Hope on the Rocks by Annabeth Albert

Twenty-Four

Adam

“Happy birthday.” Quinn slid into the truck. He’d been waiting for me, which was cute. Seeing him all smiles was also nice. Not that his hard day last week was forgotten, but he seemed lighter today. He gave me a fast kiss before holding out a small box. “Can I give you your present here in the truck?”

“The invitation to sleep over isn’t my present?” Skin heating, I accepted the box. I never knew quite what to make of all the birthday attention and had been a little surprised when Quinn readily agreed to the invite to come to my mom’s for cake. We were riding together because parking was tight around the lake this time of year, and Quinn had suggested I plan on sleeping over afterward in a shy manner that said sleep wasn’t the main thing on his mind.

“It’s your birthday.” Quinn shook his head like I was being ridiculous. I didn’t mean to be, but it was way easier and more fun to do things for others. “Of course, you get a present and not just a copy of my new test results.”

True to his word, Quinn had gotten new blood work done, and my pulse thrummed at the implication of what he had planned for later. But I worked to keep the eagerness out of my voice. “Birthday or not, we don’t have to go there tonight if you’re not in the mood.”

Ever since Quinn’s bad day, we’d been more low-key, some sleepy sex but not as much on longer scenes. I didn’t mind though because him trusting me to be there for him emotionally was every bit as fulfilling as an intense round of sex, and I didn’t want him feeling pressured to put out simply because of the date on a calendar.

“Oh, I’m in the mood.” Laughing, he gave me a look more heated than the August sun hanging out over the Pacific in front of us. “We’ve done more than our share of sleeping and cuddling lately. Which I love, but I’m looking forward to both of us awake enough to enjoy trying something new. And no offense to your mad phone-sex skills, but I’m ready for the real deal.”

“The phone was crazy hot.” We’d role-played the idea of going bare a couple of times on the phone, and it was almost comical how fast I could get off on simply talking about the idea. But he always came fast too, and the shared fantasy made the anticipation even more arousing. “So is the present exotic lube? Is that why I can’t open it at Mom’s?”

Quinn’s infectious chuckle was the best thing I’d heard all day. “No, it’s not lube. But anything other than a coffee gift card and your mom is going to get ideas.”

“She does love to get heart eyes.” I had fewer and fewer fucks to give for whether people thought we were dating. Quinn was sweet to worry about Mom’s feelings, but seeing as how I intended to keep him around, I didn’t see much of a point in hiding that he meant something more to me than casual friendship. “And you didn’t have to get me anything. Coffee card would have been fine.”

“No, it wouldn’t. You deserve a real present.” He gave me a stern look as I went ahead and opened the present.

“Sneaky.” I laughed as the rectangle turned out to have a T-shirt rolled inside it. The black fabric was a soft cotton, good quality, but the writing on the front was what had me laughing harder.

No one panic. I brought emergency venison.

“This is so perfect. Thank you.” I leaned in for a kiss.

“I figured I owed you at least one shirt.” Quinn’s cheeks were as pink as the sky in front of us. “There’s that design-a-shirt place on 101 now. The clerk thought the slogan was funny enough that they did a second one for their window display. Your bartender wisdom is going to be famous yet.”

“I love it.” I kissed him again then pulled my Rainbow Tavern shirt loose from my belt.

“What are you doing?” Quinn squeaked like I was breaking some rule. Yeah, we were in the parking lot of the condo complex, but no one else was around.

“Changing. I can’t not wear this. Mason will get a big laugh. It’s too good not to share.”

“Your mom will think we’re dating,” he warned.

“Is that really the worst thing?” I raised an eyebrow as I tugged the new shirt into place.

“No. Of course not.” He shifted around in his seat.

“I’m not worried.” I patted his leg before finally putting the truck in Drive and heading out of the parking lot. Fall felt closer and closer every day. If I could get him okay with people assuming we were dating, maybe we could drop talk of this being only a summer thing, slide into autumn without any big drama or discussion, simply keep going. “Besides, Mason and Lilac will be there to distract her. Mom can gush over his domestic bliss with Flint.”

Funny how much less irritating I found all my coupled-up friends with Quinn beside me. We made it to the B&B and only had to circle the street once to find parking, which I took as a major win.

“Happy birthday, sweetie!” Mom greeted us at the door. “And welcome, Doctor Strauss.”

“Quinn, please. It’s my day off.”

“And you’re among friends.” Mom had a pointed look for me as Quinn handed her a small package.

“Thank you for having me. I knew better than to try to compete with your cooking, but I saw this local cordial and thought of you.”

