Page 87 of The Quarterback Sneak

“Yeah, well, it’s a better option than hanging out with my ex, who fucked some chick at a party.”

He winces, draws a sharp breath, then closes his eyes. Surprisingly, the venom behind my words doesn’t stop him from following me. “About that. Can we talk?”

I loll my head, looking at him with lazy, uncaring eyes. “How much more talking do you want to do? I’ve listened one too many times, and it’s getting pretty old now.”

My heels sink into the grass, but that only makes me more determined to get away from him. Unfortunately, it’s hard for me to get lost in one of our ten acres because he knows it just as well as I do.

“As many times as it takes for you to listen.”

He follows me to the little covered gazebo that looks out onto the lake. Stepping onto the wooden porch, I hear his clunky feet step behind me. The guy can’t take a hint.

“The gazebo, huh? Are you trying to send me subliminal messages?” He lets out an awkward chuckle. He gives me a boyish smile when I glance over my shoulder, reminding me of when we were younger. “My first kiss. I assume your first kiss too?”

I don’t need to answer. He knows Zach is the only other guy I’ve kissed. Jamie took almost every single one of my firsts and threw them back in my face in an unintended taunt. His being here only serves as a reminder of just how entwined our lives are.

“We were eleven, and you were crying because you didn’t make the equestrian team. I followed you out here, and you were inconsolable.” Jamie slowly steps toward me, but I still don’t turn. “So I did the only thing I could think that would make you happy. I kissed you.”

He probably thinks that story sounds romantic and I’d swoon at his feet for remembering it. He only kissed me because he thought it would make me happy. It’s what he thought he needed to do because he’d been brainwashed like me to think we had to be together.

“Thanks for the soliloquy, but that’s not why I came out here. I wanted to be alone, remember?”

“Still, you could have gone anywhere on the property. The stables, the pool house, the little cabin, but you chose the gazebo.”

“I chose it because it’s close enough that I don’t have to walk far in these heels.” I don’t bother pointing out that if I’d gone to the other places on the property, he’d have found a story about us there too.

“That’s the same reason you chose it back then.”

He joins me on the bench, so I shuffle over, giving him some space, and look out at the lake. The chilly breeze makes the lights from the party look like they are dancing across the water.

The moment is ruined when Jamie turns on the flashlight on his phone and lays it face up so all I can see is the inside of the gazebo and his large face.

We sit in silence for several minutes before I decide to say something.

“Your nose looks terrible.” I couldn’t care less if I hurt his feelings; he deserves it. Besides, the obnoxious purple and yellow flaring across his face is something hard to ignore. “It’s like a baboon’s butt.”

He laughs, linking his fingers. “Thanks.”

“Seriously, though. Can you even breathe with that thing?” I narrow my eyes, scrutinizing his face now that we’re closer. Zach got him hard, and that pleases me a little too much. It’s almost worth the two-week suspension Zach has to serve for it.

“Yes, I can breathe. It looks bad, but all Scholarship Kid’s punch did was stop me from playing in the championship game.”

“Like you ever had an actual shot of making a play in the first place.”

“Ouch, you’re feisty these days, Honey.”

I shrug. “You don’t deserve my niceness.”

“But Scholarship Kid does? That’s interesting.”

“Stop calling him that.”

He raises his brows. “Why does it still matter to you what I call him? It’s not like you’ve spoken since he punched me.”

“And how would you know?”

“Because I’ve seen guys like Zach before. They’re like caged animals, so desperate to get out of their lives, they’ll do anything, but the minute they get caught, they’re out of there. Zach’s not coming back to you because he doesn’t feel any loyalty. His loyalty lies with his baby mama.”

I wince at the words, still not sure I believe them coming out of Jamie’s mouth, but Zach has given me no other optionbutto believe there must be some truth in them. Otherwise, why hasn’t he denied it?

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