Page 125 of The Wrong Quarterback

Me: Absolutely not. Take that back!

Walker: What?

Me: You can’t go the whole season spotting nonsense and then decide to play it safe for the last game.

Jace fell onto the seat next to me and peered at my phone. “Are my brothers from another mother wishing me good luck?” he asked, his foot tapping up and down furiously.

I was glad to see that he was nervous, too.

Cole: Sorry, just making sure I heard that right, Parkie. You’re saying you want us to insult you? And that’s good luck…

Walker: Well, you actually should be making sure you “read” that right. Unless you have your assistant reading your texts out loud again because you like the sound of her voice.

That definitely called for a … So I typed one out.

Walker: Good one.

Me: Stop being nice.

Cole: I’m flipping you both off right now. Does that help?

Walker: Still have a thing against emojis?

Cole: They’re unnatural.

Walker: …

Cole: I’m going to report you to the Circle of Trust for continual misuse of …

Walker: Well, at least you got the name right this time.

“I should have trademarked that name while I had the chance,” Jace mused—still reading my texts. “Remind me tomorrow, after we win, to apply forPussy Possebefore that gets snatched up too.”

I side-eyed him. “I most certainly will not.”

“Literally any other name would be better than that,” said Matty, coming to sit next to me. He had a rubber band stretched between two fingers, and he was plucking at it, over and over again.

Another nervous teammate for the win.

“Oh really, Matthew.Any name? Are you sure about that?” Jace asked sarcastically.

I glanced over at Matty. “Seriously,areyou sure about that? Why would you want to give him that type of power?”

Matty snarled at us. “Why do we have to have a name at all?”

“Because all the great ones do, Matty-kins. All the great ones do,” Jace said, suddenly very serious.

Matty and I blinked at him, but then my phone buzzed again.

Walker: Alright, how about this…Parker, you fucking suck. Try not to mess it up too bad and embarrass us. Was that good enough?

Jace and Matty both snickered next to me because obviously they were the worst, and both had decided to read my text messages now.

Cole: He’s pouting. I can sense it. Parkie-Poo the pouter.

“Oh, that’s a good one,” said Jace. “I’m going to use that from now on.”

“Hewillkill you,” said Matty, and I high-fived him, because he was right.

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