Page 60 of Hard Hitter

There was a flash of red that flooded his vision before he threw his first punch. His fist connected with flesh, and there was a satisfying crunch. Next to him, Chris and Jett had begun their brawl Wesand Nick. Fists were flying, bodies were falling to the floor. Quinn grabbed Liam's shirt and pulled him back up, shoving him against the lockers and throwing another punch to his already bloodied face. Liam grunted, then bent low, sending his shoulder into Quinn's ribs and throwing him backwards. He should've guessed the offensive lineman would use his football-tackle skills to his advantage.

The two were sent over a bench and wrestled on the floor. Liam was pinning Quinn down. He pulled his fist back to wind up for the punch, but Jett wrapped an arm around Liam's neck before he could take his swing, pulling him off of Quinn in a chokehold. As Quinn stood back up, a fist caught his jaw, sending him staggering sideways. Nick was shorter and stocky with a baby face, butfuck,he had a solid punch. Squaring up with his new opponent, Quinn attempted to blink the dizziness away before sending an uppercut to Nick's gut. With Nick doubled over, Quinn placed a hand on the back of his head and drove his knee into his face, then shoved him over, moving back to his original target.

Liam was throwing punches at Chris, who was dodging them like a champion boxer. Quinn prepared himself with a deep breath in, and quick out, setting his sights on Liam and charging. The side tackle sent Liam crashing through the crowd of onlookers and onto the locker room floor near the entrance. Quinn managed to get a few good shots at Liam's face, and when Liam held his arms up to block the blows, Quinn started on his abdomen. An elbow flew up and caught the bottom of Quinn's chin, then a fist met his cheekbone, making him sway slightly, but he didn't lose his superior position.

A whistle echoed through the locker room, piercing ears, but not halting the fight between Quinn and Liam. Two sets of arms wrapped around Quinn, pulling him away and off of Liam, who hadn't seemed to register the presence of the gym teacher and football coach, along with various other coaches. With Quinn's weight off of him, Liam heaved himself back up and charged back at Quinn. Coach Andrews and Coach Landon rushed forward to stop Liam before he could make contact and pulled him back several feet.

"What the hell is going on in here?" The football coach-slash-gym teacher's forehead vein was pulsing as he shouted and glared back and forth between the two students who were being held back. Both Quinn and Liam were covered in blood, both their own and each other's, and were glaring intently at the other, not speaking.

"Would anyone else who witnessed this like to give me an idea?" Coach Barlow shouted into the room.

There was an awkward shuffle as the boys in the room looked from one to another, waiting to see if someone was going to speak up. Chris and Jett stepped up next to Quinn and the coaches registered their injuries for the first time. Nick was leaning against a locker, covering his gushing bloody nose, and Wes was wiping at his lip which was both swollen and bleeding.

"Case, why don't you come with me and tell me your side of things?" the baseball coach's familiar voice suggested, and Quinn realized Coach Garcia was one of the men holding him back.

"Fine," Quinn answered gruffly. His arms were slowly released, though the two coaches still kept a hand on either shoulder as they escorted him past Liam and out of the locker room.

Quinn was not in the mood to talk. His adrenaline was still pumping, and his anger was still at the forefront of his mind. Not only had Rae chosen that fucking pig over him, but she'd confided in the guy. She'd told Liam things abouthimthat he didn't want anyone else to know. What the hell had she been thinking?

He was sure theirromantic datewas likely off for the evening, so he wasn't going to bother rushing to tell her everything that had been aired out in the open for the whole locker room to hear, or that Liam was totally playing her.

No, he needed time to cool off before he talked to her. He wanted to know why she was running her mouth about him to people who have no fucking right to know anything. Even more, he wanted to know if what Liam had said was true. Is that really why she couldn't see him as more than a friend? Did she really see him as some charity case to help her rich family feel better about having more money than God?

Fuck that.

He didn't need anyone feeling sorry for him. What he needed was something,someoneto get that thought off his mind. Someone who understood him. Someone he could bitch to about all these entitled bastards strutting around their school like they're a damn gift to the planet. He just wanted to escape. He thought this must be how drug addicts felt when they're dying for a hit of something. But no, drugs were off the table for him. He would have to find some other high.

Dark brown curls, olive skin, and coffee brown eyes flickered in his mind. That sassy fuck 'em all attitude, and her way of delivering a hard-to-swallow dose of reality. Once he was discharged from the nurse and no doubt sent to collect his things to go home with a suspension, he would find Alaina Costello and they would get the fuck out of this place.

