Page 11 of Hard Hitter

Quinn stared up at the ceiling, replaying the scene that had just exploded at his old house. With a shuddering breath, he felt the burning behind his eyes release, the tight knot in his throat win out. The tears overflowed, running off his cheeks and onto the pillows. It was like he was a little boy again, crying in his room from the hunger in his stomach, the fear he always felt, the constant uncertainty of what the next day would bring.

He was unaware of how long it took for the tears to subside, and he didn't care. He wasn't sure when he would go back, but the loosening feeling in his chest told him he would. First thing tomorrow, he would go to the physical therapist’s office that Chris had suggested and then go from there. He'd take it one step at a time.

As he fell asleep, Quinn caught himself thinking about Raelyn DeRose. Her bright smile and those blue eyes that he could never shake from his memory. He wondered if he'd stay long enough to see her, and if he did, how crazy would she think he was if he asked her to go with him next time. He remembered the soothing effect Rae's presence always had on him, like a cloak of calm blanketing him and putting out the rage that always sat deep inside him. For the first time in a long time, he felt himself needing someone. He neededher.

Chapter 6

2004

Face up and sprawled out on his worn mattress, Quinn closed his eyes and waited to feel the breeze blow over him through his open bedroom window. It was late August and there was no air conditioning at the Casey house. Only the occasional faint breath of wind through the screens could attempt to douse the summer heat. Michigan summers could be brutal, even this far north. The sun beat down all day and the humidity was merciless. Feeling a bead of sweat drip down his bare back, he let out a sigh and, drifting off, let the exhaustion he felt drop him right back into the dream he'd been having the night before.

He was laying on the beach listening to the waves. This wasn't the beach of Lake Michigan that he was used to, but somewhere the weather was this sunny all year, like Jamaica or Cancun. He propped himself up on his elbows to look out at the peaceful blue ocean. Rae was next to him on a beach towel, lathering up with suntan lotion. She was wearing a sparkling purple bikini he was sure he'd never seen before and Quinn couldn't help noticing she was all legs and golden sun-kissed skin, her usually straight blonde hair wavy with the salty ocean air.

Rae turned to face him, holding out the bottle of lotion she'd been applying to her legs. It was then that Quinn noticed how she glowed. She seemed to be emitting her own bright light, as if the sun were directly above her, its sole purpose to light her up. Quinn's gaze dropped from her face down her smooth neck, to her chest where two small, rounded breasts had blossomed sometime over the last few months.Even in his waking life this hadn't gone unnoticed, but were they really so perfect?

"Can you get my back? I can't reach," Dream Rae's voice was light but sultry, and let loose a needy growl in his stomach.

"Yeah, of course," his voice came out far more confident than he felt, and Rae moved so her back was to him, scooting back until she was close. Unusually close.

He squeezed the lotion onto his hands and paused for just a moment before resting them on her bare shoulders.Oh wow. Her skin was soft and hot from the sun and felt like satin beneath his palms. He began rubbing the lotion in and could swear he heard her let out a pleasured moan.

"Quinn?"

"Mmm, yeah."

"Quinn…"

"Mhmm, yeah that's good," he muttered, eyes closed.

"Quinn!" Rae's voice was sharper suddenly and lacked the sultry quality that had ignited the dormant monster in his chest. Missing the sweet sound to her voice, he scrunched up his face and let out a grunt.

Whack!

Quinn felt an abrupt blow to the chest, though whatever had hit him was soft. His eyes opened and he was no longer on the beach. The blue walls of his bedroom came into focus, as did the face above him. Rae was standing there, looking down at him where he lay on his bed. She was no longer glowing, and her hair was straight again. He realized she was holding a squishy pillow in one hand and had her other rested on the small curve of her hip.

Her face transformed from a look of concern to a sly grin, "Were you about to have one of those wet dreams they talked about in sex-ed?"

"No!" Quinn shouted defensively, grabbing the pillow out of her hands and swinging it back at her. She turned and the pillow caught her lower back.

Giggling she replied, "Are you sure? The little guy downstairs might disagree."

Quinn felt the color drain from his face as he glanced down to his crotch where, visible through his boxer shorts, he was indeed sporting an erection. "Shit," he muttered, using the pillow to cover up his arousal. "Don't call it 'the little guy', Rae,Jesus."

"Right, sorry, the big guy then," Rae shrugged, still smirking playfully.

"I'm glad my embarrassment is amusing to you," Quinn said flatly, rolling to sit up and put his feet on the floor, careful to keep the pillow in place.

"Oh, Quinn, it's a natural part of growing up," said Rae, mocking their health teacher's squeaky voice and clasping her hands together. Then in her usual voice, "I mean you're going to be fourteen in a couple weeks and I hear puberty's a wild ride."

Quinn merely grunted. He looked around, then asked, "How did you get in here?" He hoped she hadn't gone to the front door expecting to be let in by his mother who was likely still passed out in her room. Quinn had come home to find her face-planted on the living room floor, and after checking her vitals to confirm she hadn't overdosed and was simply drunk, he'd carried her to her bed.

"Your bedroom window is literally wide open," Rae said simply. "I just climbed in, like you're always saying you do."

Glancing at the alarm clock on his night stand he saw that it was ten o'clock in the morning. Rae was already put together, dressed in a simple light blue tank top and- "Are you wearing a skirt?" Quinn asked, finally taking in her full appearance.

"It's a skort, actually," she replied with a smile. She tugged up one end of the skirt and Quinn felt that monster in his chest stir again before he realized there were shorts underneath. "So I can still look cute while we do batting lessons."

"Why do you need me to teach you to bat? You play tennis at your country club, don't you? I'm sure it's not much different. You're a natural athlete," Quinn said, rubbing his eyes. Images of teaching Raeto bat while she wears that shortskortbuzzed in his head and it felt like dangerous territory.

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