Page 28 of A Quarterback for Christmas

It all starts to make sense why he is so unwilling to commit to Brianna. He is clearly too hung up on some random girl from Tampa Bayshore High to think about anyone else. I never thought Drew would settle for a girl back home. I always imagined him marrying a supermodel while becoming the best quarterback in the league. There’s no denying that he’s one of the hottest guys I’ve ever met. That’s why girls hang off him. They know he’s a catch, but they don’t know he’s interested in someone else.

But who is it?

And why do I care so much?

Still waiting, I toy with the silver football token, kicking the bicycle piece with it out of boredom.

Now what? He’s not coming out, so all I can do is watch Hallmark movies on TV, and I’m tired of being reminded that the grumpy enemies eventually fall in love and get a happy ending because I know that will never happen to me.

I still.

My eyes widen.

Did I just think that?

My lips contort. My stomach rolls.

Did I want a happy ending withDrew?!

Even thinking about it makes my brain throb, and I toss the player piece back into the box because this whole playing nice thing is pointless. Drew’s not coming out. He’d rather starve himself before he dared look at my face again.

But then I hear the click of his door, and I raise my chin, eagerly expecting his presence.

His feet drag across the wood as he slowly makes his way to the living room. When he finally makes his presence known, hishair is a mess, and he tiredly scratches the back of his neck. You’ve gotta be kidding me.

He’s been asleep this whole time?!

I frown, annoyed that I’ve been waiting up, worried that I was going to starve to death because he was refusing to leave his room. All the while, he was sleeping.

Drew stops in his steps, looks around the room, and gives me a quizzical glare. “Morning, B,” he says cautiously.

“Morning ended three hours ago,” I clip.

Used to my petulance, he ignores my attitude and steps farther into the room. “What’s all this?”

Fiddling with my hands, I lean back and huff out a breath. Now that he’s here, standing in front of me, it feels near impossible to be nice. What’s wrong with me? Do I not have the capacity to be nice to him? “Thought you’d be more in the mood forMonopolytoday, since there’s nothing else to do.”

“Okay.” He sounds hesitant, but I don’t question it. I would be too, if I were him. He strolls into the kitchen, gets a drink, and tosses a soda can my way. When I catch it, my stomach rumbles, and I know he hears it from the look on his face.

“Should have known. You haven’t eaten, have you?”

My face heats, and I pop the can open as I shake my head. “No.”

Sighing, he pulls out a pan. “Alright. I’ll make you an omelet if you do one thing for me?” I lift my brows in answer. “You can’t be the car token.”

“There isn’t one.” I lift the box, showing him the front. “This is some kind of St. Michael’s tribute version. I got the football one out for you.”

He laughs, cracking eggs without a care. “Of course it is. Jacob’s obsession with this place is ridiculous. Did you know he gave up on his dream girl just to attend?”

I’m silent because I don’t know if he’s trolling me or not since that was the exact conversation Jacob and I had.

“I had no idea,” I call his bluff.

“Yeah, they were neighbors when they were kids. He was too chickenshit to make a move, and then her parents divorced, so she moved to the other side of town with her mom. Broke his thirteen-year-old heart. They reconnected in high school but were pulled apart again by college.”

“Sounds like some nineties TV drama.” Okay, so judging by that admission, Jacob hasn’t said anything. I’m safe for now. “Sounds like Jacob needs to find someone else. That girl sounds flightier than a retiring pilot,” I mutter.

Drew grins, narrowing his eyes at me. “Who hurt you, Bella?”

---