New York, tattoos..and spirits, what could go wrong?

Quinn didn’t know what to say to that and it wasn’t her place to tell him what he should do. She didn’t want to come between their marriage any more than she already had. Shame rose within her when she remembered the promise she’d made Lara: ’I’m not trying to get with your husband.’ That hadn’t lasted long.

She cleared her throat and struggled to maintain eye contact again. “Talk to Lara, okay? I’m sorry. This should’ve never happened.”

She brushed past him to race upstairs to her apartment and made it just in time to empty the contents of her stomach into the toilet. She vowed to never drink like this again but she knew deep down inside that it wasn’t the alcohol. She’d wondered since they’d met how his kiss would be, how tender and how passionate his touch. She knew now, and it hurt all the more to know just what she’d been missing.

Nick went into his apartment, he sees the lights are out but candles all around. He’s like fuck me. He walks further in and out comes Lara in a beautiful long red lace lingerie, she comes up to him and says hey.

He looks at her, she’s so wrapped up in her desires she doesn’t notice the sadness in his eyes as she kisses him and he kisses back for a split second but soon he backs off, he turns on the lights.

“We are not doing this…” he says, she looks at him and folds her arms looking at him, “I want another baby, it’ll fix everything.”

“It won’t fix what happened Lara…, it won’t fix that we don’t love each other anymore. How can we? Let’s face it, all of this is us trying to work with something that isn’t there.”

Lara looks at him but instead of yelling, she cries and Nick is like shit and hugs her but she just starts to nod, “You’re right, I know this isn’t working. I am messed up with losing the baby. Losing you..”

He looks at her, “You like someone else, don’t you? It’s okay…” Lara ends up nodding, “ I haven’t acted on anything, I swear.”

“I know you wouldn’t, it’s okay. We need to stop pretending though.” He says finally, she nods.

————-

That weekend, Quinn can see a moving truck has shown up and Nick is moving out his stuff. She comes up to him and he looks at her, “I’ll drop Ryland off later for that convention, after I’m moved into my new place …” but Quinn wants to say something else, how he’s avoiding the fact he’s moving out clearly.

Quinn’s heart plunged somewhere deep within her chest. She couldn’t help but feel responsible, even if his and Lara’s relationship was in tatters long before she came around. They’d kissed only the night before and suddenly he was leaving.

“Wait, what?” She asked, following alongside him as he carried boxes. “What do you mean? What happened?”

He couldn’t leave so suddenly. She’d finally opened up and let herself care, and now he was leaving? She didn’t have to have his body or his heart; she’d take friendship. They fared well enough like that, so long as alcohol was uninvolved and inhibitions were up. Where would he even go?

Nick looked at her, “I am staying with my brother in Manhattan until I can save for my place, who knows when that will be. Everything here pretty much belongs Lara.”

Around the corner, an attractive man with a beard and dark hair comes around “I would be that brother, Emmett is the name.” He shakes Quinn’s hand, looks back to Nick “Mr. romantic here, serves him right…you dated Lara for two weeks before proposing? Need more time than that bro.”

“I’m an idiot, understood” Nick says pulling the moving van doors down. Emmett just nods, “Hey, you’re the one saying it…, anyways, nice to meet you Quinn.”

He walks off, Nick stays back for a second and looks at her, “Get that look off your face, our marriage was falling apart anyways. Nothing to do with you…, okay? I’ll call you.”

He gets into the passenger seat, Emmett looks at him “Is she your next Romeo?”

“Not all of us are lucky to marry our high school sweet heart, have two amazing children and still be sickly my happy like you, Emmett.” Nick puts his seat belt on.

“You need to be single for awhile and really see what you want, don’t just bed the next hot chick who comes your way. That’s easy to do. Finding a lifelong partner, it’s not easy.” Emmett replies and drives off.

“Just drive, I don’t need dating advice.” Nick looks out the window.

Emmett:



"What's going on with you and my dad?" Ryland asked as she and Quinn walked through the long and winding crowds of people lined up at the various booths at Horror Fest. They'd already taken photos with Elvira and David Howard Bradley and now they were headed for a Q&A with Robert Englund. Quinn turned to look at Ryland quizzically and hoped she bought it. "What?"

