Page 62 of Quarterback Sneak
Quint hoots with laughter. “No, not like that. He gave me a bite; oh, never mind.” Zane smirks across the table at me. I shake my head and go back to eating. When I can’t eat anymore, I push it towards Zane.
“You’re done?” he asks.
“Yes, I’m so full.”
“You should eat more.”
His words make me laugh; I’m not even sure why. I’m pretty sure I’m in a food coma right now. Of course, I’ve been laughing since we sat down. I don’t know when I’ve ever had such a good night. Several times, Zane’s caught my eye while I’ve been laughing, and he’s given me this smile. I don’t know what to make of it, but it’s a smile that makes me feel like I’m the most precious thing in his whole world. I nearly groan out loud.I’m definitely in a food coma.
I’m the first person to push my chair back. “This has been so fun, but I’ve got to go back to my dorm. I have an early morning at the coffee shop tomorrow.”
“What time?” Zane asks.
“Five.”
He nods, and I know without even asking that he’ll be at my dorm before then to walk me over. The thought makes me smile. “What?” he asks, catching my smile.
My smile increases. “You’re a good guy, Zane Blackwood.”
Chapter 27
Evie
“Okay, well on that note, let’s head back to our dorm,” Tessa says, pushing her chair back from the table. The guys stand as well. I gather my trash, but Zane takes it from me. When we walk towards the exit, I take notice of how few people are in here and realize it’s probably later than I think it is. I don’t want to look, though, and ruin the night. It's been an almost perfect night, aside from the whole Jace thing. I push him from my mind; he’s not going to ruin this night for me. Quint and Tess keep a running commentary the entire walk back to our dorm, and I just listen with a smile on my face.
Zane bumps my shoulder lightly. “You good? You’re quiet.” His voice is low and soft, and it sends a shiver down my spine. Agoodshiver. I resist the urge to lean my head on his bicep. I don’t know what it is about him that makes me feel so comfortable around him. I try really hard not to. But then his hand finds the small of my back, and I feel like all my willpower is leaving me. “Evie?” he asks in that dangerously low, sexy voice.
“I’m good.” My voice is breathless, and I hope he won’t notice. One look at his face shows that he does. He stares down at me. Under the streetlight, I can see those piercing green eyes that seem to glow in the dark. He takes a step towards me, and I can almost feel his intensity ratchet up another notch.
“Evie,” he says, and his voice sounds deeper and gruffer than before.
Reid suddenly puts his arm around Zane’s shoulder. “Thanks for eating with us tonight, Evie.”
He breaks whatever spell I was under, and I take a small step backwards. Zane makes a sound low in his chest, and my eyes fly to his. He’s staring at me with that wickedly intense look, and I don’t know if I can walk away. I force myself to take another step back. “Thanks for dinner, Zane.” My voice is not as shaky as I thought it’d be. He stares at me but doesn’t respond to what I’m saying. I wonder if he feels this thing between us as intensely as I do. But then I think of how I thought things with Jace were normal, and suddenly, I doubt myself. Thinking of Jace is the proverbial cold water I need. “Night, Guys.”
“Night, Evie,” Quint calls out, and I think I hear Reid say goodnight.
I start towards the door, afraid that if I don’t, I’ll do something stupid like try to hug Zane. I’m almost to the door when I hear his voice. “Evie.”
That masculine voice sends a shiver through my entire body, and I’m hopeless to stop myself from turning around. He covers the distance between us in four long strides, but I take the last step towards him. His arms come around me, and he pulls me into his chest. I think we both sigh at the same time. It scares me how much I crave him; I don’t understand it. This isn’t anything like it was with Jace. I lay my head on his strong chest and listen to the sound of his heartbeat. If I’m not mistaken, it’s beating pretty fast. That makes me feel better, like I’m not the only one affected by whatever is going on between us. I finally find my courage. “Zane, what’s happening between us?”
“Does it scare you?” he asks softly.
“Youdon’t scare me, but the intensity of this kind of scares me,” I tell him honestly.
I feel his hand on the back of my head. I close my eyes as his hand runs over the back of my head and down my hair. “I promise I will be good to you, Evie.”
“I know.” And somehow, I do. I pull back slightly and stare up at him. Suddenly, I have a longing to kiss him and be kissed by him. The intensity of my feelings shock me, and I swallow hard.
Zane gives me a tender smile and then drops his arms. I miss him instantly. “Good night, Evie.” He shoves his hands in his pockets and rocks backwards.
“Night, Zane.” I give him one more smile and then start inside. I don’t turn back because I’m seriously doubting my self-control right now. My chest almost aches as I walk away from him, and I frown. I was never one of those kinds of girls that fell hard for every guy that even looked at them, but this is seriously kind of scary. Tessa waits for me by the stairs with a goofy grin on her face. She links her arm through mine.
“Still convinced he’s not madly in love with you?”
I don’t even bother to reply because as much as I'm feeling right now, I know it’s not possible that either of us is in love. I push all such foolish notions from my head. She lays her head on my arm like I wanted to do earlier to Zane. “Tonight was such a good night.”
I sigh. “Yeah, it was.”
