Page 94 of Quarterback Sneak
I pull away from Zane and stare at him and his friends. All four of them watch me, but it’s Zane that has the most intense look in his eyes. “Zane,” I start.
He takes a step forward, bringing us chest to chest. “I’m not going to apologize for giving them a taste of their own medicine.” His eyebrows tighten. “No guy should ever come on to a girl and scare her like that, let alone two of them. What makes it worse is that it wasn’t any girl. It was my—” he stops and clenches his jaw. “Girl.”
“He’s right, Evie,” Quint says in a rare moment of seriousness. “What Zane did was right. We protect women; we don’t hurt them or threaten them or scare them. Zane was reminding them of that.” Both Reid and Slate nod in agreement.
“Besides, if Zane wouldn’t have gone after them, we would have,” Reid says nonchalantly. “You’re one of us now.”
I stare at all four of them as my heart tugs. I turn to Zane and wrap my arms around his middle. “Thank you.” His strong arms wrap around me, and I’m pretty sure being in his arms is the safest place in the world. While still keeping my arms around his middle, I turn to his friends, nowmyfriends. “Thank you.” I take a deep breath and pull away from Zane and miss his strength instantly. I reach into my pocket for his keys. “Well, I guess I can pass these off to you now.”
Zane meets my gaze. “You’re sure?”
I nod. “Yes.”
“Okay.” He bends and kisses my cheek. “I’ve got a full day, so I probably won’t see you again today, but text me anytime day ornight. If I don’t answer right away, I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.”
“It’s fine, Zane. Your schedule is insane; I get it. Football is important.”
“Not as important as you are,” he says softly. His piercing eyes hold my gaze. “You need me; you call me.”
I nod. “I will.”
“Don’t lie to me, Bennett.” There’s a hint of a smirk on Zane’s face, and that tension that’s been gripping me finally gives way. He seems to be returning to the Zane I know and...I catch that thought and stop it before it can fully form. It’s way too early to be thinking those thoughts.
Chapter 40
Evie
The rest of the week passes in a blur of classes, shifts at the coffee shop, and studying. Before I know it, it’s Saturday. The guys’ game is away this weekend, but Tessa and I are planning to watch it together. I’ve barely seen Zane all week. His schedule was really intense with football the early part of the week, and I’ve been buried under my classwork, studying, and working. On Wednesday, we met for twenty minutes, when we both were free. He brought me an iced pumpkin coffee that was to die for; then he left with his team. My phone buzzes, and I don’t have to even look at it to know it’s Tessa. I don’t bother answering; I’m almost up to our room. I open the door to my room, not at all surprised to see her already in my room.
The one nice thing about Sam disappearing is that I’ve been able to keep the room to myself. I did actually tell the office that she left without any further word. So far, they haven’t given me a new roommate, a fact Tessa and I are taking advantage of. She’s decked our room out in all the navy and white she can find. Most of it is her stuff, but I don’t care. It makes it fun. When she takes in what I’m wearing, her face breaks into a smile.
“You got a jersey?”
I grin at her. “Zane gave it to me.”
“Shut up.”
I've pretty much lived in this jersey since Zane gave it to me on Wednesday. After he gave me the coffee, he handed me a gift bag with this jersey inside. Then he asked if I’d wear it to all the home games. I responded by hugging him and telling him I’dlove to. My stomach heats when I remember how his eyes had darkened when I threw it over my clothes, and he’d told me to spin around so he could see his name across my back. Then he’d told me in a deep voice that I was born to wear his last name.
“Girl, what are you thinking about? Your cheeks are flaming right now.”
At her attention, I feel my cheeks heat even more. “Nothing.” I set down my backpack and pull out the bag of snacks I grabbed from the convenience store on campus. “I brought snacks.”
“Ooo, I love snacks.” I toss her the red and yellow licorice and the box of kettle corn before pulling out the chocolate bars.
We settle on my bed and watch her laptop, where she’s got the game cued up. “How was the coffee shop this morning?” she asks, taking a bite of one of the red licorices.
“Good. Busy as usual.”
“How was security?” I can’t help my grin.
“Stop it,” she says elbowing me. “It went great.”
“I still can’t believe you work for security.”
“Hey, I’m really dangerous. You should see me with a flashlight.”
Tessa saw an ad on the job site for campus security, so she signed up. Neither of us thought she’d actually get the job, but they must have been desperate because my friend is the newest member of the campus security team. “All I really do is make sure buildings are empty at night and the doors are locked.”