Ryland rolled her eyes. "I'm not stupid. When he dropped me off, he didn't even come up to talk to you. You haven't talked on the phone in weeks."

Quinn sighed. "Sometimes adults need a little time apart."

"Yeah, whatever. But he and my step-mom broke it off, so you can hang out again. You don't have to pretend like nothing happened."

Quinn gently grabbed Ryland's arm until she stopped walking, forcing the kid to look at her face to face. "Nothing did happen. We got friendly, then we took a breather. Your dad's gonna be just fine."

Ryland shrugged. "He and Lara weren't gonna last anyway. Not since they lost the baby."

This time it was Quinn who stopped in her tracks. "Oh my god, what?"

The girl frowned and shrugged her shoulders. "I thought you knew. They haven't been the same since. Lara was so excited, too. She's, like, obsessed with babies."

Quinn's heart broke for them. Nick had never told her any of this. "I'm sorry to hear that," she said quietly. Ryland was already walking again. "Yeah, but I don't want to sour the trip. I shouldn't have brought it up. But hey, now that Dad's staying with Uncle Emmett, you should visit. His birthday's next week."

Jesus, she'd been ready to destroy a marriage and didn't even know his birthday. Not even his middle name. Why, then, did she miss him so much? Stupid hormones. "Uh, sure. If he'll have me."

"I'll talk sense into him if I have to. Plus you've got to see Uncle Emmett's house. He's a National Geographic photographer and his place is friggin' sweet."

Quinn laughed. "I bet it is. Come on, the next event starts soon."

Nick decided to call Quinn up, he didn’t want to keep her waiting. Even Ryland told him to do something about it. He asked for her meet him for coffee the following week.

He walks in a little late and sees her at a table, he sits down and a waiter comes over to him. He orders his and he sees she has a coffee already.

“Sorry I am late, traffic was a bitch and I don’t even drive. Sold my bike and I took a cab here.” His coffee is set down and he thanks the waiter.

He asks how the convention was, he tells her how Ryland enjoyed it. He finally can sense the tension, “look…,I like you but I’ve been thinking a lot about relationships and I fall hard for a girl. After the honeymoon period is done, I mess it up or…, what I’m trying to say is I really like having you as a friend Quinn. I don’t want to drive a wedge between us.”

Quinn nodded her head. It was for the best. They still barely knew each other. How much of their relationship was true chemistry and just how much of it was pure lust? Two attractive people who got along and shared a few interests didn’t mean they’d make a good couple. She hadn’t even come to New York hoping to make friends, let alone start a relationship.

Still, he was her first thought in the mornings and he was in her head in the evenings. Her alone time, when she had no dates, when it was just her and her toys and her imagination? It was mental images of Nick that she conjured to find her release. That fiery kiss. The sheer passion of it all.

Fuck it. She didn’t need a relationship anyway; she needed therapy. “I agree. I think we might’ve rushed a bit too fast. It’s not like me, to be honest.”

She cleared her throat and chose not to ruminate any further. “Ryland tells me your birthday is coming up. You have any plans? Asking as a friend, of course.”

Nick drinks his coffee, happy Quinn was so cool about it. Man, she’s awesome he thinks. Hears what Ryland said, “Of course she did, I don’t want anything…” she looks at him like come on, he laughs “Fine, if you must do something….I want a home cooked meal that isn’t vegetarian. Lara was Hindi and it was vegetarian all the time when she cooked, which was not often. Makes me wonder why we got together, nothing in common…I’m an idiot.” He finishes his coffee.

—————/////

After the coffee date, Nick left and walked down the street. As he gets a text and goes to answer, he sees someone out of the corner of his eye.
“Anna…” to the dark haired woman near by, she stops and looks seeing Nick. She goes over, she looks like she has blood shot eyes, hasn’t slept.”Shit, Anna….are you okay?” She shakes her head, “Did Chris do something?”

Anna shakes her head again,”No, no the son of bitch got himself missing and I’m pregnant with his kid. He wasn’t smart like you and got out of this business. I begged him.” She cries.

Nick hears what she’s saying, “He’s fine, he knows how to get out of situations. He charms anyone…how long has he been missing?”

