Seeking Escape

9. At Risk of Embarrassing Us Both

*** Quinn's POV ***

I was pacing nervously, hoping that I had done the right thing. How was she going to respond? Would she accept the flowers? Would she want to see me again?

My phone buzzed with a message.

Your flower delivery was confirmed. Delivered directly to recipient at 1:27pm.

I swallowed hard. She accepted the flowers. Now, will she initiate contact again? I had quickly realized that she blocked my number. I remembered later that I could email her, but my message bounced back as undeliverable.

My mom read my bad mood instantly last Sunday when I went to pick up my stuff. She greeted me with a cheeky comment, continuing to raze me for my career. I snarled. "Can you just drop it? It's getting fucking old already."

"Jeez, Quinn. Lighten up." She gave my arm a little shove.

I took a couple of boxes out to my car and took a few minutes to cool down. When I came back, she had a glass of lemonade for me. "So are you cranky because of that sunburn? I have some aloe growing out back."

I gulped down half of my lemonade and wiped the sweat from my brow with the hem of my tee. "I may take you up on that. I fell asleep in the sun yesterday."

"Late night on Friday?" She asked. I shot her a look. "I didn't mean anything by that."

"Uh huh." I grumbled. "Yes, I was up late talking to someone. A woman I met. She's unlike anyone I've ever met, Mom. And before you ask, yes talking means talking. We were video chatting."

"Oh Quinn. This is great news. How did you two meet?" Of course my mom wanted to know.

"She uh...she sent me an email message through my fan site. But her message wasn't the usual sexually charged shit that I get. So I responded." I said. My mom was looking at me like she didn't believe it. "What?"

"Nothing. It's just an unusual way to meet someone. I guess long gone are the days of meeting people at bars and clubs, huh?" She questioned.

"Oh that still happens. But I don't spend a lot of time out at those types of places anymore." I explained.

"Right. So this still doesn't tell me why you're brooding today." My mom pressed.

"I said something stupid."

"What man hasn't? Did you apologize?" She asked.

"I tried, but..."

"Well if she won't listen, you have two choices. Move on and forget her or make her listen." My mom retorted simplistically.

"I'm trying, but she closed off all channels of communication." I argued.

Mom patted my face then wiped her hand on her sweater when she realized how sweaty I was. I chuckled. "Well Quinn, it's time to use a different muscle than the one you are used to relying on. You have to think creatively in relationships. Oh, and also figure out how to stop saying stupid shit."

I rolled my eyes, but she was right. But I felt like I was at a dead end. I wasn't used to this woo and pursue stuff. Much of Monday was spent deciding whether she was worth the effort. But as I remembered my giddiness leading up to our date, the ease of conversation into the early morning hours, and the way she looked at me, I knew the answer.