The Wrong Quarterback: Chapter 8

I stood in the corner of the room, the bass from the speakers threatening to burst my eardrums. The party whirled around me, people laughing, yelling, dancing, everyone celebrating the game and seeming like they were having the time of their lives.

Except for me.

My gaze cut to Gray across the room, leaning against a pong table with some of his frat brothers, drink in hand…surrounded by girls. There were three of them in particular that seemed obsessed with everything he had to say. I’d just left to use the restroom, but Gray didn’t seem to be missing me at all.

I squeezed the red cup in my hand, the drink inside barely touched. My eyes narrowed as one of the girls placed a hand on his arm, her laugh a little too loud, a little too close. And he just smiled, completely unaware that I was standing twenty feet away.

Or maybe it was that he just didn’t care.

I should go over there, right? Put myself in between those girls, show them who he belongs to…

I’d just never thought love would be like that, having to prove that someone is yours.

And when I’d imagined being with Gray…I’d never imagined him putting me in a situation where I’d have to do that.

A memory came then…

I was sitting on the concrete steps behind the gym, arms wrapped around my knees, fighting the hot tears that refused to stay put. Marcie Evans was such an asshole! She’d called me a big, ugly nerd in front of everyone in the hallway after sixth period, and it had seemed like the whole school was there, laughing and agreeing with her.

“Hey, Case, what are you doing out here?”

I hurriedly wiped the tears from my face, startled to see Gray standing there, hands stuffed into his pockets, eyes narrowed with concern.

“It’s nothing,” I muttered, looking away.

He didn’t move for a second. “Alright, let’s go. You’re coming with me,” he said, nodding toward the parking lot.

“What? Where?” I asked, frowning.

“Doesn’t matter. Just get in the car,” he said, and his easy smile had me immediately following him.

Just like it always did.

Before I knew it, I was in the passenger seat of his car. Gray turned up the music, some rap song blaring through the speakers as he pulled out of the school lot. He glanced over at me, one eyebrow raised. “So, ice cream or should I throw them in a dumpster? Your call.”

A reluctant smile tugged at my lips. “Ice cream.”

“Good choice, Case. Much tastier,” he said, winking as he turned the wheel sharply, making a dramatic U-turn that had me gripping the seat and laughing despite myself.

The next half-hour was filled with him making every ridiculous joke he could think of, from ordering half the menu so we could taste test all the flavors to making up ridiculous stories about the people who came in while we watched.

By the time I had a spoonful of chocolate chip mint in my mouth, Marcie’s words were just a memory.

Gray always had that effect on me.

He was my hero.

I returned to the present as I watched as he gave a pretty girl a huge hug. Where was that guy now?

“Look at that fucking fool.”

I jumped, sloshing a bit of my drink over the side. Because I knew that voice. And it was the last voice that I was expecting at the moment. Trying to get a hold of myself, I slowly wiped my hand on my jeans, taking a deep breath before I turned.

Coming face to face with Parker Davis.

I opened my mouth to say something, but all my words had disappeared.

Awesome.

It physically hurt to look at him.

He was wearing a tight black Tigers shirt with a dark pair of jeans, and I watched, wide-eyed as he lifted his arm to push his hair out of his face, revealing a perfect set of abs as he moved.

I blinked a few times to make sure I was really seeing this. Until I realized that I was just gaping at Parker’s abs. Right in front of him. I quickly jerked my gaze back up, only to see a knowing smirk on his beautiful face because he knew exactly what I’d been doing.

Fuck. Could a hole open up in the floor, please?

I cleared my throat. “Sorry, did you say something?” I asked, cringing at how raspy my voice came out, like I was a pack a day smoker all of a sudden.

He leaned against the wall, his shirt pulling up again.

Don’t look at his abs. Don’t do it, I coached myself.

“I was saying he was a fucking fool,” Parker said, his voice deep and low and…sensual…like his words had the power to wrap around me and hit me right between my legs.

“Who’s a fool?” I asked, still confused.

“You’re with that guy over there, aren’t you? Gray Andrews. The one who seems to have forgotten he’s supposed to be yours,” he drawled, staring daggers at Gray like he’d mortally offended him.

“How did you know that?” I asked, confused about how…and why Parker Davis would know anything about me.

Parker’s gaze returned to mine. His eyes slowly danced over my skin, like he was trying to take in every detail of my face.

I couldn’t help but shiver.

“When I find the girl of my dreams, you can bet your exquisite ass I’m going to find out everything I can about her.”

I stared at him, uncomprehending. What had he just said…it almost sounded like he’d called me the “girl of his dreams.”

He slowly reached over, and his fingers tapped my chin, gently pushing up, so I closed my mouth and stopped gaping at him like some kind of slow-witted fish. I gasped at the feel of his touch.

Was he messing with me right now? He had to be. This must be some cruel prank to take advantage of the naive freshman girl who clearly didn’t belong at this party. Maybe this was hazing at its worst.

I searched his face. But his expression was serious, like he meant everything he was saying. If this was all an act right now, there wasn’t a better actor that existed on the planet.

I took a huge gulp of my drink, needing something to do other than stare at him.

Parker leaned further in, his body so close I could feel the heat radiating off him. One arm braced above my head, fingers splayed against the wall. The space between us shrank, narrowing, leaving just us in this tiny, electrified bubble.

His eyes locked onto mine, intense and unblinking, pulling me in and holding me there, suspended in the moment. I couldn’t look away even if I wanted to, not with the way his breath mixed with mine, slow and measured.

The subtle, intoxicating scent of him filled my senses, making my knees feel weak. The world outside blurred, the distant thud of music and chatter fading until all I could hear was the sound of my own heartbeat drumming in my ears and the steady, too-calm way he exhaled.