“Oh, aren’t you the sweetest?” She gave him a hug. “And I have to be careful with drinking with the new medication, but I’ll save this for a special occasion.”

“Good.” Quinn’s head tilted, all concerned doctor expression. “How is the new regimen treating you?”

“Now, now, you said no doctor talk.” Mom waved away the question. “Besides, you both have to see Adam’s big surprise.”

“Surprise? Mom, I said no presents—”

“Uncle Adam!” Teddy came barreling into the front hall.

“Teddy?” I had to blink a couple of times to make sure I wasn’t imagining my nephew, who looked to have grown several inches over the summer, or my sister right behind him.

“Surprise!” Ramona gave me a huge hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Happy birthday.”

“What are you doing here?” I was still struggling to make sense of their sudden appearance. We’d texted only a few days ago, and she hadn’t mentioned a word about coming home early.

“Hey, Teddy. Come see the puzzle Lilac and I are working on.” Mason called from the big common room off the entryway before Ramona could answer me. My mom had also conveniently drifted away, back to the kitchen undoubtedly. “You too, Doc. You’re smart enough to get a kick out of this 3-D design."

As Teddy and Quinn trooped over to the table in the corner, I shot Mason a grateful look for giving me a moment alone with Ramona. “We weren’t expecting you for another few weeks.”

“Well, I didn’t want to miss my favorite brother’s birthday.” She shrugged all casually, but her eyes were cloudy. She never was a good liar, especially to me.

“Ramona. What happened?”

“What? I can’t want to surprise you?” She leaned against the wooden pillar that framed the opening to the common room. “Aren’t you happy?”

“I’m happy to see you. I am.” I hugged her again, harder this time, before releasing her and peering deeply into her eyes. “How’s Darren?”

She made a sour face. “All right. You got me. We had a…disagreement. A minor one. Nothing to trouble yourself about on your birthday.”

“I’m always gonna worry about you and Teddy. You know that.”

“I appreciate that. It’s nothing.” She made a gesture similar to the one my mom used to escape discussions she’d rather not have. “He got offered a full-time gig in Alaska, but I’m not sure I want to move permanently.”

“Full-time.” I swallowed hard. This was her life, but Teddy was already taller after only a few months apart. “Am I allowed to say I’d miss you guys?”

“I know. I’d miss you too. And that’s all that’s going on. I needed some time to think, and your birthday was as good an excuse as any.”

“Glad you’re here. I’m here if you need to talk it out.” This was one of our busiest months at the tavern, and I’d also been doing my level best to help Mom with her ever-present list of repairs, reduce her burden, especially in light of her new meds. Any other spare minutes had been going to Quinn, but I’d always make time for Ramona. Somehow, I’d make all the things needing me balance out because I wasn’t giving any of it up.

“I think I mainly need time to think. But thank you.” She gave me another quick hug then poked me in the chest. “Nice shirt, by the way. Very you.”

“Thanks. Quinn had it made for me.”

“Did he now? Mom said you and the doctor are a thing.”

“Maybe.” I stuck to my new plan of not denying it but playing it low-key. “Don’t go scaring him off.”

I couldn’t help wondering if things were already changing. What if Quinn took Ramona’s return as some sort of end-of-summer signal? Across the room, over at the puzzle table, Mason said something that made Quinn laugh, and my chest clenched. I wasn’t ready for this to end. I hoped he felt the same way.

“I won’t scare your guy away.” Ramona bumped my shoulder. “Are you off tomorrow morning?”

“Might be.” I’d planned a later start because Quinn was off, and we were both working the weekend, so sleeping in with him had seemed like a nice post-birthday indulgence. “Why?”

“We’re out of everything over at my place to the point that we’re sleeping here tonight. I’m making a run to the big-box store.”

“You hate doing that drive. I know.” I already knew where this was heading and reset my mental alarm to include time for Quinn and Ramona both.

“If you come, I can tell you all about the Darren thing. Which isn’t a thing.”

“It’s a thing.” I rubbed her shoulder. “Yeah. I’ll do it, especially if we can be back before lunch. But not too early.”

“Need your beauty rest?”

“Something like that.” My gaze flickered again over to Quinn. Even with Ramona’s surprise appearance, I was still counting down to our sexy plans later. I didn’t want to miss a minute with him.

Quinn laughed again at Mason and the kids, smile lines crinkling under his glasses. He fit in here with my favorite people and watching him made my muscles warm and loose. Our eyes met, and that promise of later flared between us. Didn’t matter how complicated things became, I wasn’t giving him up. He needed me too. And hard as it was to admit, maybe I needed him even more.