Page 39 of The Wrong Quarterback

“That’s perfect,” she said excitedly.

“It’s only because of you,” I told her with a wink, the smile on my face fading as I saw something out of the corner of my eye.

Jace had just strolled into the library, an amused look on his face as he stared around the room, like he’d stumbled into an alien landscape.

I was pretty sure Jace had never been in a library before. Which meant that his presence was because of me. The second he spotted me sitting with Casey, his grin widened. I shot him my bestfuck offlook, but he pretended not to see it.

“Fancy seeing you here, Parkie-Poo. You usually like to study in a more…privatesetting,” Jace said when he reached the table. His voice was loud enough that a few people in the surrounding tables glared at him, their expressions quickly changing when they realized who he was. Even if you hated football, there was little chance you hadn’t seen the huge banner hanging down the English building, complete with his man bun in all of its glory.

He sat down across from Casey and propped his chin up in his hands, batting his eyelashes at her in a way that made me want to kill him. “Thank goodness, you’re getting help. I know how much you…strugglewith your classes.” He smirked at me mockingly.

If he kept pausing like that, I really was going to reach across and strangle him.

Of course he was referencing the fact that I had straight A’s in all of my classes—and I always had. He was also referencing the fact that along with being a Heisman finalist last year, I’d actually been awarded the Academic All-America Team Member of the Year.

But Casey obviously didn’t know any of that, and I needed some time to seal the deal before she found that out. At least afewmore tutoring sessions.

When Casey looked down at the table, I flipped him off, mouthingleaveto him frantically.

Jace, however, thrived on pushing my buttons. His grin only grew as he turned to Casey, eyes narrowing slightly as he appraised her. “How come you haven’t introduced me to your friend yet…your veryprettyfriend, Parkie? I’m Jace, Parker’s hotter,smarterbest friend.”

I snorted at that, and he raised his eyebrows at me. “You should tell her, QB, tell her how much smarter I am than you. And hotter too.” He wiggled his eyebrows a little more for good measure.

Out of all the things he could try and blackmail me on at the moment, this was what he’d decided to do…

What a guy.

“He’s much smarter than me,” I told her, trying to keep a straight face, although it was really hard. “And as you can see, much hotter,” I continued, even though I didn’t want her even looking at him.

I only wanted her eyes on me.

Jace held out a hand toward Casey. “Charmed, I’m sure,” he said in an affected English accent.

Before Casey could react, I smacked his hand away, a sharp thwack that had him laughing. “Touchy, Parker,” he said, mock innocence dripping from his tone as he wiggled his fingers and shoved his hands in his pockets.

Casey looked between us, wide-eyed, like she was caught in the middle of a conversation she hadn’t quite signed up for. “You have a lot of nicknames,” she finally told me, and I barked out a laugh as I thought about grabbing her a cup of ice or somethingto help cool off her face since she hadn’t stopped blushing since I’d gotten here.

Jace wasn’t done torturing me yet…of course.

“I really didn’t know you were into libraries,” he said, shifting his gaze back to me. “Or…extracurriculars.” The teasing lilt to his voice was subtle, but it made my jaw tighten.

“Want to hear a joke?” he asked Casey suddenly.

I groaned. “Please, no.”

“It’s a good one. It will impress her.”

I growled at him, and he grinned. Asshole. “You don’t need to impress her.”

“Ignore him,” Jace said to Casey, and my annoyance faded for a second because her smile was so fucking pretty. “He’s just jealous because of the whole smarter and hotter thing.”

Casey laughed, and I reached under the table to try and adjust myself. At this point, maybe I would just die because all the blood in my body had gone to my dick.

“Okay, prepare yourself, because this is a good one,” he told her.

Casey nodded, the soft, sweet smile still on her face.

“Why couldn’t the lizard get a girlfriend?”

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