Page 84 of Puck My Stepbrother

“Oh, well, then I guess that proves you’d be so much better for me than Jeff, huh?”

“Of course I would, but that’s not what I’m trying to get at.”

“You can’t tell me it’s different.”

“I didn’t care about those people, Quinn. That’s how I know it’s different. You don’t pull this crap on someone you care about.”

“So you no-showed a wedding?”

“Maybe not a wedding, but the point is I didn’t show when I was expected to. Those girls felt let down. It’s the same thing with Jeff.”

“You’re only saying this shit about my boyfriend because he has something you can’t have.”

Part of that was the truth, but I had better intentions than Quinn wanted to believe. I had to tell Quinn the harsh facts because I really did care about him.

“I know you like this guy,” I said, “but I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“Isn’t that interesting? Mister Macho has a sensitive side.”

“You don’t have to be like this, Quinn. I know you think I only want you because you have the best ass in Western New York?—”

“Thank you very much.”

“You’re welcome. But I wouldn’t keep chasing after the same person for nothing. I would’ve moved on by now if sex was all I wanted.”

Quinn sighed like he knew I had a point but hated to admit it.

“It’s because you’ve meant the world to me forever,” I said. “I love you, Quinn. I’ve just never known the right way to show it.”

“And Jeff loves me, too. And he knows exactly how to show it.”

By leaving you in suspense?I thought, but I wouldn’t rub it in. That would only hurt him when he was clearly lost.

Quinn checked his phone for the hundredth time, huffed, and then stuffed it back in his pocket.

“Nothing, huh?” I asked.

“Would you please shut up?”

“I can shut up, sure, but that won’t change anything. I’m just trying to tell you how things really are.”

“Well, you can stop trying, okay?”

“I know you don’t believe it, but?—”

Quinn marched out of the lounge, refusing to listen to another word. Thank God no one had been around to see that. Maybe it seemed stupid, but I wasn’t done with Quinn. If no one else would tell him the truth, then I’d have to assume that responsibility.

At least he’d hear it from someone who really cared about him.

33

QUINN

Isneaked out the back door of the church just to get away from Levi. Between waiting for Jeff and Levi being Levi, I worried I was going to lose my mind. With the wedding under two hours away, Jeff still hadn’t shown up. I’d only created a million scenarios in my head, like him getting stranded with a flat tire or being hurt in a hospital somewhere. Abduction by aliens had even made the list. None of those excuses seemed right to me. There was definitely something more to this.

Once outside, I pulled my phone from my pocket, meaning to call him directly and ask what was going on. But then the phone buzzed in my hand and Jeff’s name appeared on the screen.

Just in the nick of time, as my dad liked to say.