Lola grumbled as she walked up the stairs in her apartment complex. She wasn't nearly as hungover as the rest of her friend group, but she still had a slight headache. After she returned from the bathroom with a bundle of ripped toilet paper in her hands, she found that both Logan and Quinn were gone. She had tried asking the bartender where they went, but he was too busy counting money to pay her any mind. Frowning at his disregard for her, she marched off to find the rest of her friends, but none seemed to recall seeing the two leave. She had tried calling both, only growing more frustrated when both calls when to voicemail. Zoey had told her not to worry, that Logan had probably taken Quinn home since she had been crying.
It was a logical conclusion, but it didn't make her feel any better. She was worried for her friend; she had been in a bad way when she left her at the bar. She knew she shouldn't have trusted Logan to care for the girl. He was known for his ego and only cared about himself, but she figured he would at least attempt to keep the other company until she returned. Instead, he probably sent her off alone in a cab while he hooked up with some random girl at the club. She swore the next time she saw the guy; she was going to let him have it.
The next day had come, and when Quinn didn't show up for their morning yoga session, her concern only grew more. It wasn't like her not to show up. It was even less like her not to send a message. While Zoey was still sleeping, Lola marched up to the next floor of their building. It was convenient for all of their friend group that they lived in the same building. With her and Zoey being roommates and living on the third floor, Quinn having her own place on the fourth, Michael and Chase lived together on the sixth floor, and Logan had the penthouse all to himself. Stopping at apartment number 20, she made one final call to her best friend on her cell, but after three rings and no one picked up, she pulled out her spray key and let herself in. She threw the door open, ready to yell but tripped over the discarded heels that were left at the front door. Scowling at this, she kicked them out of the way but halted in her steps when she also saw a very familiar-looking black dress right next to the shoes. Next to that was a black shirt belonging to a male. Looking around the apartment, she heard the faint sound of a shower running in the background. Smiling to herself, she carefully closed the front door, placing both the shirt and dress on the back of the armchair while she took a seat on the worn-out green couch in the room. She got comfortable, turned her body to face the bathroom directly, and waited.
She didn't have to wait long before Quinn came busting out of the bathroom, clad in only a white cotton towel. She didn't even notice her friend sitting on her couch. "Long night?" Lola asked, making Quinn scream.
Holding her towel tighter to her chest, the science genius groaned, stomping one foot on the ground. "What have I said about scaring me!?" if she had her zap watch, she would have used it, but she had yet to figure out how to make it waterproof without it exploding.
Lola wasn't bothered by her outburst. "So…?" she gestured with one finger for her friend to come join her on the couch, but the other girl wasn't having it. In fact, she seemed to be taking a few steps back and almost was trying to cower in on herself. "Oh, come on, tell me!"
"T-Tell you what?" Quinn gulped, trying to sound like her usual self, but instead, her voice came out pitchy. A clear sign that she was nervous.
Her behavior only made the smile on Lola's face increase in size. "About the guy who left those," she pointed to the variety of hickies that were all over her neck, with some going down past her where the towel covered. "I have some makeup that will cover those right up if you're interested." She gave her a playful wink.
Quinn bit her lip, "You know what, I really would," she gripped her towel in one hand and tried to move her hair around to cover the marks that littered her body. "In fact, why don't you go back to your apartment, and I'll meet you there."
For someone who is supposed to be a super genius, she sure didn't know the first thing about trying to be deceitful. "Oh, come on, I get what happened."
Gulping, Quinn finally stopped messing with her appearance. "You do?"
Lola nodded, "Well yeah, it's pretty obvious!" she gestured to her friend's appearance. "You took my advice and hooked up with somebody."
Tilting her head at an awkward angle, Quinn gnawed at her lips. "You're not wrong there."
"I knew it!" Lola squealed, feeling so excited for her friend. This was exactly what she wanted. It was the first step to helping her get over her ex. "Tell me all about it. How was it? Who was it!?"
Her questions were answered before Quinn could even attempt a response. Her bedroom door opened, revealing a yawning Logan walking out wearing only her bathrobe. "Morning," he said, walking past her and heading to the bathroom. He ran one hand along her waist as he passed her. "Sup," he greeted Lola briefly, pulling open the door where he knew Quinn kept her towels and grabbed two big fluffy ones. Whistling a nameless tune, he walked into the washroom, the sound of the shower starting up again.
