Page 41 of On My Side (Quiblings #3)

God, I’m an asshole, aren’t I? She doesn’t need a protective, macho man to rescue her from a dragon. She deserves a partner who stands beside her, helps her navigate the flames, and avoid getting burnt in the future.

I glance at our hands, at her black mittened hand in mine.

Mine .

I inhale deeply. “We’re spending Thanksgiving at the inn, but if Audrey wants to, maybe she and Piper could come for dinner tomorrow?”

I look at Audrey, gauging her reaction. She uses her free hand to pull her scarf beneath her mouth.

“Piper and I would love to come for dinner, Mrs. Quinn.” She squeezes my hand again and I need my parents to leave so I can tell this woman how brave she is, how her bravery makes me want to be braver, too.

I sneak a glance at my father, who is doing a hilariously bad attempt at hiding a smirk behind his fist.

“That would be lovely,” Mom says, and I have to hand it to her, she sounds genuine, but I still won’t be letting Audrey or Piper out of my sight that night.

I need to know they’re safe and are being treated with the kindness they should have received fifteen years ago.

“Lorenzo, you must be freezing. Why don’t you wear pants when you run? ”

Aaaaaaand overprotective Italian mom strikes again.

“I will,” I say to appease her. But Audrey squeezes my hand, and I find that desire to be brave once more. “Actually, I’m fine in shorts and a hoodie right now. I appreciate you looking out for me, but I can take care of myself.”

I feel the reassuring squeeze of Audrey’s hand again, and this time, I know it’s her telling me I did good.

My therapist is gonna be so proud of me.

Finally, my parents continue on their way to the courts where they’re meeting friends for a few games of pickleball, and I turn to Audrey.

“We don’t have to go tomorrow,” I tell her gently. “I don’t want you to feel obligated to spend any time with them.”

“Ren.”

God. I love her voice. Maybe I can convince her to make me a recording I can get off to, or fall asleep to, or…

“I always admired how close your family is, how much you care about each other. I always thought one day I’d grow up and get married and create a family that loved each other that much.

I don’t want to be in between you and them.

I’m not going to tell you not to spend Thanksgiving with us, because to be completely honest, I’d love to show you the ropes at the inn and to spend it together.

But if it’s possible to mend something instead of throwing it away altogether, shouldn’t we put the effort into that?

Instead of coming between you and your family, I’d like to see if maybe Piper and I can become part of it. ”

Her mouth is still uncovered, so when I pull her soft body into mine, I’m easily able to kiss her long and hard.

“You make me want to be better,” I say after breaking the kiss and burrowing my face in her shoulder.

“You make me…god. I don’t know. You make me want to be kinder and more patient, and as good as you. As brave as you.”

Because why wouldn’t I want to be more like the person I love? To encompass everything she is?

She laughs. “Are you serious? You make me want to be braver.”

I go to kiss her again, but she cups my cheek. “Ren,” she says slowly. “How would you feel about telling Piper?”

My heart is a stone skipping on the surface of the ocean. “About us?” I clarify, and she nods. “Are you sure? I promise there’s no rush.”

“I trust you, and I trust her. I’m scared, but like I said: you make me want to be brave.”

My heart is in my throat when I rest my forehead against hers. I love you , my pounding heart screams. I love you. I love you. I’m almost certain she can hear the pounding in my chest.

“Let’s tell her before dinner tomorrow.”

Audrey’s returning smile is radiant. “She’s gonna be so happy,” she whispers. “ I’m so happy.”

Happy feels too small a word for the way my chest is expanding.

Piper and I are on the couch waiting for Audrey.

We were supposed to leave twenty-two minutes ago, and Piper’s ignoring me because she’s mad I didn’t bring Leia.

She keeps glaring at me out of the corner of her eye when I bounce my leg, and it’s been happening often.

I don’t know why I’m concerned about Audrey taking a long time to get ready.

People are allowed to take a long time. It’s no big deal.

But it’s Sunday and I’m taking her and Piper to dinner at my parents’.

I’m a nervous wreck.

Not about her, obviously, but about how my family will behave. How they’ll treat her. But mostly, I’m nervous about sharing Piper and Audrey with them. This is the first time mine and Audrey’s relationship won’t solely be ours . Other people are being let into our little world.