“Almost a week..” she admits, now Nick is annoyed “A week? You could have come told me, you know where my bar is.” He says, takes out his phone and calls Chris. Thinks maybe the guy is ignoring Anna but he won’t ignore Nick. It goes straight to voicemail right away.

He hangs up, “Did you tell the police? History aside, they are helping right?”

Anna looks at him, “Once I told the police a name, they said “sorry sweetie, we don’t rescue drug dealers.”

“I’ll talk to John..” he tells her, he comes back to her place as she invited him back. Nick sits her on the couch and gets on the phone with John. Nick has his phone against his ear while he boils a kettle for tea. Nick tells John what’s happened and John promises to see what he can do.

Nick hands Anna a cup of tea he made her and she thanks him, he sits across from her and they just sit in silence. Worried about Chris.

Quinn had a love/hate relationship with cooking. On the one hand, it came naturally to her because she'd been doing it for so long. On the other, she'd only been forced to learn because her father said that women belonged in the kitchen. Her mother had been in college when she met Jeremiah Gallagher. Before long she was a college dropout, married at nineteen, barefoot and pregnant in one month. There'd be no outside job for the woman of the house. She was to cook and clean and care for their child, then be an available and submissive wife in the evenings.

Fuck that noise.

Nick wasn't like that, though. And Quinn was one to look for red flags anywhere. Here she was, a woman cooking a three-course meal with dessert on the side, and it wasn't to service a man. It was to celebrate his birthday. It was because she wanted to. Because he meant something to her.

She'd decided to reverse sear some filet mignon until the steaks were just under medium rare, then took them from the oven and dropped them into an oiled and piping hot cast iron skillet. When one side had formed a beautiful, sizzling crust, she flipped them over and browned the other side. Once they were nearly done, she basted them with butter, crushed garlic gloves, and a few sprigs of rosemary and thyme, then let them rest with a square of homemade compound butter on top.

As for the fixings, she served up crispy smashed potatoes topped with candied bacon and a drizzle of brown butter sage vinaigrette that she'd made from scratch. Served alongside the steak and potatoes were some roasted Brussels sprouts covered with balsamic glaze.

For dessert, a rich and moist chocolate birthday cake.

She stared at the spread before her and checked the clock on the wall, frowning to herself. This was too much. It was what he'd asked for, right? A homemade meal. Everything from scratch. Each dish made with care.

She'd justify it by telling him that she'd considered becoming a chef. It wasn't a passion, no, but it was a talent. She'd simply chosen to go into criminal justice because her other gift took precedence. It would be a waste, and in her eyes, selfish, to not bring closure to as many families as possible. To get murderers off the streets. What else does one do when she can speak to the dead?

Though she said she was fine with being friends, she still prepped for his arrival. The apartment was clean, candles were burning and her hair was halfway up, halfway down, loose black tendrils of hair curled delicately around her face. A '50s-era dress framed her figure nicely. She checked herself in the mirror and applied some lip balm while Lurch stared at the dinner table in hunger. Beside him sat her proud mother, clapping her hands with glee.

It was all too much, but there was no going back now.

Her heart pounded when the door rang. She took her time walking to the door and smiled at him when he entered. "If it isn't the man of the hour! Happy birthday."

Nick says thank you and walks in, he decided on a black Drew’s shirt with the sleeves rolled up, showing his many tattoos on his arms. He looks at the spread, is almost speechless “Quinn, I wasn’t serious…” he then takes in more what she’s wearing, “you….look, okay, this is too much.” He sets down the bottles of wine he brought on the table.

Is just blown away, he’s never had this done for him with so much effort.

Quinn shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal. “I’ve been cooking all my life,” she told him with a wave of her hand. “I sure as hell wasn’t gonna slap a casserole on the table and say happy birthday.”

She was anxious for him to try everything, so she ushered him to the dining table while she retrieved two wine glasses and a corkscrew from the kitchen. He opened a bottle, poured them both a glass, and they both sat down across from each other. She let her gaze travel over his tattoos and admired the artwork for a second.

“So, how’s your birthday been so far?”

He looks at her, “Honestly, I can be corny and say this is the best one I’ve ever had.” He sees her blush and he has never seen her do that before. He tries the steak, swallows and takes a sip of wine.

