Page 56 of The Marriage Negotiation

"Give me a call tomorrow when you get up," Jake ordered. "We'll see where things stand and what we need to do to keep Peter from seeing daylight outside of prison again."

"I appreciate it, Jake."

I realized after I hung up with Jake that I felt a little better once again. With each phone call I made to my frat brothers, I felt better. Maybe it was their unwavering support and willingness to do whatever it took to help me? Maybe it was the knowledge that I wasn't alone in this fight?

Whatever it was, I was grateful for it.

Chapter Sixteen

~ Zaq ~

"Zaq, are you okay?"

I glanced up, not realizing Patrick had come into the room until he said something. "What?"

There was a glimmer of concern in Patrick's dark brown eyes as he knelt down in front of me. "Are you okay, baby? You're just sitting here on the side of the bed. I thought you were going to take a shower."

My brow furrowed as I frowned. "Did you mean it?"

Patrick's frown was deeper than mine, his eyebrows drawing down over his eyes. "Did I mean what?"

"You told Peter that you loved me."

Patrick's sudden smile wasn't nearly as surprising as the soft flush that filled his cheeks. "Yeah, I meant it. I've loved you for a long time."

My heart thudded heavily. "How long?"

"October eighth, two thousand and five."

I blinked at Patrick. "What?"

"It was a Friday." Patrick brushed the hair back from my face. "It was a varsity football game. It was the end of the third quarter and we had home field advantage, but the opposing team had us down by fourteen points. I was waiting to go out onto the field when I looked up into the stands and there you were." Patrick's smile was almost wistful. "The most beautiful boy I had ever seen in my life."

"Me?" I asked almost breathlessly.

"I stood there like a dummy and just stared at you. You had a couple of friends with you and you were smiling at them. I was so jealous. I wanted you to smile at me. When we took the field again, I played the hardest game of my life. I wanted to win and win big so that you'd see me and maybe give me a smile."

"Did you win?" I whispered.

Patrick grinned. "Thirty-one to seventeen."

I really felt bad that I had no memory of this game. "Did I smile at you?"

Patrick's grin grew wider. "You did and that's when I knew I'd love you for the rest of my life."

Tears sprouted up in my eyes. "Oh, Patrick."

I wish I could say that I remembered that day, but I didn't. I remembered Patrick from high school, but he had been a couple of grades ahead of me. He was like an untouchable godlike idol that I had fantasized about in my dreams.

"I started following you around campus between classes. I even bribed one of the records clerks to give me your class schedule so I'd know where to hang out so that I could see you."

"You didn't," I gasped.

"I did." Patrick chuckled. "My friends all thought I was crazy for fawning over a high school freshman, but once I found you I didn't see anyone else. You were all I wanted."

"You were a junior, weren't you?"

Patrick's eyebrows lifted. "You knew that I was a junior when you were a freshman?"

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