Page 24 of Topping the Jock
Rain fell steadily all morning, and during my prep period, I listened to it hit the roof in a heavy downpour. Murmured voices came from Quinn’s class, followed by an occasional buzzing sound, like the ones used on game shows but not nearly as loud. What was he doing in there?
When the bell rang, signaling the end of his class, I went to find out.
“Are you torturing people in here?” I asked after walking into his classroom and finding it empty apart from him.
“Huh?” Quinn spun on his heels toward me. “Oh. The buzzers. Are they too distracting for you? I think I can adjust the volume.”
“Nah,” I said, sitting on the edge of his desk as he went around the room, gathering said buzzers and putting them into a box. “What are they for?”
“Test prep,” he answered, placing the box behind his desk. At his proximity, I got a faint whiff of his woodsy cologne. “I started doing it last year, and it worked out extremely well. I divide the class into four teams, each one getting a buzzer, and ask questions that might be on the test. When you make studying like a game, the kids find it fun and actually take it seriously.”
“Do the winners get anything?”
“Five bonus points on the test.”
“Damn,” I said. “You might be onto something here, Mr. Beck.”
“If you ever want to borrow my buzzers, let me know,” Quinn responded, surprising me with a smile. “But it’ll cost you.”
“Yeah? What’s the price?” I took a step forward, seeing how he stilled as I did. But not from fear, I noticed. No… his eyes were on my lips just like they’d been in the athletic hall.
He never got the chance to answer.
Students entered the classroom for the next period, breaking the connection between us. Or maybe it had all been in my head and there wasn’t a connection at all. I took a step back, not taking my eyes off him, and then I left the room.
At lunch, I used the microwave in the teachers’ lounge to heat up a piece of grilled chicken and then sat at the table to eat. I meal prepped throughout the week so I wasn’t stuck eating shit for lunch.
“Something smells good,” Quinn said, entering the lounge. He carried a Tupperware bowl and sat across from me, taking off the lid and revealing a decent-sized salad. The dude didn’t skimp either. There was egg, cheese, carrots, tomatoes, cubes of turkey, and croutons.
“It’s me.” I shot him a smile. “The smell is called Sexy Jock. You’re welcome.”
He rolled his eyes. “I should’ve eaten in my classroom. You’re going to ruin my lunch.”
“Yet, you’re still here.”
“Unfortunately.”
“You know, you can tell a lot about a man by what he eats.” I nodded to his food.
“Yeah?” Quinn jabbed some lettuce and turkey with his fork and took a bite. “What does my lunch say about me?”
“That you take care of yourself but still like to indulge a little,” I said, pulling the answer out of my ass. “You’re reserved, but you can have a wild side.”
More like wishful thinking on my part. I loved the idea of Quinn being a freak in the sheets. Not that he’d ever let me find out for myself, though.
“A wild side? You got that from looking at my salad?” Quinn’s smart-ass tone made me grin. “You’re in the wrong profession, Montgomery. I think you’re wasting your talent here at the school. You should run off and open your own fortune-telling shop. Hurry now, your future is calling. No time to waste.”
“Only if you come with me,” I said. “I need someone with your level of sarcasm to make the days less dull.”
Danny came into the room and went over to the copying machine. It felt awkward to continue that line of conversation with Quinn in front of him, so we ate in silence until Danny finished making copies and left again.
“He was using your boyfriend,” Quinn said. “Jealous?”
I snickered. “Franklin and I have an agreement. He can whore around with whoever he wants just as long as I can do the same.”
“I bet your bedroom has a revolving door,” Quinn muttered before taking a bite of his salad. Then, he frowned. “That was inappropriate. I’m sorry. We shouldn’t be talking about that anyway. Not exactly workplace professional.”
“No worse than the memes I send you every day,” I said, chuckling. I had sent him some raunchy ones too.
