Page 22 of The Quarterback Sneak

Zach’s thumb grazes my palm, but it offers no amount of comfort to how I feel about myself. Maybe all those comments on that video were right. Maybe my mother was right. Maybe I am terrible, because I was too focused on thinking that Jamie would save me from my nightmares. Maybe that’s how I became the person I never wanted to be.

“I’m sorry. I’m not normally that rude,” I mumble, focusing on how the bottom of his calloused hand feels scratching against my alabaster skin.

A grin forms on his face. “I know. You’d never be caught dead being rude to someone whose opinion matters, would you, Pumpkin?” I purse my lips because there’s nothing to say. He’s right, and we both know it. The only reason I’m even talking to him now is because I need something from him; otherwise, he’d be another football player I’d choose to ignore. “Anyway, let’s not get hung up on the past; we’re here now,” he says, giving me an out, but the sickly feeling in my stomach doesn’t go. “We need to talk about our fake dating.”

“What did you do with them?”

He tilts his head, studying me. “With what?”

“The nudes that girls put in your locker.” I slowly unscrew the cap of my drink, taking a little sip of my water as his eyebrows furrow. “Did you keep them?”

“No. What kind of pervert do you think I am?” he asks, shocked. “If you must know, I destroyed them and then spent an evening looking up how to bleach my eyes so I could forget I ever saw them.” His eyes widen, and he stares at the table for a second. “Some of the positions Summer sent me should have been illegal.”

Water burns my nose as I try to stop myself from spitting it out. Zach balls up a napkin and throws it at me as I hold backmy laughter. Once I’ve calmed enough, I say, “That’s such a lie. What guy wouldn’t keep rich girl nudes? If not for pleasure, then you have them for blackmail.”

“If you think I’m the type of guy to blackmail a girl for money, then we should stop this right now because I’m not an asshole.”

“But you’ll convince a girl to pay ten grand to enter a bet and then date her.”

He raises his hands in defense. “Hey, I told you about it because I wanted you to choose to be involved. I wasn’t about to force you into anything.”

“What would you have done if I said no?”

Shaking his head, he slathers a cold fry in ketchup, takes a bite, then shrugs. “Nothing, I guess. I’d just be happy knowing that you were at least warned about the bet so you wouldn’t fall for their stupid games. I know what it’s like to be ridiculed by these rich idiots, and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.”

“So you want to ridicule them first. How do you think they’ll react when they find out this was all fake?”

“They aren’t going to find out. Besides, by the time this whole thing ends, football season will be over, and I won’t need them anymore. I’ve already signed my full-ride scholarship, and the team will win another state championship because of me. The fact that they can’t acknowledge that shows just how much winning has gone to their heads.” He looks me up and down. “I’m looking forward to watching them lose the hottest girl in school to me.”

Nodding, I stop and take in his last sentence. “Wait? Did you just call me hot?” I laugh again.

Zach shrugs, his eyes scanning the part of my body he can see. “You know you’re the hottest girl in school, Honey. You don’t need the scholarship kid to tell you that.” He takes a drink of his soda, unbothered by the small smile that draws across my face. “I still don’t get why Jamie dumped you in the first place. You’reperfect rich man material.” He covers a grin by taking another sip.

“Rich man material?”

Swallowing, he drops the soda and focuses all his attention on me. “Yeah, you’ve got the right last name, legs longer than the Eiffel tower, and a face that rivals a post-op Kardashian.” Zach’s gaze drops to my lips, and I instinctively want to bite my bottom one to ease the tension, but I stop myself. Instead, I shuffle and cross my legs under the table.

“Clearly not as good material as McKenna,” I bite out, chopping up more of my dry salad and then shoving it in my mouth out of spite.

“Not true. McKenna is an easy option. The kind of girl that you cheat with because the only thing she’s got going for her is between her legs.” His words hit me like a bullet to the gut, and images of McKenna and Jamie come crashing back. I hate that it bothers me so much, but it seems like I can’t do anything right. “Let’s prove Jamie wrong. Date me until the end of January, and let’s show him what a hot little piece you are when your shackles are removed.”

I roll my eyes, clapping my hands because the movement stops me from grabbing one of his damn fries or his half-eaten burger. “You don’t need to convince me. I’ve already agreed to date you, so let’s get this discussion over with before I gag on your cheeseburger.”

His lips lift, and he grabs the burger. “Oh, is this what you’ve been watching for the last twenty minutes?” Zach glides the burger right under my nose, forcing the delicious scent to waft in the air. I want to kill him. “There I was thinking you couldn’t stop looking at my lips after kissing me on Friday.”

My pulse spikes at that comment. How the hell did he know I’d been thinking about that? “You wish.” I push the burger away and sigh at my pathetic retort. Something about his throatylaugh calms me, and even though I know plenty of people are watching us, the only eyes I feel are his.

“Was the dry salad your mom’s idea?” He studies the wilting leaves with a frown. “I mean, it’s just lettuce and a few old tomatoes. I’m all for eating healthy but eating blandly sucks.”

“Yeah, well, some of us don’t have football practice to burn off a burger and fries.”

Zach stands, walks around the bench, and plops his large, muscular body next to mine. I give him a little space when he shimmies down for comfort, making room for his wide shoulders. “Go on, take a bite,” he teases, holding the burger close to my lips. The thick, juicy meat stares up at me, taunting me. “I won’t tell anyone,” he whispers, letting the burger waft below my nose.

Closer.

Closer.

Closer still, until it’s an inch from my lips, and I’m more than certain he’d feed it to me if I let him.

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