Taylor awoke the next morning with a smile on his face. His plan had worked. Quin had come over for dinner and as an added bonus, she’d even slept with him. As soon as they’d finished, he’d made the internal decision to never sleep with a twenty-something girl ever again. They had nothing on Quin. None of them. She had been amazing and confident and almost unbearably sexy. She responded and directed and accepted all without saying a word. It had been without question the best sex he’d ever had.
And to make things even more phenomenal, once their breathing had returned to normal, she’d leaned over and pulled a pack of cigarettes out of her purse. He had no idea up to that point that she smoked, but the mere knowledge made him want her even more. Watching the way her lips formed a delicate O around the base made him hard again and it was all he could do to make sure the cigarette found its way into the ashtray on his bedside table before he kissed her. After that round they’d shared a smoke before he convinced her to stay the night. She had asked him sarcastically if he was going to make her breakfast in the morning and he had laughed and told her that there was a Starbucks around the corner if she really wanted something to eat when she woke up. Seeming satisfied by that answer somehow, she had reluctantly laid down. Taylor didn’t know whether to cuddle her or not, knowing from experience that most girls like that. But Quin wasn’t an ordinary girl, and that was why she was there in the first place, wasn’t it?
However, when Taylor opened his eyes and looked over at his other pillow, he found it empty. He scrambled to that side of the bed and looked down. Her purse was gone, too. A trip to the hallway showed that the panties he had discarded on top of the piano were now missing as was the dress he had taken off of her in the hallway. The only thing that was left of Quin were the two partially smoked cigarettes in the ashtray in his room. Feeling surprisingly sad, he took the one that she had only taken a few drags of and went to seat himself on the widow sill to smoke it. As his lips wrapped around the end right where hers had so sensually the night before, he couldn’t help it as he moaned aloud and inhaled shakily. The memories of the night were almost too much for him and all he wanted was to be looking at her right now. He imagined her with slightly mussed hair and her makeup smudged lightly under her eyes, looking sated and well-rested. In his mind, they would have dressed and walked to Starbucks as promised to get some espresso and maybe some lemon loaf or biscotti. He had a feeling that she would probably order something strong without the sprinkles or whipped cream that so many women ordered. Quin was far too sophisticated for that.
But the reality was that she was gone and he was sitting there hungry on the window sill in his underwear with half a stiffy smoking a cigarette. If he had been in any other mental state, he would have been disgusted with himself for his behavior, but given the circumstances, he couldn’t have cared less.
That night, he was beckoned to Isaac’s place for dinner. He didn’t want to go. He didn’t want to do anything but lay in bed and smell the lingering traces of Quin’s perfume on his sheets, but he knew better than to not show up for something like that. Then, they would come over to his place and see the mess still in the kitchen from dinner and the fact that he was still laying around mostly naked like he had been for most of the day. So, he got up begrudgingly and took a quick shower before getting in a cab. Isaac, his wife Becky, and Zac were already seated at the dining room table eating pork chops and roasted potatoes from the looks of it when Taylor entered.
“You guys couldn’t wait for me?” he asked, sitting down next to Zac.
“You’re twenty minutes late!” Isaac laughed, shoving the half full bottle of wine across the table so Taylor could pour himself a glass. Taylor stared at the bottle, seriously debating whether or not to have any. As much as he wanted to drown his sorrows in alcohol, he was a little nervous to do so. Part of him was terrified that he would go into a truly pathetic mode and break down to his brothers about all of the self-depreciating thoughts he’d been having all day. Had the sex not been good for her? She had definitely had an orgasm both times they’d had sex. Three total if he counted the wonderful time he’d spent with his head buried under her dress while she sat on top of his piano in front of him. If it hadn’t been that, then what had it been? She had obviously changed her mind about sleeping with him and that had to have stemmed from getting to know him a bit better. No new information had been learned about him between their sexual escapades and when they went to sleep, so what in the hell had made her leave?
“Earth to Taylor!” Zac said, snapping his fingers right in front of Taylor’s face, prompting Taylor to shove him hard.
“How did it go last night?” Isaac asked, looking positively sure that it had been a disaster. Taylor supposed that it had been, at least a little bit, though everything leading up to him waking up that morning had been as close to perfect as was physically possible. Or at least he had thought so.
“It went well. We had dinner, we had wine, and then, we had sex,” he shrugged. Isaac looked apologetically at his wife who just laughed and stood.
“And that’s my cue to go get the dessert,” she said before leaving.
“Mixed company, Taylor. Come on!” Isaac scolded, but Taylor just rolled his eyes and speared a potato on the end of his fork.
“Well, you got what you wanted, so why do you look like you’re going to go jump off the Brooklyn Bridge?” Zac asked. Taylor just shrugged and hoped that they would drop it, but he should have known better. They prodded and prodded until he finally sighed heavily and gave in.
“She was gone when I woke up this morning, okay?” he said.
“So? I’m sure she’s not the first one to do that,” Zac said, looking very proud of himself.
“Actually she is. And she didn’t leave a note or anything, so I don’t know what made her want to go,” he admitted.
“Jesus Christ, what in the hell do girls see in you?” Zac asked. Taylor and Isaac ignored him and continued.
“I’ve been going over everything all day and I can’t think of a single thing that could have upset her. And if she left and she wasn’t mad, she would have left a note, right?” Isaac just sat there smiling at him. “What?”
“You like her,” Isaac told him. Taylor blanched and shook his head fervently.
“You’re ridiculous.”
“No, you really like her. You said the other day that you had the potential to want a lot more from her than sex and this is it. You have feelings for her.”
“That’s not what I meant. I meant wanting to talk to her and wanting her company. I do not have feelings for her,” Taylor said as if the word disgusted him.
“Would that really be the worst thing in the world?”
“Um yes, I think it would be,” Taylor said, wanting Isaac to drop the subject. He had said that, but he hadn’t meant that he wanted to have romantic feelings for Quin. He had never had true feelings like that for anyone in his entire life, so why would he start right when he was young and famous and getting all the attention he wanted? Isaac was crazy for even thinking it, of that Taylor was sure.
“My god. You have had more one-night stands than you could probably count, but the thought of wanting to be in a relationship repulses you. You are strange,” Isaac laughed.
“You are,” Taylor muttered immaturely under his breath before finally taking a bite of his dinner.
As he walked home that night, he found himself wondering what Quin had been doing all day. Had she thought of him at all? What did her apartment look like? What kind of dog did she have? Would there be a letter or note left for him somewhere explaining her early morning departure? The questions kept coming but the answers were still absent. He trudged up the steps to his place and opened his door. There were no notes. He didn’t have any e-mails or text messages or voice mails. She had no intention of letting him know where she’d gone, he now knew, and all he wanted to know was why that made him feel like he’d gotten punched in the stomach.