Quinn's Hart (14 page)

One kiss melted into another, and another. They undressed each other slowly, kissing and touching. When they finally lay together on the bed, Josh took his time making Quinn ready for him. The feeling of sweet connection he got on the first thrust was more than worth it.

They came together in a sweaty, sticky rush. Josh went to the bathroom to clean up and get rid of the condom. He returned with a washcloth and gently cleaned Quinn while Quinn watched him with those sexy blue eyes. Then he curled up behind Quinn, slid an arm around him, and let himself slide into sleep, warm, sated, and happier than he'd been in a very long time.

Several bars of "We Are Family" blared next to Josh's ear, jerking him out of a pleasant doze. It wasn't even eleven P.M., so it wasn't time for either of them to get up. Confused, he looked around for the source of the sound.

Next to him, Quinn snapped awake as well. "Damn, sorry. That's my friend Stephanie's ringtone. She's been calling to check up on me." He grabbed a cell phone off the nightstand next to Josh and punched a button, silencing the loud music.

Once his heart rate slowed down to normal again, Josh grinned. "Mother hen type?"

"Like you wouldn't believe." Quinn ran a hand through his hair, rolling his eyes. "She's a travel agent, and she called me saying she had overbooked this group trip and the numbers had to be even. Then she nagged me until I agreed to come."

Something about Quinn's story made Josh pause. "She's a travel agent? Did you say her name was Stephanie?"

Quinn gave him a puzzled look. "Yeah."

What a strange coincidence. Or was it? "My travel agent's name is Stephanie. She set up a trip with Billy, but when he dumped me she said she had an opening in a singles trip instead."

Quinn narrowed his eyes. "And then she called me, because she'd overbooked it? That sounds like something she would do."

"It might not be the same Stephanie." But Josh had a feeling it was. When he'd booked the trip originally, the travel agent hadn't seemed keen on Billy. She'd commiserated with him when he called to say Billy had dumped him. Maybe she'd found him a spot that wasn't supposed to exist.

Frowning, Quinn picked up his phone and punched a few buttons. "Two travel agents named Stephanie working with this trip? Seems suspicious to me. We'll see what she has to say for herself."

In a way, Josh didn't want to know. No matter how he'd gotten here, he'd met Quinn. If the travel agent had engineered it he'd be thanking her. If not, he had astronomical good luck.

The phone rang twice. Then a familiar voice answered. "Quinn. There you are."

"Stephanie. What's up?" Quinn kept his gaze on Josh, whose eyes had widened at the sound of Stephanie's voice. He tilted his head in question. Josh nodded.

Unaware she was on speaker, Stephanie chattered on. "So how are things going with Josh?"

Josh covered his mouth, probably to stifle laughter.

Quinn bit his lip for a second, trying not to laugh himself. "Really well. Just like you planned."

"What are you talking about?"

Like he couldn't recognize her guilty voice. Quinn sighed. "You overbooked the trip on purpose, didn't you? And then you guilt-tripped me into coming to 'even out the numbers.'"

"Okay, fine, you caught me." Stephanie huffed out a breath. "I booked a trip for Josh and this obnoxious guy a few months ago. When he called back to change the reservations, I kind of added him to the singles trip. I didn't know you guys would hit it off. I just thought he was really nice and deserved to meet someone special."

"And I did," Josh said. His gaze locked on Quinn's, his dark eyes warm and full of hope.

Stephanie yelped and blurted something. Quinn didn't really hear it. He was too busy reeling from Josh's words.

He stared into Josh's eyes, reading the emotions there. For days Josh had been giving him hints. Josh had sought Quinn out at every opportunity. He'd complimented Quinn, listened to him, and touched him with incredible tenderness and passion. The signs were there. Now he had to interpret them.

He could tell himself Josh didn't mean anything by his actions. He could say goodbye to Josh tomorrow morning and maybe never see him again. He could go back to his empty life.

Or...he could take a risk. He could lay his heart on the line and trust Josh not to break it.

"I'm going to call you back, Steph." Eyes still locked on Josh, Quinn pushed the end call button, cutting off Stephanie's voice mid-word. He pressed the button down until the phone turned off. He took a deep breath. "I want to talk to you about something."

Josh smiled, encouraging.

