Page 46 of The Quarterback Sneak

My heart sinks. Are they all here to see another downfall? Is Jamie prepared to embarrass me again because I’ve been ignoring him?

“Did you plan this?” I ask, pushing away from Olivia and focusing on her. She smiles proudly, and the apples of her cheeks pop out.

Nodding, she says, “Yup. I managed to get permission from your parents a few months ago. They weren’t sold initially because they’d already planned some fancy dinner, but I made up some crap about how important it would be for your social standing after… everything.” She waves off her comment, leaving the ending floating in the air. After Jamie publicly embarrassed me is what she wants to say but doesn’t. “They were more than happy to oblige after thinking about it for a few days.”

Wrapping my arms around her in another hug, I squeeze her tight. “Thank you.” I didn’t want a party, but knowing Olivia went out of her way to arrange this for me, makes me feel somewhat special, and that’s rare.

“Geez, Livi, did you invite everyone from school?” I ask, looking around the room at all the familiar faces.

“Is that your way of asking if Zach is here?” She knocks my shoulder and gives me a coy smile.

My heart flutters at the mere mention of his name, because that wasn’t even a possibility in my mind. He’s at a family party tonight and has no idea it’s my birthday. “He’s not, is he?” There’s a moment I think maybe saying he was going to a partywas his way of saying he was coming to mine, but I swallow down that hope.

Olivia bites her bottom lip. “I did invite him, but he said he had to do something before, so he wasn’t sure he’d be able to make it in time.” I knew it. That family party was obviously never a hint for me. I’m not his family, and we agreed to keep our home lives separate. That’s what he’s doing. It’s just now that I know I’m spending the rest of the night with my classmates; the only classmate I want to spend time with is him.

Stop it, Honey! Stop all these wistful and expectant thoughts.

Zach is not my boyfriend. He didn’t sign up for these extra-curricular activities, and thinking he’s anything other than my fake boyfriend will drive me crazy. Then a thought runs through my mind, and my stomach drops.

He knew it was my birthday when he talked to me on Friday and even knew about this birthday party, but he said nothing when I blatantly lied to his face. He didn’t message me at all today.

“Don’t think too much about Zach.” Olivia grabs my hand, bringing me out of my thoughts. “You look hotter than sin tonight, and we’re going to take enough pictures to flood social media. There will be so many hot pictures of you that no one will remember why you were trending last month.”

Typical Olivia. Trying to make me feel better but somehow putting her foot in her mouth.

“Come on, let’s get a drink.” She drags me through to the parlor, smiling from over her shoulder. “Your parents insisted that the only alcohol should be champagne, but I snuck in a few more types.” She winks, and I smile half-heartedly because tonight is only marginally better than an awkward business dinner since Zach isn’t here.

“Told you.” Jamie leans over my shoulder as I take a sip from the fruity punch Olivia brought. With a mixture of cranberry and vodka, I already know I’ve had too many, but I don’t care. It’s keeping me going. The pink liquid swishes at the bottom of my cup; the ice melted has diluted the sweet alcoholic taste. It’s been a couple of hours since this whole thing started, and the novelty has well and truly worn off.

“What are you talking about?” I ask with a little sass that can only be attributed to the buzz from the vodka coursing through my veins.

He pushes his tongue out, wetting his lips, and takes me in. “I told you that he’d never fit into your life.” Oh, he’s talking about Zach,again.Was he always this boring when I dated him? “Zach isn’t the guy for you.” Don’t I know it? He’s just not that into me.

“And why do you think that?” I play along because I don’t want him to know I’ve been doing everything in my power to not think about Zach tonight. “Is it because he’s not here? Hard for someone to attend a party that they know nothing about.”

Jamie’s eyebrows cross. “You sure about that? The whole school knew about this party. In fact, I’m pretty sure I saw Olivia inviting him last week.” Jamie raises his hands, looking around. “And yet, he’s not here.” I want to smack that smile off his face but take a sip of my drink instead. “Not that he’d fit in. Does the guy even own a tux? He’s probably not here because he couldn’t afford the rental and didn’t want to embarrass himself by borrowing another one of Mike’s.”

My face recoils. Jamie is a selfish, conceited asshole, and I can’t believe I was ever upset he cheated on me. He did me a favor.

My eyes flitter down to the pink drink swishing away in my hand, and I’m more than ready to throw the contents in his face to show him exactly how I feel, but just as I pull my elbow back, I stop.

Smiling, I blink a couple of times to make sure what I’m seeing is real and it’s not a figment of my imagination.

Nope. He’s still there.

Zach’s standing confidently and smiling sincerely while talking to… my mother?

Jamie turns to follow my gaze, lets out some incoherent grunt, and I hope this wipes that stupid smile off his face. I shunt past him, letting my feet take me to Zach, and for the first time in a while, I’m not unhappy to have to speak to my mother.

“Hunniford,” my mother says in a smooth tone. She slinks her arm around my shoulder, and I resist recoiling at the touch.

“Hello, Mother.” Not sure what to say, I look at Zach, who adjusts the lapels on his suit while shifting on his feet.

“You didn’t tell me what a pleasant young man Zach was.” Her voice drips with fake pleasantry, but strangely, she’s giving him this cooing smile that makes me second-guess her intentions.

“Mother…” I’m hesitant, not sure what else I’m supposed to say. I’m standing next to two people I never expected to see in the same room, let alone talking nicely to each other. “What are you doing here? I didn’t think you’d be interested in hanging out with my classmates.”

I tilt my head and raise my eyebrows at Zach. The small smile he gives me sends electricity through my veins, but I tip onto my toes to avoid showing it.

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