Quinn felt like her entire body had turned to stone. From the moment he walked out of her room, she kept her eyes on her best friend. Who looked downright horrified sitting on her couch. Finally forcing herself to move, she sprinted to sit beside the up-and-coming actress. "Okay, I know how this looks, but I promise it's…" she groaned when Lola pointed at the hickies on her neck, stopping her attempts to lie. "It looks exactly what you think it is."
"Quinn!" Lola half yelled half gasped as she looked between her best friend and the bathroom door. "What happened last night?" she stood up and started pacing back and forth on the small area rug.
Standing up with her, Quinn shrugged. "I don't know, okay!" she did her best to keep her voice from rising, but even she was reeling in what just happened. "After you left me at the bar, Logan and I started talking about Mark and how I felt. He was being sweet for once and not a jerk." It was still such a surreal thing to think about. He seemed like such a different person compared to what she was used to. "Next thing I know, we're in my bed, doing things, and I'm waking up next to him!" the way her friend's mouth dropped told her that hadn't been the answer she had been expecting or hoping for.
"Why?!" Lola screeched, hands flinging out so that she hit the worn-out couch cushion.
Quinn faltered, "You're the one who told me to hook up with another guy."
"I didn't think I had to specify some guy should be any other guy but Logan!" she twirled her finger around in the air until it landed on the bathroom door. Groaning because she didn't know what else to do, she stomped off to sit at the kitchen table. "Go get dressed, young lady! We have a lot to talk about." It was a line her mom had used on her many times growing up. She always swore that she would never become her mother, but her friend is making her turn into a woman.
Doing as she was told, Quinn ran into her bedroom and changed faster than should be humanly possible. Coming out in a pair of old jeans and a baggy sweatshirt, she sat opposite her friend at her kitchen table. "Are you mad?" she sure looked mad.
Despite the frown she wore, Lola wasn't necessarily angry. "I'm not mad," she sighed, running one hand through her long dark locks. "I'm just confused." Sighing, she crossed her arms and rested them on the worn-out wooden table. All that was between them was a bowl of apples and bananas. "What happened? When I left you guys, you were crying, and Logan was busy getting phone numbers. How did me going to get you tissues lead to you two doing the forbidden tango?"
"Do people really call it that?" Quinn snorted, finding the naming of the act rather heedless. "You can just say so-!"
"Don't you dare!" Lola may have the idea in her mind of what happened, but that didn't mean she wanted to hear the word.
Their conversation came to a halt when the bathroom door opened, and out walked Logan. The robe was gone, and in its place was one of the towels he grabbed, now wrapped around his waist. The other hung loose around his neck as he dried his hair and water out of his ears. He headed back to the bedroom but stopped when he felts eyes on him. "What's with you two?" the girls weren't sure what to do. He was acting like he normally does, with no traces of awkwardness in sight. They could only stare, minds reeling as he gave them a weird look.
"Uh…?" Quinn didn't know what to say or how to respond. Her mind was left completely blank, and she seemed unable to process anything.
"Breakfast!" Lola piped up, still having her wits about her. Though just barely. "We were discussing what to do about breakfast. If we should go out or order in."
Turning in her seat, Quinn gave her friend a silent thank you. "Yeah, you want anything?" she asked, hoping she sounded normal.
Logan shook his head, "No thanks, I gotta head out soon anyway. I have a shoot at the beach." He normally didn't work weekends, but an anniversary shoot was coming up, and he was going to be the main focus, so that meant putting in extra hours. Walking around the couch, he grabbed the shirt he wore the night before and headed back into the bedroom.
With the door closed the two girls turned back to each other, looking rather exhausted from the brief interaction.
"What happened last night?" Lola asked in a hushed whisper, eyes darting between her friend and the bedroom door. "Why is he acting like this is a totally normal thing?" She gasped, sitting all the way back in her seat and looking downright horrified. "Have you two slept together before?" suddenly, she felt very nauseous.
Reaching over the table, Quinn lightly slapped her best friend. "Of course, we haven't." she crossed her arms over her chest and scoffed. "Unlike Mark, I'm not a cheater." Tilting her head over her shoulder, she glanced at her bedroom door where Logan resided on the other side. "And I don't know why he's acting so casual about this. Last night was the first time we ever did anything like that." It was the first time of many things for her.
Lola frowned, unsure of what to do with this. Sucking on her teeth, she sighed. "Okay, this could be how Logan is." She was trying to make sense of a situation that, in her mind, should never have happened. "I mean, we all know he has no problems going out with multiple girls, so maybe this is just how he acts after a hookup." She nodded; it was slowly starting to make some sense to her. "He probably overheard me at the bar telling you to get Mark out of your system by sleeping around."
