Page 37 of Quarterback Crush
And I had no clue what game my fake boyfriend was playing. But I was loving every minute of it.
Chapter 14
OLIVER
Ihadn’t intended to spend all afternoon at Maya’s house, but I really didn’t want to leave her side. Mr. Shelton wasn’t batting an eyelid as I snuggled next to Maya. She seemed happy to play the fake relationship for her parents and was extra grateful when I replaced her icepack and brought her another drink—almost like I was in my own house.
But that’s how the Shelton house was—comfortable, homely. Mr. Shelton’s commentary was spot-on and I could tell he loved the game for the sake of the game. Not like Dad—for him there had to be an end result—a championship title or a college scholarship. That pressure took the fun out of the sport, when you just wanted to play with your friends, for your school, for the sheer joy of it, and where the stakes weren’t always hanging over your head.
When the game finished, the doorbell rang and with the arrival of Maya’s friend, Sammy, I detected a frostiness that sent the indoor temperature plummet despite the heating.
“Oliver.” She said my name curtly, like a teacher about to give out a failing grade, and her dark hair tied up in a severe knot matched the stern vibe.
“Yeah.” I said, somewhat terrified of her. “Sammy? Nice to formally...finally...meet you.” I didn’t know what I was saying, only that it was blatantly clear she wasn’t a fan of me. Which was something I’d never encountered before.
“Look at this,” Maya said, showing Sammy the M&M jar, “isn’t this just the cutest?”
“Yeah,” Sammy said with a nod but no emotion, “it is.” She presented Maya with a gift bag, and Maya gushed in thanks as she pulled out bags of popcorn, gummy bears, peanut butter cups, nail polish, face masks and other beauty stuff.
“Uh, I think I should leave you girls to it,” I said, standing up and stretching my shoulders. I had been sitting for a while and there was some stiffness in my upper back.
“Yeah, we’ve gotrealstuff to do,” Sammy said with a complete lack of subtlety, her fierce expression confirming that I wasn’t welcome.
“Um, hey, you don’t need to walk me out.” I motioned to Maya who was trying to get up.
“I need to use the bathroom,” she said with a giggle.
I willingly helped her up, though noticed Sammy keeping an eagle eye out. When I was about to grab her crutches, Maya shook her head. “I can hobble,” she said, “it’s not far.”
“We’ve got game review tomorrow and it’s bound to be a long one, but I’ll call you, okay?”
“Yeah, thanks for the flowers and my favorite thing ever,” she said, glancing down at the candy jar with a smile.
“You’re very welcome.” I wanted to kiss Maya but I hesitated, Sammy standing protectively to the side, like she was guarding her from me. “Uh, um...I’ll see you later?” And despite Sammy’s intimidating glare, I gently wrapped my arm around Maya’s back and pulled her close for a soft and swift kiss on the lips.
Maya looked up at me with bright eyes, her smile radiant and so full of joy that my heart skipped a beat, and a shiver raced through me, the hairs on the back of my neck standing to attention.
And it hit me—this was real. This feeling couldn’t be faked, it wasn’t pretend. I wasn’t acting. I could’ve bought Maya a bag ofcandy, but no, I’d come up with the idea to divide the candy into colors because I wanted to impress her.
And there’s only one reason you want to impress a girl—and that’s when youreallylike her, when you reallycareabout her.
IT TOOK MOM NO TIMEat all to set up Penny Adlam as my mentor for the Senior Project. She signed all the paperwork and arranged to have our first meeting within a couple of days. I was kind of pleased to be meeting Penny—as she’d always insisted I call her—racing there straight after football training on Wednesday because the nightly pep talks from Dad about the final were bugging me.
“You have the chance to be legends, to write your name in the history books,” Dad said, mirroring what Coach Gregor had been saying all week. “This game is the final assignment, Ollie, and nothing less than an A will be acceptable. Colleges will be fighting for you, I know it. Your future depends on this.”
I nodded agreeably because there was no sense, at this late stage, to fuel a fire. And besides, I wanted to enjoy the week, the hype, the camaraderie within the team. Savor my last high school football game.
Meeting Penny and getting started on my project would give me some relief from Dad’s constant harping on about this game being everything, if not the reason for life itself. It was grating on me and only the memory of spending time with Maya and wrestling these new, not-so-fake feelings was stopping me from lashing out at him. Yeah, I loved football but that didn’t mean I had to play it in college, right? Why couldn’t I be like my brothers and study a career I wanted? Why did a football scholarship have to be the be-all and end-all of everything?
Penny’s restaurant was part of the Snow Ridge Golf Course complex. With indoor and outdoor seating and a wrap-around terrace offering views of the 18th hole and the mountains, it made for a popular lunch spot by day, and the bar and four large screen tvs made it lively at night. Mom and Dad were regulars on the weekend.
“Hi Penny,” I greeted her brightly, hoping she wouldn’t mention the breakup.
“Hi, Ollie, how are you? I haven’t seen you since you and Savvy...” Her lips pressed as if it was an accidental slip of the tongue.
I drew in a deep breath, trying to maintain composure. “If this is going to be awkward—”
Penny brought her hand up to her mouth, signaling a zipping motion and shook her head. “Absolutely not. I’m sorry. I’m not going to interfere in my daughter’s love life, and your mom was so enthusiastic about your project that I jumped at the chance to help.”
