Page 108 of The Wrong Quarterback

CHAPTER 28

PARKER

“What does the horny toad say?” Jace asked as we walked down the sidewalk in front of our houses.

I grinned tiredly, wishing I was already in my bed. We had Georgia coming up next game, and I was pretty sure that Coach was trying to kill us with how hard he’d been working us in practice. We couldn’t play if we were dead, but he didn’t seem to care about that.

“What?” I responded, pushing back some wet hair that had fallen in my face.

“Rub it,” he answered, his eyebrows going up and down, clearly so proud of himself.

Matty and I both snorted, and Jace smirked proudly.

“I think you’re getting better,” I told him as we got to my house.

“I resent that, QB. I’ve always been good. I think Casey’s just actually given you a sense of humor.”

I scoffed and waved at them as they continued to their place next door. Casey was at a Dean’s Dinner for freshman students, and then she was going over to Nat’s new place to have cake forNat’s birthday. Somehow I was going to have to survive the next four or five hours without her.

Unlocking the front door, I dropped my bag inside and groaned as I stretched my arms over my head.Fuck. Seriously, I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to throw any passes tomorrow. Walking into the kitchen, I opened the refrigerator door to grab a bottle of water…when something shiny on the counter caught my attention.

A dark glass bottle sat on the countertop, labeled only with two words: “Drink Me,” like I’d stepped into a demented version ofAlice in Wonderland. Right next to it was an envelope stamped with the unmistakable symbol of the Sphinx.

Motherfucker.

My stomach tightened. The gift they’d left after their last breaking and entering ended up being a good thing, but something told me this letter wasn’t going to be my favorite.

There was also the matter that my fucking cameras hadn’t gone off when someone had broken into the house,yet again. I was going to have to upgrade. Heads needed to roll at the security company I’d hired. Obviously their system didn’t work.

I sighed and then decided to get it over with, grabbing the envelope and tearing it open, my eyes scanning the letter inside.

“This is a test of trust. The Sphinx is a brotherhood beyond any other. To be a brotherhood, there must be trust. To proceed, drink the contents of the bottle. Do not question. Do not share this information. This is a solitary task. Once you’ve done it, wait.”

That was it. No explanation, no hint of what the drink actually was or what it might do to me. Nothing. Just a command to drink it and wait.

These fuckers were really stepping up their game. I don’t know what I’d expected when they’d pulled that bag off my head and told me I was going to be tested…but what I’d experiencedso far had been way beyond anything I’d thought of then. I think I would rather dig up another body than do this.

I read through the note again. I’d heard a rumor that a woman had been allowed in their Darkwood College chapter, so they might want to update their wholebrotherhoodlingo. I also didn’t trust any of them worth a shit…but if I wanted in with these people, I was going to have to drink this.

Grabbing the bottle, I walked to our bedroom, the sheets still messed up from where I’d fucked Casey before practice. I closed my eyes for a moment, breathing her in. I loved that she was everywhere now. That every part of our house smelled like her. I hadn’t known what this place had been missing, but now I realized it’s what every place would have been missing my entire life.

Her.

I took my phone out, propping it in the corner of the room and setting it to record…just in case. Whatever happened, I wanted some kind of record.

With the camera rolling, I picked up the bottle, twisting the cap open. The liquid inside was clear, odorless. I had no idea what it was. Could be water. Or poison. Or anything in between.

What the fuck was I doing?

I moved to my bed, sitting down, bottle in hand. Every part of me was screaming in protest that this was a bad idea. But I’d come this far. At this point it felt like some kind of challenge, like the Sphinx against me. The competitor in me couldn’t let them win.

I just hoped that it didn’t cost me that much to cross the finish line.

I tipped the bottle back, wincing as I swallowed the liquid. The taste was sharp, a slight burn that didn’t give me any hints as to what it was.

I waited. And waited. And nothing happened.

Okay, maybe that’s where the trust part came in. I drank it. And I was done.

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