“Do you want to go check on your mom?” I ask Piper in what I hope is a casual tone.

“No, but I think you want to go check on my mom,” she responds, eyes trained on her phone.

“I want to make sure she’s okay,” I argue, cheeks flushed from her call out.

“Then go make sure she’s okay,” she answers, slumping further down on the couch.

“I think I’ll—”

“Mom!” Piper yells, making me jump. “Are you okay? Mr. Q’s nervous.”

“I’ll be out in a minute!” Audrey responds.

“I think, uh. If you want. You can. Uh. You can maybe… uh. Call me Ren?” I say, nervously rubbing my chain between my fingers. “Since, you know, we see each other outside of class quite a bit. I feel like I’m less your teacher and more your…”

“Dad?” Piper finishes, peering up with hope in her eyes.

Fuck .

I don’t know what to say, because how do I tell her that yes, I care about her differently than any of my other students. I feel a grief at missing most of her life, like I belonged there in the first place. Sometimes I wonder if this is how Dad feels about us.

“I…”

“Sorry, sorry,” Audrey says, coming into the living room and I try not to moan when I realize she’s wearing the perfume again. “My hair wasn’t behaving.”

“I can tell,” Piper says dryly, finally looking away from her phone to look at her mom.

Audrey’s hand flies to her hair. “You can?”

“Be nice,” I warn teasingly, playfully, knocking my shoulder against Piper’s.

“Stop being my mom’s knight in shining armor,” she teases, nudging my shoulder back.

I peer at Audrey, who smiles softly while watching us, a cardigan draped over her arm. “You two are such drama llamas,” she says affectionately, ruffling Piper’s hair.

I meet her eyes. “Ready?” I ask.

She nods and sits on the other side of Piper. “Birdie, we want to talk to you about something…”

“Oh my god.” Piper drops her phone in excitement. “Oh my god,” she repeats, eyes wide as she pivots her head between the two of us. “It’s happening. It’s happening and you didn’t bring Leia!”

Audrey laughs and Piper scowls at her. “You’re excluding one of your daughters from the conversation—and you’re laughing ?”

Audrey looks at me, her bottom lip clenched between her teeth to stifle her laughter.

“Wait, what’s happening?” I ask, confused.

Piper lets out a long-suffering sigh. “You’re finally telling me you’re more than friends and are actually dating. Duh.”

Audrey’s attempt at not laughing is valiant, but ultimately fruitless as she once again bursts into laughter. Piper scowls at her.

“Are you okay with that?” I ask her. “Me dating your mom?”

“Oh my god, duh . Why do you think I’ve been at Annika’s so much?

I could invite her over but I needed to make sure you two got together somehow .

” Piper takes one of mine and Audrey’s hands in hers and squeezes.

“You’ve both been happy. More than happy.

And I’m happy, too. For you, but also for me, because you are two of my favorite people in the world. Except for Leia, of course.”

I try to blink away the threat of tears stinging behind my eyes. “Leia’s not a person…”

Piper yanks her hand away and gets to her feet. “Fuck you. I take it back.”

Audrey and I stand, and we all head to the door. I reach around her to grab her coat, helping her put it on.

“So,” Piper says as she unlocks the door. “Can someone remind me why we’re going to eat dinner at this place when they were mean to Mom?”

“Because we’re trying this new thing where we try not to live in the past,” Audrey explains, trailing behind her and holding the door open for me.

“Right,” Piper says sarcastically. “It’s not because you want to make a good impression on your future in-laws.”

“ Piper ,” Audrey and I warn simultaneously. We make eye contact, and she smiles at me while my heart explodes into sunbursts.

Piper, meanwhile, is horrified. “He says it in the same tone of voice now?! You’ve got to be kidding me.”

I ruffle her hair and she jerks away, scowling and smoothing her bangs. “If you weren’t being such a menace, you wouldn’t have to worry about me using my teacher voice, pipsqueak.”

“I regret everything,” Piper mutters, shaking her head sadly.

Audrey smiles at me, and my heart melts like ice cream on a summer day. “I regret nothing,” I respond.