The Christmas Tree Guy (20 page)

“Quinn, oh my…” she breathed, feeling tiny explosions ignite inside and her body convulsed as she climaxed. He soon followed, collapsing on the bed beside her.

Both stared at the ceiling, breathing hard and barely moving but soaking up the euphoria of their sexual escapade. Finally she broke the silence. “I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy.” She murmured, turning her head to look at him and trying desperately to catch her breath.

“I plan on keeping you that way.” He answered, pulling her on top of him and kissing her gently on her lips.

###

The next morning Sydnee stretched lazily, waking to the sunlight beaming through the window and it took a moment for her to get her bearings. Lifting her head, she squinted and suddenly realized there was a body beside her. “Oh, crap!” She shot up to a sitting position, realizing they had fallen asleep in each other’s arms and she was still at Quinn’s. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and pulled the sheet tighter around her.
Oh no!
Quinn stirred, slowly popping one eye open before turning onto his side to look at her. “Quinn!”

“Syd, you okay?” he asked, still a little groggy from their late night.

“No! Why didn’t you wake me up? I have to go.” She had discarded the sheet, realizing she had on his t-shirt from the night before, and stumbled around his bedroom to find the clothes he had seductively removed from her body.

“Sydnee, it’s okay. The boys are with their grandparents.” He finally got out of bed and pulled on a pair of black boxer briefs covering his sinewy legs to mid-thigh. If she hadn’t been in such a hurry to get dressed, she would have been eager to pull them right back off of him. He was too damn sexy in those briefs and undeniably hot in nothing at all. She stilled, staring in awe at how chiseled his body was and she knew he was dedicated to his craft as a trainer. Anyone could see he didn’t skip any workouts. He ambled over to where she stood engulfed in his t-shirt. When he wore it, the shirt fit him like a glove, but on her it was oversized and fell to the tops of her thighs.

“Quinn, it’s not okay. I’m late to pick them up. How could I be so irresponsible?” She turned out of his arms to find her shoe underneath his jeans, talking more to herself than him. She knew how she could be so reckless. Anytime she was with him, she lost her mind.

“Syd? Syd. Stop. Look, calm down,” he took her arms in his hands and she dropped her shoe to the floor. “It’s fine. It’s Sunday and I’m pretty sure they are fine. Leanne and Charles aren’t going to be mad if you’re a little late. Okay?” He dipped to look in her eyes and kissed her softly on her lips. “Didn’t you say they were going with them to church anyway?” Wrapping his arms around her waist, he squeezed her middle and she took a deep breath.

“Quinn,” she moaned. “I really should go. I have to pick them up and-” He had already started pecking at her neck and she closed her eyes, savoring the feel of his more than capable lips scorching her skin.
This man is going to be the death of me.

“Shhhh. How about you
…
and me
…
take a shower
…
and I can make you
breakfast…and we can possibly
…
” he murmured, punctuating each word intermittently with kisses along her neck, moving to her ear and she wanted nothing more than to give in to him.

“Quinn, you-”

“C’mon, Syd. Please?” He looked absolutely adorable with those huge silvery eyes pleading with her and she gave in with a sigh, and stretched her arms around his neck.

“Why are you doing this to me?” she moaned, throwing her head back and giggling as his soft lips nipped at her collarbone

“Because I don’t want you to leave,” he murmured, intertwining his fingers through her silky locks.

“Mmmm, okay, well why don’t you go ahead and get the shower started. I’m going to get something to drink okay? You got an old woman kinda parched,” she grinned. As she started towards the door, he lightly swatted her on her bottom, scantily hidden by the t-shirt, and she squealed, shooing him away. In the kitchen, she heard the water start in the shower and his playful voice calling her name as she grabbed a glass from the cabinet. She reached into the refrigerator and poured herself some orange juice. She was about to turn and head back to his bedroom when the lock on the door turned and the door swung open.

“Quinn, I brought-”

Sydnee screamed, caught off guard by the woman entering the condo and she dropped the glass, shattering it across the tile of the kitchen floor. “Oh!” Sydnee quickly moved behind the counter to cover her bare legs.

