Page 71 of Heart of Gold
Levi appears next to us, “Come on, Quinn. Let’s go as a group. It’ll be fun.”
“Sure, if you call drunk assholes tripping over my feet all night fun.”
He gives me that grin, the one that pretty much is a copy/paste version of his brother’s and I cave. “Fine. I’m in, but you owe me a song.”
He turns his finger on himself and points, “Me?”
“Yep, something good too.”
He agrees then hooks his arm with Ava’s since they have the next class together and they take off toward the Science hall.
Not even a minute later, Gavin wraps his giant arms around me from behind. “Hey, pretty girl.”
“Hey, you.” I look down at the gray sweatpants he’s wearing and smirk. “Are those real?”
He gives me a smug look, “I think you know the answer to that.”
I look across the quad to the campus coffee shop and see Grayson standing outside with some of the guys from the team. Watching us. Without another thought, I take my hand off Gavin and straighten myself away from him.
His brows pull together and turns his head in the same direction I’m looking. I can tell it bothers him, and I don’t want him to get the wrong idea.
“I just don’t want to make things worse for you.”
He pulls me in closer to him, threading his hands through my hair. Right there with zero fucks to give, he dips down and claims my lips as his. I feel his hand move and I open my eyes to see him giving Grayson the bird.
I half expect Grayson to cross the quad and start some shit, but he doesn’t. He just hangs his head and walks away.
Weird.
It almost makes me feel, I don’t know… guilty. Maybe rubbing it in wasn’t the right thing to do, either.
“Why did you do that?” I ask, pushing away from him gently, trying my best to keep my voice down, because the last thing I want is to be the center of attention. I might’ve wanted to flip him off myself but as much as I want to say it doesn’t, it still hurts. I hate what happened between us and I’m still not over it. Not completely.
He gives me a blank look and then his expression grows sad, “Quinn, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. It’s not why I kissed you. That was an asshole thing to do, I just hate the way he fucking stares at you. It makes me crazy.”
I nod, understanding. “I know. I just don’t want him to think that what is going on between us is fake. Like I’m only using you to make him sweat getting back together, because in his twisted head… I’m sure that’s what he thinks.”
Pulling him down on the bench next to me, I continue. “I really like you, Gav. I love spending time with you, and I know it sounds corny as hell, but these past few weeks I’ve smiled more than I have in a really long time.”
He grabs my hand, lacing his fingers with mine. “I like you, too. I just hate that he has so much power over you after all this time. I honestly don’t think that he is that sorry for what he did. He’s used to seeing you upset, and now he sees you moving on. He doesn’t want you to be with anyone else, that is what is upsetting him. He thinks you should still be crying.”
I nod, “I know. He’s always wanted to have his cake and eat it too. I guess like it or not, I’ll always have to deal with that history. It’s always gonna be there like a fucking nat I can’t bat away. I just hope that he moves on and we can all be in the same room one day without this tension.”
He laughs lightly, “He’s a grudge holder, but I’ll apologize to him if you think it’ll help. I don’t want to make things harder for you.”
“I think maybe for a while we should keep things low key. I think eventually Grayson will get sick of watching my every move, and we won’t have to deal with it, but right now? He’s your teammate. Like it or not, you gotta make it through the season unscathed.”
He frowns. “I don’t date girls, Quinn. Not ever. So I’m really good at no PDA but with you it’s hard, I want to kiss you all the time. The last thing I’m worried about is who’s watching.”
I give him a sad smile, “I know. I do too.”
“I don’t give a shit whether or not Collins likes me. The game won’t suffer because we don’t get along and I don’t want to hide the fact that I am one hundred percent obsessed with you.”
“I don’t want to hide you, Gavin. It’s not that. I just don’t want to draw attention to us, not until things have calmed down with the whole Grayson situation, and unfortunately, I’m gonna have to go home soon. Facing Raelynn is gonna be like pouring salt right back in that wound. I want to spend time with you but I’m not ready for a relationship yet. Mentally, I’m not there. If I jump into something quickly I’m afraid it won’t end well for either of us.”
His solemn look turns into a sweet smile. “I’ll wait, Quinn. If that’s what you want, I’ll do it.”
The fact that he doesn’t put pressure on labeling us, or making me feel like it’s a crime for not being ready for an actual relationship right now, is reassuring.
