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jt

I ’m beginning to think there is no nicer way to start a day than the way I find myself snuggled up with Quinn in his warm, comfy bed. The sun is painting soft streaks across our blue quilt and the magpies and rosellas are having a battle for loudest bird of the morning outside the window.

Quinn is still asleep, his dark hair obscuring those pretty blue eyes but nothing can change how very, very beautiful my man is.

I’m also very aware of how naked we both currently are but I’m trying my best to ignore how turned on I am. I’m pretty sure I heard Amy come home a few minutes ago and I’m trying to remind myself to be respectful of her son in her house. Even if I’d rather be very disrespectful with him.

Quinn stirs and suddenly I’m assaulted by a sea of ocean blue as those eyes focus on me. He quirks a smile.

“You are a very nice sight to wake up to,” he says, voice all cosy from sleep.

“Not just a nice sight,” I quip, rubbing myself against him. He lets out a choked sound which I think is only fair payback after those naughty words he whispered in my ear last night at Milky Way.

“Definitely not just a nice sight,” he agrees, grabbing my ass to stop me from grinding against him. “Behave.”

“Behaving is boring.”

That has him smiling. I love the way it lights up his eyes. “You like living on the edge, huh? Well, if you can promise to be quiet maybe we can sneak in a shower together.”

“Yes. That,” I say, pushing back the covers as Quinn just laughs at me.

We are both very thoroughly clean by the time we make our way downstairs for breakfast later that morning. It’s already nearing eleven o’clock and I am increasingly aware of the string of missed calls and text messages piling up on my phone.

We eat a bowl of cereal and Quinn makes us both a coffee which helps perk me up a little after the late night. It’s too easy lazing about Quinn’s house with him on a mild Saturday morning. My phone is still burning a hole in my pocket, but I have nowhere else I’d rather be than here with Quinn who makes me feel like a complete person.

We walk to the duck pond in the afternoon and Quinn lets me play with the ducks for a bit before we sit in our usual spot and enjoy the sunshine, the mixed scents of pine and eucalyptus soaking the air. My phone vibrates in my pocket again and I ignore it even though I’m aware it’s becoming fairly obvious.

“You want to talk about that?” Quinn eventually drops.

“Talk about what?”

“About whoever’s phone calls you’ve been ignoring all day,” he says pointedly.

I sigh heavily. “I know who it is and why they’re calling. I also know I’m not in the right headspace to talk to them right now.”

“Your parents?”

“Yep.”

“Why are they calling?”

I sigh again and run my fingers through the black and green duck feather I found earlier. “Well, they’ll be phoning to demand I return home for starters. I only really get leave passes for basketball games and training and that leniency expires on Saturday mornings. They’ll also be phoning to demand the apology they think they’re owed because I dared speak back to my mum last night.”

Quinn is silent for a few moments, but I don’t look at him. I can’t. “They think you owe an apology to your mum ?” he finally asks, disbelief colouring his tone.

“Oh yes. There is no greater crime in my home than disrespecting your parents. Doesn’t matter the circumstances.”

“JT,” Quinn says softly, and I can’t stop myself from looking at him. He wears a sad expression, and I wish this wasn’t my life so he didn’t have to look at me like that.

“Don’t feel sorry for me, Quinn,” I say. “This is just my life.”

“I know but it sucks. You get that, right? That I have to just sit here on the sidelines and watch them mistreat and control you? Like I don’t get any say over you.”

“You get all the say you want,” I correct him. “Yours is the opinion that matters to me most.”

“Okay then, tell me this. Do you want to go home to your family today?” I shake my head. “Well then stay. Stay with me and let me take you out tonight,” Quinn says, reaching out to hold my hand. “Let me take you out on a real date and then you can come back home with me and spend a PG rated night in my bed on account of my mum being home.”

I snort out a laugh. “I would love nothing more than to go on a date with you, even if it ends with a PG sleepover.”

“If you promise to be really quiet, we could maybe make it an M15 night,” Quinn grins, thumb tracing the back of my hand.

“I can be as silent as a mouse,” I assure him.

“We’ll see about that.” We just smile at each other and I feel a whoosh shoot through my stomach with the realisation that he is mine. Well, kind of mine. We haven’t made any promises to each other, but I know without any doubt that there is nobody else for me but him.

***

Later that evening I’m sitting across from Quinn inside a cute French style bistro feeling a whole fleet of butterflies in my stomach. I don’t know why because this is Quinn, and I know him well enough to not be nervous. But I’ve never been on a real date before, especially not with someone as amazing and brilliant and beautiful and so out of my league as Quinn Dayton.

I’m wearing a blue button-down shirt that he leant me. The material is tight around my pecs and biceps, but the way Quinn’s eyes have hovered there all night suggests he quite likes it. I’m also wearing my blue jeans and Nike Le Brons because that is all I had on me, but Quinn is wearing jeans and a black button down too and I think he dressed down a little for my benefit. The place he has picked is perfect too, just the right blend between nice and cosy. Not too fancy for a pair of teenage lovers.

“You’re setting a pretty high benchmark for future dates,” I comment as the waiter drops our plates with a flourish.

“Only the best for you, JT.” Quinn quirks that crooked smile at me and it hits me right in the chest. I’m so in love with him it’s not even funny anymore. I hardly know how to cope with all the feels I have for him.

