Page 98 of The Wrong Quarterback

“Except you just said it the same way again.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t say it like it was a bad thing, so it doesn’t matter if I add a little emphasis to it, don’t you agree?”

“Sure,” I murmured, as we reached the edge of the building.

I jumped up and knocked the fixed security camera up so that it wasn’t aimed at the door anymore. No one actually manned those things—the college was too cheap—but I didn’t want us to be on the camera footage just in case.

“Okay, just go in, do your little charming thing and get heroutof the building somehow so that I can sneak in.”

“Yeah, I’ve got all that, except I’m going to need you to rephrase that. It’s not alittlecharming thing. It’s abigcharming thing,” he argued.

“Alright, yes, that. It’s a big…charming thing.”

“That’s what she said,” he quipped as he began to creep toward the door like we were in some spy movie.

“What are you doing? That’s the opposite of the charming thing.”

“Oh, right. Just thought that creeping was part of our villain era.”

“We’re not villains,” I hissed after him as he began walking normally again and had made it to the entrance. “We just don’t let things interfere with true love.”

“Rigggght,” Jace said, sounding very sarcastic. “That’s all we’re doing.”

I peeked through one of the windows as Jace leaned over the counter, working his magic as he flirted hard with the girl at the front desk.He was definitely going to get an orgasm out of this.

I wasn’t going to owe him shit.

Two minutes later, she was somehow following him out of the building. Where he was taking her…I had no idea. But at least she wasn’t manning the front desk anymore.

Perfect.

Walking inside, I jogged up the stairs, somehow not seeing anyone. Using my key, I let myself in and snapped a quick photo of the room…since this was where Casey had given me her virginity…and this was the last time I’d be in here.

I moved a few things so they wouldn’t get completely ruined, like the photo of her and her brother, and then I reached into my bag and pulled out the rain poncho I’d brought with me, shaking it out before sliding it on and zipping it up to my chin. The plastic crinkled softly as I pulled out the pack of cigarettes. With a quick flick of the lighter, I sparked all of them at once, the orange glow intensifying as they caught, releasing thin streams of smoke almost instantly.

Holding the lit cigarettes under the sprinkler, I watched as the tendrils of smoke curled upward, swirling toward the ceiling like a ghostly signal. The scent thickened in the air, mingling with the faint traces of Casey’s perfume that still lingered in the room. I waited, the seconds stretching until finally—click—the sprinkler system activated with a sudden jolt. Cold, chemical-laced water sprayed down in thick streams, coating everything in its path.

The fire alarm began blaring out in the hall.Shit. I needed to be quick.

Water hit the bed in heavy splatters, seeping into her comforter, her pillows, her neatly stacked textbooks on the nightstand. Her posters curled as the mist reached them, edges darkening, the ink running as they began to peel. The photos Nat had taped up on the wall, buckled and blurred, the memories fading under the onslaught. Every trace of her was slowly wiped away.

Satisfied, I tossed the smoldering cigarettes onto the floor, watching them sizzle against the wet carpet, then turned to the window. I unlocked it and pushed it up, cool air rushing in. Pulling the fire ladder from my bag, I hooked it onto the windowsill and climbed out, closing the window as much as I could behind me.

Once I reached the ground, I pulled the ladder down and unzipped the poncho, tugging it off in one swift motion, before stuffing both into my bag. With one last glance up at her window, now clouded with condensation from the inside, I jogged into the woods behind the dorm, disappearing into the shadows before anyone could notice.

It wasn’t long before my phone buzzed, and Casey’s name lit up the screen. I answered on the first ring, keeping my voice calm and steady.

“Parker…” Her voice was thick, choked with panic. “Our room—it’s completely ruined. Everything’s soaked, and campus security found cigarettes. They think we did it. They’re saying…we’re getting kicked out of the dorms.”

I could hear the tears, the shock and frustration clinging to every word she spoke. I tried not to smile. Not because I was happy she was upset, of course, but because the plan had come togetherperfectly.

“Stay where you are, baby,” I murmured, letting a note of concern lace through my voice. “I’ll be right there.”

Ten minutes later, I found her waiting outside the dorm, eyes red-rimmed, hugging herself tightly as if she could hold herself together. Nat was next to her, pacing and muttering under her breath, looking as furious as Casey was distraught. As soon as Casey spotted me, she broke from Nat and walked straight into my arms.

“They really think it was us,” she said, burying her face into my chest, her words muffled against my shirt. “They won’t even listen.”

I ran my hand up and down her back, feeling her steady, little by little, against me. “It’s going to be alright,” I told her softly. “We’ll get it figured out.”

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