From Simple Beginnings -- Part 13
Quinn managed to hold it together until he arrived home. The shaking started within moments of exiting his car. By the time he entered his house, he was a total mess.
Jezzie walked up to him, took a deep sniff, and then emitted a low growl. Quinn patted her head absently as he tried to calm down. He knew the situation with Rich would have to be resolved, but he wasn't sure where to start. He'd never had such an adversarial relationship with anyone, and he didn't know anyone else who had either.
Quinn went to the kitchen to set the tea kettle on to boil. Old habits die hard, he thought as he opened the cabinet to pull out the canister of tea. His mother had gotten a special blend made for him after the end of his last relationship. It was supposed to calm his nerves and help him focus. He wasn't sure if it did that, but the ritual of making tea gave him something else to think about.
Quinn was so absorbed in the process, that he didn't hear the light tap on his front door. He did, however, hear Jezzie's sudden bark as she scrambled for the front door.
"Calm down, girl. If it's Rich, I promise you can bite him," Quinn remarked with an evil smile.
When he opened the door, instead of his agent, he found Nick. He felt a sudden resurgence of the anger he had almost gotten rid of. It didn't help that Jezzie was trying to push him out of the way in an attempt to get to Nick. Biting was clearly not on her agenda.
"What did you think you were doing?"
Nick raised an eyebrow at the obvious anger, but replied quietly, "May I come in?"
Quinn moved to the side and swept a hand toward his living room. "Come on in. Make yourself at home."
"Thanks." Jezzie attached herself to Nick's side as he made his way to the couch, nudging him insistantly until he rubbed her head. "Are you okay?"
"Look, I may not be built like a tank, but I can handle myself. I didn't need your help."
"I know that."
"Then why did you do it?"
"Because it's one thing to be in a shouting match, but it's another thing when someone is using force on the person they're arguing with. I don't care how big or small you are, if someone is using force, I'm stepping in."
"I could have handled it."
"I know that, but you shouldn't have to."
"So what now? You're going to come to all the meetings I have with my agent and glare at him or something?"
"That guy's your agent? Are you nuts?" Nick was incredulous. He couldn't imagine why anyone would pay someone to treat them the way Slick had treated Quinn.
"It's not like I have a choice. No one else will represent me."
The tea kettle started to whistle and Quinn left Nick to stew as he went to shut off the stove. He wasn't in the mood for tea now, so he just put the kettle on the back burner, glanced at Jezzie's water bowl, and then headed out to the living room again. "And just what are you doing here anyway?"
"I wanted to make sure you were all right."
"As you can see, I'm fine. So, if there isn't anything else. . ."
"There is something else. I'm sorry about the way I acted the other night."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. I shouldn't have assumed that you'd be interested in me just because I helped you out."
Quinn couldn't decide whether he should throttle the man sitting in front of him or laugh at him. "You didn't just help me out because you thought I'd be an easy lay, did you?"
Nick shook his head, but didn't speak. He could feel a blush rising to his cheeks.
Quinn did start to laugh then. "You did. Man, I don't give off that kind of vibe, do I?"
Nick frowned. "No, you don't. Call it wishful thinking on my part. And no, I didn't 'rescue' you tonight thinking that would convince you either."
"Then what are you doing here?" Quinn was honestly curious.
"I wanted to make sure you were okay. I was worried that jackass would show up here. And, I wanted to apologize for the other night."
"Well then, you have no worries. Apology accepted."
"So -- if I wanted to come over sometime. Just to hang out and play with the dog, would that be okay?"
"Sure. Jez loves making new friends."
"And if I wanted to hang out with you, too?"
"I could use a friend, too, I think."
"Okay." Nick's smile was relieved.
"Okay." Quinn smiled back, then headed to the kitchen and grabbed a couple of beers. He offered one to Nick and asked, "So, what did you think of the game last night?"
TBC