All Chapters of Cheat Codes: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Chapter ElevenArcher“Yes.” The word leaves my mouth before I have a chance to think about it. Quinn doesn’t say anything, doesn’t react. Her lashes come together in a blink, and she looks at me, almost as if she’s waiting for me to tell her I’m joking.Then she smiles.It’s the most beautiful thing in the world. And right now, with her hands on my chest and my arms locked around her waist, I want to kiss her hard and tell her I’d take her on a thousand dates and it wouldn’t be enough.The moment is over as fast as it started, and I’m sure she’s thinking the same thing I am. She lives in Chicago. I live in Indy. We’re not worlds away, but a four-hour drive makes starting a relationship hard.I don’t know the next time I’ll be able to get away from work long enough to come see her. It could be weeks before I’m able to drive back up north and take her on a second date.My heart starts to ache, even though everything I want is right in front of me for the taking. Quinn slides her hands

Chapter ThirteenArcherI pull Quinn closer, pressing my lips against the side of her neck. I’m half asleep and fighting it. As much as I need sleep, I want to soak up every minute of this as I can. Who knows what the morning will bring. Or even the moment we get out of bed.I kissed Quinn.Felt Quinn.Touched every inch of her. Fucked her. Finally. After years of wanting and waiting for the time to come, it did. I think back to Sam and what he said about idealizing sleeping with Quinn. How there’s no way the real thing could be as good as what I’ve imagined in my mind.He had a good point. Often, when you want something so bad and it’s so out of reach, you romanticize it, make it seem better than it ever can be. I thought that was the case with Quinn.But it couldn’t be further from the truth.There’s no fucking her out of my system. There’s no spending one night with her and being able to move on with my life. In fact, it’s only making me want her more, because everything was better

Chapter FifteenQuinnTwo weeks later…I stretch my arms out in front of me, slowly rolling my wrist. It’s aching today, and I forgot my wrist brace at home. I remembered my posture brace, at least, and stand for the first time in hours to get it from my bag.My office is warm today from having multiple computers running and my door closed. I found a snag in the software design and have been pulling my hair out all day trying to fix it. I think I’m the only one left in the office. Opening my office door, I twist my hair into a bun and use a pen to secure it on the top of my head. Grabbing the posture brace, I unbutton my blouse and take it off, tossing it in my oversized purse. I’m wearing a sheer white cami underneath, so it’s not like I’m just sitting in here in just a bra. I slip the brace on and sit back at my computer, feeling a bit better to have my shoulders held back into place.As soon as I sit down, the nausea I’ve felt all day hits me hard. I get up to get some water, and a

Chapter SeventeenQuinnMy stomach gurgles and my throat feels thick. A telltale sign I’m going to throw up. I pride myself on saying I have an iron stomach and often bring up how I survived the Dawson Family Picnic disaster, over seven years ago, with just a twist of nausea when everyone else was riddled with food poisoning.But right now, there’s no stopping what’s coming up.And also right now, Archer’s hand lands on my cheek, gently cupping my face and turning my chin up to his. He leans in and I know he’s going to kiss me. I want nothing more than to kiss him back, but I can’t.Not right now.I push his hand away and turn, barely making it to the sink before I throw up.“Fuck, Quinn,” Archer says and moves in, grabbing my hair and holding it back. My stomach heaves again, and I shudder. Throwing up is awful. Just fucking awful.I turn on the faucet and rinse my mouth, washing away any vomit that might be on my face. Archer’s hand lands on my back, gently rubbing it, and he’s stil

Chapter NineteenQuinnArcher’s face falls when he looks at his phone. Then his eyes narrow ever so slightly with fear.“Sorry,” he says, and stands. “It’s my mother. I have to take this.”“Go ahead, honey,” Mom says, not catching the worry in Archer’s face like I do. My anger goes out the window, and I’m concerned for him now. He mentioned having a sick family member. What if they couldn’t fight their illness anymore?I set my fork down, reaching for my water, and peer into the kitchen, trying to get a read on Archer’s face. His back is to me, but his hand lands on his neck. Shit. Something is wrong.“Quinn?” Dad says in a tone that lets me know it wasn’t the first time he said my name. “Earth to Quinn.”“Yeah, sorry. What?”Everyone laughs. “I asked you how’s work going on the Batmobile.” He winks and Wes stifles a laugh.“Dad,” I scold. “I told you I can’t talk about it in front of others.”Mom shakes her head, and I look past her into the kitchen again. Archer is off the phone now