Page 113 of The Wrong Quarterback

“Ooh, are you making chicken parmesan?” he said, excitedly hopping right back out of the chair.

“Get out,” I huffed, pounding on the chicken so I could get it the right thickness. When I’d found out that Olive Garden chicken parmesan was Casey’s favorite, I’d looked up every copy-cat recipe I could until I’d perfected it. All the flavor and none of the bad chemicals.

Hopefully it would soften her up.

“You have to give me some of that. Otherwise, I’m going to eat this corn dog over the sink like a fucking rat,” Jace begged.

Casey chose that moment to scream. I froze, the meat mallet clenched in my hand.

I really hoped that I wasn’t about to have to use this on my best friend.

Jace was frozen as well, the corn dog halfway to his mouth.

Casey banged on the door…and then screamed again for good measure.

It was a testament to her lung capacity that she could keep going like that. Probably one of the factors in why she was incredible at giving head.

“So…QB. You and your lady playing hide and go seek, and Casey just forgot the rules?” Jace asked.

I thought for a moment. “Yes, that’s definitely it.”

Jace tapped on the counter and took a long, exaggerated gulp of his milk.

“Is there a reason you have your girlfriend locked in the basement?” he finally asked after he’d set down the milk. “Or have you officially lost it, and a meat suitreallyis next.”

I snorted. Jace was perhaps the only person who could make me even think about laughing at the moment. “Her ex decided to give her information about some…of my more questionable activities, and she’s a little bit upset. So I’m giving her some time to get used to that.”

Jace scoffed, taking another huge bite of his corn dog before he responded, his mouth still full. “She tried to leave you.”

I set the mallet down since it seemed like he wasn’t going to run and go try and free her, and nodded. “She tried to leave me,” I confirmed.

Jace nodded, like he was thinking harder than he ever had in his life.

“So, uh, how long are you going to keep her down there, exactly? And what’s your plan to make her…not want to run away?”

I dropped the chicken into the egg mixture and made sure it was coated before moving it to the seasoned breadcrumbs.

“For however long it takes. And I’m still thinking,” I murmured as I lowered the chicken into the oil-filled pan.

And she screamed again.

“Alright, well I’m going to go check my stocks.”

I eyed him. Jace barely passed most of his classes, but for some reason he wasliterallya genius at stocks. He managed both Matty and my portfolios from the endorsement deals we got, and he’d tripled what we had.

But not what I’d expected him to say.

“What? That’s your response to me telling you I’m keeping my soulmate in my basement?”

He blinked at me like I was stupid.

“As a fellowNo Drama Llamamember, I need to be prepared in the inevitable event that I have to bail you out. Which means my stocks need to be better.”

He walked out of the room, taking his milk and corn dog with him.

“I didn’t vote for that name,” I called after him, a smirk on my face as I flipped the chicken.

“I’m going to call some lawyers too…just in case. Can’t let my fellowPussy Possemember down, “ he added as he opened the door.

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