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It took a few tries to get all the straps in just the right places, but once she managed, she checked herself out in the full-length mirror.

She couldn’t help nodding an approving dayum, girl to herself.

Tempted to snap a picture and send it to Quinn, she refrained.

Partially because she wanted him to be surprised when he saw it in the flesh, but mostly because she didn’t need photos like that leaking all over the internet .

Raelyn rifled through her closet and found a blue sundress with a large white floral print, trying to look as innocent as possible.

The cameras could catch her in this All-American girl sundress, and behind closed doors, Quinn could tear it off and they could set each other free.

She could absolutely not wait for a full evening of raw, fiery, passion-fueled love making.

She wanted to be able to take her time, do it hard and rough, then slow it down and be soft with each other.

Her body was humming with anticipation, needing this night with Quinn as much as she needed to breathe.

It caught her off-guard to realize how intensely she had fallen for him in such a short period of time.

But this didn’t feel like the typical new-relationship buzz.

It was more than that. Looking at the pictures scattered on the wall over her desk, she took time to appreciate each one with her and Quinn together.

These feelings had been building for almost a lifetime.

She’d found the person who she could be her truest self with, and they were finally learning other ways to express the raw nature of who they were, both separately and as one.

It was past ten o’clock now, and Quinn had yet to text her that he was back at the hotel.

Antsy and unable to stay put any longer, she made the decision to get out of the house.

She’d been cooped up for days and was sick of feeling like she couldn’t go anywhere.

She needed a drink. She was pacing back and forth with her overnight bag sitting at the front door, just waiting for the go-ahead from Quinn.

“Dad, I’m taking your car,” Raelyn said, grabbing the keys to his new Beamer.

Charlie had been pouring himself a glass of white wine in the kitchen and looked up at his daughter curiously. “Everything okay, Peaches?”

“I haven’t driven a car in days. I’ve barely left this house, and waiting for Quinn’s text is slowly killing me,” Raelyn explained, twirling the key ring around her finger. “I just need to get out.”

“Sure thing, kiddo,” Charlie said, then took a sip of his wine. “Drive safe. Call me if you need me.”

Raelyn gave her father a quick hug and headed to the far end of the house to the garage.

When the garage door raised and the light turned on, Charlie’s new black BMW 840i was so shiny, it looked chrome, reflecting everything in its surface.

Raelyn had given him crap about buying his mid-life crisis vehicle -he usually opted for the SUVs- but sitting in the soft leather of the front seat and feeling the way it cushioned and wrapped her body so perfectly, she took back every mocking comment, every jab that she’d given.

This car was perfection. The engine purred, and she thought she might simply drive this baby around until Quinn messaged her.

Aimlessly driving for about half an hour, she inevitably found herself parking across the street from Trojan Horse.

She could easily have one glass of wine and still drive back to the hotel without issue.

Taking her time to once again admire the gleam of the car’s brilliant surface beneath the streetlights, she eventually broke away and set off for the bar.

Holy Moses.

There was a line out the door. Sure, it was a Thursday night and there were games on, but Trojan Horse didn’t typically get quite this busy.

Traverse City had more hipster vibes than jock aesthetic, and while any bar serving locally brewed craft beers could pull their weight, Trojan Horse had a more finely tuned demographic of customers.

Raelyn weighed her options. She could probably slip past the line, being a friend of the owners, but that might draw attention to herself.

It hit her that the bar was likely getting more traffic since the articles about Chris and Jett being friends of Quinn’s had been printed, as well as the casual mentions of Quinn having spent much of his time at the bar in the past several weeks.

Would Raelyn walking in make things completely blow up?

A glance down at her phone told her that Quinn had still not arrived at the hotel.

She knew his room number but didn’t have the key yet.

It was possible that he’d told the concierge to give her a key upon arrival, but he hadn’t told her that she needed to stop at the desk.

She contemplated again before deciding to get into the bar through Jett’s apartment rather than use the main entrance .

