Across The Hall (2 page)

Quinn pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. When he finally did look at me I could see the pain in his deep brown eyes too.

“No, but it’s time to end it. I want to move on. I have plans for my life and you don’t fit into them anymore.” I tried to take his hand but he pulled

away. “Sylvia I have to go.” He leaned over and kissed my forehead and turned to walk away. I tried to grab on to him but he just shrugged me

off and kept on going. I just stood there numbly watching my love walk away as my world shattered.

I took another deep breath, I was past this. It was not Quinn. He was living the life he wanted. He was not here. With that thought I started back

home. I turned my mind to tonight and Beau.

As I walked down the hal to my apartment I could hear the strains of the Stones coming from across the hal . My breath hitched and my heart

ached in memory of Quinn listening to them. I repeated ‘it’s not him’ over and over until I had myself believing it. I couldn’t live through Quinn Lobato

again.

“OH MY GOD! Syl, you seriously aren’t wearing that.” Kai was staring at me wide-eyed.

“I knew it would get a reaction out of you, but I didn’t think it was THAT bad. I mean you bought me the shirt.” I motioned to the length of my torso at

the knotted-strap, black, silk cami.

“It’s not the shirt that’s the problem. It’s what you’re wearing with it.” I looked at my faded, skintight jean crops and down to the worn, black cowboy

boots I’d bought at a thrift store on a whim while shopping with Sloane.

I shrugged. “Yeah, wel you saw how he was dressed last night. Like he’s going to take me somewhere where I would need to be dressed in that.”

I said pointing at the little silver dress Kai was holding up.

She looked at the dress and then back at me before letting out a heavy sigh. “You’re probably right. Wel , you at least need to do something

about that hair and put some makeup on.” She pushed past me and headed toward the bathroom. “Aren’t you coming? We have a lot of work to do

to make up for that outfit.”

I rol ed my eyes at her and turned to fol ow her down the hal .

“Okay I think that’s it,” Kai muttered as she stepped back to inspect the lip gloss she just finished putting on me. “Now let’s go over and meet your

new neighbor.”

“Um. I don’t think I have enough time.” Please, please let it be about eight. I just couldn’t deal with that now. Not when just hearing the name Quinn

could cause me a mini anxiety attack. I stood up and walked out of the bathroom and looked at the clock on my night stand. 7:35. This could be

close.

“Sylvia, it isn’t even a quarter to eight. We’l just stop over and say hi and you’l be back here before Beau even gets to the parking lot.” Kai was

giving me her big puppy eyes, this time she didn’t have any contacts in and the deep brown pools almost had me. I wasn’t going to let her puppy

eyes fool me this time.

“No, Kai. What if he comes early and I’m walking out of some guy’s apartment?”

“How wil he know it isn’t mine? Please, what if he’s hot? You could be living next door to an Italian super model and you want to wait to meet him

later? What if he had a spel put on him to marry and live happily ever after with the next girl to knock on his door?”

“If that’s the case you go knock on his door now and I’l just take Sloane while you’re off living in fairy tale land.” I smirked at her hoping this would

put a stop to her nonsense.

She slapped at my arm, “I saw Sloane first so I have dibs. If you would have come out of your room that first week of school for times other than

class, you would have seen him first and then you could have had him. But noooo, you were holed up in your room alone. Now you don’t get to

complain because you didn’t find the best guys first.”

This had been a long running joke with the three of us -- that if I had seen Sloane or Reed before her or Kerri I would be with one of them. I loved

both Reed and Sloane, but in big brother kind of way, just like I felt about Jason, my best friend from home. While al three were good guys, none of

them were right for me. None of them had brown eyes. No, that wasn’t it. I shook my head to lose that thought. None of them were what I was looking

for. Yeah, a crooked smile and mahogany hair. Stop now! Even my own mind wouldn’t let it rest tonight.

I laughed at Kai and tried a new tactic. “Okay, let’s say I am the one he’s supposed to be with forever. What is he going to think when another guy

comes to pick me up?” Ha! I had her there.

