Holding On (6 page)

Margo had been quiet for a few more moments. She was clearly trying to assimilate the information. “You’re both adults,” she had calmly pointed out, after seeming to have worked it out in her own head. “You’re responsible. You’re in love. You’re in a committed relationship. I mean, you were committed before and now you’re getting married, hopefully soon. I’m sure you thought through the consequences of participating in sexual activity before marriage because—”

“
Margo
,” Pete had grumbled. “We’re having a grandbaby! Let’s just leave it at that.”

“Oh, Pete,” Margo had said. H
er voice had gone high and her eyes filled with tears. “We’re having a grandbaby!”

And that had been that.

“Why are you awake?” Quinn mumbled without opening her eyes. Her hand slid to his, where it was resting on her bare skin. She rubbed her thumb across the back of it.

Jake smiled, having been pulled out of his reverie. “Because it’s morning.”

“It’s
not
morning,” she sleepily grumbled as she rolled over. She tossed an arm around him and pulled him closer. Her knee slid between his legs, rubbing against him. He didn’t bother stifling the groan that her touch elicited through his boxers. “Later, baby,” she whispered but her hands slid over his bare chest all the same.

“I’m holding you to that,”
he said as he let his hands do a little bit of wandering.

“Mmmm,” was her mumbled reply.

Though he couldn’t see her face, because it was buried next to his chest, he knew she was smiling though still more than half asleep. She was not a morning person. He’d learned from experience it was best if he just let her be. If not, she was likely to be slightly unbearable all day.

He slid his arm
s around her, cupping her bottom in his hands as he pulled her closer. She wasn’t wearing a single thing under the t-shirt of his that she slept in. His hands glided across her bare skin and he fought the urge to groan again as he placed a few soft kisses on her temple. She let out a little moan and then he knew she drifted back to sleep.

*~*~*

Now that spring break was nearly over the dorms opened back up at noon so students could spend the weekend settling back in. Though she didn’t keep much there, she decided she wanted to make it official. There was nothing to hide from her parents now. Her mom and sister had nearly swooned over the sight of the ring. In fact, Quinn herself nearly swooned over the sight of it every time she glanced down.

She couldn’t wait to become Quinn McGrath.

So she was
officially
moving out of the dorm and
officially
moving on in her life. She had no idea if Veronica would be there or not. She was guessing most likely not. She and Jake were going to go pack up the few belongings she kept there. Basically a few changes of clothes, some toiletries and the few personal items that she kept around to make the room look like she lived there. For Margo’s sake. What that amounted to were a few pictures of her and Jake together, the bedding on her pathetic little university-issued twin bed and some random knick-knacks. It should all fit into a large suitcase.

She briefly mused over the fact that they’d been dorm
mates for nearly the entire year and they had never even bothered to exchange phone numbers. Therefore, she’d simply leave Veronica a note. She was sure the girl would not be at all surprised to hear that Quinn wasn’t coming back.

She couldn’t wait to move in with Jake. For good. Getting out of the dorm, while only a formality, just seemed to solidify things even more. It was like taking one more step forward. After today, his home would officially
be
their
home. He’d been repeating it to her all week and she was never able to contain her smile.

She loved his house
. He’d purchased it last fall. Prior to that, he and Luke had shared an apartment. Apparently they’d both gotten tired of the other having girls over and they both wanted to have more privacy.

Jake had asked Quinn to help hi
m with his house hunting. Luke had gone to the extreme and had decided to leave town, much to Quinn’s disappointment and dismay. They’d been friends since they were kids. His move had taken her by surprise. He’d told her he just needed to get away for a while. So he’d gotten a job out of town and she and Jake had started looking for houses.

The house hunting
had been fun. At the time she and Jake had already been dating a while—nearly a year—and she’d been thrilled when he’d asked her opinion. They had spent months looking at dozens of houses in the area. For a while, she was afraid he wouldn’t find anything he liked. There were always problems. Too big or too small. Not a big enough yard. Too far from town, too close to town. Too many neighbors. Too old. She’d never have guessed it would be so hard to find a house. But then they’d found this one.

The
house had been her favorite immediately. It was a simple two bedroom rambler. Not too far out of city limits yet far enough to have some privacy. It had a nice, secluded yard. The house itself was fairly new. Nothing needed replacing.

It was perfect. Quinn had loved it from
the moment the realtor had pulled into the driveway. Jake hadn’t been so sure. The outside was covered in a pale yellow steel siding that he didn’t care for. The windows were adorned in dark green shutters. The flower beds overflowed with a rainbow of flowers. Luckily there was a huge deck off the backyard and that feature alone had finally sold Jake. That, and Quinn found out later, her simple and absolute love of the place.

Next had come furniture shopping because Jake and Luke had shared relics, cast-offs given to them by friends and family. But Jake only wanted new things for his new house. So Quinn had had the pleasure of helping him shop. In all honesty, the house was very much decorated to her taste. Luckily, Jake had approved of it all.

And now…it was going to be hers, too. She let out a happy sigh just as Jake walked into the kitchen.

“Do you need help with anything?” he asked.

