Page 64 of A Quarterback for Christmas

Pulling my phone out of my skirt pocket, I type out a message, sending it to him and watch, waiting for his reaction.

Bella:Meet me downstairs in the bathroom in five minutes.

I swear I practically hear the phone buzzing from across the room, but Drew makes no effort to check it. Torture at its finest. I left him stewing for three hours, so he’s going to just sit and stare at me, making no effort to read what I want to say to him.

I flick my gaze to the basement door, and although not far, there are a lot of people in the way, so I send another text.

Bella:Make that twenty. It will take me at least fifteen to get down the stairs unnoticed.

He still doesn’t bother checking his phone, but stares at me almost condescendingly. Well fine. If he wants to play that game, I’m leaving. It’s not like I have any other reason to hang around here. Finally standing, I head to the basement and refuse help down the stairs when Jonah and Justin offer it.

When I’m finally on my own, I stupidly go to the bathroom and sit on the toilet. Who knows, maybe when I left, Drew checked his phone, and he’ll change his mind. I certainly hope that’s what’s going to happen. But that hope starts to fade when five minutes turn to ten.

Furious, I send another message as both of my previous texts now show ‘read.’

Bella:Are you really going to leave me down here on my own?

That message is immediately read, but there’s no response. Not even the hint of typing. Have I got the right number, or am I texting some random dude? Just as I’m about to call, there’s a light knock on the door.

“It’s me.” Smooth as butter. That voice always gets me.

Jumping from the toilet, I hobble to the door and open it with a bright smile. Drew, unfortunately, doesn’t return it. But why would he? It’s not like I’ve given him anything to be excited about these past few weeks.

“Didn’t expect to see you drinking with the football players,” Drew says coldly. We’re back to where we began. With his face frozen and shoulders high from tension; it’s actually worse than when we started. At least then he could joke with me. Now itseems like we’re on two ships, sailing in opposite directions, because I gave him the wrong map.

“Not like I can move very fast.” I flick my cast with a slanted smile. “And I’ve been living here for the past few weeks, so where else would I be?”

“Downstairs, away from the football players that you supposedly hate.”

“I don’t hate all the players here.” With a forced smile, I elbow him in the ribs in an attempt to be playful. Drew sucks in a breath, moving away from any kind of connection. Why do I suck at being normal?

“Yeah. You and Jacob seem cozy. Is that why you pretended to be me? Because you wanted to find out if Jacob’s still hung up on his ex? I know all the girls are into him, but I didn’t think he was your type.”

Shaking my head, I raise my hands and laugh. “Woah, woah, woah. Where the hell did you get that idea from? I’m not interested in Jacob in the slightest. Like at all.”

“Could have fooled me.” He purses his lips and crosses his arms. If we were in a cartoon, steam would be coming out of his ears.

That’s when it hits me, and anticipation runs through my veins. “Wait a minute. Are you jealous?” I can’t hold back the smile because he’s definitely jealous. Drew McCallister can keep acting like the big guy on campus, but he can’t hide how he really feels.

“What’s there to be jealous of? Nothing is going on between us. Isn’t that why you asked me here? To reiterate that point. Crushing souls seems to be a habit of yours.”

“Ouch. No, that’s not the reason I asked.”

He raises his hand flippantly, pushing past me to get to the door. “You know what? It doesn’t matter anymore, anyway. I’ve moved on.”

I blink.

Is he going to start laughing to tell me that’s a joke?

Nothing.

I blink again.

“You’ve moved on?” I raise a brow, and the first thought that drifts through my head is Brianna. Of course he’d finally move on to a girl worthy of him. One that’s not afraid to shout from the rooftops that they’re together and perfect for each other. “With who?” Why do I want it confirmed? My heart already feels like it’s been squeezed of all its juices. Did I really need to decimate it into nothing?

Drew drops his hands and sighs. There’s a moment when I think maybe he’ll tell me he’s joking. That those five weeks weren’t long enough for him to get over me and that we should try again, but when he sighs, I know I’m wrong.

Soul-crushingly wrong.

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