Kai-ying scrunched up her nose and stuck her tongue out at me. “Fine, but we ARE going to meet him tomorrow.” With that there was a knock at

my door. “Wow, he’s like fifteen minutes early he must real y want to see you.”

I gave her a dirty look as I opened the door. Standing there was a vision of hotness. He was al sandy blond hair hanging to his chin, sparkling

green eyes and a dimple that al but made a girl week in the knees. Unfortunately it wasn’t the right hot guy standing on the other side of it. “Hey

Sloane.” I opened the door wider for him to come in.

“I was just trying to get Sylvia here to go over and meet the new guy. But she’s being difficult,” Kai whined like a spoiled child.

Sloane gave me an apologetic smile and drawled out, “Sorry Syl, I’l get her home so she quits bugging you about that. Let’s go, darlin’. Reed

and Kerri are ready to watch that movie.”

“They can wait. I’m going to stay with Sylvia until Beau comes.”

“No, I don’t think I can let ya.” With that, Sloane picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. “Kerri said to get you out of here however I had to

before he gets here. Night, Sylvia. Have a good time.” Sloane carried the protesting Kai out of the apartment and down the stairs.

They must have been to their door when Kai cal ed out, “Cal me when you get home!” Kai always wanted the details when I got home. She said

she was living vicariously through me, since Sloane is the only boy she ever dated.

When she was ten, Kai’s parents took her to a carnival. There a palm reader told her she had a gift and with that gift she would know love at first

sight. From then on, she ignored every boy that crossed her path because none of them were it. Then, her second day at the University of

Minnesota, she was heading out of her dorm when the door opened and she looked up into shining green eyes. She stopped in front of him, and he

looked at her surprised. “It’s about damn time.” She said with a smile on her face. Sloane didn’t even question her. He just flashed his dimple at her.

They’ve been inseparable ever since.

I shut my door and paced nervously around the room. I stopped in front of a smal decorative mirror and rechecked my hair. Kai had done

wonders with it. This time she had it parted in the middle and left it to fal in tight waves down past my shoulders. Just as I was about to recheck my

purse to see if I had everything I needed, there was a knock at the door.

Beau was leaning against the left side of the door frame when I opened the door. I grinned in appreciation at him. His shiny black hair hung

straight down to his shoulders framing his face, drawing attention to his sapphire blue eyes. Those eyes swept over me like I was his next meal and

he hadn’t eaten al day. Even though I felt myself blush from such a predatory gaze, I stil felt a shiver of excitement race through me. He let out a low

whistle. “Damn girl. Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah, I think so.” I fol owed him down the stairs and out the door, admiring the view in front of me. He was dressed casual y, too -- which proved

me right in not wearing Kai’s dress. A faded black Jack Daniels t-shirt was stretched across his broad shoulders and clung around his biceps. He

had on jeans even more worn than my own. The right back pocket was ripped away at the bottom and starting to fray, but it just drew me to his

amazing ass. I caught myself admiring it and total y missed what he was saying to me.

“I’m sorry, what was that?” I looked up at him and blushed al over again when I saw his smug smile, as if he knew exactly what I was thinking.

“I said I brought my bike tonight since it’s such a nice night. Have you ever been on a motorcycle before?”

“Yeah, I’ve been on one. A friend had one and let me drive it a few times.” He looked at me with disbelief. “It was more of a dirt bike than a ful on

motorcycle. But they’re basical y the same right?”

“Wel then, do you want to drive?” I could hear in the tone of his voice that he didn’t real y want me driving.

As if I’d give up the chance to wrap my arms around him anyway. “Actual y I’d rather just climb on back and hold on tight.”

He smiled at me and stopped in front of a nice, big, black bike. I stil can’t tel one type from another so I had no idea what kind it was. Beau

handed me the only helmet. “You wear this. I only have the one.” I pul ed it on. He brushed the hair from my eyes and put the shield down.

