Quinn wanted to stand up and applaud as he beamed at his partner. They rounded out their set and had barely left the stage when he stopped her.
“Where did that come from?” he queried, wondering what Claire and Imaani had discussed in all the time they’d spent together at Claire’s place. Imaani kept walking to where her instrument case lay in a corner between the thick red curtains of the stage. She only turned to answer him once she’d put her cello inside.
“I just…” she shrugged, “I guess I just realized in the last few days there are a lot of things I stop myself from saying or doing because I’m secretly afraid of what people will think. What happened Saturday night made me rethink a lot of things.” She watched as Quinn put his own cello and bow away, then stood up to face her again.
“Are you going back to the music academy or home?” she asked him. “Remember when I said earlier I’d fill you in after the show?” Quinn nodded and quickly recalled he didn’t have any classes scheduled until 4 p.m. It was only 11 in the morning now.
“Let me help Ethan pack up the van and he can drop me off at my place,” he said. “I’ll meet you there.”
A half-hour later, Ethan pulled up to his building with him to see Imaani waiting by the entrance.
“My spider sense is going crazy,” Ethan told him. “Something’s up, man.”
“She’s talking to me and things aren’t anywhere near as embarrassing as I thought,” Quinn replied before opening the van door. “That’s more than enough.”
Once he and Imaani entered his apartment, Quinn hung up their jackets, oblivious that Imaani’s eyes hadn’t left his body.
“What do you say we just do something simple for lunch, like soup and a bag–” he started, turning around to see her piercing stare.
Imaani closed the gap between them and before Quinn could respond, pulled on his collar until her lips met his. She kissed him softly at first, then more hungrily the second time. As she went for a third, Quinn put his hands on her shoulders and held her away, all but reeling.
“Imaani, what are you doing?” he whispered in alarm. What the hell are you doing, you idiot? his brain screamed at him. You’re getting everything you always wanted in this moment and you’re fucking it up! “You’re still married,” he said aloud.
“Separated,” Imaani retorted. “Nat and I are staying with my sister for now until Clayton moves out next week. Then we’re back in the house, which I’m pretty sure I’ll be getting in the divorce.” Quinn’s face was a mix of shock and confusion.
“You’d be amazed what kind of leverage you have for a quickie divorce when there’s video evidence of a community figurehead fucking his employee,” Imaani added.
“You… you taped Clay having…”
“Yup. I guess with all the excitement Sunday morning, I forgot to mention it. She had a wide screen door and a backyard anyone could just walk into with no fence, so I stood there recording them for a few minutes.
“Then I went back home before Nat woke up, got her ready for an all-day robotics tournament, then came here to see you.” Quinn shifted and looked at his feet at the memory of Imaani bursting in on him and Fiona.
“I went to Claire’s place after that,” Imaani continued, “…and the first thing I did was show her the video. Then we finished a pint of ice cream together and looked for divorce lawyers. I spent most of Sunday with Claire, picked up Nat, packed our stuff, and texted Clayton we wouldn’t be back until he moved out. He hadn’t come home that entire day.
“I chose the lawyer who could serve Clay the fastest, and that was done…” she glanced at her watch. “…oh, about the time we were on stage playing Feelin’ Good by Nina Simone this morning. Fitting, don’t you think?” She gave Quinn a smug smile and stepped toward him. His head spun, not least of all because Imaani’s delicate fingers were laced in his again.
“Look, I want you to be happy, but you’re not divorced yet. Are you sure this isn’t going a little fast?” he made sure.
“No, Red,” Imaani widened her charcoal eyes and stared directly into his icy gray ones. “It’s actually gone much too slow. I know you want to kiss me back, right? You want me, don’t you?”
“Not like this,” he said, staggering and falling backward into the closet. He caught a glimpse of the hurt on Imaani’s face on his way down, but scrambled to his feet and caught her forearm while she was reaching for the door. “No, not again,” he said. “You’re not going to run out on me again.”
“Let me go, Red,” she said sharply.
“Like hell,” he told her, stepping between her and the door, then wrapping her up against his chest. She tried to push him away at first but he tightened his grip until she stopped struggling. Then, he felt her chest heaving and looked down to see her tear-streaked face.
“I feel like I’ve been doing nothing over the last week except making a fool of myself,” she whispered, her voice shaking as she gingerly hugged him back.
“That is the absolute last word I’d use to describe you,” Quinn murmured into her hair. “I’m not putting the brakes on this because I don’t want you. You are all I’ve wanted since the day of our first lesson together.” She looked up at him and he wiped her tears with the back of his hand.
“I’m putting the brakes on this because I want to do it right. Your divorce has to be a done deal. And I want to make sure you want me as Quinn; not as a revenge lay.”
“How can you say that?” Imaani asked, recoiling as though insulted.
“Well, this is the first time you ever seemed interested in me.”
“That was because I was married to someone else, not because I didn’t love you!” Quinn looked blankly at her with his mouth open as they fell into a pin-drop silence for several beats. “And there I go embarrassing myself again,” Imaani added ruefully, breaking eye contact with him and crossing her arms over her stomach.
“No, no,” he said slowly, his voice hoarse. “I… you–was that a mistake?”
“What I just said? No,” Imaani replied. “The mistake was not recognizing how far my marriage had deteriorated, and not ending it sooner.” She cocked her head to one side and shot her partner a quizzical look, then spoke slowly.
“Were you thinking all this time that if you and I ever ended up in this spot, that the only reason I’d want to be with you would be for sex? Or revenge? Or something that didn’t have to do with me falling in love with you?”
Quinn simply blinked at her.
“I’m baring my heart here, Red. You have to say something.”
“I… I was wondering if it was too late to go back on what I just said about waiting until your divorce is final.”
“Did you say that?” Imaani asked innocently, her lips curving upward. “I didn’t hear you say that.”
The next second, Quinn had picked Imaani up and was taking the longest strides he could toward his bedroom. He put her down on his bed and curled up beside her, crushing her mouth in a series of bruising kisses.
“You’re sure this is right?” Quinn panted, searching Imaani’s eyes.
“Red, I’ve wanted this since we were trapped in the Ford Flex together,” Imaani smiled, touching her forehead to his. “I mean, I wasn’t in love with you then, but I’m only human. I couldn’t help but notice how perfectly we fit when we were holding each other.