Page 26

The silence of Quinn's hotel suite was too quiet.

He'd been lying on the couch with his iPad trying to plan out his date with Rae, but everything he came up with sounded weak and underwhelming.

This was the date that would make or break his shot with her.

This wasn't about just having sex, although that was certainly a point he was looking forward to.

This was about having her. Getting her. Keeping her.

At last, when he was about to resign himself to the bar to ask for Chris and Jett's advice, his phone rang. Quinn sat up to see the name Mamacita appear on his phone, a smile tugged at his lips and he got an idea.

"Hola, Mamacita," Quinn said after swiping to answer the call.

"Oh good, I wasn't sure I'd be able to get in touch," Zoey's voice came across the other end. "How are you? How's your mother doing?"

"I'm fine, mom's fine. I need your help," Quinn rushed all in one breath.

"Um, all right, is everything okay?" Zoey asked, now concerned.

"Yes, everything's great," said Quinn. "Except I need your creativity. You're good at coming up with stuff. You've managed to get me out of some tight spots and keep my appearance a hell of a lot cleaner than it should be."

"This doesn't sound promising..."

"Zoey, I have a date tonight and I need it to be big," Quinn stated.

"A date? Quinn, you go out with women all the time," said Zoey, and Quinn could hear her eye-roll from across the line .

"Not like this, Zo,” said Quinn. He braced himself for the admission.

No doubt Zoey would freak out. She’d been trying to get him to tell her about Rae since she’d started working for him two years ago.

"This is the girl. The one I always pretend doesn't exist when you ask about my mysterious past love.

The one that got away. The..." he paused, taking a deep breath.

"This girl is probably the love of my life and I really, really, really need to not fuck it up. "

Silence.

Quinn waited a few beats. "You still there?"

More silence.

Checking his phone to make sure the call hadn't dropped, “Zo-”

"Oh my God. Oh...my God. Oh my God!" Zoey exclaimed, followed by a high-pitched shriek. Quinn winced and pulled the phone away from his ear briefly. "Quinn! Are you serious? How? When? Ohmigod, Quinn...is this a joke? This had better not be a joke!"

"It's not a joke. I'm completely serious," Quinn replied.

Another shriek of excitement.

"So are you going to help me or not?" Quinn asked. "I have no idea how to do this date, but it needs to be the best."

"Yes! Yes, I will help you! Oh, Quinn, I'm so happy for you!" Zoey squealed again. "What's her name?"

"Raelyn DeRose. I just call her Rae, though."

"Oooh, Rae..." Zoey cooed. "Quinn, I can't believe it. I mean, I knew there was a girl in your past, but I thought it was like someone who'd broken your heart or rejected you. I didn't realize you still thought of her as the love of your life! And you're actually going to do something about it!"

"I've spent the last six years thinking I'd blown my last chance with her. And then I ran into her again and it was like...this is it. I have to make this work, Zoey. I need to," said Quinn.

"Aw, Quiiiinn, that's the sweetest thing. And it came from you! "

"Yes, I have feelings and a past. Everyone's shocked," Quinn huffed. "Now can you help me? It's tonight. I have an idea but I don't know if she'd like it."

"First tell me about her," Zoey said. Quinn could hear her settling in on the other line like she was getting comfy on the couch, ready to gossip with her girlfriends. "How'd you meet? What are some of your favorite memories? How did you screw it up?"

"Why are you assuming I screwed it up? Maybe it was just poor timing. Maybe she screwed up and I've had enough time to get over it." It was stupid to get defensive when he had in fact been the one to mess everything up, but he didn't appreciate the assumption.

"Quinn, please."

There was a moment of stubborn silence before Quinn sighed, "Okay, yeah I fucked up."

"Tell me everything. Start from the beginning, and don't leave out the messy parts."

Feeling as though Zoey might simply be satisfying her own curiosity by asking for the full story, Quinn hesitated. However, the idea he had for the date did have a lot to do with things that had happened in the past. Deciding that some background information wouldn't hurt, he began.

"Okay, well, we met when we were seven…" He told her everything.

The story of how they met and how embarrassed he was when Rae's dad insisted on dropping him off after the party.

The first time he ever saw Rae's house and how he couldn't figure out why in the world a girl who lived like this wanted to be friends with him.

