Page 14 of The Quarterback Sneak

“Honey pot?”

He shrugs, a smirk growing on one side of his face. “Yeah, because you’re so sweet.”

I want to gag at his awful pickup line, but I’m too busy holding back the laughter at his faux sexy smirk. “Sweet isn’t exactly how I’m usually described.” Self-absorbed bitch is what I’ve become accustomed to over the last couple of weeks.

Kyle stares at me, his eyes roaming my body as though I should take that as a compliment. Do girls at this school always fall to their knees for these guys? As I back away from him, there’s a nagging feeling I can’t get out of my mind. Brett and Kyle were the two guys to approach me tonight.Brett and Kyle.The two guys Zach mentioned the other day. Maybe he was telling the truth.

“You’re right; you’re too sexy to be sweet.”

“Urgh.” I cringe, trying to sidestep Kyle, but he steps in my way. “What the hell?”

His hands land on my shoulders, and I narrow my eyes at his hairy, fat fingers. “I just thought since you and Jamie were finished, maybe you’d let me take you out on a date.”

My brows furrow. “Umm, Kyle, we’ve known each other since kindergarten, and the last time you spared me a passing glance was when you accidentally stepped on my playdoh house when we were six.”

“You still remember that?” His eyes bug out.

“Of course. I spent the whole damn day on it.”

His hands trace my arms as he looks at me slyly. “Let me make it up to you, then, Honey Pot?”

“Sorry, but you’re several years too late for that.”

His fingers grip my arms as I try to move away. “Oh, come on. Let me take you out. Just one date.”

The tapping of his foot and the urgency in his voice make me suspicious. More suspicious than I already am. There’s got to be something else going on.

“I’m good,” I reply, pushing past him to walk back to the fire because now I’m certain this conversation with Mike can’t wait.

I feel a pair of eyes watching me as I stride back to the bonfire and fully expect Zach’s gaze piercing through me when I find the perpetrator, but instead, it’s Jamie. His arm is draped over some sophomore cheerleader who’s too busy boasting to her friends that she’s got Jamie Nicks by her side to care that he’s staring straight at me. Where’s McKenna? Why does my heart skip a little at the idea that he’s already through with her? I shouldn’t be surprised; he has the attention span of a gnat.

Jamie’s jaw tics when I don’t flinch, then he takes a long pull of his beer. It’s funny because this is the first time he’s looked at me since the whole cheating debacle, and I was expecting my stomach to turn, but it’s not. I guess it’s because I was expecting him to look at me with regret and remorse, not with hunger in his eyes like he will somehow get me back.

Could Zach be right?

The crowd cheers, drawing my attention to the makeshift stage in front of the fire. Flanked by a couple of cheerleaders, Zach steps up the stairs, looking like the king on campus. The bright-green jersey complements his eyes as they flicker around the crowd.

As he smiles at the crowd, his gaze stops when he finds me, and even though the cheerleaders are stroking his arm on either side, he pays them no mind.

Wriggling out of their hold, he moves forward, taking center stage like he owns it. I’ve never spent much time looking at Zach Evans, but I see something I never thought I would. I see why all the girls have been trying to get into his pants since he arrived. He’s cocky with a genuineI don’t give a fuckkind of vibe, and the grin pulling on the left side of his cheek is almost playful. It’s not that Inevernoticed how beautiful Zach was before; it’s just that since I always thought Jamie was my endgame, I never bothered looking at anyone else. Guys were just guys, andI didn’t see the point in contemplating dating when I knew it would never happen.

When the menial clapping halts, Zach is handed a microphone and mutters a small “Thank you” before bringing the mic to his lips. “Thanks Coach Bear for letting me speak tonight.” As I weave through the crowd looking for Mike and Olivia, I feel Zach’s eyes following me, but I do my best to ignore it.

“I hadn’t prepared a speech tonight since this was a last-minute thing, but let’s give it a go.” When I glance at him, he smiles wickedly, and that’s when I’m sure he’s watching. An anxious feeling festers in my stomach, but I focus on my quest for my friends.

“Three years ago, winning wasn’t much of an option for South Point Prep. You’d be lucky to have a winning season record, let alone qualify for the playoffs. Now with the help of Coach Bear and Coach Anderson—”

“And you,” Mike hollers from the crowd.

Zach draws his head down, scratching the back of his neck before continuing. “Anyway, we not only made it to the playoffs last year, but we won.” Zach paused as the students cheered. “And now, we’re in contention for another win this year. But winning is not guaranteed!” he exclaims with the vigor of a practiced orator. “Winning is hard, and even though they think we’re on top, we still have more to prove.” The words fall into the night as the students talk and cackle among each other, but I listen closely. “We need grit, determination, and the right mindset. A mindset that can look forward and forget the humiliation in defeat because you know in the end, you’ll rise like a phoenix from the ashes and prove everyone wrong.”

Frowning, I turn my attention back to the stage because that last comment doesn’t make sense. We don’t need to rise; we’ve already won. Zach’s still watching me, and he raises a brow as if to confirm my suspicion.

Is he talking about me?

That punch must have had more than a little spike of vodka because clearly, I’m imagining things.

“We’ve been in this position before. Everyone talking about last year’s win was a fluke. People are making bets on us, hoping we lose.”Bets…“Bets we’ve lost because we’ve been too busy focusing on talk instead of the game.”

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