Nova and Quinton: No Regrets Read Online Free PDF

too. We slam the doors and then I rev up the engine. “I normally try to avoid fights.”
    “He slapped my ass accidentally,” I protest, buckling my seat belt.
    “Sure, keep telling yourself that,” he says with an eye roll as he guides his seat belt over his shoulder.
    “Um, hello,” Lea says through the receiver. “I’m still here, you know.”
    “Sorry, we were just arguing,” I tell her, putting on my sunglasses.
    “Yeah, I heard.” She uses that tone that has been getting under my skin for the last few weeks, the one that implies that she thinks Tristan likes me. Normally I’d call her out on it, but not with him right next to me.
    “So are you in or out for movie night?” I change the subject.
    “I already told you I’m busy.”
    “Fine. Go on your date, then.”
    “It’s not a date.” She attempts to sound irritated but I can hear the smile in her voice.
    “If you say so.” It’s slightly humid inside the car so I crank the air up a notch. “But just so you know, I’m going to wait up all night to see who drops you off.”
    “Fine by me,” she says, but I can tell she doesn’t believe me.
    “Have fun on your
date
,” I say sarcastically, getting ready to hang up.
    “You too,” she replies with hilarity. “On your date.”
    I shake my head, but laugh and then say good-bye. After we hang up, I toss the phone into my bag. I wonder if Tristan could hear any of that. It doesn’t seem like he could as he squints out the window at Stan, our twenty-five-year-old neighbor, dragging a keg toward the entrance of the apartment complex.
    “Looks like Stan’s having a party,” he notes, and I hate the interest in his tone.
    “Isn’t he always?” I put the shifter in reverse and pull down the visor. The sun is starting to descend and it’s so blinding I can barely see, even with my sunglasses on. That’s how sunsets are in Idaho, though. Because of the shallow hills and nonexistent buildings, there’s not much to block out the light, so the sky turns into one big orange-and-pink reflection at dusk.
    “Maybe we should go,” he suggests, watching Stan struggle to keep the entrance door open so he can drag the keg inside. Tristan glances at me with an unreadable expression. “It could be fun.”
    I’m starting to press on the gas to back up, but quickly tap on the brakes, stopping the car. “Tristan, I don’t think that’s such a good idea. You’re still in a really vulnerable place in your life. I mean, I remember what happened when I tried weed four months after I stopped doing drugs… and you did really hard stuff… I know your sponsor would agree with me…” I stop rambling because he looks like he’s about to laugh at me, his lips pressed tightly together, his blue eyes sparkling. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
    His smile breaks through. “I was just fucking with you, Nova.” Laughter escapes his lips as he reaches for the cigarettes in his pocket. “I wouldn’t go to a party. I care about my recovery enough not to fuck up right now.”
    I narrow my eyes at him. “That wasn’t funny.”
    He keeps on smiling as he puts the end of the cigarette between his lips and lights up. “It kinda was.”
    I shake my head, rolling down my window as smoke laces the air. “It’s not funny to make me worry like that.”
    “Hey.” He leans across the seat, sticking the hand holding the cigarette out to the side and cupping my face with his free hand, startling me with his unexpected, almost intimate, touch. “I’m sorry. You’re right. It’s not funny to make you worry about that, but it’s always good to know you care about me.”
    I sigh. “I care about everyone, which makes my life too stressful sometimes.”
    “I know.” He smoothes his finger across my cheekbone and I try not to flinch, despite the fact that I want to. I wonder what these touches mean and worry that one day things are going to get out of hand and confrontation is going to be inevitable. I