Page 3 of Quinn
An auburn-haired figure runs past the windows, and I tense as I watch her nearly collide with a couple walking out of the coffee shop. She narrowly sidesteps them with the grace of a dancer and makes her way inside. Her soft curls swing when she looks around, and I realize it's the book store clerk from last night. She lets out a breath when she sees me.
“Am I late?” she asks, slumping down into one of the empty chairs across from Jess and me.
“Right on time.” Jess smiles at me with an I-told-you-so grin. “We are just waiting to see if anyone else shows up.”
"I think you might find a couple of others. After you two left last night, that book club lady with a stick up her butt had a bit of trouble pulling the meeting back together.” She holds out her hand across the table. “I’m Courtney, by the way.”
We are in the middle of making our introductions when two other members of The Romantics show up.
Michelle and Fiona are twins, but it's clear from their personalities that’s where the similarities end. While Michelle is energetic and outgoing, Fiona is more reserved and quieter.
"So," Michelle says after we’ve all got acquainted and claps her hands enthusiastically. “What’s the plan?”
Jess and I exchange a glance.
“Well,” Jess begins. “It was Quinn’s idea to start our book club, so I guess I will let her explain.”
“Thank you, Jess,” I say dryly before turning to the rest of the small group. “We didn’t really have a big plan for the club other than making the meetings less of a lecture and more discussion. And allowing a majority rule on what we read.”
"Preferably the dirtier, the better, right?" Courtney asks.
“That’s a given.” Jess smiles at her.
“I vote our first book is the one you were waving around last night,” Fiona suggests, speaking up for the first time since she walked in.
“I second that,” Michelle adds.
I glance at Courtney, who looks confused. She was in the book store last night but not in the meeting. She only heard our invitation for today when I yelled it out as Jess dragged me out of the store.
“I think Courtney’s already read it," I say and clarify to her. "SordidWhispers.”
She shakes her head. “I’m only about halfway done. And you ladies are making a good choice. When you get to the scene with the yacht—” she leans back in her seat and sighs.
"Okay then." Jess looks around at everyone at the table. "We will meet back here, same time next week, having readSordidWhispers.”
2
QUINN
The alarm on my phone goes off on the coffee table, and I jerk awake. I fell asleep in the early morning hours on the couch last night reading about Gabriella’s sexual awakening. The urge to make an excuse to call in sick for work so I can binge read the rest of this book is strong, but there’s a team meeting this morning that I can’t miss.
I shower quickly and get ready for work in a fog. My brain keeps drifting back to Gabriella and how, with each page, she's finding her voice. I'm dying to find out what happens. I’m about to walk out the door when I stop and grab the book off the coffee table. The highly sexual cover will make it hard to read on the bus or at my desk at work during lunch without getting judgmental looks. I flip over the book and see if there is a small headphone graphic on the back.
“Thank you, book gods,” I say to the ceiling, when I see that it’s also available as an audiobook. I toss the paperback down on the table again and head outside to catch my bus.
I purchase and download the audiobook to my phone while I wait at the stop. I fish around my bag for my wireless earbuds case, but it's open, and the two pieces are loose on the bottom of my purse. There’s not a lot of battery left in them. I’ll have to remember to charge them when I get to my desk.
A half-hour later, the bus drops me off near my office building downtown. I follow the crowd of people walking down the street to get to work on time. But I'm not nearly as agitated as they are, not with Gabriella’s words in my ears telling me all the things that she’s going to do to Sebastian’s hot body. He's telling her about how he wants to take her out on his yacht this weekend, and a thrill of excitement courses through me, remembering what Courtney said about that part.
As Gabriella’s words get racier, I get nervous like suddenly everyone around me can hear what’s playing in my ears. I pull one out and listen, but only I can hear the faint sound of Gabriella's voice speaking.
I swipe my badge to get into the building and wait for the elevator doors to open to take me to the seventeenth floor. I'm shuffled in with the other people waiting and turn around just as the door is closing.
“Hold the door!” A voice calls out.
I throw my foot out, much to the chagrin of the other passengers, delaying them further. Evan, my cubemate and crush, runs into the elevator, knocking into me slightly.
“Sorry, Quinn,” he says, slightly out of breath. “Are you okay?”
