"FLETCHER?"

Quinn said my name hesitantly, as if expecting me to have answers as to why we were suddenly standing in the dark, but I didn't have any answers. None at all. So when she said my name the second time, panic had threaded through her voice.

"August?"

I set down what I was carrying and walked in the direction of her voice as I waited for my eyes to adjust to the dark. All of the doors to the exterior, window-filled rooms were closed, meaning the only light in the hallway was from tiny cracks beneath the doors.

"Talk to me, Castle."

"I'm over here," she said, her voice small.

Another two steps, and I ran into her, colliding with her smaller frame. Now that she was closer, I could make out the outline of her body, although just barely.

"Put down the box and take my hand," I directed.

"But I feel responsible for these deflated balls," she quipped, the panic in her voice vanishing as her body brushed against mine.

"Nothing's going to happen to your balls," I reassured, rolling my eyes to myself.

"What about your balls?" she shot back. She might not be panicked anymore, but I could tell she was still nervous, which likely explained the ridiculous shit leaving her mouth. "How are they doing?"

"We're not talking about my balls," I said flatly.

"You sure they didn't deflate a little when the lights shut off? It's okay, Fletcher. You can admit it scared you at first."

"Just put your box down," I continued, ignoring her, "and we'll come back to get them once we figure out what's going on with the lights."

"I think I know what's going on with the lights," Castle said, her voice shifting to indicate she was setting the box down. "They're not working."

"God, Castle. How come before this week, I never knew you were such a smartass?" I chuckled into the dark.

"I'm a little bit like you," she said softly, blindly jabbing my arm until she found my hand and threaded her fingers through mine. A dull heat settled in my bones, warming me. Especially when she said, "Can't let the world know too much about myself. Not unless I trust them."

I squeezed her hand, and Quinn stepped closer to me. I felt her sunshiney presence cut through the darkness, and it was so quiet that I could detect each breath she took. I shifted, feeling sucked into her. Something about the moment was calm and–

Quinn shrieked and tried to jump back, but my grip tightened, holding her hand captive.

"What was that?" she cried.

"What?"

"Something just touched my foot."

"It was probably just my foot, Castle."

"Are there mice here?" she asked, her hand jiggling in mine. I was pretty sure she was bouncing between her feet. "Of course, there are mice here," she muttered to herself. "It's a construction site."

I sighed. "I have never seen a mouse here."

"Mice are smart," she said, panic rising in her voice again. "They don't come out until they think they're alone. Trust me, they don't come scampering around my apartment until I turn off the lights. We're enemies, the mice and I."

I wasn't so sure how intelligent mice actually were, but I didn't like hearing that she was living with them. And I also didn't feel like arguing with her about it when there was a simple solution.

"Here, just–" Dropping her hand, I turned around. "Hop on my back."

"Hop on your back?" she repeated in disbelief, her voice still juggling from bouncing between two feet. "Fletcher, I don't think I could hop on your back with the lights on, let alone when I can't see you. You're like a foot taller than me."

"Fine." Before I could overthink it, I turned back around and bent down, scooped my hands behind Quinn's legs, and hoisted her into my arms. "Then I'll carry you this way."

Quinn shrieked again, but this time, there was a hint of amusement and delight mixed in there.

Or maybe that was just my wishful thinking.

I felt her wind her arms around my neck while her legs did the same thing to my waist. We felt like two puzzle pieces sliding together perfectly.

"Is that better?" I murmured in her ear, my hands tightening their grip on her thighs. 

Quinn shivered. 

She wasn't any more immune to me than I was to her.

"Yes," she admitted breathlessly, surprising me with the confession.

I hoisted her up higher and turned us around, beginning to walk in the direction of the front doors. Quinn clung to me, wrapping tighter around my body as though she was afraid the mice would jump up and nip at her ankles.

"How long have you lived with mice in your apartment, Castle?" I asked, keeping my voice soft.

She scoffed quietly, her breath fanning against my ear since she'd tucked her head right onto my shoulder. "The better question is, when have I ever not lived with mice in my apartment?"

"Sounds like you need an exterminator."

"Cost money," she said simply. "And I just have enough for an apartment. Not a mouse-free apartment."

I frowned into the darkness, deciding that maybe it wasn't so bad to draw out her visit here. At least she could live rodent-free in my house for a while.

"The Warriors should be paying you better," I grunted.

She laughed softly. "Tell them that."

"Maybe I will."

I felt her shake her head slightly. "Just let me finish my article about you, and I'm sure I'll get compensated well."

Great. I hated that her livelihood depended on me giving up all my secrets. I hated that even if I did give up all my secrets, it probably wouldn't help her. We were in a lose-lose situation, and I had no idea what the fuck to do about it.

