Page 12 of Quarterback Sneak
I frown at her. “What’s with the twenty questions? Am I not allowed to spend my Saturday night how I want and with whomever I want?”
My question seems to snap her out of it. “Sorry. Long night at the shop.” She turns away from me and takes off her shirt to change into pajamas. “I’m glad you got out. Did they win?”
“They did.” I change into my pj’s as well. After I brush my teeth, I start getting ready for bed. “I went with Stephanie and Tessa,” I finally say. It’s not a secret, and I would have told her. I just didn’t appreciate the way she was saying things in that tone of voice, like she was my mom or something.
“That’s nice.” She says the words, but I know she doesn’t really mean them. She’s never really gotten along with our suitemates, but I chalk it up to her being a junior. I feel like they don’t really get along with any underclassmen. She and I get along well enough, but we kind of have to, to make it work.
“How are things going with Jace?”
I turn at her question, recognizing it for what it is—an olive branch. That’s a subject I don’t really want to dive into tonight or for the second time tonight. So, I keep my answer light. “I’m not really sure; I guess, we’ll just see where it goes.” She seems satisfied with my answer and lets me be. I climb into bed and drag out my Humanities book. This course is going to be the death of me this semester. I just know it. The professor stands behind his podium and just talks the entire hour. He doesn’t go through the textbook; I'm not really sure where he pulls his information from. But we’re responsible for every word that comes out of his mouth, and there’s a lot of words that come out of his mouth. I’m going to have to study after every class if I’m going to stay on top of this class and pull an A. I really want to do well in classes. My mom never got to go to college, and though she doesn’t talk about it much, I know it’s always bothered her. Instead, she got married young and then had me. She and my dad tried for more children, but I was the only one. Based on how things went for them, I’m glad they didn’t have more kids. It was hard enough for me to deal with how things went with my dad. I would have hated to have a younger brother or sister have to deal with it as well.
For me, it’s made me who I am today. I just wish my mom would have left him sooner, but I can’t blame her. I don’t really know how hard it was for her to finally leave him. Of course, I can say I would have sooner if it were me, but I don’t really know. All I know is after he cheated on her for the third time, at least the ones we knew about, she finally decided to leavehim. It’s been a tough few years, but I’m proud of my mom. She waited for two years because he refused to sign divorce papers, which is ironic because he’s the one that blew up their marriage...multiple times. But the law kicked in, and they’re officially divorced. My mom is finally free of him, and we have so much more peace in our home. The divorce finalized a year ago, but she kicked him out when I was fifteen. Honestly, the last three years have been pretty rough, because my mom relied on my dad for everything. It’s been a tough go, but I wouldn’t change anything. She’s free of him, and that’s what matters. And I wouldn’t change that for anything.
Chapter 7
Evie
The weekend flies by, and so does my third week of classes. I’m dragging today and wish I would have stopped for a coffee before class, but I shouldn’t spend the money anyway. I’m not exactly loaded. Thankfully, it’s Friday. I just have today's classes to get through before the weekend. Somehow, I make it through my morning classes. I meet Sam outside the dining complex. “Hey, how was your morning?” I ask when I get close. Her grunt makes me smile. “Yeah, that’s about how mine went too. At least it’s Friday.” I follow her inside and over to the salad bar. She disappears into the abyss of restaurants, but we’ll meet at our regular spot once we both have food. When I walk back to the table carrying my food and water bottle, I’m not surprised to see Jace already at the table. He’s been showing up more and more frequently.
“Evie,” he says when I get close.
“Hey, Jace.” I pull out the seat across from him, leaving Sam to sit beside him. I take in the food piled high on his plate. “Get enough to eat?” I tease.
He smirks before taking a big bite. “These muscles don’t grow themselves.”
I shake my head and roll my eyes. “You’re so humble.”
“When are you going to go to dinner with me?” he surprises me by asking.
I stop chewing and look up at him. “What?”
“When are you going to let me take you to dinner?”
“We’re literally eating together right now.”
He gives me a look. “A real date,noton campus and not with a bunch of students around.”
I level a look at him. “Are you asking me on a date?”
He stares across the table at me. “That’s what I would be doing, Evie.”
“Why?” I can’t help the question.
His eyebrows rise. “Why am I asking you on a date?”
“Yeah. I mean we already eat together several times during the week.”
He cocks his head to the side. “Let me guess. You didn’t date much in high school.”
I feel my cheeks heat up but don’t dwell on it. “Nope.”
“A date is different. It’s just you and me in a booth somewhere at a nice restaurant. Nobody around to bother us, or to take note of what we’re doing,” he says with a full-on smile.
“But why me?” I have to ask. I don’t really get it.
His eyebrows rise. “Aside from the fact you’re hot?”
I scowl at him. “No, I'm not.”
