Page 60 of The Wrong Quarterback

“Oh,” she said hopefully, like I’d just offered her a seat on my dick at a future date. “I’ll go over there.”

“He likes aggressive girls,” I called after her, and she grinned over her shoulder, because we both knewaggressivewas her particular specialty.

I watched as she walked toward Andrews, all of a sudden adopting a weird swaying motion where it looked like she was trying to push her hips out of socket.

Gray had already been drunk when I’d handed him that drink, but now his eyes werereallymessed up, his lids heavy, like he was staring through a fog he couldn’t shake. His movements were slower—his coordination dulled to a dazed, clumsy shuffle as he leaned back against the wall, looking almost like he was trying to steady himself but wasn’t quite aware enough to care.

When Bethany, or whatever her name was, approached him, pushing through his fraternity bros to get to him, he barely registered it, his gaze drifting over her like she was just another blur in the crowd. She gave him a sultry smile, trailing her fingers along his arm until she had his full, hazy attention. And then, without hesitation, she latched onto his lips, pulling him into a messy, uncoordinated kiss. His arms moved, half-heartedly, resting awkwardly on her shoulders like he was trying to figure out where they were supposed to go.

He kissed her back, but it was sloppy, his lips moving with no rhythm, no purpose, just a slow, confused response. It was obvious he wasn’t fully processing what he was doing, each move heavy and clumsy, like he was trying to remember what came next and failing. His eyes stayed half-open, his expression distant, almost like he was sleepwalking through the whole thing.

I took a sip of my drink and leaned against the wall with a smile, ready to watch the show.

There was no part of me that wanted Casey to be hurt. But I couldn’t take another day of seeing him with her.

I would make it up to her after this, though, I’d make her life so happy that this would just be a blip in the radar of our long, amazing life together.

Casey came around the corner then, stopping dead in her tracks when she saw them—Gray pressed against the wall, lips locked with another girl. The look on Casey’s face was exactly what I’d been after. Shock. Pain. Betrayal. Their relationship crumbling right in front of her.

She obviously hadn’t noticed that Gray was out of his mind, that he had no idea what he was doing. He probably wouldn’t even remember that this had happened when he woke up in the morning.

But she would.

She stood there for a second, frozen, like she couldn’t process what she was seeing. Then she turned and bolted, rushing past the crowd and out the back door.

I waited, giving her a few moments to fall apart. Then, I followed her.

The door screeched as I pushed it open, and there she was, standing at the edge of the yard, her arms wrapped around herself like she was holding on for dear life. Her shoulders shook, but she wasn’t crying—not yet. I could see it, though. She was breaking.

I approached slowly, making sure my footsteps were quiet, careful. “Casey?”

She flinched but didn’t turn around. Her voice was barely above a whisper. “I don’t want to talk right now, Parker.”

“I saw what happened,” I said, keeping my tone low, soft. “He’s the biggest fucking idiot in the world.”

She stiffened at my words, and I stepped closer, just enough to show I was there, but not enough to push. Not yet.

“I don’t get it,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “Why would he do that? After everything…” She glanced up at me, tears gathering in her silver eyes. “What did I do wrong?”

Fuck. That question hit me right in the chest. That she would even think that.

“Are you kidding me? The only person who did anything wrong in this situation was that asshole. If you were my girl…”

She was still staring up at me, vulnerability radiating off her.

I took a step closer.

“If you were my girl, you would be the only thing that I would see. I would spendeveryday proving to you how fucking perfect you are for me. There would never be a day that you would doubt it,” I murmured, catching one of her tears on my finger.

“Why couldn’t he?” she finally whispered, before she turned and once again…ran away.

CASEY

I turned the corner, pushing through the thick crowd, the noise and heat pressing in on me, a hazy quality to the air.

And then I saw him—Gray, his back against the wall, his arms wrapped around someone who wasn’t me. My heart stopped, a hollow, aching pause that made the air catch in my throat.

He was making out with her, his lips tangled with hers, hands drifting to her waist like it was the most natural thing in the world. Like I didn’t exist. My stomach twisted, an icy, dead feeling spreading through my chest as I stood there, frozen, watching my worst nightmare unfold right in front of me.

---