Page 27 of The Quarterback Sneak

Tiffany calms next to me as I wash Ella. After bathing and slathering her in the ointment, it took us a couple of hours to get her comfortable enough to sleep.

Falling onto the sofa, I scrub a hand over my face.

I have so much work to do, but I’m too exhausted to deal with it.

“What time are your parents coming home?” Tiffany asks, lying on the sofa beside me.

“In an hour, I think.”

Jumping out of her seat, she runs a hand through her messy hair. “Oh gosh, I should make dinner for us. Hopefully, they’ll be okay with fajitas.”

I lean forward, widening my eyes to try and keep them open. “You don’t have to do that,” I say half-heartedly because my stomach is already growling. Tiffany is an awesome cook; it’s one way she escapes from everything going on, but that doesn’t make me feel less bad about getting her to cook for us. Even when we were younger, I always remembered her baking tiny cakes in this bright-pink easy-bake oven.

“I want to. Your parents have done so much for me. It’s the least I can do.” With that, she skips into the kitchen and leaves me sitting with the baby monitor on the coffee table. I smile,watching Ella sleeping soundly, slathered in enough ointment to baste a pig, but she looks content.

Lifting my hips, I pull my phone from the back of my jeans and intend on opening theChally Sportsapp to veg for a few minutes. I smile when I see I have a new message from Honey.

Honey:We need to talk.

Frowning, I try to understand why that message sounds like an angry girlfriend. She’s probably pissed I didn’t see her in history or math. I wasn’t exactly in the right frame of mind when I left her on the bench today, and I shouldn’t have promised anything, but since it’s all fake, I figured she wouldn’t be too bothered that I left. Still, something inside me makes me want to call her and explain myself.

I grab the baby monitor and walk to my bedroom, shutting the door behind me for some privacy. Clicking her name, I stick the phone on speaker and place it on my desk while I change.

The phone rings several times before her silky voice comes through the speaker. “Hello?”

“You sound surprised? Not used to getting phone calls from your boyfriend?”

I can hear her shuffling around before she speaks. “No, actually, I’m not. Jamie always preferred to text, so forgive me if my fake boyfriend calling surprises me.”

“Your text sounded angry, so I figured I’d call instead of text and hope for the best.”

“How very chivalrous of you, but it’s me who should apologize. I shouldn’t have sent that text. Mike mentioned you only miss practice when something big comes up at home.” The way the statement lingers feels like she wants me to give her an explanation, but I’m not exactly sure how to explain my home life to her without her thinking I’m a huge fuckup. Also, I’m stillnot entirely convinced she won’t tell anyone about my situation, and I’d rather the whole school not know about Tiffany and Ella.

“Yeah, I didn’t have time to tell you because I needed to catch the bus. If I miss one, it takes a couple of hours to get home.” I pull my shirt over my head, wad it up, and throw it into the laundry.

“Can I ask you something?” Her voice is quieter now, and that intrigues me.

“Anything.” I stop what I’m doing, waiting for her question.

“It’s none of my business or anything, but is there a reason you don’t have a car?” Because I’m not a rich socialite with a daddy with money to burn on glittery pink sports cars.

“I have a motorbike, but it needs some work before I can take it onto the road.” More like it needs an actual engine, but now that I have an allergy test to pay for, it’ll more than likely be sold for parts. Poor old Nessy has been sitting in the garage since sophomore year when I needed to buy South Point Prep’s uniform.

Opening one of my drawers, I pull out a clean white shirt with a hole in the front, and Honey snorts. “Motorbike, quarterback, leather jacket, fake dating. Could you be any more of a bad-boy cliché?”

Grinning, I laugh along with her before glancing at the baby monitor to see Ella’s sleeping form. There’s something so peaceful about watching a little baby sleep; sometimes, I find it hard to look away. “Believe me, I’m not a bad boy. So far from it.”

“No, you’re right. A bad boy wouldn’t have warned me about a bet. They would have just used me and left my already decimated heart on the floor with an extra shoe mark.”

“Decimated? Did Jamie really hurt you that much?”

There’s silence at the end of the line for a minute, and it’s so long that I double-check to see if we’re still connected. “I thought he did when I first saw the video. For the longest time, it was himand me against the world, you know? I’ve known him since I was born, and I’d been told my whole life that he was the one I would marry. It felt shitty when he hooked up with McKenna, but I’m starting to see things a little differently now.”

“Oh yeah? Why’s that?”

“Just, some stuff in my life has made me realize that there are better things out there.” I wonder if she’s talking about me and that awesome kiss we shared. “He came up to me today, you know?”

“Who? Jamie?” Something courses through my veins, and I’m not sure what. Possessiveness maybe? Surely not. Probably annoyance for Honey, considering all the shit he talked in the locker room the other day.

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