Chapter 19

The weeks following Raelyn's birthday were complete bliss. Even though she had to work her regular hours, she still saw Quinn during the day. He would either bring her lunch or pick her up for lunch most days, and she would of course see him when he came in for his therapy sessions. After working hours, they were inseparable. Quinn would arrive at her house only minutes after she got home and either join her in the shower or start cooking them dinner so that they could eat once she was out and dressed and have the rest of the evening to themselves.

While much of their time was spent in Raelyn's bed or occasionally Quinn's hotel suite, they still made sure to get out and do things together on the weekends. For the Fourth of July weekend they had taken a trip to Mackinaw Island and stayed at the Grand Hotel, another weekend they joined Amira and Brody on a bike and brew tour around the city. Raelyn's dad invited them out on their pontoon, and they'd been on the lake the entire previous weekend, lazing around on the top deck and soaking up the sun.

The day of the bachelorette party arrived, and Raelyn was ready for a girl's day. They were meeting at Amira's house to go over the itinerary, play some drinking games and take some shots- it was a solid start. Amala passed out black tank tops for everyone with variousGame of Thronessayings on them, such as 'Hand of the Bride,' 'He bent the Knee,' and 'Hangover is Coming.' Raelyn had requested the 'I Drink and I Know Things' design and started her day off with a strong mimosa and a tequila shot.

They had a two o'clock appointment for aKayak, Bike, and Brewtour, in which they started on bikes and rode to different breweries, then hopped into kayaks and kayaked to several more. As much fun as she'd been having with Quinn lately, Raelyn had forgotten how therapeutic it was to spend time with the girls and get a little rowdy. It nearly felt like she was revisiting her wild party days from college, minus the manhunt. A party bus which had been completely decked out in themed decorations picked them up for their dinner reservations on the Leelanau peninsula. Raelyn was grateful for the food after drinking such a wide variety of alcoholic beverages all day. Unfortunately, the large pasta dish hadn't quite seemed to absorb all the alcohol, so Quinn would likely be carrying her into her house again like he had several weeks ago.

The girls had been split into teams based on the family houses- Lannister, Stark, Baratheon, and Targaryen- for the themed scavenger hunt Amala had put together. The hunt featured tasks such as finding men with hair like Jon Snow, or someone with a dragon tattoo. They had to take a picture with a shirtless man- Raelyn suspected this was an ode to all the naked women in brothels that were featured in several episodes- and challenge someone to a sword fight with the fake mini-swords Amala had provided in their goodie bags.

Raelyn and Amira were completely killing the competition- Fifty points to House Stark! Or something to that effect.

The party bus dropped the loud, cheering and stumbling group of girls off at Amira and Brody's house around ten o’clock, where the guys already had the bonfire going in the backyard.

The previous summer, Brody had insisted on converting their unused garden shed into a mini-pub. It was a full-on Irish style pub crammed into the shed, with an outdoor walk-up window to order drinks. There were draughts on tap, a wine fridge, and fully back-lit liquor display with a wide variety of mixers. Of course this meant someone had to play bartender, but the guys always seemed to have fun with it.

Amira was holding up her House Stark banner as she hopped, quite successfully, off the party bus and ran toward the makeshift pub, where Brody was passing out drinks to the guys. In the dark with only hanging globe lights and the fire, Brody's bright orange hair made him easy to spot. Amira leapt into her fiancé’s arms and gave him a sloppy, drunken kiss.

"We won!" Amira cheered, thrusting her mini-sword into the air.

"Oh shit, that thing's not actually sharp, is it?" Brody asked, alarmed. He grabbed Amira's hand and pulled it down to examine the sword. Upon discovering it was both plastic and had a mostly rounded tip, he sighed with relief and set her back on the ground.

Raelyn stood next to the bar window and looked around for Quinn. Disappointed that he hadn’t shown up yet, she slunk back onto the small bar with a sigh. She snapped to attention and a tingle ran down her spine at the familiar deep, smooth voice that sounded from behind her.

"Congrats on the win." Emerson was inside the pub shed, behind the bar. He handed a drink out the window. "Tito's and tonic with lime? Or is it a wine night?"

As the sudden surprise of hearing her ex’s voice again faded, she was pleased to note that Emerson's presence wasn't bothering her nearly as much as she’d expected it would when she'd first received the email about this night. And there was her new blissful happiness that she was finding with Quinn. That helped, too.

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