He’d just gotten out of the shower. He was dressed in a pair of basketball shorts and a plain gray t-shirt. As he glanced around, he noticed she already had the table set. A plate of what he guessed was bacon was covered to keep it warm. It looked like she was just waiting on the last of the pancakes to add to the towering platter.

“I’ve got it under control,” she said.
She enjoyed cooking and more often than not, Jake did help out. “It’s almost done so just go sit down.”

“I could really get used to this,”
Jake told her as he tossed himself into a chair at the kitchen table.

“Yeah?” Quinn asked as he smiled over he
r shoulder at him. She had poured the last of the batter onto the hot skillet. She lifted the edge of a pancake to see if it was ready to flip. Almost but not quite yet. She turned back around to face Jake.

“Oh yeah,”
he said.

His eyes made a trip down her body. She was
still wearing nothing more than his shirt, he was sure. She stood at the counter making him breakfast. Her feet were bare and her hair was pulled into a messy pile on top of her head. Quinn was petite so the shirt hung half-way down her thigh, but still…She looked sexy as hell.

He grinned at her and her pale cheeks reddened just a bit. She bit her lip and turned back around to tend to breakfast. He loved that he could still make her blush with a single look.

“What exactly could you get used to? Pancakes for breakfast?” she asked sweetly. Her tone oozed mock innocence. “Or the fact that I’m making them for you...?”

“Or the fact that you’re dressed like that…” he teased as she flipped the pancakes over.

“Dressed like what?” she wondered with a smirk as she peered innocently at him from across the kitchen.

“Should I say
undressed
like that?” he asked with raised eyebrows.

“You like this, do you?” she teased back.

He nodded. “I mean, to be honest, I prefer you in nothing. But if you have to be wearing something, I’m glad it’s that.”

“Good to know,” Quinn said as she checked the pancakes. They were on the verge of being done but not quite. Still, she decided they were good enough. She slid them off the skillet and added them to the heaping stack on the plate.
Then she covered them up to keep them warm before walking the plate to the table and placing it in the middle.

Jake was watching her, curious.

Instead of taking her own seat, she rounded the table to the other side where Jake was seated, leaning back in his chair. He raised his eyebrows at her as she swung her leg around so that she was on his lap, straddling him. His freshly showered scent enveloped her. His cocky grin had faded as his hands slid up her bare thighs, pulling her down gently so that she was pressed firmly against him. Now she was the one with the cocky grin as she felt him hardening beneath her. He leaned over, nuzzling her neck as he placed a few hungry kisses there. She rocked ever so slightly in his lap and he inhaled sharply.

“I think it’s later,” she told him as she slid her hands through
shower-dampened hair.

“Later…? Later than what…?” he asked
. She rocked against him again and he groaned. He had no idea what she was talking about. He couldn’t think clearly when his body was so flooded with desire for her.

She used a little more force this time, grinding against him as
she
became the one kissing
his
neck. Her hands slid lower as she stood just enough to wedge his shorts down. Her hand gripped him, guiding him to where she needed him to go.

She moaned into his neck as he slid into her.

Later, baby
. Her words from earlier in the morning whispered through his mind.

“Oh,” he said. He slid
his hands up, under her shirt so he could slide if off completely. “Oh, yeah. It’s definitely later.”

5

“Who said shotgun weddings can’t be romantic?” Carly mused.

“I believe you did,” Quinn was quick to point out.

Carly had nearly thrown a fit when Quinn first announced that she and Jake wanted to get married as soon as she graduated. Carly had been insistent that no wedding could be “thrown together” in that short of a timeframe.
Two months was not nearly enough time to plan, she’d insisted. She’d been wrong. Partly because Quinn was determined to keep it small and simple. Also because the two mothers were very determined to have everything fall into place. No matter what the cost.

Nora
was simply excited and couldn’t wait to do her part. Margo however, Quinn was fairly certain, was suffering from a case of
what-will-the-neighbors-think?
syndrome. She wanted her pregnant and cohabiting daughter married off as quickly as possible.

The biggest issue had been finding a photographer. Everyone in the area was booked
because the first weekend in June was the beginning of prime wedding season. Nora had managed to find someone that came highly recommended from a few towns over. They’d had a cancellation but they still came at a high price. There was an extra charge for mileage and the extra hours involved. Nora hadn’t flinched. Everything else had fallen into place quite nicely.

“Well, you can’t always listen
to me. Sometimes I’m wrong,” Carly said with a roll of her eyes. “I was definitely wrong this time. That dress is amazing. You are going to be the most beautiful bride ever.”

Jemma and Lily, Quinn’s
two best friends nodded their agreement.

“And we are going to be the most amazing looking bridesmaids to ever walk down the aisle,” Jemma said with a wink. “Thanks to your exquisite taste in dresses.”

“But not nearly as amazing as the bride,” Lily was quick to add.

“You are such a suck up,” Jemma teased and Lily grinned back.

As of last Friday afternoon—exactly one week ago—Quinn was officially a college graduate. A college graduate with just the tiniest of baby bumps. Her dress, the one she was trying on now at her final fitting, had an empire waistline. She wasn’t trying to hide the pregnancy. By now everyone knew and fully supported her and Jake. However, she did want to be comfortable and the moment she’d spotted the dress, she’d known it was the one.