“Oh, I’m so sorry. I wasn’t expecting anyone but my son.” Before Sydnee could reply, Quinn ran into the kitchen with nothing but an oversized black towel wrapped around his midsection. Water ran in rivulets down his smooth chest, disappearing into the terry cloth a few inches above his groin. At any other time, Sydnee would have found him too irresistible for words, but right now, she just wanted to crawl underneath the nearest rock.

“Are you okay?” He looked down at the glass shattered across the floor. Sydnee nodded, eyes wide as she glanced in the direction of the door, and his eyes followed hers. “Mom! What are you doing here?”

“I’m sorry. I was on my way to the restaurant and I thought I’d just drop off this stuff,” Janae responded, a basket resting on her hip. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.” She turned to Sydnee, who was looking at Quinn and the surprised look on his face.

“Mom, uh, this is Sydnee.” He carefully moved to stand beside Sydnee, avoiding the broken glass. Sydnee was so embarrassed and she just wanted to disappear into thin air.

“Uh, it’s nice to meet you, Ms. Masters,” she gulped, biting her lip. The look on Quinn’s face looked like he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar and Sydnee was a little taken aback by the surprise in his voice and painted across his face as he introduced them.

“It’s nice to meet you, too.” The awkward silence was more than Sydnee could bear and she glanced at the floor that was covered with the sticky orange juice and interspersed with glass shards. She was about to reach for the paper towels on the counter when Janae spoke.

“Sydnee? Don’t mind the mess honey, I’ll get that. If you don’t mind, do you think I could have a moment with my child?” Janae raised an eyebrow in Sydnee’s direction. She probably should have been offended by the woman’s dismissive tone, but at the moment, Sydnee just wanted to get her clothes on and get out of there.

“Oh, sure. I need to go pick up my boys anyway.” She glanced at Quinn before quickly exiting the room to put on her clothes.

###

“You want to tell me what’s going on?” Janae placed the basket on the floor and entered the kitchen to clean up the shards of glass and juice she’d waved Sydnee away from.

“Mom.” Quinn knew this was definitely not his most shining moment. He never in a million years thought he would be in this situation. He and his mother talked about everything and he usually told her about anyone he was dating. Unfortunately, he had shied away from it this time, and for many reasons he hadn’t even shared with Sydnee.

“Don’t ‘Mom’ me. Who is she? You didn’t tell me you were seeing anyone. And did I hear her correctly? She has kids?”
Here it comes
. He knew he was in for it. His mother was going to light into him and he wasn’t in the mood. He knew what she was going to say before she even said it. She would say he was making rash decisions and he was young and didn’t know what he was doing, but it wasn’t like that. He knew what he was doing. He was falling in love with Sydnee and he wanted to protect the relationship as much as he possibly could. He wasn’t ashamed of Sydnee or being with her. He wanted to be with her more than anything, but he knew his mom would have a problem with it.

“I’m not a child, Mom. I don’t have to tell you everything I do. And yes. She has twin five year old boys.” The exasperation in Janae’s face wasn’t something she was even remotely trying to hide and Quinn knew why. He braced himself for the dreaded, impending conversation.

“First of all, Quinn Cortland Masters, you need to change your tone with me and you are not too much of a grown up if you can’t tell me, like you always do, who you are seeing.” She paused for a moment, narrowing her eyes at him. “I know you. If you’re sleeping with her, you’ve been seeing her for a while. How long?” He looked down for a moment before pulling his eyes up to meet his mother’s.

“For a couple of months.”

“A couple of months?” Janae shook her head and threw the glass shards into the trashcan before turning back to Quinn. She blew out a breath and continued shaking her head. “Quinn, what are you doing? Sweetie, why are you rushing things?”

“Mom, I’m living my life. Can you let me do that?” He was so tired of being treated like he couldn’t make his own decisions. Yes, he’d made mistakes in the past, but it wasn’t like he hadn’t learned from them. Why couldn’t she get that through her head?

“Quinn, I would be fine with letting you live your life if you were making good choices. You are impulsive and you jump into things without really thinking about the consequences. Why can’t you just focus on your career right now? Opportunities are presenting themselves left and right.”

