Tying You To Me

Chapter Six: 2019

May 2019

In Quinn's mind, Sundays were never long enough to recover from the week.

When she first started at SNL, the hustle and bustle was one of the things she loved most about the job. But two years later, she didn't bounce back as quickly and just three shows stood between her and a long, rejuvenating summer.

She slowly rolled out of bed and showered, cringing when the cold spray hit her skin. She needed to talk to the super again about fixing the hot water. She looked through her closet for something to wear as she dried off, settling on a sundress and blazer combo, leaving her hair to air dry as she made her way to the kitchen, grabbing her laptop and phone charger off the coffee table.

"Morning, babe" Drew said cheerily, handing her a cup of coffee and pecking her on the cheek.

Quinn took a sip and tried to hide her grimace. Nine months together and he still couldn't make her coffee right. She could feel the grainy texture of the grounds on her tongue as she took another sip of the bitter concoction. How could a grown man not know how to make coffee? Quinn looked at her watch.

"Shit, I'm already behind schedule!" In reality, she had more than enough time to stay for breakfast and coffee, but she didn't think she could stomach Drew's cooking.

"Oh, well, make sure you eat something," Drew said. "I'll see you tonight?"

Quinn nodded and gave him a quick kiss, grabbing her bag and heading out the door.

Quinn and Drew did not hook up when they ran into each other at the club last summer. She had been far too drunk and vomited on him outside of the building. Marcus had taken her home and tucked her in, and when she woke the next morning, head pounding and stomach churning, she found a text message from Drew, wishing her well and a care package of Gatorade and ibuprofen from him outside of her door.

One day after that, Drew asked to take her for coffee, an invitation Quinn readily accepted. Talking with him outside of the office, Quinn realized that her earlier perception of him had been skewed. He was cocky in the way most twenty-something New Yorkers were, but also had a sensitive side. He talked openly with her about his feelings and offered her a shoulder to cry on when she explained that she had recently been through a break up – if she could even call it that.

Pretty soon after that coffee, they started dating, and a month into their relationship, he was more than happy to make it exclusive and be her boyfriend. And when her lease expired and Lisa and Maria each moved in with their respective partners, Drew suggested they take the plunge and move in with each other. They fit well together and Marcus even joked that they were the power couple of 8H.

But there were many days where Quinn felt like something was missing. She rarely felt the giddy rush of emotion she had experienced with Harry, but she attributed that to the stability Drew gave her. Sure, Drew struggled with basic things like remembering her coffee order and her friends' names, but at the end of the day he was a constant presence in her life, and that mattered more than anything else.

Standing on the corner, Quinn decided a treat was the only way to get her geared up for the long week ahead, so she made a detour to her favorite neighborhood coffee shop, pleased to find just a few people in line. It had taken her a while to figure out her favorite spots in the Lower West Side after living uptown so long, but she had become obsessed with the specialty drinks at this restaurant. Stepping up to the counter, she ordered a triple shot coconut cream cold brew, craving a taste of summer. She tipped generously before moving to the waiting area where she scrolled through messages, putting out as many fires as she could before she entered the building.