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The churning of my stomach disagrees, but I ignore it, opening the door to Noah’s raised fist, about to knock again.
“We thought you may have left,” Quinn says, tucking a lock of her pink hair behind her ear.
Noah puts his hand down and studies me from head to toe. “You didn’t sleep?” he asks.
Fuck. I don’t like that I’m showing my hand. I thought I did a good job of concealing my lack of sleep, but apparently sticking my head in ice water and drinking too much caffeine wasn’t sufficient enough.
I hold the door open for them. “Come in.”
Noah’s jaw ticks at my non-answer, but he gestures for Quinn to step in ahead of him, his hand on her lower back as she walks by me. A small yet unsure smile graces her rose-painted lips.
“We’ll do our session in the back,” I say once the door is closed. “It’s not too hot out yet.”
Noah stops and turns to face me, which has Quinn doing the same. His fists are balled at his sides.
“We’re just jumping right into our session?” he asks.
“That’s what you’re both here for.”
Noah glares at me with so much heat in his eyes, I think he could set me on fire.
“You know we can’t ignore what happened last night forever.”
“You’re good at ignoring things; I thought this would be easy for you,” I snap back, the barb spilling out of me as word vomit.
Noah’s face reddens, and my gut twists. I’d like to blame my lack of sleep for the anger in my words, but I can’t.
“What the fuck, Beck?” Noah huffs. “Can’t you see that I’m trying to be better?”
Quinn takes one of his gripped fists, and he opens it for her. She laces their hands together. “We’re both trying to be better,” she says with determination.
Noah kisses the crown of her head and inhales her scent. His shoulders move back and his chest puffs as if he’s drawing strength from her, something he used to do with me in the comfort of our dorm before a game or when his dad had been too hard on him.
My chest aches, the proof that I shouldn’t be here right in front of me. Last night was a mistake, and they’re going to tell me that I was just their mentor participating in an unplanned intimacy session.
I mean, what did I expect? That they’d both want me? That one night of getting each other off with our clothes on would lead to something more between the three of us?
I collect myself before speaking again. “I know you’re both trying. I shouldn’t have said that.”
Noah’s features tighten. “No, you shouldn’t have.” A second later, he relaxes his stance some and exhales. “But I get it. I get why you said it.”
I clench my jaw to keep my mouth from falling open. I’m shocked at his mature answer, proving that he really is trying. I’ll give him that.
“Please, Beck.” Quinn speaks this time. “You said we’d talk about it, and Noah and I…”
She glances at her husband, and he squeezes her hand before looking back at me.
“We want to talk about it. Actually—” She pauses again. “We need to talk about it.”
I know she’s right. We made the choice last night to do what we did, and if I walk away now, things will be worse in the end for me. Because I’m the one who walks away alone.
“Okay.” I gesture toward the outside patio behind them. “After you both.”
Chapter twenty-four
Noah
The heat outside this morning is bearable. I can’t say the same for the heat in my gut as I look between Quinn and Beck, two people I never thought would meet each other let alone kiss or share intimate moments together.