Quinn threw his hands in the air in frustration. He didn’t want to have to defend his relationship. “See, that’s why I didn’t tell you about her. I’m a grown man. I can make my own choices and decisions.”

“I used to believe that, but you keep proving me wrong on every turn. Quinn, you’re in a position to go anywhere you want.” Janae returned the mop she used to clean the floor to the pantry, before walking over to lean against the counter. “Why would you jump into a relationship with someone who has kids right now?”

“Excuse me, but I’m just going to go,” Sydnee interrupted, looking directly at Quinn. She had gotten dressed as quickly as she could while listening to Quinn and Janae going back and forth. She’d appeared at the doorway of the kitchen and Quinn turned to see her shifting from one foot to the other. “Clearly there are some things you need to discuss with your mother.”

“Syd,” Quinn moved closer to her and Sydnee backed away from his grasp.

“I don’t uh, no. Don’t.” She put her hands up as a barrier and he could feel the wall he’d been slowly chipping away at between them, start going back up with more rebar than a nuclear power plant.

“Syd. Wait a minute, would you?”

“No. Quinn.” He could see the pain in her eyes and it was killing him to know he had put it there. It was pretty obvious she’d overheard him and his mother arguing and he just wanted a chance to explain. Sydnee continued, “I thought this was something you really wanted. What was all of that about not caring what people thought? It’s pretty clear to me you do care what people think. You didn’t tell your mom, and I can only imagine why. Mina was right. You just wanted to sleep with me and that was it.” He shook his head knowing he had messed up and he just needed her to listen to him. If he could just explain his side of the story, he could make her understand.

“Syd, please, let me explain,” Quinn pleaded.

“No. It’s pretty clear, we both had different ideas about this relationship, and I’m just glad it hasn’t gone any farther. Ms. Masters, it was, uh, well, it was nice to meet you.” He watched her turn and quickly nod to his mother, who had watched their interaction silently. As she stalked across the room to the door, he followed her.

“Syd. Syd, please, just listen to me,” he reached out for her arm and she jerked away from his grasp.

“I don’t want to ever talk to you again. Ever,” she sneered, as she clutched her purse and slammed the door behind her. Leaning his head against the door, Quinn closed his eyes, pressing his fist against the doorframe.
It’s not what you think.

He’d barely had time to register everything, before his mom started in on him. “Quinn, what were you thinking?”

“Mom, don’t start. Please.” He headed down the hallway to his bedroom to get dressed. He could not let her leave this way. Once he was dressed, he walked back to the living room to search for his keys.

“Exactly where do you think you’re going?”

“To talk to her.” He turned when he heard a jingling sound and lifted his gaze to see his mother wiggling the keys in her hand.

“Looking for these?”

“Oh, are you hiding my keys from me now?”

“No. They were here on the counter. I think you need to stop for a second and talk to me before you head out to try and explain away your inability to be open and honest with the woman you claim you care so much about.” Quinn stalked over to retrieve the keys and held his hand out to her. He looked up at Janae when she didn’t relinquish them. “So, what’s the reason you didn’t tell me about her?”

“Mom, I don’t have to tell you about everyone I see.” He plopped down on the barstool. His mother was right. If he cared about Sydnee the way he claimed, he would have already told his mother about her. He would have also told Sydnee about his past. Now, he wanted to go after Sydnee, but there was no way he could. He couldn’t just show up on her doorstep. She had never given him the green light to actually meet and spend time with her boys, so that wouldn’t go over well and she really wouldn’t want to talk to him then.

“Quinn, I know that. But when you are making choices affecting your life in ways that aren’t beneficial, I have to say something.” Janae sat in the barstool beside him. “Sweetheart, things are going so well for you right now. Adam absolutely loves you being at the gym and you have been getting calls from all kinds of people about great career opportunities. I just don’t want to see you giving those things up.” Quinn knew she meant well. She was his mother. She cared about him and what happened with him, but this wasn’t like his last relationship. He was in love with Sydnee, and he wanted to believe she either did, or was starting to feel the same way about him. She was all he wanted regardless of what anyone thought about it.