“You should have been chef…, I can’t get over all of this. If you expect me to cook for your birthday, it’s macaroni and cheese.”

She laughed. “Nothing wrong with that. And you’re welcome. Really, it wasn’t a big deal.”

It was bullshit. He knew it and she knew it, but he let her comment go unchallenged. She cut into her steak, perfectly pink in the middle, and took a bite. She really had outdone herself.

“How’s it going at your brother’s house? Have you been doing okay with everything?”

Nick nods, “It’s okay, my relationship with my brother is complicated. He didn’t help when I was younger but I understand, he had a family and wanted me to grow up. He sees I have turned around and given me a chance now. He’s actually throwing me a birthday party.”

As he eats more, “I was going to be inviting you, even my mother will be there which is awkward but again my brother is on this righteous path to forgiveness and I just stay angry…., do you have siblings? I can’t remember if you told me?”

Quinn shook her head. “Only child. It was a complicated childbirth. I wish you could have met my mom, though. You would love her.”

Her mom, happily watching their exchange, blushed a bit. “Aw. Love you, Pumpkin.”

She looked away, not wanting to be the weird one again, and took a sip of wine. “Hey, you never know what’ll happen with your mom. Maybe she’s changed, maybe she hasn’t. You have every right to be angry, Nick. That’s, like, my primary emotion when I think of my dad, so I get it.”

She avoided her mother’s sad gaze from across the room. “In any case, I’d love to go and help you navigate it.” She grinned and leaned in as if she were sharing a secret. “I can create a distraction for you to escape if it comes to it.”

They continue talking and have dessert. Quinn gets up, taking the plates and going to the kitchen. He helps her and is right beside her, they set the dishes in the sink. He leans over and his body comes into contact with hers.

They look at each other, Nick can’t help but say “Hey, I tried to just be friends you for a week, I think that deserves some kind of reward.”

He goes for it and kisses her, she kisses back. They start to get steamy in the kitchen, he pushes up her dress as he backs her to counter and hoists her up on it.

Quinn's desire spiked tenfold as he stepped between her legs and continued kissing her. She pulled away for only a moment, breathless. "If you expect me to have the willpower to stop you, it ain't happening."

She drew him back in for another kiss, their tongues meeting as she worked at her dress. It was difficult and he helped her, his hands unzipping it from the back. He pulled it past her shoulders to expose her bra and that quickly disappeared, too. His mouth closed around one hard nipple and he bit down gently, teasing her skin with his teeth.

She was practically dripping. She had wanted this since she'd met him. As he palmed her breasts and explored her chest with the brush of his lips, he lowered until his head was between her thighs. She leaned back and watched him as he peeled her panties aside, then swiped one lone finger through her folds. She glistened with arousal.

Nick just had to enter her, enough of the waiting. He pounded into her and laid her flat on the counter. Perfect height, she gripes the sides as he just pounded into her, his hands run up to her exposed breasts flapping around, begging for hands to grab on to them and he happily obliged. They were both screaming , as he released into her.

He backs away, before he can get a minute,Quinn is up and says “if you think that we are done…” she pushes him to the bed and gets on top of him, she takes his shirt off and kisses down his chest and finally to his cock, which she puts right into her mouth and it causes Nick to almost lose his mind, before he can finish inside her mouth, she gets off and gets on top of him, round 2 here we go.

Quinn had had her fair share of lovers. Take a sheltered preacher's girl out of her cage and release her into the real world and she's bound to figure out what she's missing. She'd tried every drug she could find just so see what they felt like, then ditched them before they could become a habit. She'd done things in the bedroom that would likely shock Nick, but he didn't seem to mind it. She liked sex in just about any way she could get it. Being on top of Nick, though, was the icing on the cake. He was the only man she wouldn't dream of kicking out before the sun rose.

She bounced on top of him, her moans higher in pitch than they'd been before, her voice growing raspy and hoarse. "Fuck," she mewled, rotating her hips on top of him, enjoying how he filled her to the hilt. "God, you feel so good."