Quinn captured one of Josh's hands in his. "I thought I was going to hate this whole trip. I was convinced I would be miserable, that no one would talk to me. Then you came along, and made the week incredible."

"But?" Josh gnawed his lower lip, his expression growing anxious.

Quinn's own nerves surged. He kept talking anyway. This was too important to let fear stop him. "But I don't want it to end. I've always tried to be satisfied with whatever little crumbs life threw me, but not this time. I want more. I want you. I want to keep seeing you when we get home."

Josh's lips turned up in a slow smile. "Good. I thought I was going to have to come up with a grand speech to convince you."

"Nope. All you had to do was be yourself." Quinn grinned, relief making him feel almost giddy. "But you can still try to convince me if you want to."

"In the shower?"

He laughed at Josh's hopeful expression. "That sounds good to me."

The alarm on Josh's phone trilled at six A.M., waking Quinn. Muttered curses, followed by a thump, told Quinn that Josh was having trouble. He flipped the lamp on. "Everything okay over there?"

Josh, who was leaning off the side of the bed, looked back at him. "I'm sorry I woke you up. I knocked my phone on the floor."

Despite his tiredness and the early hour, Quinn grinned and kissed Josh's shoulder. "I wouldn't have wanted you to leave without saying goodbye."

Josh gave up on the phone for a moment and turned to face Quinn. Instead of speaking, he pressed his lips to Quinn's. The kiss started soft, but soon deepened. Quinn parted his lips to let Josh in. Josh pushed Quinn back into the mattress, twining his tongue along Quinn's.

He pulled back abruptly. "I wish I didn't have to go."

Quinn's chest tightened. "Me, too. But we'll see each other soon." He hoped.

"Very soon." Josh kissed him again, quick and hard, and then slid out of bed. He picked up his cell phone and dressed. He paused, and their eyes met. "Bye, Quinn."

"Bye, Josh." Quinn managed to smile until the door closed behind Josh. Then he swallowed down the huge lump in his throat and tried to go back to sleep.

Quinn's flight didn't leave until eleven. Fortunately, he had a window seat, so he managed to sleep through most of it.

Stephanie picked him up at the airport. Maybe she could see how tired he was, and how much he already missed Josh, because she didn't grill him. She kept the conversation light, filling him in on what had happened while he was gone.

He laughed at the appropriate moments, and asked enough questions to keep her talking, but he wasn't really focused on the conversation. The doubts he'd begun to have the moment Josh left multiplied tenfold. What if Josh had second thoughts about seeing him again once he was home? It wouldn't be all that unusual. They'd met on vacation, in another place. Things had progressed quickly, and the feelings seemed magnified. What if, back in the real world, Josh decided Quinn wasn't worth it after all? Quinn didn't really think Josh was the type of guy to say things he didn't mean, but years of conditioning were hard to undo.

When Stephanie stopped at his place, she touched his arm. "He
will
call, Quinn."

Surprised, Quinn stared at her. "Am I that transparent?"

"Only because I know you." She paused. "No doubting yourself, okay? He's a good man, and he likes you. Not because he's crazy, but because you're a good man, too. Stop putting yourself down in your head, or I'll kick you."

Quinn leaned over and pulled her into a hug. "Thanks, sis. I needed that."

She laughed. "Get out of here."

Grinning, Quinn got out of the car and hurried up to his second floor apartment. A wave of warm, stuffy air hit him as he opened the door. Ugh. The place smelled like it had been closed up for a month rather than a week. That's what he got for leaving the air conditioner off in the middle of summer. He made a beeline for the thermostat to turn the A/C on.

Halfway there, he noticed the blinking new message light on his answering machine.
It's probably a call from work, or a telemarketer.
He refused to let himself hope it was anyone else. Hands shaking, he walked to the machine and pushed play.

"Hey, Quinn. It's Josh. I know you're probably not home yet, but...Well, I miss you already. Call me when you get home, okay?"

Quinn smiled and reached for the phone.

By day, Cassandra is a (relatively) mild-mannered middle school teacher. At night, she lets the characters in her head out to play as she writes stories of men falling in love. Unfortunately for her husband, neither of Cassandra's personas enjoys doing housework.

For more information on Cassandra, please visit her website at:

http://www.cassandragold.com