“Casey,” he murmured, his voice low and deliberate, like he was testing how my name felt on his tongue. Each syllable wrapped around me, grounding me to this moment that felt fragile and electric all at once.

“I can’t believe you’re real, baby girl. You’re perfect.” His words came out like a groan as his hand, rough but careful, traced the curve of my jaw.

A gasp slipped from my throat before I could stop it. His gaze pinned me, trapping me in this moment that felt as dangerous as it did intoxicating.

“Casey!” The sharp edge in Gray’s voice sliced through the air, shattering whatever spell Parker had cast. Before I could react, Gray pushed between us, eyes locked on Parker with an intensity that burned red-hot. “What the fuck are you doing, Davis?” he snarled, his fists clenched at his sides.

Parker didn’t flinch. He moved deliberately, a lazy smirk playing on his lips as he shifted back, dragging his hand down the wall and brushing past my side. It felt deliberate, possessive, and I felt the warmth of his touch linger even as Gray’s rage grew.

“Just keeping your girl company, Andrews,” Parker said mockingly, the amusement in his voice cutting deeper. “You seemed…distracted.” He took his time stepping away, his eyes staying on my face.

Gray’s arm was suddenly around my waist, pulling me into him, his touch jealous and grasping. I felt the tight coil of tension in his body, the barely controlled fury that vibrated through him. Parker’s gaze turned cold, menacing for just a moment before he smoothed it out, a blank mask slipping back into place. “See you later, Casey,” he said, his voice low, filled with promise, as he sauntered off, leaving the space he’d claimed behind.

Gray’s grip on my arm tightened as he spun me toward the exit, dragging me along without a word. My legs moved on autopilot, my mind still reeling from what had happened. The noise of the party faded as we pushed through the door, the cool night air biting into my skin and making me shiver.

He didn’t stop until we were outside, away from the thrum of music and voices. Gray turned, eyes blazing. “What the hell was that?” he demanded, his voice raw and accusing. The look in his eyes was a mix of hurt and anger that twisted my insides.

“I don’t know!” I cried, the words tumbling out, breathless and desperate. My whole body was trembling, on overload from everything that had just happened.

He growled, and then his lips crashed against mine, bruising and hard. Like almost every kiss we’d had since I’d come here, he tasted of sour alcohol, and I immediately wanted to wash him out of my mouth.

A soft whimper escaped my throat as he pulled back, eyes dark and wild.

“Fuck,” he yelled into the night air, the word heavy with frustration as he let go of me. He turned abruptly, fists clenched so tight his knuckles turned white, the muscles in his jaw flexing as he stared out into the dark.

I stood there, my breath heaving, the imprint of his kiss seared into my lips, a strange, miserable feeling swirling in my chest.

“Were you trying to make me jealous?” he finally asked in a strained voice.

“No, of course not. I was coming back from the bathroom, and I saw you with all those girls and…”

“What girls?” he asked, in a confused voice.

I gaped at him.

“The ones hanging all over you,” I snapped, anger starting to edge into my voice.

His irritation faded, a smug satisfaction creeping onto his face.

I’d never, in all the time that I’d known him, thought that anything about Gray was ugly.

But that look was.

“Ohhh, so you were jealous. That’s what that was about.”

I opened my mouth to refute what he’d just said, but how did I even explain what had happened with Parker? I didn’t understand what had happened.

That seemed to be a trend with Parker Davis, actually.

When I find the girl of my dreams…

His words echoed in my head, a constant loop that I’d need brain bleach to erase.

Gray was all smooth and charming as he walked back to me, taking my hand and pressing a kiss across my knuckles. “I’m sorry,” he said soothingly. “I shouldn’t have gotten so mad. You would never betray me like that.”

I gulped, wondering how this had all turned on me, when I was the one who felt betrayed.

“Ben would be laughing at us right now,” he said with a sad smile. “He’d say something stupid that would make us both laugh, and then we never would have had a fight to begin with.”

Ben.

I closed my eyes, finding it hard to breathe as a million memories of the three of us spun through my head.

This was stupid. Gray and I shouldn’t be fighting. I was probably overreacting, and Gray was definitely overreacting.

“Are we good?” he asked, staring down at me with puppy dog eyes.

I nodded with a slow smile that I had to drag up from deep inside me. “Always,” I whispered.

“Let’s get back to the party then,” he said, grabbing my hand and pulling me toward the music pouring from the house.

I followed Gray, even though all I wanted was to return to my dorm.

He stopped at the entry and glanced back at me, his eyes cold and serious. “I don’t want you to see Parker Davis anymore, alright, Case?”

I gaped at him, but then quickly nodded, not wanting to fight with him anymore.

And once inside, I pretended that I wasn’t looking for Parker as I stood behind Gray while he played beer pong with one of his frat brothers.

I also pretended I wasn’t disappointed when he seemed to have disappeared.

The good news, though, was by the end of the night, when I helped drag a drunk Gray to his frat house, I was too exhausted and upset to obsess any more over Parker…and all the magical, crazy things he’d said.

I stood there in the shadows, arms crossed in front of me as I listened to their conversation. Andrews was smart. He had a trump card in his friendship with her brother, and he knew it. I wasn’t worried about him, though. He had so many weaknesses, it was going to be like taking candy from a baby to get him to cross a line he couldn’t come back from.

And when he did.

I would be there.

That line was going to come quick, though. He wanted Casey. He wanted her bad. Just seeing him kiss her had me wanting to murder him.

That obviously wouldn’t go over well with my girl.

I rolled my neck in a slow circle, feeling the soreness from that sack earlier today. I needed to sleep. Desperately.

I watched as he pulled her back toward the party, even though her body language was screaming she didn’t want to go.

Luckily tomorrow, she’d be too busy tutoring to have any time for Gray.

Tutoring me.