My Pulse

Chapter 9: Quinn Keane

After Quinn and Cian's (first date)

I step inside my apartment, and sure enough, Rory is Waiting for me. It takes all of about five seconds for him to start teasing me about the unfortunate car incident. I clearly need to watch myself around Cian. That man does things to me. I probably would have fucked him right there if Rory hadn't interrupted us. Thank god that he did that because I need to stay away from him.

"But really, Quinn, tell me, how did it go? Do you really like this guy? Because..I mean... it sure looked like it." Rory stutters.

"Rory... I mean, it's' all just complicated and hard to explain."

"Just try because I have never seen you act like this around a man before." He says concerned.

"What do you mean?" I ask sharply.

"I mean that you are completely falling under his spell." Rory chides
Quinn, he looks at you like you are a vanilla sundae, like he could literally devour you." He says, and he's not joking.

I look back at Rory and try to deny that, but I can't really.

I saw that, too. I revealed it in it, actually. I could feel him undressing me with just a look like he was staring into my soul. "I know Cian is a little intense," I admit.

"A little intense!?" Rory yells, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "That is a fucking understatement, Quinn. He is just downright dangerous. I mean, do you even know anything about this guy?"

"Rory, don't worry about me. I can't explain it, but we have this connection between us. We are trying to figure it out and get to know each other."

"So you are dating him?" He confirms.
"Yes," I say, resolved. "Any more questions?" I say with a look of equal exasperation.

"You barely answered any of my original ones." He says with a smirk.

"Tomorrow, I will. I'm beat." I say with a big yawn.

"Okay, goodnight Quinn."

"Night," I say and go get ready for bed.

My alarm wakes me up in a slight panic. Ugh, what the fuck. An alarm on a Sunday? Why did I not shut that off? I quickly try to stop it! But it is no small feat half asleep. Then, a faint memory of agreeing to help my mom pops into my head. Double ugh, I decided to help my mom pack up their house today. I let out a groan. Why did I let her suck me into that?

I also can't believe they are selling the house. It does make me sad. The way my mom casually mentioned it broke my heart a little. All the best memories from my childhood were there, and now it could be the last time I'm ever there. I always imagined my kids playing outside in the backyard there. Who knows if kids are what's in store for me anyway? I climb out of bed to prepare for the day and make breakfast for Rory.

To my surprise, Rory has made coffee and picked up breakfast from Mary's Breakfast Bar downtown. My mouth drops open, and I say, "What's the occasion?" I eye Rory suspiciously.

"No occasion. I just wanted something good and got you your favorite." He says, smiling.

My face lights up, and I whirl around to scoop up the bag. I destroy my breakfast and let Rory know I am heading over to my parents for a while. He tells me he can help if his scrimmage doesn't run too late. "Okay, just let me know," I yell back at him as I walk out the door.

***

Hi honey, my mom practically squeals excitedly when she sees me walk in. "How have you been? How is work going?" The usual questions are fired off, and I fill her in on everything minus Cian. I don't know how to explain it to her yet. "How is it going here?" I ask reluctantly, looking around at the god-awful mess.