that girl I dated last month a bouquet of lilies that they were going to get rid of at work, and she wanted to sleep together for the next, like, ten days in a row. I let her, too.”
I winced at Daniel. “What happened to her? I just ran a guy off.”
He shrugged. “Blake was pretty boring, anyway, and I ghosted Hannah. I don’t remember why.”
“And people say you aren’t romantic,” I replied. I knew the truth, though. Daniel was still hopelessly chasing his first true love. “Besides, Quinn’s not that, I don’t know, frilly. I mean, I’m sure she would like that stuff, but I’d rather find something that she’d really be into.” My mind was already generating some ideas.
“Okay, so store first, then visiting Quinn at work.” Daniel clapped his hands ironically. “You’ve got a great plan.”
“Except, I don’t have my car.”
“What? Where’s your car?”
I flipped a hand through the air. “Back at the bar. We got a little too drunk, so I left it overnight.”
“I’ll drive you to all the places, but only if you take a shower because this”—he motioned to me—“is offensive.”
“I’ll need to borrow some clothes, too,” I replied.
Daniel let out a dramatic scoff. “Oh my god. Would you also like me to cook breakfast for you, sir?”
I raised an eyebrow as I got up off the couch. “Actually, yeah. I didn’t really eat anything yesterday.”
Daniel stared back at me, deadpanning for a few moments before finally getting up and trudging off toward the kitchen.
I laughed and shouted, “Thanks!” before making my way back toward the bathroom.
19
Quinn
I couldn’t get my smile off my face as I walked into MontRec. Things were already bustling, and everyone was well into the morning programming when I fumbled through the front doors. Instead of finding the receptionist, who was normally sitting at the front desk, I saw my boss, Christine. Thank god my alarm went off that morning. Otherwise, I would probably still be curled up against Zeke. I managed to get a text out to her, asking if she could fill in for me for a few hours and saying I would explain when I got in. I very rarely missed work for any reason, so she was willing to help. When I approached her at the desk, where she’d opted to sit on the desk itself rather than behind it, I groaned at her.
“Thanks for coming in on such short notice. I’m embarrassed to admit that I got a little drunk after my loss last night. I appreciate it.”
Her light brown eyes looked me down and back up, and then took another pass down and back up. When she locked eyes with me, she grinned broadly. “A little drunk, and it looks like a little laid, too.”
My cheeks instantly started to burn. “Shh, oh my god. How do you know that?”
She laughed. “You’re wearing it! This stupid grin, your glow—he must have been good.”
I motioned her with a hand back toward my office, and she immediately hopped off the desk and followed me back. We walked in, and I closed my door behind her. “Okay, yes. I ended up getting a drink with this guy I’ve been…seeing? But, like, just seeing, with my eyeholes. He keeps showing up, and I see him.”
She clapped her hands with a giggle. “And here I thought the only thing you could be attached to was football.”
I walked over to my desk, and my backpack was sitting in my chair. On top of it was a post-it note with a winking smiley face on it, signed with a simple, “—C3.” I moved it onto the floor and sunk into it myself. I looked over at Christine. “You’re not the first person who has said that about me.”
She crossed her arms. “Well? I came all the way here for you, so I at least deserve some details.”
Christine was the owner of MontRec’s daughter. She was technically in the hierarchy between him and me, but she was mostly hands-off. We were fairly close in age, though she had about four years on me, so it shouldn’t shock me that she would take a bit of juicy gossip in exchange for waking up at seven in the morning on a day she wasn’t planning to.
“Unfortunately, I don’t remember much.” I frowned, disappointed that I couldn’t. “What I can remember, though…” I started, and my frown turned into a smile. “Oh my god.”
She squealed. “So, when are you going out again? Hopefully, you will drink