Her words spurred him on. He flipped her over, her ass in the air, and entered her again. She moaned and told him not to hold back. She wanted him every way she could have him. In every room, every position, in every fucking inch of her body. As he thrust himself into her body, she worked her hips backward to absorb each one. She was starving for it, her lust insatiable, her pussy so wet she could hear him sliding in and hitting home. She went wild, howling and panting with her face pressed against the mattress, and came violently with a body-shaking shudder. He fucked her harder, deeper, rocking the bed as he pumped his release into her until the bed literally collapsed. He caught her before she could fall, and they both took a look at the broken wood around them with laughter.

"We broke the fucking bed," she said with a cackle, and he joined her, his arms wrapping around her waist as he slipped out of her. She could feel his chest rising and falling behind her. How it shook as he laughed.

"I knew those leftover screws were probably important," he said.

Luckily her mom wasn't here to see this. As soon as they'd shared that first kiss, she had jetted off to the spirit world with one final wink. They both lay there, sated and exhausted on a broken bed and surrounded by mess, and she'd never been more happy in her life.

---

She awoke beside him the next day, her body deliciously sore from the workout last night. She slipped out of bed, took a quick shower, and eyed the cake sitting on the counter before she returned to him. Cake in bed? Sounded like a winner to her. She cut him a slice and strolled into the bedroom, fully naked.

He was awake when she crawled into bed and handed him a plate. She crawled across the broken bed, watched him take a bite, and then went to work giving him a post-birthday blowjob. She took her time, enjoying the pleasure on his face as she took him deep into her throat and pulled back again. She stroked and sucked and paid his balls due attention as well, leaving not an inch untasted. And then she straddled him and reached into the bedside table for lube.

She watched him hungrily as she lubricated his cock in her hands, angled her hips over him, and worked his tip against her back passage. She studied him carefully for any looks of approval. So far, all she saw was surprise morphing into lust again.

She'd done it before. She enjoyed it. And she wanted to have this with him. There wasn't anything she didn't want to try with this man. And so she worked herself backward, taking him in carefully, rising and lowering herself slowly until he was fully seated within her ass.

"Oh my god," she groaned, and he answered similarly, the cake entirely forgotten. She rode him and picked up the pace when she'd grown accustomed to his size, then laughed in surprise when he growled and flipped her over until she was on her side. He hiked her leg up and drove into her, his free hand reaching between her legs to rub her clit. He continued, encouraged by her moans, his eyes dark with desire when he hooked his fingers inside her pussy to fill her up both ways. She screamed and her body shook in response as he hammered into her, then flipped her again until she was on her stomach and he was at it again, forcing her legs apart, grinding his hips into her from behind.

They both shouted their release, happily spent and ready to face the day as they lay back down together. He reached for the cake again and they shared their dessert in bed together in the nude, enjoying the hours until she had to return to work.

Nick woke up again, happily laying in his birthday suit. He sits up looking around, no sign of Quinn anywhere. He looks to the bed side and sees a Starbucks coffee and note on it “Gotta go arrest some fucker, be back soon .”

He laughs slightly and drinks the coffee, he has a shower and gets dressed, just slips the dress shirt but doesn’t do up the buttons. He goes into her kitchen and opens her fridge, unaware Quinn’s mother is watching him happily, she plops herself on the counter as he looks for something to eat.

He is about to choose some cereal, when their is a knock at the door. He shuts the door and heads to it, so does mom who has a weird feeling come over her.

He opens the door and sees an older man, he was definitely well put together and he looks to see this tattoo guy, he hope this is not his daughters apartment.

“Good morning, forgive the intrusion. My name is Jeremiah and I am looking for my daughter, Quinn. Is this her residence?” The man says.

Nick clearly notices the accent and remembers how Quinn feels about her father, this is obviously him. Nick looks at the guy, “Sorry, wrong place. No one named Quinn lives here.”

He goes to shut the door but the guy stops him easily and pushes the door back open, he walks in. Nick sees this and is about to say more, when the dad holds up his finger “Perhaps, you can button up your shirt and offer to make me a coffee, and we will start this introduction of ours from the top?”

Nick does button up his shirt, Dad looks round the room and sees the remains of the bed. He is disgusted in his eyes but doesn’t show it.

He looks back to Nick.

“I am not getting you anything, I know she would not want you here. If she wants to see you, she will. Now, get out and it’s the last time I will ask so nicely.”