My phone has thankfully quietened down after I sent a brief text to my parents to tell them I was ‘hanging out’ with Quinn today and won’t be home. Trey sent me a heads up that they’d called his house looking for me, so I knew better than to lie about where I was. Besides, Quinn is not on their radar for potential fornication incidents, so I figure it is better to hide in plain sight.

Our date doesn’t end with the restaurant as Quinn drives us to the botanic gardens on the edge of the city and I realise we’re going to the cinema under the stars. Quinn hires a two-person beanbag and a blanket, and we find a secluded spot near an ancient gum tree that is wrapped in twinkling fairy lights and romance.

“This is so romantic,” I sigh as I sink onto the beanbag beside Quinn. He tucks me under his arm, and I rest my head on his shoulder, feeling more content than I ever have in my life.

“I’m glad you like it.”

“The benchmark is so damn high now it’s going to be impossible to top,” I grin. He just laughs and presses a kiss to my head, and I die a little inside at how perfect he is.

The Breakfast Club starts playing on the giant movie screen and I settle in beside Quinn, pulling the blanket up around us. The evening is not cold but it’s not that warm either and I love snuggling beside Quinn. Any excuse will do.

The movie is about halfway through when I feel the question I’ve been shoving aside of late start bubbling up inside me. I know there’s no bottling it back up this time. It needs out. Or I will explode and probably die.

“Quinn?” I hedge, waiting until his eyes meet mine. “ Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course.”

I hesitate for half a beat before I just say it. “It’s about sex.”

Quinn chuffs a laugh, amusement sparking in his eyes. “Hmm, my favourite topic,” he says. “Actually, no, you’re my favourite topic but if it’s about you and sex then by all means, proceed.” He waves his hand in my direction which I take as my cue to commence.

“I was just wondering if that’s something that you and I might do some time,” I pose, ignoring the way my pulse has started racing. Quinn spent a fair bit of time focusing on that part of my body in the shower this morning and it had lit me up like a Christmas tree. To say I’m curious is an understatement.

Quinn’s amusement slides away as he contemplates me with a serious expression before he asks, “Is that what you want?”

“Yeah. Yes. Very yes,” I admit. His eyes are on me and I am very aware of the flare of heat in them as he looks back at me, The Breakfast Club completely forgotten.

“I want it too,” he finally admits. My heart is still pounding but it’s for a completely different reason now as Quinn holds my gaze captive. I can’t believe I had the guts to bring this up with him. “Do you know what sex between two guys involves?”

“Kind of. I mean, theoretically,” I admit.

“For a start there’s different … fielding positions so to speak. A pitcher and a catcher to put it in terms you might understand,” he says. I’m aware of the spark of amusement that flashes in his eyes but I am not to be deterred.

“Ah, sports metaphors. Right up my alley.”

“So that’s something you might want to think about.”

I think about his meaning for a few moments before I twig. “How do you like it?” I ask.

“I’ve had it both ways and I’d like it either way if it was with you,” Quinn says supremely unhelpfully.

“But which way do you prefer?” I push.

Quinn huffs another laugh. “I want this to be your decision. It’s your first time so you get to decide that.”

I can’t stop the groan that comes out of my mouth. “Can you just maybe tell me what you think? It will really help me.”

Quinn narrows his eyes at me in thought before he speaks again. “Well, I suppose when I have thought about this, which is a lot by the way, I picture it with you being underneath me. Me inside you.”

Lust and desire flood my system simultaneously at his words while the ground starts to feel a little woozy beneath me.

“Yes. That. That’s what I want,” I tell him, dismayed at how breathy I sound.

“JT, did you just not want to say?” Quinn chides, hitting the truth with a bullseye. “Because if we’re going to be having sex then you need to be able to communicate with me. Tell me what you want. What you’re thinking. Don’t forget you had me on my knees just this morning. I think we’re well past the time for shyness.”

I sigh and laugh at the same time. “I know. I just felt a bit shy about saying it out loud. Like maybe I should want it the other way around. Cos I’m a guy, you know.”

Quinn smiles softly at me. “Yeah, I get that. But you gotta put those notions out of your head. When we’re together it’s just us. You and me. There’s no rules here.”

The way he says it makes me feel so safe with him. I feel the tightness around my chest loosen. “I know. And I want it that way with you.”

“Me too,” Quinn says gently. “And just to be clear, there’s no rush for us to get there. We can take this as slow as you need. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not going anywhere.”

I appreciate the thoughtfulness behind his words even if I disagree with the sentiment. He might not be in a rush but I certainly am. I want everything with him, and I want it all yesterday. Quinn has opened up so much inside me that I have been suppressing for a long time. I have so much want for him that nothing ever seems enough. I want more and more of him, everything he’ll let me have.

We’re still captivated by one another, all thoughts of the movie forgotten as he watches me with a gentleness that has my heart fluttering for yet another reason.

“Kiss me, Quinn,” I say.

He reaches up to cup my face and I melt into him, his thumb tracing my cheekbone. Then he closes the gap between us and kisses me. We’re at the late session so I’m not worried about kids being around as Quinn pushes his tongue into my mouth and I open for him, loving kissing him so openly and freely like this.

Dark and secluded as we are I still feel a rush when his hand drops from my face to clasp onto the top of my thigh, concealed under the blanket.

I feel wild and free, like I’m living someone else’s life and it’s one I want to reach out and grab with both hands. And never let go.

Just me, making out with the most beautiful boy in the world under a blanket of stars.