Page 53 of Quarterback Sneak

Eyes bright with anticipation, Beth slipped her finger inside to break the seal and stomped her heel clad feet. Raising the tickets in the air, she threw her arms around Sam’s waist, nearly topping him over in her enthusiasm. “Fifty yard line/100 level tickets for the opening game. You’re the best. I have to show Aaron.” Releasing a loud whoop, she rushed through the crowd in search of her fiancé.

“I think she liked your gift.”

“I’m glad.” He slid his arm around Ivy’s shoulder, pulling her close to his side.

Ivy slid her hand across the breadth of his back, palming his narrow waist. She tilted her head and cast him an excited smile, unable to keep the news to herself a second longer. “I made it onto the 3Square tournament.”

“Excellent news,” he said, “I—”

“Can I get you something from the bar, Sam?” The female bartender’s voice cut into their conversation. She cast him a predatory eye. Ivy recognized the woman immediately, Aaron’s other girlfriend. He claimed they were friends and Beth believed him. Ivy could tell by the way the woman and Aaron looked at each other that they were screwing around behind Beth’s back.

Ivy narrowed her eyes, staring the woman down.

Oblivious to the woman’s flirtation, Sam shook his head. “No, I’m good. Thanks.”

The woman tilted her head, jutting her breasts out. “Well, let me know if you need anything. I mean anything.”

“He said no,” Ivy said, taking a step forward. She didn’t make it a habit of physically confronting someone, but Ivy wasn’t about to let the skank move in on her man. “Don’t you have some other customers you can bother?”

Ignoring Ivy, she winked at Sam before she turned on her heels and walked away.

Hands clenched into fists, Ivy shook her head. “She’s such a slut. Beth might turn a blind eye but I won’t." Ivy nodded toward Aaron who was obviously past his limit, even though he promised Beth he would stay sober and be the designated driver. “Not only do I suspect he’s sleeping with that skank, he’s constantly flirting with other women.”

“He told me he once dated a bartender from here. According to him, he is quite the ladies’ man and has to hold them off.”

“Most likely because of they’ve gotten restraining orders against him.”

Sam chuckled and tilted her chin up with his knuckle. “I promise you won’t ever have to worry like Beth does. When I commit to someone I commit one-hundred percent.”

She swallowed the surge of excitement that his words brought forth. Was he telling her that he loved her? She stopped the mad urge to shake and licked dry lips. “Thank you.”

“What the hell?” Beth screamed from the other side of the bar.

Ivy snapped her head up. The outer door opened and a rush of wind blew her hair. Storm clouds were brewing in more places than inside the pub. Here we go. Beth approached Aaron, her body language rigid. Ivy slipped the pendent from beneath her bodice and worried the stone with her thumb. “I wish Beth could see Aaron for who he truly is.”

Would Beth ever see Aaron for who he truly was? It had taken Sam’s mother years to acknowledge Patrick’s toxicity and even longer to get up the nerve to kick him out of her life. Her half-full outlook on life had let her believe she could save him from himself. That never happened. “She will, someday.”

Sam dropped his arm from Ivy’s shoulders and laid his palm on the small of her rigid back. The lights flickered and a spark of lightning shot through the heavy clouds outside the pub door. Wind slammed rain on the glass and a boom of thunder quieted the lively atmosphere.

“Are you actually flirting with some woman at my party?” Beth’s question to Aaron rang out louder than it would have had the storm not rattled the partygoers into near silence.

Aaron straightened and shrugged, nonplussed. He cast a sheepish smile at Beth and the bartender wisely departed.

Tension, like an old wound that would never heal, tightened every muscle in Sam’s body. As a child, he’d been unable to do much except to distract Patrick from his aggression. Sometimes it worked, other times—he stopped the unwelcome memory. No time to rehash his past but to deal with the present. He snatched up his cane. “Time to run some interference

Ivy laid a hand on his arm, mouth grim. “It’s not your fight. Let them hash it out or it’ll come back to bite you in the ass.”

He clenched the handle tighter, torn between following her advice and the need to stop any kind of violence. The instinct was deeply ingrained, a difficult emotion to overcome.

“Calm down, Love.” Aaron looped his arm around Beth’s neck, taking control of the situation. He smiled at the crowd at large and flashed a she’s so dramatic look. “The cake comes out in a second. Get ready to watch my girl blow.”

Laughter followed his statement. Beth bolstered herself and offered a forced smile. A cocktail waitress, followed by another server, brought out a birthday cake and a bottle of champagne. Sam loosened his grip and allowed the cane to dangle between his fingers. Luckily the bartender stayed far away. The partygoers gathered around the bright pink flamingo cake. Beth’s face glowed in the candlelight and she held back her hair while she blew out the candles.

Shot glass in hand, Aaron grabbed Beth’s ass as she bent over. She swatted at his hand, the playful tilt of her lips spoke of forgiveness. And the cycle continues. Sam closed his eyes and reopened them seconds later, pushing the painful memories from his mind.

A waitress began to pass out shots as the jukebox came to life. Aaron grabbed Beth about the waist and pulled her onto a small dancefloor.

“Looks like we’re in it for the long haul. No way is he driving her home,” Ivy said, mouth thin with displeasure.

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