The first time she stuck up for him at school when some of the rich kids teased him for his thrift store clothes.

The sports they always played. Rae insisting her parents take her and her friends to a Tigers game for her eleventh birthday because she knew Quinn didn't get birthday parties.

That day at the local ballpark when he started falling for her and how that was one of his favorite memories .

Then came high school. Playing seven minutes in heaven their freshman year and reluctantly making out with some other girl when the bottle did not land on Rae.

Getting even more upset when she also did not land on him.

Going to homecoming as friends, then junior year getting beat to the punch by Liam Hamilton.

Rae and Liam's short-lived relationship after the dance, and Quinn avoiding being around them as much as possible.

The big locker room fight when he'd overheard Liam bragging about how far he’d gotten with her.

Senior homecoming and prom. Even graduation night.

Then the last time he saw Rae in college, thinking he was finally getting another shot and screwing it up in less than a few hours.

"... and then we almost had sex last night, but it just didn't feel right. To do it like that, I mean. She, and us, felt more right than anything, but…" Quinn trailed off, hoping she understood what he meant.

"Wow…" Zoey said after a pause. "That's a lot to unpack."

"Yeah, I know," Quinn said, running his hand nervously through his hair.

"Quinn, I feel like this girl is your soul mate. You need to not screw it up this time.”

"Yes, I'm aware." Quinn didn't appreciate the reminder of just how much was riding on this date going well.

"And I want you to know that you're an idiot. Actually, I think you both might be idiots. Why the hell did you not just tell her how you felt in high school? She obviously was into you, too," Zoey added.

A large sigh escaped him again. "It seemed like it sometimes, but then she'd just...I don't know- like homecoming. She just kissed Liam after I was so sure we were getting on the same page."

"You got a blowie that night in the back of a limousine," Zoey said pointedly. "I don't think you can get too upset about a kiss."

"That's different. That girl attacked me. I was innocent- yes, once upon a time, I was the innocent one being taken advantage of. That was all her," Quinn said defensively.

"She was probably a foot shorter than you. Did you try to stop her? Did it ever occur to you to shove her hand away under the table?" Zoey asked, and Quinn could just imagine her with her hand on her hip and a sassy eyebrow raised in challenge.

"Right, well...I didn't want to be rude," Quinn mumbled.

Zoey's laugh was hollow, "What a gentleman you are. But you're lucky I’m a complete sucker for things like this. Let's hear your idea."

The date would require a few phone calls, and help from Chris and Jett, and he might have to get Amira involved, too.

Throughout his conversation with Zoey, she noticed his longing for a chance at a do-over, a chance to do some things differently, or to simply go back and relive some of those favorite moments, and that's exactly what this date would be about.

Once everything was set, Quinn showered, shaved, and got dressed in a pair of dark blue jeans, a gray slim-fit button-down shirt, and a navy blazer.

The black Chuck Taylors were intended to give the look a nostalgic touch.

He'd lost count of how many pairs he'd run through before finding his first pair of Nikes, but whenever he thought of those days playing ball with Rae, he'd thought of these shoes.

At seven o'clock on the dot, Quinn pulled into Rae's driveway and the nerves returned in full force. When was the last time he’d shaken this much?

After taking three steadying breaths, he hopped out of the Bronco and walked up to the front porch where he'd kissed Rae just that morning.

He knocked on the door and heard Harry's boom of a bark on the other side.

The door swung open. Rae was standing there in an ice blue dress that landed above the knee.

It had a halter neckline and when she turned to the side, Quinn noticed the back was almost completely open, stopping just past her waistline.

She wore strappy sandals, and her long hair was cascading down to the middle of her back in waves.

He was staring again, taking in her appearance, sweeping his eyes over her from head to toe.

The nervous shaking had disappeared with the familiar sight of his best friend, although his heart must have skipped a beat.

He had to remind himself to breathe and looked up to meet her gaze.

Feeling himself smile, probably like an idiot, Rae let out a shy laugh.

He couldn't believe this was the first time they were doing this.

Fuck, what would his fourteen-year-old self say if he saw Rae standing here looking like this?

Guarantee, he wouldn't still wait fifteen years to ask her out.

"You look perfect," Quinn finally said, after searching his brain for words that he remembered.