Page 79 of The Wrong Quarterback

I was speechless, waiting for Parker to say something—to dispute what Jace had said and tell them we were just getting to know each other. But Parker said nothing. Literally nothing. He just grinned…almost proudly…like that’s exactly how he would have described me himself.

Matty reached out to shake my hand, and Parker smacked it away. “No touching,” he growled, and Matty and Jace looked at him amused, before they both burst into laughter.

“No touching,” Jace repeated, in a sort of Cookie Monster voice as he continued to laugh hysterically.

Parker sighed in mock exasperation and held out his hand. “Can you give me the key?”

Matty made a big show of getting it out of his pocket and presenting it to him like it was the Holy Grail.

And now I was a little nervous to use it, actually. I had a feeling Matty didn’t miss much. What if I forgot to flush or something?

“Thank you, Sir-Grouch-A-Kins,” Parker said, and Matty scowled at him.

“Can we please not make that a thing?” he groaned. “We can’t encourage him like that.”

“Ooh, speaking of encouragement,” Jace began. “One thing before you go. Casey, what’s the difference between peanut butter and jam?”

Parker and Matty sighed almost simultaneously. “Just tell him you don’t know so we can get this over with,” Parker whispered—loudly—to me.

“Um…I don’t know,” I replied obediently, and Parker’s hand slid from my waist to my ass as if that had turned him on.

“Only one has nuts,” Jace crowed, throwing his arms in the air and pumping his fists up and down…similar to the touchdown celebration he’d done on Saturday.

I giggled, and Jace grinned.

“Alright, let’s get you to the bathroom,” said Parker…sounding grumpy.

Jace’s grin only grew wider, and I was a little afraid of the mischief he was plotting right at that moment.

Parker led me away from his friends, holding my hand the entire time down the hall, not releasing it even as he unlocked Matty’s door.

“You can’t go in with me to the bathroom,” I told him…and a hint of a blush appeared on his cheeks.

“I know that,” he scoffed.

I raised an eyebrow…because did he?

“I’ll wait right here,” he said dramatically…as if it was a hardship.

And there went my stupid heart again. Because why did he have to say the cutest things?

I used Matty’s very clean bathroom—making sure I flushed and left everything exactly as I found it—and went back out to the hallway. Parker was further down the hall, a few of his teammates talking to him. A bottleneck of people had formed around them, and I sighed, wondering how I was going to get back to Parker.

I locked eyes with Parker, and he said something to his teammates before moving to push his way toward me. I was about to try and push through, too, when my attention snagged on two girls right in front of me, their voices carrying over the noise.

“She’s such an idiot,” one of them muttered, rolling her eyes as she watched Parker. “I mean, seriously, does she really think she’s special? Everyone knows Parker isn’t a one-woman guy.”

My stomach twisted, an icy prickle spreading up my spine. I shifted back, hoping they’d move, but they just kept talking, voices low and smug.

“Didn’t you hook up with him?” the other girl asked, her eyes wide with curiosity.

The first girl tossed her strawberry-blond hair over her shoulder, a satisfied smirk spreading across her very pretty face. “Yeah, right before school started. I have his number too. I think I might shoot him a text tonight, you know, see if he’s down for a repeat. He was so fucking good. His dick is huuuge…and he knows how to use it.”

The second girl laughed, nudging her. “Maybe I can come along. They say Parker can go all night.”

Their laughter grated, every word hitting like a fresh wound, the confidence in their voices sinking into me like ice water. I fought to keep my expression neutral, but inside, my chest wasaching.

Parker was suddenly there, his easy smile stunning me as I gazed at him. The girls were now looking at me, too, twin smiles on both of their faces because they’d realized I’d overheard.

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