Page 58 of The Wrong Quarterback

Natalie was pretty freaking awesome.

With the exception that I was now at this party by myself…

I’d just pulled out my phone to see where Gray was when his arms slid around my waist. “Case,” he murmured, pressing a kiss against my neck that had me squirming uncomfortably.

Because based on what I was smelling…he was already drunk.

“Hi,” he said, grinning handsomely at me when I turned around to face him.

I didn’t want to be the nag, who got mad at her boyfriend every single day, so I just pressed a kiss against his lips and didn’t mention his bloodshot eyes.

“Hi, yourself,” I told him with a soft grin.

His eyes raked up and down my body. “I’m the luckiest guy at this fucking school,” he said, his hands sliding up my sides.

I closed my eyes, trying to enjoy it, Gray’s lips pressed against mine, messy and eager, his breath hot and tinged with beer and whatever else he’d pregamed before he’d come here. His hands gripped my waist, pulling me closer. The room was a blur of pulsing lights and sweaty bodies, music thumping hard enough to rattle in my chest, drowning out coherent thought.

But then, I opened my eyes…

Parker stood across the room, half in the shadows, his face carved into an expression I hadn’t seen before. His jaw was tight, muscles flexed under the sharp lines of his cheekbones. His eyes…they were burning holes through me. It was more than anger; it was fury tempered with something darker, something that made my pulse stutter.

For a moment, the noise around me muted, the thrum of the bass and chatter dimming to nothing. It was just Parker and that look, the heat in his gaze pinning me in place, making my skin flush and prickle under the intensity as Gray kissed down my neck and my chest. Parker didn’t move, he didn’t blink, he just watched me.

Gray shifted, pulling back to mumble something against my lips, oblivious to the shift in the air, but I couldn’t focus on him. I couldn’t focus on anything but Parker, standing there, as if he was daring me to look away first, to pretend this moment hadn’t just shifted the entire room off its axis. I could read his mind from here.

What are you doing?

How could you kiss him?

And worst of all…you belong to me.

“I have to go to the bathroom,” I said suddenly, pushing away from Gray. I needed a break, a moment to get myself under control, a moment away from Gray…and Parker.

“Hurry back,” he told me, for the first time since I’d come to school not seeming like he wanted to get away from me and be with his friends.

Which was just another reason that I couldn’t look at Parker.

The room spun with heat and the aftermath of too many eyes, Parker’s gaze still burning into my skin even as I wove through the crowd.

I made it out of the living room, but a line of impatient girls were waiting for the bathroom, stretched down the entire hallway.

“You can use mine,” a voice cut through the noise, low and smooth. I turned, startled, and found myself staring at Parker’s friend from the library, Jace. He leaned against the wall, freakishly hot looking, a smug smile on his lips like he knew something I didn’t.

“Oh, um—” I stammered.

He leaned a little closer, that easy grin not faltering. “Don’t worry, it’s just down the hall. No line, and I promise, I don’t bite.” He cocked his head, mischief flickering in his expression.

“CanIuse your restroom?” a girl asked, stumbling into me as she tried to get Jace’s attention.

“No, sorry, onlyInner Sanctummembers are allowed,” he told her with a charming smile.

“Huh?” she asked, but he was already pushing me past the hallway and leaving her behind.

“What’s theInner Sanctum?” I asked, confused.

“Is that one not doing it for you? Do you like theLoyalty Leaguemore…or theSilent Syndicate? Oooh, what about theNo Drama Llamas?” he asked innocently.

“Ummm. I’m not sure I’m qualified to make this decision for you. Who exactly is in the…No Drama Llamas?”

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