Page 59 of Hard Hitter

"Nah," Liam's cocky voice rang out. "I just like a little bit of a challenge, ya know?"

Fucking jackass…who the hell does this guy think he is?

He couldn't wait to tell Rae about this. It would be tough, and probably awkward, but she needed to know her boyfriend was a fucking creep who didn't respect her boundaries or privacy. He was sure she wouldn't hesitate to kick this asshole to the curb if she knew how he talked about her in a full locker room of eagerly listening ears.

Grabbing his towel, soap, and shampoo, Quinn turned and walked rather stiffly toward the showers, glowering at Liam over his shoulder as he passed by. He'd expected Liam to look alarmed or maybe concerned that Quinn had overheard, but instead the smug bastard smirked in response.

He fucking smirked.

Quinn was white hot. He turned away from Liam and let an aggravated breath out his nose like a bull getting ready to charge, and, with much effort, forced himself to his destination before he decked the son of a bitch.

His movements during his shower were robotic, eyes staring ahead, replaying the vulgar discussion of his best friend's intimate life. He squeezed his eyes shut tight, willing the sickening images of Liam having his way with her, touching her, out of his head. The memory of her cute grin as she walked away and her flirty French popped into his head, helping him breathe easier.

She's over him. He just doesn't know it yet. She's getting sick of him. That's what she'd been hinting at, right?

Quinn walked back to his locker after his shower, toweling off and getting dressed. Liam, Wes, and Nick started up their boastful discussions of female conquests again.

"I remember thinking I'd hit the jackpot when I hooked up with Candace Newman," said Wes, "but Raelyn DeRose, man. She's like aprimefuckin' piece. That pussy probably tastes like some gourmetcoq au vin."

The sardonic laughter that met Quinn's ears instantly made his muscles tense and he could practically hear his blood boiling. He looked up at Jett and Chris who had also gone rigid at these last comments; Jett met Quinn's stare and Chris was glaring up at the seniors who were still jeering and carrying on about Rae.

"The way she uses that mouth of hers- mm!" Liam moaned crudely. "Fuck, you'd think I was the gourmet meal."

The echoing bang of a locker door being slammed shut cut through another chorus of raucous laughter. Everyone looked in the direction of the loud noise, and Quinn was surprised to see it had come from Jett who was now staring down the guys across the room.

"You guys might wanna be fuckin' careful," Jett said, his voice low and threatening. "I don't think I need to remind you we've known that girl you're boasting about for a long fuckin' time, and I guarantee ifwetell her how you're talking in here, it'll be game over for you."

"Aw, come on," Liam whined mockingly. "This guy knows what I'm talkin' about, right?" He gestured toward Quinn, who looked up but refused to respond. "This guy's got all the girls in the school eating outof the palm of his hand- kudos, by the way. That was pretty impressive how you were able to show Raelyn up after she picked me over you."

Liam's cronies stood on either side of him, watching with enjoyment. Their self-satisfied grins made Quinn want to level each one of them, but he remained calm- at least on the outside. He was glaring at Liam, still not taking the bait. He'd drawn himself to his full height and was standing with his shoulders back, feeling almost like he could stare down at Liam.

"It's too bad, really," Liam continued, the smug grin still plastered to his face. "You can have anyone you wantexcepther. It must just kill you. All those years being her friend and she can't see you as anything more than that."

Chris and Jett had flanked themselves on either side of Quinn and the six of them were now standing across from each other, squared up and ready for one side to break first. The rest of the small weight training class had positioned themselves on the outside to watch.

"Your time's almost up, by the looks of it anyway," said Chris. He and Jett must have been watching Quinn and Rae's interaction in the hallway a little closer than they'd let on.

"After tonight, I'm not really worried about it," Liam said with a shrug. "We've got aromanticlittle night planned and I'll finally pop that million-dollar cherry. I'd say you can have her after that, but that'll never happen."

Swallowing hard, Quinn clenched his hands into fists, and clenched his jaw even harder. He'd be lucky if he didn't break a goddamn tooth. There was no way this douchebag was going to have sex with Rae. Not if he could help it. Quinn refused to believe she would let this guy just do whatever he wanted to her. He imagined that's exactly how it would be with Liam; he'd just take what he wanted without any regard to how it was for her. She deserved a hell of a lot better than this jackass.

"I'd actually be embarrassed if I were you," Liam continued, "between your crack-whore mother and being some rich family's charity case." At this, Quinn's expression must have faltered. "Oh yeah, Raelyn told me all about it."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Quinn said, and though his voice sounded sure, his insides were twisting. Rae wouldn't have told Liam about any of that, would she?

"Don't I?" Liam goaded, taking a step closer. As though flipping a switch, his voice went from goading to sweetly concerned, "'Come on, hun, you can tell me about it. He's an important person in your life, and that means he's important to me, too'." The malicious smirk returned to his face. "She'll never respect you as a man, Quinn. Her family took you in like a fucking stray dog."

Quinn felt himself take a step closer, closing the gap between him and Liam. They were nearly eye-to-eye, though Quinn was a fraction of an inch taller.

The part of him holding onto his and Rae's friendship was telling him Liam was just taking a good guess- it wouldn't be hard to figure out. But another part of him was absolutely furious that she would even talk about him, sayanythingto this asshole, that had to do with him. She knew how important it was to keep his home life a secret. She knew how much he wished he could refuse her family's help, and how much he wanted to make something of himself so he could pay them back one day. That she would talk about him, especially to this guy, felt like a stab in the back. It felt like an unforgivable betrayal.

"I know you think you wanna hit me, but think again," said Liam. "One hit, and I can have my lawyer take you for everything you own- which, I suppose, probably isn't much."

"You fuckin' rich kids," Quinn’s steely glare bore into Liam, "with your lawyers and your parents' money always there to bail you out. I'd be embarrassed not being man enough to fight my own battles."

A spark flickered in Liam's eyes as his expression grew more delighted. "Go ahead,Case. Spend your weekend buried in legal fees, and I'll spend mine buried in balls deep in your girl."

And his blood boileth over.

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