"Well enough that you can hire an exterminator?"

She shrugged. "Probably."

"Are you just saying that?"

She shrugged again. "Possibly."

"You're killing me here, Castle," I groaned.

Another soft laugh came out of her at the same time I felt her fingers sift through the hair at the base of my neck. I nearly stopped walking from the shock of it, almost stumbled over my own two feet just because Quinn Castle started playing with my hair.

"How so?" she asked, and I'd be damned if there wasn't a suggestive hint in her voice. I wished I could see her face, to see if I was imagining it.

I turned my head, wondering if I could catch a glimpse of it, especially since we were nearing the doors and more and more light filtered through the hallway. But all it did was put my nose into her sweet-smelling hair and my lips in contact with her ear.

So I murmured, "You know how," and let another shiver wrack through her body.

Her fingers tugged harder on my hair, and I did falter this time. Because that tug–fuck, that tug–went straight to my dick. And while I'd been doing a pretty good job of ignoring how her body was pressed so closely to mine, how her breasts were plastered against my chest, and how her legs hugged my waist so perfectly, I couldn't ignore it anymore.

We were only a few steps from the doors, and there was no reason I couldn't put her down. We could see the floor now. We could see the sun streaming in from outside. We could see Finny unloaded shit from the truck.

I should put her down. Or I should walk her outside and then put her down. But I didn't want to do either of those things, so I turned abruptly and pressed Quinn against the wall instead.

She gasped when she made contact with the smooth drywall, which still needed a few coats of paint. Quinn's hands fell to my shoulders, holding on tight. Maybe she didn't realize how securely I had her locked in against me, but she wasn't going anywhere. My hips had her pinned, and fuck didn't that feel good.

Too good, if you asked my cock.

"August?"

Quinn pulled back, looking up at me with big, innocent eyes that I didn't believe for a second. She knew what she did to me. And if she didn't, I was about to make it abundantly clear to her. Because otherwise, I wasn't going to make it through the next week or two or however long she stayed on Evergreen Isle.

"You can't fucking play with me like that," I groaned.

Releasing one of her legs, I brought my hand to her face, pushing her hair out the way to see how her pupils constricted, and her irises sparkled when the light hit them.

Quinn's breath hitched before she ran her tongue over her bottom lip.

God, I wanted to kiss her. It would be so easy to lean in and capture those lips, to finally taste her. I've thought about it so many times over the years, but never as much as I had in the past week.

"What do you mean?" she eventually said, her voice wispy.

I rested my palm on the wall beside her face and pressed in closer, lowering my voice. "You can't make jokes about my balls and play with my hair and strip your fucking underwear off in front of me unless you–"

I bit down on my tongue as I warred with my restraint.

"Unless I...what?" Quinn asked tentatively.

Eagerly.

She wanted to know what I'd been about to say, and fuck, I wanted to tell her. But if I said every little dirty thing floating through my head right now, I was bound to scare her off. So I took a deep, steadying breath instead.

I leaned in even further, letting my lips flirt with her ear. "If you want to play, Castle, we can play. But you should know just how much I like to win."

"Oh, I know." There was a smile in her voice, and I pulled back to see it, all dazzling as she looked at me. "I've been watching you win for years, Fletcher."

A burst of pride washed over me, even if it was slightly foolish.

"You know, huh?" I countered. "So you think you know what you're doing?"

"Actually, I have no clue what I'm doing," she said, surprising me again. "I keep telling myself I'm going to stop doing what I'm doing, but I don't know how."

Shit.

She was just as hopeless as me, and I wasn't exactly sure what that meant for us.

"Fuck," I growled, dropping my forehead against hers. Our lips were only a breath away from each other, and it took everything in me not to close the distance. "Well, one of us needs to figure it out."

"I don't think it'll be me," Quinn whispered after a slight pause.

"Goddamnit, Castle." I swallowed another groan and let her drop to her feet. Slowly. "I'll tell you what you're doing. You're teasing the hell out of me. And so I need you to at least listen when I tell you to walk away. Go outside and tell Finny the lights went out. I'll be there in a minute or two."

She gave me a curious look. "What are you going to do?"

I thought that was obvious.

"Get my shit together."

In other words, get my dick to cooperate. It wouldn't be seeing any action today, and it needed to realize that.

Watching Quinn walk away with my name written across her back didn't make it easier, though. My cock throbbed as I watched her push the doors open and stride into the sunlight.

Fine.

If Quinn wanted to tease the living daylights out of me...then I suppose I'd just have to do it right back.

☀️

a/n:

poor august is about to lose it.🙃

thanks for reading!
xoxo amelie