Page 31 of Quake

I knew that number was lucky.

“I’ll take it,” I tell her the moment we step inside.

She cocks her head to the side in question, raising a perfectly manicured brow at me. “You haven’t even seen the place yet,” she deadpans.

I roll my eyes playfully, resisting the urge to skip into the living room, an overly energized feeling thrumming through me. “I can see that everything’s up to date and mostly furnished, so it’ll be a lot less work and money than other places,” I say, beaming at her. “Besides, there are two rooms, so it’s a huge improvement from the studio apartment I was anticipating needing to have.”

She takes a deep breath, placing her hands on her hips. “Alright, well, let’s just properly tour the place for a few minutes so your father doesn’t kill me for letting you make a rash decision.”

I chuckle at that. Shay doesn’t seem to realize this yet, but the reason he’s stayed so loyal to her, always having her work as his agent for any and every investment, is that he has a crush on her.

And over the years, it’s become pretty apparent that she feels the same.

Her round hips swish from side to side, hugged by the fabric of her navy pencil skirt as she leads me from room to room.

Her heels click across the vinyl floors, but as we enter the bedroom, the sound is muffled by the gray carpeting. An idea sparks, and I decide to throw her a bone. “When you tell my dad that I want this place, you can let him know that we’ll need to see about swapping the carpet out for hard floors because the dog hair will be difficult to keep up with otherwise. That way, he’ll know we both gave it ample thought,” I say, waggling my brows at her.

A small smirk quirks at the corners of her bronze lipstick, the apples of her smooth mahogany skin flush just the slightest bit as she averts her gaze to the ground. “Sounds perfect. Thanks, Lark.”

She claps her hands together gently. “Now, how about we go sign a lease?” she asks me, her voice jumping to a higher octave.

“Let’s do it.” I wink, following her.

1. Drive – Incubus

Chapter seventeen

Gianni

Tuesday, March 4, 2025

The sun is high in the sky, and it feels like it’s blazing hot out here, and for no good fucking reason. It’s almost never this hot this time of year.

My shirt sticks to my sweaty chest, and I can’t take it anymore. The friction is practically rubbing my nipples raw.

I clutch the soaked fabric behind my neck and yank it over my head, tossing it to the side of the field, just out of bounds.

A breeze whips past me, drying some of the salty sweat that feels heavy on my skin.

I hear Damien shouting at someone from his goalpost, and it riles me up even further. He just got here, and he’s already starting shit with every player on the team.

It’s almost as if he doesn’t realize we’re not excited to have him here, and frankly,fuck him.He’s taking over a position he hasn’tplayed in two years, which means he sure as shit doesn’t have the right to correct any of us.

I turn on my heel, ready to run toward the sound of Gutierrez arguing with him, but Coach’s death glare from across the field snags my attention, and I find myself running back to my position with my tail tucked between my legs.

Seriously, fuck this guy. Shouldn’t we have a say in who replaces our fuckingdeadgoalie? Wouldn’t that make more sense than selecting someone our coach already knows most of us have a problem with?

Apparently not though.

I make my way back to the center of the field, waiting for the next practice round to start, and when Gutierrez finally flips Damien off and rushes back onto the field, it’s go time.

We each punt the ball away from the players wearing green vests, indicating them as our practice opponents.

I run full speed ahead at my teammate, knowing he’s about to miss his shot. I save it by kicking it out from under him and take it as quickly as my legs will carry me to the goal. I pass it to one of the newer guys on the team, and he successfully makes it past Damien, further pissing him off. It’s the first thing to bring a smile to my face all day.1

1. One Step Closer – Linkin Park

Chapter eighteen

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