Once he was on the bike, he reached out for me. I took his hand and swung up behind him. He pul ed my arms around him. “Hold on tight.” And I

did. I was pressed up tight enough against him that my nipples reacted to feeling his taut back muscles moving with every turn. It was already an

abnormal y hot night and the thin layers of my silk shirt and his thin t-shirt did not help.

I was so distracted with the scenarios my imagination was playing out for me from the closeness of his body that I didn’t notice at first just how far

we had gone. I started to look around but didn’t recognize where we were. I had been living in Twin Cities area for the better part of four years, and

I’d visited often before that. I thought I had known the area fairly wel but I knew I had never been in a neighborhood like this. This was one of those

areas in a big city that parents warn you to lock your car doors and not stop for anything if you ever get lost in it. The houses were smal , and most

had unkempt yards with older vehicles on the streets out front. The stores were al smal and lumped on top of one another, many in need of a paint

job. The diverse population of residents seemed to al be outside either sitting on porches or standing around in clusters on the sidewalks.

I wondered if I should be worried. I decided I should just act like this was normal. I was with him. I was sure it couldn’t be that bad. He was

probably just testing me, wanting a reaction from me.

We final y stopped outside of a, wel , a fifties-style diner - and not one recreated for nostalgia. It was a dul silver color with spots of rust and

several dents in the exterior. The paint around the windows was peeling and from the look of the shavings it had been painted several different

shades in its lifetime.

After I took the helmet off, I looked at Beau curiously. He just shrugged. “They have the best strawberry milk shakes in town.” Yeah, probably

made with the original shake machine.

The inside wasn’t as bad as I’d feared. It was old and needed a serious makeover, but it was clean and surprisingly busy for 8:30 on a Tuesday

night. Beau led me past a counter with red and chrome swivel stools, over to booth towards the back. I slid on to the cracked, faded, vinyl bench

expecting him to sit across from me. Instead he slid onto the same side, draping his arm across the back of the bench behind me. I peeked over at

him to find him studying me. I just grinned back. “So I guess I should order a milk shake, huh?”

“It’l be the best one you’ve ever had.” His eyes told me he wasn’t just talking about the milk shake.

I swal owed, wondering if I real y was ready for this. “So what else is good here?” I grabbed the menus from behind the napkin holder and handed

one to him. He laid it down on the table, not even looking at it.

I barely got a chance to look it over before a bored voice asked, “What can I get for ya?” Two red plastic glasses of water were set in front of us. I

looked up, half expecting to see the waitress in a candy pink uniform with a bouffant hairdo, chewing gum. Instead, there was a tired-looking twenty-

something wearing jeans and a t-shirt with “Mick’s” on the front. I assumed that was the name of the diner.

Beau ordered a burger and fries with a strawberry milk shake for each of us while I ordered the chicken fingers. The hand he was resting behind

me began to play with my hair, combing through it, twisting it around his fingers. I started out with the basic getting to know you questions. “So are

you from here?”

“No, I moved here a couple years ago. You?”

“No, I’m here for school. I grew up in a smal town a few hours from here. I bet you never heard of it. Quarry Springs?” He shook his head slightly.

“So where are you from then?” He had such sleepy eyes; the lids were only half open, barely showing the dark blue eyes behind them.

“Nowhere and everywhere. My mom and I moved around a lot when I was a kid. I came here to work for a friend.” He was looking around the

restaurant now. I wanted his attention back on me.

“What do you do?” I figured he wasn’t a student. He looked older and a little rougher than most col ege students.

“I’m a tracker.” He was looking at me, trying to gauge my response. I wasn’t sure what a tracker was. “My friend Curtis owns a bail bond office

and I find the ones who skip out on him.”

“Wow, I bet you have some great stories. How did you get into that?”

“I was living in Tulsa and Curtis came to town looking for a guy. We had known each other for awhile, so he stayed with me. I ended up helping

him find the guy, so he offered me a job. It seems I have a natural ability to just know where someone wil try to hide. So what about you? What are