Page 67 of Topping the Jock
“It’s fine,” he answered right away, then blushed and looked at his laptop. The waitress returned with my coffee and topped off his before moving to a different table. His green eyes lifted to mine again. “Tough loss Friday night.”
My gut coiled at the reminder.
The game had been neck and neck the whole night, then after halftime, the opposing team had scored a touchdown and everything went to hell from there. We hadn’t been able to catch up. Dean had taken it hard. His dad had been at that game for once. Losing had upset all the boys but him especially. I’d never seen him so bent out of shape before. In the locker room afterward, he had thrown his helmet and cussed up a storm.
“Yeah,” I responded, releasing a long breath. “Even if we win our next few games, our chances of moving on are shot now.”
“I’m sorry.” Quinn slid his hand across the table toward mine, then stopped midway there. He withdrew it and placed it in his lap. “Your team should still be proud.”
“I feel like I’ve failed them, you know?”
“Don’t think that way,” he said. “You haven’t failed them. Even my dad says you’re a great coach.”
I perked up at his words. “Really? Your dad said that?”
“Yes. He’s also threatened to kick your ass a few times as well.” Quinn sipped his coffee.
“What did you tell him?”
“That it wasn’t necessary,” he responded. “If I want your ass kicked, I’ll do it myself.”
Typical Quinn. Funny how I knew how to read him now. When he said shit like that, he wasn’t serious.
After the waitress brought my food, I dug in. As I stuffed my face with pancakes, I glanced up to see Quinn watching me. “What?”
“Nothing.” He shook his head, amused. “You just have, uh, some butter right there on the corner of your lip.”
“Wanna wipe it off for me?” I tilted my face up, challenging him. When he only stared at me, I sighed and used a napkin to wipe it. “Killjoy. Do you have anything planned today?”
“I’m going over to my dad’s for lunch, then to run some errands. Nothing too exciting.”
“What time are you meeting your dad?” I asked.
“Noon.” His eyes narrowed. “Why?”
That gave us close to three hours.
“Wanna come to my place after breakfast?”
Quinn’s whole demeanor changed then. Green eyes darkened, and I could practically feel the sexually charged pheromones coming off him.
“I take that as a yes,” I said, smirking.
“Hurry and eat your food,” he said in an impatient tone, finger tapping on top of the table.
I loved when he got bossy. Loved even more when that cold exterior broke apart during intimate moments and I saw another side to him, one that was tender and passionate. He was the full package. And he definitelyhada full package.
My ass was going to ache for the rest of the day after he finished with me. I couldn’t fucking wait.
Chapter Fourteen
Quinn
Halloween night, Monty invited me over to his house for a horror movie marathon. I had expected him to drag me to a party or bar—since downtown was bustling with activity, from half-price drinks to costume contests at the club—but he’d respected my boundaries and had asked to have a quiet night instead.
He really was kind of amazing.
Reed had been disappointed at first that I wouldn’t be going with him to a party, but then he’d gotten a hot date and bailed on the party as well.
