckles, knowing I"m deflecting. I notice him grab a fry and I pick up my chicken burger, taking a big bite, moaning over the taste. So good.

He kisses my head, which makes my belly flip, as I take another bite of my burger. The more he does little things like that, the more I want him, and I hate that I do. It"s a feeling I"ve never had before.

He owns me, and I hate that he does.

I turn my head and look at him, and he smiles wide at me as he picks up a fry, points it at me, stating, "You"re falling for me, and you fucking hate it," before throwing the fry in his mouth. I can"t help it, I grin. The man reads me like a flipping book.

"You see too much," I state, taking another bite of my burger.

God, this is delicious.

He shrugs with a smile, getting another fry. "It"s a trait I like having. I know you hate that I"ve picked up on it, but I have. You"re closed off; you don"t trust me, but you will. I"ll make sure of it."

I hum, side-eyeing Noah, noticing he"s still busy, and I reply, "You"ve come on very strong. I"ll admit, it scared me a little. A man waiting for you at night, when you walk out of work, is not the norm."

He chuckles then leans forward, gently pressing his lips against mine. The terrifying feeling of home hits me, and he"s right—I do hate it.

"And I won"t stop being full on, Goldie, so get used to it," he rasps against my lips, kissing me again before pulling back, grabbing his chocolate shake.

"Squirt?" I hear my brother say, breaking our connection, and I silently groan before looking to my left to see a confused Jack.

He raises a brow, looking at me, then Alex, then Noah, before a smile spreads on his face. He notices I"m on a date, and I roll my eyes.

Jackass.

"Quinny?" I tense up hearing my father"s voice before he comes into view with Momma. They take in the scene.

"That"s what I call her, too," Noah says happily, making me smile. He continues, "I have to call her Ms. Sanders at school, though, but I prefer Quinny. I like Quinny."

I chuckle with Alex as Jack leans over, shaking Alex"s hand.

"Alright, Jack? How"s Sniper treating you at the garage? He hard balling you?" Alex asks as Jack stands back and chuckles.

He replies, "Nah man, he"s good, Sarah, though…." He shakes his head. "She"s a hard ass, that one. How Snake hasn"t lost his balls yet, I"ll never know."

I snort, shaking my head as my momma, whose eyes never leave me despite my trying to ignore her, steps forward.

"Are you, uh, on a date, sweetheart?"

I go to open my mouth to say, well, I honestly don"t know what I"m going to say. Maybe I should divert the conversation. Before I can say anything Noah chimes in again like the charming devil he is.

"Yep, with me and Daddy this time. They already had five whole dates without me, and that is not okay. She"s my teacher, and I wanted Daddy with her, so I got in trouble, so Daddy came to school. Daddy calls me Cupid."

Momma smiles at him but hurt shines in her eyes. I ignore it and raise a brow at Alex, who just shrugs, not at all denying it.

Dad clears his throat, and I look his way as he wraps his arm around Momma"s waist. I look away as he speaks, "Why don"t we all go grab a bigger table and catch up?"

Oh, how I want to scream out a "no" like a child, but instead, I clear my throat and say, "We"re nearly finished, so there"s no point disrupting Noah."

I look at the little boy and smile as he shoves his last fry in his mouth, before pouting when he notices he has none left. Shaking my head, I grab the rest of mine and place them on his plate, making him grin.

"Thank you, Quinny," he says happily, before shoving them in his mouth. This makes me smile as Alex twirls my hair in his finger.

Momma lets out a sniffle, bringing my attention back to them, and I make eye contact with Jack, who looks angry, but I shake my head at him. He"s the one who stopped by my table, not the other way round. This has nothing to do with them or him.

Alex clears his throat. "Noah"s finished now, anyway, and I promised to drop him off at my momma"s. Maybe next time?"

My dad nods, keeping his eyes on me while Momma looks ready to burst into tears. I hate that I"ve upset her, but each time I"ve seen her, she does this, like she"s trying to guilt-trip me. Just because she forgave Dad doesn"t mean I need to. I went through a lot because of him.

I can"t forgive. I won"t.

I send Alex a grateful smile because he"s read me like a book. He"s noticed my stiffened posture, which is why he"s been playing with my hair, and he can see I don"t want anything to do with them.

He"s making it hard for me not to say "screw it" and give a relationship a go, to take us out of the "just dating" zone.

Crap balls….

Dad nods and states, "Definitely next time. I"d love to get to know the man who"s captured my daughter"s heart."

My jaw ticks at his words because his daughter"s heart is stone cold like ice because of him, but I ignore them all as I pack up Noah"s coloring stuff. They say bye, but again, I ignore them and guide Noah, holding my hand tightly, to his dad"s truck while Alex says bye to Jack.