Raelyn ducked her head low, hoping that no one would recognize her as she passed by the long line. The dark of the night was working in her favor in that regard, but she was silently wishing there was a little more light in the alleyway behind the bar.

Quickly slipping through the door, she ran up the stairs and into Jett’s apartment.

The thunder of the music and crowd of people below was muffled, but the bass still vibrated through the floorboards.

Her plan was to find something in Jett’s apartment that might disguise her so that she could sit at the bar.

It was probably a ridiculous idea, but then again, no one seemed to recognize Clark Kent was Superman when he combed his hair and put on thick-rimmed glasses, right?

Just over a year ago, this apartment had been much like her second home, but Jett had made some updates and decor changes since then.

The red-brick walls of the living room were both manly and trendy.

The glass-top coffee table was sleek, and surprisingly had coasters on it.

She didn’t realize Jett was a tidy, coaster-using kind of guy.

The kitchen wasn’t huge but was certainly big enough for one person.

There was a bar with black bar stools separating the living room and kitchen, but no kitchen table.

She figured Jett either sat at the bar or, more likely, ate his meals on the couch in front of the TV.

All the appliances were black stainless steel, and Raelyn found herself feeling rather impressed with Jett’s interior decorating skills.

The place was definitely a man cave, but it was a classy man cave.

Classy, but fun and cool. It gave off the vibe that the person who lived here was someone you could easily chill and have a beer or two with over good conversation.

She noted the cherry red and black Gibson Les Paul mounted on the wall in the living room, along with an all-black Fender Stratocaster next to it. On a guitar stand next to the couch was an acoustic Gibson.

Jett was the only one of their group who had any real musical talent, apart from Chris who would occasionally grace them with a sample of his singing voice, which was completely untrained.

But he liked to brag that he used to sing in his church choir…

when he was eight. Jett was possibly the only person who had ever actually played th e multi-thousand dollar grand piano in Raelyn’s parents’ living room.

Her eyes swept to the piano pushed against the wall next to the window near the fire escape and she smiled fondly at the memory from over a year ago when Jett had offered her a place to stay when she didn’t feel like being alone.

It was a week after she and Emerson had broken up.

She had come into the bar, alone... for shots.

Exclusively for shots. And she got tanked.

She had no reason to worry, of course, with big brothers Chris and Jett hanging out at the bar, shooing away any guys giving off rapey vibes.

When Chris had asked if she needed a ride home, Raelyn had insisted on staying in Jett’s apartment.

She’d been terrified that Emerson would show up at her door trying to explain away his infidelity like he had before.

Or worse, admit it, start a huge fight around it, and they would inevitably crash together in what could only be deemed break-up sex.

She’d felt horrible enough, she didn’t need the shame of giving into him one last time.

So she’d stayed here in Jett’s apartment.

He had come up after closing the bar down and locking up, and she was still wide awake on the couch.

Jett had gone to the piano and played and sung various pop songs before she fell asleep on the couch to something more classical sounding.

The next morning, she’d woken up having been moved into his room, and Jett had taken the couch for the night.

He might be the easiest to tease and give shit, but he was probably one of the most sincere and fiercely loyal friends any of them ever had.

Raelyn spun around, looking for the hallway. Hopefully she’d be able to find something in Jett’s room, like a baseball cap or a beanie. Maybe some non-prescription glasses. Who knew?

When she lifted her head to face the hall entrance, she gasped and jumped back.

Jett did the same- well, it was more of a shriek- but he was only wearing a towel. A towel that he hadn’t seemed to tuck in just yet, and when he jumped, his hand slipped and the bath towel was whipped away from his body, falling into a pool at his feet.

“Oh my God!” Raelyn shouted, hands flying up to her face .

“WHY ARE YOU HERE?!” Jett screamed, scrambling to cover himself up with his hands.

“Why are you naked ?” Raelyn yelled back, turning to the side and shielding her eyes.

“Because I’m in my own apartment, Rae!” He kept dipping to grab the towel off the floor but missed each time.