Jeremiah laughs and pats Nick on the shoulder, “Alright, let’s ease up their Casanova. Here is my hotel information, let her know I will be back if he doesn’t come to visit me.” He slips Nick a hotel card with Jerry’s room number on it and the hotel he’s staying at.

Jeremiah wishes Nick a great day and he leaves.

When Quinn arrived at work with two huge boxes of donuts and coffee for everyone on the squad, Tobias knew something was up. She announced her entrance with a greeting for everyone, a smile bigger than Texas on her face.

She plopped down at her desk across from Miller's and shoved half a donut into her mouth.

"What's gotten into you?" Tobias asked, humor in his eyes. "Or who, should I say?"

Quinn laughed and swallowed down her treat with a big gulp of coffee. "Nick. Every which way from Sunday, Miller, and it was fucking fantastic."

Tobias shook his head and went back to his paperwork. "I wasn't actually asking for details but I'm happy that you're happy." He dropped his pen, stood, and grabbed the coffee she'd brought him. "Tell him to do it again tonight, Gallagher. I could get used to the free breakfast."

With a cackle, she grabbed her coat and followed him outside to the parking lot. They had some people to interview.

While Tobias drove, Quinn sat enjoying her coffee in the passenger’s seat and looking over case files. Suddenly, a figure appeared beside her and her mother’s fumbling ghost filled the space between them. Quinn yelped and dropped her coffee and her folder, cursing when the hot liquid burned her legs, which in turn caused a very confused Tobias to panic and ask what was going on.

Her mother apologized and flailed around for a second when she realized where she was. “Sorry! Oh, honey, I’m so sorry! I can never quite tell exactly where I’m going to end up. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Quinn said, her frantic hands trying to squeeze the coffee out of her pants like an idiot.

“Again I ask, what the hell is happening?” Tobias, again. She kind of forgot to explain what was going on inside his car. “Christ, I nearly wrecked the car, Gallagher!”

“Sorry,” she murmured. “It’s my mom. She’s currently in your lap.”

Her mother’s eyes widened and she looked down, suddenly turning two shades redder in the process. She scrambled off of him and crawled toward the backseat as Tobias looked at Quinn in exasperation.

“Well, tell her I’m married,” he said, trying to remove the annoyance from his voice. Part of him was still convinced that her whole ghost whispering spiel was a big joke that everyone seemed to be in on besides him. Then again, Quinn’s shock just now was genuine. Perhaps she really could talk to the dead. Or maybe she was just nuttier than a fruitcake.

“Don’t worry, she’s getting off now,” Quinn said dismissively, and then she laughed at the joke she’d unwittingly made. “Off of you, to be clear.”

Her mother even chuckled from the backseat. “Your partner is very handsome, but that’s not why I’m here. Honey, your father showed up this morning.”

She loudness was back in Quinn’s voice. “He what?!”

Tobias tensed again, then shot her a look. Quinn frowned. “Sorry. Apparently my dad tracked me down.”

“Yes, Nick answered the door and said there wasn’t any Quinn there because your father introduced himself and well, he pushed his way in but Nick held his ground and told him to get out. The rage in your man’s eyes, sweetie? Oh, I almost wanted him to whoop your daddy’s tail. He threatened to do it if he didn’t leave. I bet he could do it, too.”

Quinn felt pride growing within her. Nick had her back like always. But then there was dread. Her father was back in town and she already knew what he’d be after. She still had a lot of inheritance money in her savings account.

“Of course he would. Dad was a coward who only picked on women. I’d love to see him try that with Nick.”

Her mother smiled sadly. “I’m sorry to pop in like this with such bad news, but I’ll keep an eye out if he gets back.”

Quinn nodded. She wasn’t going to let this ruin her day. She’d been so fucking happy this morning and nothing was going to kill the vibe. “Thanks, Mom. Love you.”

“Love you too, sweetie! You have a great day at work.”

She disappeared as quickly as she had come. Tobias waited a second and cleared his throat. “Is she gone?”

“Yep. Sorry about that.”

He shook his head. “It’s never a boring day with you, Gallagher. I can say that much.”

---

When she got off work, she drove home to take the fastest shower in existence, threw on a form-fitting black dress and went directly to the address in Manhattan that Nick had sent to her phone. It was a swanky place indeed.

