At Your Most Beautiful by Harper Bliss (best free ereader .TXT) 📗

And in the end, it was just a bit of simple fun, because Maya knew where to draw the line. There were very firm boundaries she would never allow Quinn to cross, even though Quinn might very well be convinced right now, as she was enjoying Maya’s pool, that those boundaries were only there to be obliterated.

That was how Quinn behaved. Like an unruly child. A wild horse that had only begun to learn the rules and bucked against its restraints. Maya found Quinn’s wildness attractive. She was aware of that. But she had something that Quinn wouldn’t come by for years: the kind of wisdom only acquired with age. That wisdom would always give her the edge. And the willingness to say no when it came down to it because, somehow, Maya knew what was coming. It hung in the air, like the damp heat of July, between them. She had allowed it to develop, and she would be the one to cut it short, but not before she’d had some harmless fun with the neighbors’ daughter.

Chapter 4

Just as Quinn deposited an extra-strong margarita in front of Maya, her cell phone buzzed in the back pocket of her shorts.

She smiled apologetically at Maya before checking who was calling. “Oh, it’s Dad.” She walked to the far side of the garden.

“Hey, Pumpkin, how’s it going? Do you miss us?” her dad asked.

“It might surprise you that your twenty-four-year-old daughter, who moved out of the house quite a few years ago, can be without her mom and dad for a few days.”

“That does surprise me,” her dad joked.

Quinn kept an eye on Maya while she listened.

“What are you up to?”

“Cooling off in Maya’s pool,” Quinn said, truthfully, although spending time with Maya had left her much more hot than cool.

“How’s Maya now that Tommy’s off on his big trip?”

“I don’t know. Do you want to talk to her?”

“No need. I just called to check in with you. Send Maya our love and tell her we’ll have a barbecue next week. To take her mind off things.”

“Sure, Dad.” Quinn had her own ideas about how to take Maya’s mind off things.

“Call me whenever you need to,” he said.

“Thanks, Dad.” Quinn ended the call and peered at Maya. Her cocktail stood in front of her untouched. She looked pensive. Perhaps a touch more tense than before. Quinn hurried back.

“How’s Bill?” Maya asked.

“He didn’t say, but I’m sure everything’s fine at the cabin.” Quinn tried to read Maya’s face. “He said he’ll invite you to a barbecue next week.”

Maya gave a slight nod. “You told him you were here?”

“Should I not have?” Quinn arched up her eyebrows.

Maya just shrugged, her face still much tighter than Quinn liked to see it.

“Don’t worry about my dad,” Quinn said. “He calls me every single day. It’s his thing. It’s like he can’t properly relax if he hasn’t heard my voice.”

“That’s lovely.” Maya finally reached for her cocktail. She took a sip. “And so is this. Thank you, Quinn.”

“Has Tommy been in touch?” Quinn felt as though she should ask.

“He sent a couple of text messages, but I haven’t spoken to him on the phone. He’s not the type to call his mother every day.”

“He’s only just left.” Quinn offered a smile. “I’m sure he misses you a lot as well, but it’s different for him. He’s discovering the world. He’s in Europe.” Probably nose-deep in a bottle of French wine, Quinn thought. She’d never been to Europe. She’d been too busy flunking out of college and then trying to make a life for herself in New York City without a proper degree to have a gap year in between—there hadn’t been an in-between.

“I know. It’s fine.” At last, Maya smiled again. “I’m happy you get along so well with your dad. I hope I can have that kind of relationship with my son when he’s older.”

“My dad…” Inadvertently, a smile appeared on Quinn’s face. “He has always been so vehemently against being disappointed in me. Like he’s not capable of it, no matter how hard I try.”

“He’s a good parent, who has let you find your own way. I believe in that as well, although it’s not always easy to not push your child in a certain direction. It happens without you realizing it.”

“I haven’t exactly found my way yet, but I’ll get there in the end.” That was what Quinn’s dad always said.

“When did you come out to your parents?” Maya asked.

“I never really did. I never sat them down for ‘the talk’ and explicitly told them. It’s like they’ve always known.” Quinn twirled her glass around between her fingers. “My dad did tell me at a certain point, I think I was sixteen or seventeen, I don’t really remember, that I was free to bring a girlfriend or boyfriend home whenever I wanted. That’s actually how he said it.”

Maya smiled softly. “What about your mom?”

“You know Mom. She’s more uptight about everything. Especially about the age of my girlfriends.” Quinn snickered.

“It’s probably just fear. As parents, we want to make the life of our children as easy as possible and being in a same-sex relationship is often not the easiest path. Brooke is probably scared that you’ll have a tougher life than if you were straight.”

“Yeah.” Quinn leaned back, chuckling. “I will never forget the look on her face when I introduced her to Rachel. She tried to smile but it didn’t work and there’s really nothing worse than a failed smile on Mom’s face.”

Maya chuckled along gently. “She loves you, that’s all. She wants the best for you and she’s still convinced she knows what is better for you than you know yourself. She’ll grow out of it. Eventually.”

“Doesn’t matter anymore now, anyway. Rach and I are totally over.”

“No chance of getting back together?” Maya asked.

“Zero.” Quinn shook her head. “I don’t even want to. I need to move on. I know that. But it still hurts.”

“Yeah.”

“How about you?” Quinn was