"It is plausible," Quinn bit her bottom lip, thinking it over herself. "And if so, then maybe it's a good thing. I was able to get it out of my system, and you know what? He's less dangerous than some stranger from the bar."
The actress nodded, "Yes, exactly!" she seemed to relax for a moment only to stiffen back up again. "You guys did use protection, right?"
"Of course we did!" Quinn slapped her again. Her annoyed expression softened as her cheeks turned a soft hue of pink. "Only the ones I still had from Mark were too small, so we had to use the ones he had on hand."
Lola felt her jaw fall open. "No way!" she couldn't help but laugh at this piece of knowledge, but strangely, she also felt completely disgusted by it too. She never realized she could feel two emotions like this before.
The bedroom door opened once more. This time Logan walked out fully dressed in the attire he wore the night before. Hair still damp, he headed towards the two girls; reaching down to grab an apple, he leaned down to place a chaste kiss on Quinn's head. "I gotta head out, but I'll call you later." He gathered his shoes at the door and walked out of the apartment, giving them a soft smile and wave.
Quinn and Lola sat there stunned, expressions eerily similar, with jaws dropped open and eyes blown so wide they looked ready to fall out.
"Is that normal?" Quinn asked, suddenly feeling how she was this morning with a very dry mouth and a steadily increasing heart rate.
Lola shook her head, "I don't know." She's had a few one-night stands in her day, but the guys never acted like that. "You know what, that is such a line." She scoffed, hoping she sounded a lot more confident than she felt. "Do you know how many guys have said they'll call and never do?"
Quinn nodded, licking her lips. "You're right," she stood up from her table, hands fiddling with the back of her chair. "I bet he was just trying to be polite because we're friends and wanted to avoid any awkwardness."
"Exactly!" Lola wasn't sure how much either of them believed that, but that was the story they were going with.
Now looking at each other in awkward silence, Quinn gestured to her bedroom. "I'm gonna do some laundry."
Nodding again, Lola waved her off to do what she had to do. She got up from the table and made her way to the front door but stopped when she put her hand on the doorknob. "Quinn!" she called for her friend, sighing loudly as she ran both hands through her hair. She was going to regret this. "Leave the laundry. We're getting coffee, and you're telling me every detail about what happened last night!"
With a much-needed large coffee in both hands and some baked goods, the two girls sat outside their favorite café. The weekend morning was starting to bustle with life; they recognized some of the faces in the shop, so they figured it was better to sit outside. Hidden in the far corner of the shop, they sipped their caffeinated beverages and sighed in bliss as caffeine entered their system. A sense of peace fell over them.
"Okay," the time for peace was over. "Start talking." Now was the time for answers.
Quinn shagged her shoulders, "I already told you; we talked at the bar; he was being strangely nice, and then we ended up in my bed and had sex." She was not using the word tango. She didn't care how uncomfortable her friend felt. She felt stupid using that term.
Lola cringed but didn't say anything. "Okay, so you guys had sex." She gulped down the bile that was coming up in her throat. "No big deal. Friends sleep together all the time. We're all adults and can be mature about this." This was the lie she was going to tell herself until she could look at both of them without cringing. "It happened only once, so it's whatever." The way her friend across from her curled in on herself told Lola that there was more to this story than she had originally been told. "It was only once, right?"
Nervously licking her lips, Quinn held up three fingers. "While last night was the first time we ever slept together, technically, we did it three times throughout the course of the evening."
"Oh my god!" Lola didn't know whether to cheer for her friend or throw up right then and there on the sidewalk. "Three times?" she gasped, a smile coming onto her face because she didn't know what other facial expression to make. "You animal!"
Quinn couldn't help but laugh, "I know!" she took a long sip of her coffee. Enjoying the warmth that spread throughout her body. It was so different from the warmth she felt last night. "Lola, it was so intense," she held herself, arms wrapping around her own body as she caressed her arms. "All the time Mark and I were together, I can count on one finger how many times I climaxed with him. But with Logan," she groaned, feeling embarrassed to be saying it out loud but also strangely proud. "It was definitely in the double digits with him."
Clapping her hands over her mouth, Lola let out a low scream. "Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!" she waved her to go on. She heard all the stories of her sleeping with Mark, and none of those tales had her looking this ecstatic.
"I don't mean to inflate that boy's ego, but he really knows what he's doing in bed," doing a quick look around to make sure no one was listening, she leaned in closer at the table. "He was able to make me climax so easily. With Mark, I always had to finish myself off."