This was what he got paid to travel and take pictures? Shit, she was due for a career change.

She strolled inside, her eyes scanning the room for Nick. Her entire face brightened when she saw him. She wanted to jump into his arms and kiss him. Take him somewhere private and have him bend her over. She'd barely focused on work today -- her thoughts remained on the night before and how they'd spent their morning. She couldn't wait to do it again.

Instead, she simply walked over to him and gave him a friendly hug. "Fancy seeing you here, old pal."

Nick went back to his brother place and cleaned himself up more for the party. He headed downstairs of his brothers swanky townhouse, it was 3 floors of prime New York real estate. He goes down and the door bell rings, he heads over and in walks John, his wife and they hug Nick. He tells them to go in, help themselves to a drink as their is a hired bartender. The door bell rings again, he opens it and it’s Ryland and her mom, “Jess, didn’t know you were coming…” but he greets he politely, thinking this is fun if Lara comes too and Quinn is the room also. Jess smiles at him, “Figured why not, I want Ryland to see us be friends.” Nick looks to Ryland and they hug, he kisses her cheek as she says happy birthday and she walks off to see Emmetts twin daughters who are two years older than her.

It was an hour and half into the party, music was going. Food was catered and Nick kept looking back to the door for a sign of Quinn. Emmett came over, he was tipsy and put his arm over his brother “Brother, you and I have some great genes….both older, both just as hot.” He takes down his beer, Nick laughs and cheers to that.

Emmett looks at him, “You got with her didn’t you?” Nick looks at him, smiles a devil smile “Why even ask when you know the answer?”

Emmett sighs, “Dude it’s been a week from one girl to the next.”

Just then Quinn walks in and wearing an insanely hot dress, Nick downs his beer as she walks over and Emmett almost drools out of his mouth. Emmett looks to Nick, “Fine, have fun but don’t marry this one in two weeks.” He says hi to Quinn and goes to find his wife.

Nick looks at her, “You are insanely perfect and sadly I have to ruin this moment, instead of taking you to the bathroom upstairs and fucking you in it. We can still do that but first, “ he takes out the card her dad left, Nick was in a long black sweater that fit him nicely and dark grey dress pants, his hair was styled nicely. “Quinn, your father came to your place and left me this to give to you. I told him to leave….but he keeps saying he’ll be back. I can offer to be there when he does but I know you can handle yourself.”

Quinn loved that he knew she could handle herself. She loved that he didn’t just sweep her away for adult time first. He warned her about her dad before all else and offered his help, should she need it. She loved that he cared. It was a nice, warm feeling in her usually hardened soul. He’d worked his way beneath her skin and there he remained. Dammit.

She smiled. “Thanks. I should tell you that my mom warned me. And yes, my dead mom, even if nobody believes me. I’m glad you told him to leave. I appreciate it.”

She leaned in and ran her hand down his chest, her gaze transfixed on his and a grin on her face. “I could kill him, technically. I’m a cop. We get away with that shit all the time.”

They are not left alone long, when Jessica comes over and sees Quinn, “You must be Quinn, Ryland speaks so highly of you and I can see why! Nice to see you and I can only guess why you’re here. “
Nick looks at Jess, “For me, yeah you’re right” Jess smiles and looks at Nick, “I like this one a lot better, what you saw in Lara I will never know. I mean, she came from a wealthy family…”

Quinn paused and looked from Jess to Nick, watching his expression sour for a fraction of a second before his game face was on again. Did she just call him a gold digger?

Quinn took a sip of wine and cleared her throat. “Yeah, Nick the bar owner really married for money. Tell me, what was it that you brought to the table? It couldn’t be the obnoxiously over-lined lips and bad extensions.”

Jess clutched her nonexistent pearls and looked Quinn over from head to toe. She forced a laugh but Quinn could tell she was feeling the insult. She looked at Nick and quirked her brow. “Oh, she’s got jokes. Is that why he’s with you, Quinn? Is bad stand-up how you reeled him in?”

Quinn shrugged and brought her wine glass up to her lips. “Nah, it was probably this bomb pussy.”

Nick, standing beside her, spat out his drink. Quinn smirked and gave him a light smack on the ass.