Page 17 of Hard Hitter

"Please, I could cut the sexual tension with a knife," said Alexis, walking past them to her desk, waving a hand in the air as if warding off evil spirits. "I feel a little dirty just walking through here."

Raelyn and Quinn both looked down awkwardly, and then around the room. Anywhere but at each other as if catching each other's eyes would reignite the spark between them. Quinn finally looked back at her with an almost shy grin. "Well, I'll be at Trojan Horse this evening if you want to join." He put his hand on her shoulder and let it brush down the length of her arm. "Thanks again, Doc.”

Raelyn watched him walk out to the parking lot and get into a shiny charcoal colored Bronco and let out a breath that she hadn't realizedshe'd been holding in. Alexis stepped up next to her and looked out the window, then back up at her boss with a sly grin. "I'll give you a few minutes if you need to take somealone time."

Trying to laugh, Raelyn let out a groan and turned around to walk back into her office. Yes, she definitely needed those vibrating panties.

Chapter 8

That evening after his surprise run-in with Rae, Quinn stopped at the bar to tell the guys all about it, and to thank Chris for setting it up. He wasn’t sure if he’d have had the guts to go if he’d actually known it was Rae’s office. He’d spent the whole day buzzing with new energy- and okay, maybe he’d rushed back to his hotel to relieve some of that insane sexual tension- a few times. Fuck, who knew some purely clinical arm palpations and proximity to Rae’s lips could leave him reeling like that?

It wasn’t just him either this time. He could see it. Rae had definitely been feeling the tension, too. The way she had licked her lips and concentrated so hard on his. The uptick in her pulse was visible in the soft curve of her neck.

Quinn relayed each detail of the interaction to Chris and Jett from his seat at the bar where he ate a grilled turkey club. “...and then before I left,” he paused for dramatic effect, “wealmostkissed. I think.”

Chris snorted and shook his head as he buffed a tumbler, “You almost kissed, youthink?”

Jett poured a tall beer for another customer down the bar, “Wow, twenty years of foreplay and youalmostkissed. I’m scandalized.”

“You guys weren’t there. It was intense,” said Quinn defensively. “If that receptionist girl hadn’t walked in and killed the mood, who knows what would’ve happened?”

Chris and Jett both snickered and Quinn’s defensive tone heightened,“What?”

“You would’ve chickened out like you always do when it comes to Rae,” Jett replied, sliding a Jack and Coke down to a server.

“I don’t chicken out. I’ve been with a lot-a lot- of hot women guys only dream about, okay? I don’t strike out when it comes to the ladies,” Quinn said around a large bite of sandwich.

“Maybe not ladies you have no intention of seeing again,” Chris shrugged, “but Rae?”

“You’ve never exactly been able to step up to the plate where she’s concerned,” Jett added.

“Baseball puns? Is that what we’re doing?” Quinn asked flatly, sidestepping the- admittedly fair point his friends were making.

“All we’re saying is you couldn’t tell her how you felt back then, and now you’ve got the perfect opportunity to make up for it,” said Jett.

“And don’t forget you’ve got a bad rep,” Chris said, pulling a tray out and filling it with drinks for a lingering server. “She’s already been played and I don’t think she’s looking for another Emerson.”

“I would never do that to her.” Not a chance. Though he had screwed up in the past and hurt her before without ever meaning to.

“You just need to show her that you’re serious,” Jett said. “Assuming that’s what you want. If all you’re trying to do is sleep with the girl you couldn’t get in high school, I’m going to kindly ask you to fuck off. But if you still think you want her for real, you’ve got some work to do.”

Of course he still wanted her. He knew to some extent that he’d still been crazy about her all these years, even if he had been drowning himself in one meaningless hook-up after another. He could still remember the day he realized he was falling for her. It had hit him like a physical punch. He knew they were too young to start anything serious, but the longer he waited the more nervous he got, the task seemed astronomically daunting. And then when he'd finally felt ready, some other guy got there first. By the time they'd finished their short-lived fling, Quinn had already fucked up. And when he got the second chance he probably didn't deserve, he'd managed to fuck it up again. And now he was back, asking for another undeserved swing for the one womanwho'd never left his thoughts, and it suddenly seemed critical that he get it right this time.

Looking up at his friends, he met their meaningful gazes and they each gave silent nods as though they knew exactly what he was thinking.

A rush of fresh air entered the bar as the front door opened. A grin tugged up the corner of Quinn’s lips as he spotted Rae entering, blonde hair blowing back slightly as the door closed behind her. She met his gaze with a reserved smile. His heart was hammering as a flood of old memories washed over him. He swallowed hard. This was it. He was in the bottom of the ninth with two strikes.

Three strikes, you’re out.

“You guys are dicks,” Quinn grumbled, sitting on a beach towel as Chris and Jett tossed a football back and forth on the beach of Lake Michigan. It was only a short walk from here to where he’d met Rae for the first time, and he couldn’t stop glancing down the shoreline toward that fateful spot.

“Sorry, hot-shot,” Jett said with a grunt as he jumped to catch the ball out of the air. “You’ve had it pretty good the past few years; I think you can handle sitting out for a change.”

Quinn was not particularly pleased that the guys were playing ball in front of him and, thanks to his bum arm, he had to sit on his ass and watch. He wasn’t a fan of sitting around, and he was even less excited about his inevitable awkward tan line he’d get from the splint on his arm so he hadn’t taken his shirt off yet.

It was warm for the middle of June in Northern Michigan, sunny and high seventies, but Quinn had spent the past several years in a much warmer climate, between his previous time in Atlanta and his current position in Los Angeles. With the breeze coming off the cool surface of the lake, he was grateful for the thin layer of clothing. Chris and Jett had lived up here their whole lives, so they broke out their shorts when the temp hit the mid-fifties.

The previous night at the bar when Rae had shown up, she’d taken a seat next to Quinn and it hadn’t taken long for the group of four to get back into their old rhythm. Jett had suggested they all come to the beach for the day and hang out like old times. Quinn really wanted to find a way to get Rae to himself, but when she enthusiastically agreed to meet up with them after work he wasn’t going to say no. Seeing Rae in a bikini again was absolutely a good option.

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