I STARED AT QUINN, unable to take my eyes off her anxious face and unable to move past the words she'd just said.

Part of my assignment was to, by any means necessary, convince you to return to the Warriors.

By any means necessary.

What the hell did that mean?

Thoughts started flying as I spiraled deeper and deeper. I couldn't move. I couldn't talk. All I could do was lose myself in doubt. It wrapped around her words and sprouted in my mind.

"August."

She said my name hesitantly when I couldn't figure out what to say. I was too busy replaying the last couple of weeks, replaying every interaction I'd had with Quinn.

Most specifically, last night.

The words Quinn said by the ocean, the way she told me she wanted to put me first. How she was scared but wanted to trust me. The way she'd kissed me. The way her body melted against mine. The way her eyes grew wide, filled with awe, when I slipped inside her.

That had all been real, right?

It must have been real.

I refused to believe that was an act or a manipulation.

I refused to think that last night was something scripted.

Quinn might be my weakness, but last night was more than anyone could simply conjure up as a means to get me to play right into their hands.

And yet, Quinn really was my weakness.

Could it be possible that she had me seeing things through rose-colored glasses? That she had me under a spell? Because she sure as hell made me feel like a man possessed sometimes.

"I'm sorry I didn't say anything sooner, but—"

Quinn's voice weaved into my consciousness, interrupting my thoughts. Thoughts that couldn't quite decide what to think about what she'd confessed. And I knew they wouldn't be able to figure it out until I simply heard her say it.

"Quinn."

My voice was rough and raw, like I'd just woken up. Maybe that was why Quinn didn't quite hear me and continued rambling, saying words that didn't really mean anything because they weren't the ones I wanted to hear.

I cleared my voice and tried again.

"Quinn," I said, louder this time.

She froze, her eyes blinking up and meeting mine. And fuck, that connection. That connection had to be real, right?

Her brows lifted as if she were both surprised I'd acknowledged her and eager to hear if I had more to say.

"Quinn."

I said her name for a third time, loving and hating how it felt in my mouth. Now that I had her attention, I lowered my voice again, but I spoke with as much clarity as I could muster because clarity was what I needed right now.

"I need you to look me in the eyes and tell me that you didn't sleep with me last night in an effort to save your job and convince me to return to the Warriors."

"What?" Her brows furrowed, her pretty face transforming into a look of genuine shock and confusion. Relief spread, slow and sweet, through my body. "No! That is absolutely not what I—" She sucked in, as though she replayed her own words back in her head, and realized why I asked her. And then her expression lapsed into horror. "No, August," she said even more forcefully. "That is not what happened."

I nodded, believing her. "Then tell me what happened."

"I—you—you were there, August," she sputtered, words descending into wispy gasps. "You know what happened last night."

"I thought I knew what happened last night," I countered.

"You know what happened last night," she insisted. "It was...real. All of it was real. I would never use you like that, August."

I nodded again. Because I knew she was telling the truth. I'd just needed to hear it. I needed her words and her expression and her clarity.

It was real.

We were real.

Last night was undoubtedly, mind-blowingly real.

But still...I couldn't help but wonder if it had always been real.

"I know what happened last night," I finally acknowledged, watching Quinn's shoulders visibly relax. She was still clutching the blanket to her chest, her knuckles white with worry. Fuck, I wanted to take it all away from her, but before that...I had more questions stuck in my throat that needed to get out so I could process this. So I could figure out what the hell to do next.

"Don't let this taint last night and take away from what it was," she pleaded. "Please, August."

I shook my head. "Last night will always be one of the most incredible nights of my life, Castle," I said honestly. "You'd have to try really hard to convince me that whatever happened between us last night wasn't real. But I needed to ask."

Her fingers twisted in the blanket as her eyes searched my face. "I can't believe you needed to ask."

"I knew what I thought was true," I said, "but I also know that you make me lose all sense of reason, Quinn. And maybe I've been fooling myself about you all along."

She began shaking her head, desperate to make me believe that wasn't the case. But again, I had to ask. I had to know.

"Was it all true?" I asked, chewing on the inside of my cheek because I knew this might blow up in my face. But I wouldn't be able to move on until it was settled. "Did you really mess up your hotel reservation, or did you never really have one to begin with? Did you just use it as an excuse to get closer to me? To move into my life? Did you flirt with me that first night because you felt like you had to, or..."

My words trailed off as Quinn's jaw dropped further and further. It would almost be comical if we were talking about anything else. If I hadn't asked questions that made my chest feel like they were ripping open.

