Page 68 of Hard Hitter

“Exactly,” Quinn snorted derisively. “Why now? Why should I think you’re interested in me now?”

Whoa- what?

Raelyn stepped back as though dodging a physical blow to her stomach. “I’m sorry- what exactly are you implying?”

"Do the math, Rae," Quinn growled. "All these guys you've been surrounding yourself with since we were kids.Jesus, I can't believe I didn't see it."

It didn't matter that she had been drinking since noon and had consumed more alcohol in twelve hours than the past twelve months. She was suddenly completely sober. That terrifying thought she'd had during Quinn's first physical therapy session had drifted so far out of her mind, but here it was slapping her across the face.

Just the other day when she was talking to Amira on her way to work she had admitted that she sometimes completely forgot that Quinn had a mega-million dollar salary, and that she still thought of him as her best friend from the proverbial wrong side of the tracks. Maybe she would've preferred him that way. Maybe that's why she hadn't been able to see this obnoxious, cocky, hot-shot version of him.

She swallowed around the lump in her throat once again, urging it to go away. She did not want to cry in front of all these people. She especially didn't want to cry in front of fucking Emerson and give him the satisfaction that he'd done exactly what he'd intended. Feeling her lip tremble and the tears start to fill in, she looked away from Quinn. He was her oldest friend. How the hell could he believe that? Her heart was in physical pain, but she couldn't let herself cry here. She had to get home.

Anger. Anger is easier.

Raelyn closed her eyes and channeled her inner rage. Finding it, she let out a humorless laugh. The kind that lets a man know that a woman is both angry and maybe a little crazy. “Quinn, I don't need your money. I don't know if you remember, but I've got a small fortune of my own, and one day I'll be getting an inheritance that makes your salary look like pocket change.”

She met his gaze and noticed his whole mood changed drastically, sobering and realizing too late the weight of his own words. His golden eyes flared with panic. “Rae- no, I-”

She turned around, knowing she wouldn’t be able to keep the tears at bay much longer. “I’ll find my own ride home,” she muttered, and made her way back up the lawn to the house alone.

Chapter 21

2007

Raelyn jumped as the librarian, Mrs. Combs, placed a hand on her arm.The Curse of Curvesblared through her headphones and she had apparently missed the bell that signaled the end of fifth period. One more class to go.

Thanking Mrs. Combs for alerting her, Raelyn wound her headphones around her iPod and stuffed it away in her bag along with her books. Her last class of the day was an AP history course, which she shared with Quinn, so she had to move quickly if she was going to get upstairs in time to walk to class with him. She needed to talk to him. There was a lot on her mind, and she needed the support and encouragement of her best friend right before the end of the day. They might be able to talk in class, but she’d prefer to not have a bunch of eavesdroppers for such a sensitive topic.

Liam was planning to take her out on some big fancy date tonight. He had also been getting particularly handsy lately and dropping hints about getting time alone. Raelyn was able to put two and two together and figure out he expected to have sex with her tonight, which quite frankly, she was not ready for.

She’d been under no disillusions when she decided to start dating Liam. She knew he was sexually experienced. She was also aware that he wasn't the type to wait around very long. To be perfectly honest, she was surprised he had waited two months as it was. Their relationshipwas fun and flirty and, okay, it satisfied a lot of those hormonal teenage cravings, but it was not meant to last.

It wasn't meant to happen at all, really. For some reason, Raelyn had found herself exceptionally annoyed that Quinn had been so arrogant about being able to find someone else, someonebetter, than her to take to homecoming. So, in a particularly petty moment, she'd agreed to go with Liam. He was exactly the type of person Quinn would hate to see her with. Vain, arrogant, entitled. Quinn would probably tease her and say he's exactly the type of guy people expected to see her with.

Again, petty. And she had felt bad as soon as they got in the car and he pulled his brooding, grumpy attitude with her. But she felt a lot less bad when that hoe-bag, Britney Garrett, told everyone in the girls' bathroom how they'd been making out and it escalated into a blow job in the back of the limo.

Out on the dance floor, Raelyn had thought Quinn was being oddly flirtatious with her. She thought maybe he was making up for being extra moody and brooding in the weeks leading up to the dance. But no. It was the new-found confidence of a seventeen-year-old boy who'd gotten his first blowie and now thought he was hot shit. The following months had made that point perfectly clear.

Their walk together after chemistry earlier that day was probably their first interaction in weeks that they'd had a whole three minutes to themselves; no shameless flock of girls fawning over him, and no Liam trying to stick his tongue down her throat. It had been so refreshing- while it lasted.

The walk had made her reach a definitive decision, though. Between the stress of her and Liam's impending date and her three-minute reminder of how much she missed Quinn's company, she'd decided she needed to end things with Liam after school. There was no point going through the motions of whatever extravagant date Liam had planned only to ruin it by telling him that no, she would not be putting out tonight. Or worse, let herself get coerced into something she wasn't ready to do just yet.

Something told her Quinn might also be relieved to hear this news. Sure, he had all this new female attention that he was basking in, but Raelyn liked to think he missed their friendship, too. She was hoping things could go back to normal and she could start spending time with her three best friends again.

After pulling on her T.C. West Baseball crewneck and throwing her backpack on, Raelyn started her trek through the halls toward her and Quinn's lockers. In her head, she rehearsed what she was going to say to Quinn about her date and what she was going to say to Liam when she broke things off.

Once at her locker, she shoved her bag inside and grabbed the books she would need for her next class. With no sight of Quinn yet, she walked down to his locker and leaned against it, letting her eyes shut momentarily as she waited for him.

"Must feel pretty good to have the school's hottest womanizer defending your honor," an amused voice drawled somewhat sarcastically from a few lockers down.

Raelyn rolled her head to face the always-moody Alaina Costello. “Are you talking to me?”

“Obviously,” Alaina droned. “Or do you not know yet?”

“Know what?” Raelyn snapped, really not in the mood for Alaina and her moody condescension.

“Wow, you really do just live in your own world,” Alaina said as she shook her head in disbelief. “Must be nice never having to worry about anything other than what’s going on in your own pretty little head.”

---