Lola was going to hate herself for this. "I'm guessing Logan is better with his hands than Mark was?" yup, she hated herself the moment she said it.
Quinn nodded, "So much better." The two giggled. They were discussing such a strange and outlandish topic, but she didn't mind. That was part of why she loved hanging out with Lola. She didn't feel judged whenever she told her something crazy. Maybe her peers sometimes judged her, but not everyone understood why going to the docks at three in the morning to buy chemicals was a must. "It was so different than when Mark and I did it," she set her coffee cup down and leaned back, her eyes glossing over as she remembered last night. "There was such passion from the moment we kissed. It was intense, but he was also really gentle too." She didn't know how to describe it properly. She felt his desire when they kissed at the bar and made it back to her apartment, but there had been soft moments in between. When they were finished on the second round, she had expected him to get right to it, but instead, he lay there, kissing her softly and holding her like she was something precious.
Ring
Hearing her phone ring, she pulled it out of her pocket to see who was calling her. She screamed when she saw the name flashing on the scream. "It's Logan!" she threw the device onto the table, "You said he wasn't going to call!" Her body stiffened as it continued to buzz. "That it was just a line!"
"It's supposed to be a line!" Lola cried, unsure of how to handle the situation. Usually, when a one-night stand says they'll call, it's an unspoken rule that means they really aren't and don't look too much into it.
"What do I do?" Quinn asked, for once not knowing the answer.
Lola shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know!" the phone continued to ring out, seemingly unending. "Answer it!" she handed the device back to her friend.
Groaning, Quinn pressed the green button on her screen. "Hello?" Lola moved over to squat beside her friend to listen in on the call.
"Hey, what took so long?"
Logan's voice could be heard on the other end of the call. Strangely enough, he sounded calm and not at all annoyed that she had kept him waiting. "Hi, Logan," If Quinn could slap herself, she would have. Why did she have to answer the call sounding so weird? "Sorry about that. I'm with Lola at our favorite café and didn't hear my phone until just now." she looked to her friend for help, but the girl looked just as clueless as she felt.
"Oh yeah? Sounds good. For a moment there, I thought you might have been trying to avoid me."
He gave a short laugh, seemingly trying to judge where she was on all that. "What? No way," she scoffed, hoping she sounded more like herself. However, her friend's expression told her that she didn't have a future in acting. "I wouldn't do that. In fact, I'd figured we would be seeing each other again." she mouthed to her friend when she saw the look she was giving her; not even she knew what she was supposed to say right now. What do you say to the guy who is somewhat your friend that you see on a daily basis, but you just slept together the night before?
"Great! Glad to know you feel the same."
Both girls really hated how calm he sounded. He should be panicking like they both were.
"Hey, I'm gonna be at the shoot for a bit, but when I get back, how about we do dinner?"
Quinn didn't hear it, but she could practically feel Lola's mouth drop open next to her. "Dinner?" she had to say it back, trying to make sure she heard that right or if she was hallucinating. "Tonight?"
"Yeah, if you're free. If not, no big deal."
Quinn bit her lip, trying to think of the best way to stop all this. She didn't know what he was playing at, if he was trying to hook up with her again or was trying to be a gentleman for the sake of their friendship, but this couldn't continue. While they weren't best friends, they were friendly with one another, and their best friends all hung out. They saw each other all the time, and going any further could cause issues with not only them two but their friends as well. Putting a pin in it was better before things went too far. She was going to say so, except she saw Mark walking out of the bookstore across the street. He was walking alongside Brook, holding hands with her as she blabbered on about who knows what. It was something she had done with him so many times during the course of their relationship, but not once can she recall him ever looking so pleased with himself. His usual expressionless face seemed so content.
It broke her heart all over again.
"Actually, I am free." She turned to face the other direction, refusing to watch the scene any longer. She turned around in her seat so she wouldn't have to face the look of bewilderment Lola was currently giving her. "I checked my calendar, and I don't have anything on the agenda for tonight."
"Awesome, I'll pick you up at seven."
The call ended with that. Quinn set her phone down non to gently on the café table as she turned around to lean back in her seat with a huff. She was blinking quickly, refusing to let herself cry again over Mark and what he had done to her.
"Are you insane!" Lola made her way back to her seat, mouth still agape in shock. "You just agreed to go on a date with Logan Reese!"
Now that her emotions were clearing, so was the fog that had clouded her mind. In the midst of her despair and heartbreak, she hadn't realized what she had been agreeing to. "You think they serve alcohol here?" She would need something much stronger than coffee.