I cleared my voice, lowering it. Softening it. Because I could see not just denial, but also anger, rising in Quinn's eyes.

"I don't doubt what we have is real, Quinn. Our first kiss altered my entire view of what a kiss should even be like. When we're together, I can fucking feel you in a way that shouldn't be possible."

"It's like that for me, too," she whispered.

"I know," I agreed, feeling inexplicably warm by her saying that. "But maybe it didn't start like that."

Quinn was already shaking her head in denial, but I kept going.

"Maybe it started different for you. Maybe it started as something fake that turned into something real. And I just need to know the truth."

"No," she said, her voice louder now. "I've been just as much of a pawn in this game as you, August."

"But you knew the stakes," I argued, even though it hurt to see her face crumple as she struggled to accept my words. "That doesn't make you a pawn. It makes you a bigger player."

"I have never, ever wanted to play you." Tears gathered in her lash line, and I felt myself breaking down. Because watching Quinn cry was absolutely not something I could handle. "I just wanted to do my job, and that job led me to you. And then I learned that you are...everything, August. You are so much more than I ever realized, and I'm just trying to tell you what you deserve to know. Even if I should have told you sooner."

I could feel my pulse in my ears, banging around in my head. My heart didn't know if it should break or jump for joy at what she'd just said. It was confused, I was confused, but what I did know was that I couldn't just sit here and watch Quinn cry.

She wiped at her eyes before murmuring, "I'm sorry."

"I know. Fuck, I know you are." God, she was killing me. "It's okay. It's okay, Quinn."

She nodded, acknowledging my words. But when I reached out for her, she moved out of my grasp, slipping off the side of the bed.

"I'm sorry," she whispered again, barely sparing me a glance over her shoulder as she walked toward the door.

"Don't you dare walk away, Castle," I warned. "Please. I know you're sorry, and I forgive you. I just needed to figure out what this all means."

Quinn paused in the doorway. She'd dragged the blanket off the bed with her, and it draped around her body, making her look small in its cocoon. She leaned her head against the frame, looking at me with sad eyes.

"It just means that I wanted you to know the full truth of why I'm going to lose my job. That's all, August."

She closed her eyes, as though accepting what she'd said, and my heart sank for her. Fuck the Warriors and fuck their media team. How I wished I could do something to change the outcome of this.

And I especially wished I could do something to make her get the fuck over here again.

But she just sighed and said, "I think I should put some clothes on."

I hardly agreed, but if she felt more comfortable like that, I couldn't argue.

"Whatever you want. I'll be here."

Quinn nodded, but she hesitated. Her body was halfway out the door, but she was acting like one foot was glued in my bedroom, stuck.

I shifted on the bed, straining toward her and debating if I should just go walk over there. But having space between us, while slightly terrifying, also made it easier to breathe. To think.

"What is it, baby?" I asked after a beat of silence.

She bit down on her lip, lost in a silent debate inside her mind. But eventually, one side must have won out.

"You can call them, if you want."

"Who?"

"The team. Parker." She pursed her lips. "They'll tell you I didn't know. I didn't realize...I thought you'd be annoyed to see me, August. I thought you were going to be pissed that I chased you to your hometown. I never imagined...this. I never imagined you felt the way you did about me. I didn't know. I swear I didn't know."

Her eyes pleaded with me to believe her, and the thing was...I did.

This wasn't on her; this was on them.

I momentarily panicked when she'd confessed what she did, but I knew the blame was on the same people it always was on.

And fuck them.

"I believe you, Quinn. I don't need to call fucking Parker to know that you're telling me the truth."

I expected to see relief in her eyes, but when they still looked tortured, I added, "I think it's just that you being here has always felt too good to be true. But I promise I won't doubt this—or you—again, Quinn. I believe you."

"Good." Quinn attempted to flash me a small smile, but it lacked her usual sparkle. And I knew I had to figure out how to get it back. And soon. "I'm going to change now," she said, and I nodded.

I didn't like watching her walk away, but she'd be back.

Quinn disappeared from sight, and I fell back into the pillows, staring at the ceiling and counting the wooden slates.

She'd be back.

Just a few minutes, and she'd be back.

But after I counted to forty-nine more times than I could recall, a sinking dread settled into my bones.

She was coming back, right?

☀️

a/n:

thanks you all so much for reading!!
I haven't had a chance to reply to comments this past week, but I see them & appreciate you all so much 🫶

more soon for... quist? auguin? hard to come up with a good ship name for these two 😂

xoxo amelie