Page 64 of Fragile

“Hey, Quinn,” a vaguely familiar voice says, making my head snap up to see Alex. He grabs an apron and parks himself way too close for my liking. “Fancy seeing you here.”

I swear this guy is everywhere. I can’t catch a break.

“Hey, Alex,” Quinn replies, her tone polite but cool. She keeps stacking cans, avoiding his gaze.

My skin crawls from knowing he’s next to her. There’s nothing wrong with the guy except his interest in Quinn that makes me want to claim her in front of everyone. I move closer, inserting myself between them. “Alex,” I say, forcing a smile. “Didn’t expect to see you here.”

Alex’s eyes flick to me, and his smile becomes a bit strained. Good. “Miles. Helping out, huh?”

“With Quinn, yeah,” I say pointedly.

“Great,” he grits out, looking back to Quinn. “Indie mentioned you were volunteering here today, so I signed up too.”

Oh god, he’s a do-gooder as well.

Quinn steps away from the table. “I need to grab a few more things from the back,” she says, giving me a look that clearly meansdon’t start trouble. Disappearing through a doorway, leaving me and Alex alone.

Alex turns to me, crossing his arms over his chest. “So, what's going on with you and Quinn?” he asks, eyebrows pinched.

I keep my expression neutral and focus on passing canned food to people passing by. “What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean.” He scoffs, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Are you two more than friends? Because, for what it's worth, I still like her.”

Feeling the tension in the air, I take a deep breath. “I don’t—”

“Before you lie about it, I thought there might’ve been something going on when you turned up at her dorm, and at her party too. Plus, we haven’t rescheduled the date you interrupted either.”

I guess I’m going to have to lay it all out. “Look, Alex.” I meet his gaze, figuring he might take it seriously if he can see how serious I am about her. “Quinn and I have been friends since we were born. We’re close and, I don’t know, something might be happening.” Something is definitely happening in my chest, a ruckus at the thought of her with him, but I play it cool. “But I’m not about to offer to braid your hair and have a heart-to-heart about it. It’s between me and Quinn.”

His head tilts as he studies me. “So, I’m wasting my time here.”

“Like I said, I’m not about to talk about it with you.”

His face contorts. He clearly doesn’t like that answer. With a sigh, I turn to him. “Listen, you should ask Quinn how she feels about you. Least that way, you’ll get a straight answer.”

“Oh good, no brawling,” Quinn says, breezing right back in between us.

“I was good…” Dropping my mouth down to her ear, I whisper, “For you.”

Goosebumps spread across her neck, and I have to resist the urge to kiss her, pull her into my body, and show Alex exactly who she belongs to. But she’s not ready for that, yet.

“So Quinn, what do you say to a do-over date?” Alex asks, and her entire body stiffens. I’m not going to intervene; the guy has it bad. But I know everything about Quinn, and she hates being pushed into situations. She’s headstrong and stubborn like her brother, so I just silently stand near her, smiling at people as they collect a few items from the canned goods in front of me.

“Uh, I actually wanted to talk to you.” She hesitates, flicking her gaze to me briefly, and just that little gesture has me screaming inside. My heart ping-pongs around my empty chest, desperate to get to this girl. “Maybe we could catch up before we leave?”

“I’d like that,” he says, placing his hand on her forearm with pointed eye contact that makes me want to gauge his eyes out.

Breathe, Miles. Don’t punch the beige slack wearing do-gooder. It’ll do you no favors.

“I’m just going to get a water, I’ll be back,” I say before stalking away, saving Alex’s life in the process.

Chapter thirty

Miles

Lakeside diner is packedwith people tonight, which is surprising because tomorrow is Thanksgiving. It’s also our rivalry game against Washington. I’m bone tired from today at the food bank. Quinn, however, doesn’t look even a tiny bit weary. She’s opposite me, surrounded by our friends, who opted out of going home this year too, and she has no right to look as alluring as she does. Her hair is swept off her face and neck, the same pink bow decorating her ponytail. The freckles across her nose speckle her perfectly milky skin, and that crazy cute cupid bow looks insanely kissable tonight.

She’s in her element, laughing with our friends, and her happiness radiates from her. Quinn has always been full of sunshine, but now it feels like I want to be the one to soak up her rays. Only me. At the very least, I want to be able to touch her in public more. I mean, assuming that’s still what she wants too. It was on tip of my tongue to ask about the chat she had with Alex earlier, but I chickened out.

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