Page 66 of A Quarterback for Christmas

“Don’t look so disappointed. That skirt will definitely catch his eye, but I’m just warning you to be realistic. You’ve got competition.”

I bite down on the inside of my cheek. She’s right. I do. And my biggest competition is Brianna.

“I know that already. I just wish I hadn’t screwed things up when I had the chance.” I should have heard him out the first time, instead of assuming that he didn’t want me for the long term. Now I’m paying the price.

That admission makes Marissa stand. With wide eyes, she walks over to me. “Are you telling me you got with Edo? When did that happen?Howdid that happen? I didn’t think you were into guys like him.” She turns, talking to herself. “I don’t know whether I should be happy for you or pissed off. I’ve been trying to get that guy's attention for years, and nada. Nothing.”

Scrunching my eyebrows in confusion, I watch as she paces the room. “Uh, Marissa. I don’t know who Edo is.”

She stops and grins. “So it’s not him, then?” I shake my head. “Thank god, I didn’t know how that would go for a second. I thought we couldn’t be friends anymore.”

“You’d dump me for this guy?”

“You haven’t seen him. I swear he literally sweats sex.” She shakes her head and closes her eyes dreamily.

“I’ve never heard of Edo in my life.”

“Oh, you just wait.” She wiggles her eyebrows in jest. “He’s everything and more. You might have to rethink your friendship with me once you see him. Although, I doubt he’d go near you since you’re related to his employer.”

“That’s fine. I’m not interested, anyway. You can keep Edo and your fantasies.” I laugh it off, feeling lighthearted for the first time since I broke my leg.

“Who are you dressing up for then?”

“Myself.” I shrug. “Can’t we all feel confident?”

“I’m all for confidence. However, you just told me you wanted to get someone’s attention, so are you going to tell me who that someone is if it isn’t the resident gym hottie?”

“No one.”

“Bella,” she warns. “Your collarbone is flushed, and your left nostril is twitching. It’s the same tell as last week when you told me you hadn’t thrown out my Cheetos.”

“What do you want me to say? The place stank of cheese when I came in. Only after being away for so long did I realize how bad it was. No wonder Peter ran away last year when I invited him up. I think you might have a problem, which unfortunately affects my dating life.”

“And I think you might have a crush,” she teases. “Why else would you go all out for a gym session?”

“I’m not going all out.”

“You’re wearing waterproof mascara and red lipstick. Just tell me what’s going on. You know I’ll get it out of you, eventually. You might as well tell me now and save yourself the trouble.”

Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes. “Fine. It’s Drew.”

“Drew?” I watch her process that information; it takes surprisingly longer than expected. “As in Drew McCallister?” I nod. “Drew, the guy you’ve complained about since you got here?”

“It’s no big deal.”

“Are you kidding? If you’re not talking about the classes you hate, you’re bitching about Drew. I stopped listening a long time ago because it was getting repetitive. Kind of like hearing the same Taylor Swift break-up song repeatedly. The first few timesyou think the track is amazing and really captures the feeling, but then you start to learn about all these secret messages in the lyrics and you wonder if she’d be happier if she stopped dating.”

“Careful there.”

“What the hell happened?” I haven’t told her or anyone about staying with Drew over the break. It felt weird to admit it because people would ask me questions, and I didn’t know how to answer them.

“Nothing to write home about.” It’s the biggest, fattest lie I’ve ever told, and I’m lucky I have a whole year to make up for it because Santa wouldn’t be giving me anything for that whopper. Everything happened.

I finally saw straight for the first time in my life, and instead of embracing it, I let it go. Happy to live in my world with rose-tinted glasses.

She narrows her eyes, watching my reaction. “I don’t believe you.”

Not making eye contact, I check my phone for the tenth time in the last three minutes and say, “And you don’t have to. I’m going to be late. See you at dinner tonight.”

---