Page 23 of Fragile (Cedar Lakes University #2)

Chapter twenty-two

Miles

Sweat runs down my back as Coach shouts from the middle of the field for us to “move our asses.” In our defense, we’ve been sprinting across the field for over three minutes now, and while all of us have a high fitness level, it’s fucking hard.

“Pick up your knees, Parker!” he bellows. “Dawson, I need my captain to be fast!”

Grunts echo along our line up as we all heave for air and push our bodies further and further until, finally, the sweet shrill of the whistle blowing makes every single one of us collapse.

“That was mediocre. Is that what my team is? Mediocre?” Coach spits.

“No, Coach,” Seb yells—at least I think it’s Seb. I don’t look up to check because I might just pass the fuck out if I do and I can’t hear over my panting.

“Then get up and show me why you deserve to be on this field and on this team!”

None of my muscles want to move. They protest as I lazily raise my body from the grass. As I sit up, I see the cheer squad making their way to the far side of the field, stretching and warming up. And then a flash of red catches my eye, and in slow motion, I watch with rapt attention as Quinn bends over to put her water bottle down, giving me a full view of her peachy butt. Jesus, keep it together, man.

“Cooper, get up and stop staring at the skirts,” Coach yells, and it’s then I realize I’m the only player still sitting down. Everyone else is at the side, ready to run again. Even if some of the newbies look like they might throw up, they’re there.

“Sorry, Coach,” I grumble, heaving my body upright, suppressing the exhaustion and running drills with my teammates again.

Fifteen minutes later, we’re throwing the ball across the field. Coach wanted this practice to be about cardio and endurance and not plays so here we are.

In the time I’ve been passing the ball, I’ve fumbled as much as I’ve caught, because I have to actively stop myself from glancing across the field. Which is nearly impossible because they’re loud, and with the reminder that Quinn is over there, it’s much harder to concentrate. Her bright smile can be seen even from yards away. I can feel her infectious energy like a magnet, pulling my gaze her way.

“Cooper, head in the game!” Devin, my teammate, smacks my shoulder, jolting me back to reality. “You’re gonna get a ball to the face, dude.”

“Yeah, sorry,” I mutter, forcing myself to look away. I need to focus. But my mind keeps drifting back to Quinn, her laughter ringing in my ears.

A sudden scream pierces the air, slicing through the sounds of whistles and shouts. My heart lurches, because I know that sound. I heard it enough growing up. Spinning around, I see a figure crumpled on the ground. Quinn. Without a second thought, I sprint across the field, my cleats pounding against the turf along with my heartbeat.

Quinn’s face is contorted in pain, her hands clutching her ankle. Her teammates crowd around her, but they make little effort to help.

“What happened?” I demand, kneeling beside her.

“I—I fell wrong,” Quinn stammers, wincing as she tries to move her foot. “I think I rolled my ankle.”

“Alright, let me help you,” I say, my voice calm but firm.

“No, no, I’m fine,” Quinn protests, trying to stand. She stumbles, and I catch her before she can fall again. “Ahh, ouch ouch ouch!”

I scoop her up effortlessly, ignoring the murmur of voices and the crowd gathering around us. Quinn's protest is also lost when I look down at her with a look that tells her I’m not putting her down.

Seb pushes through the small crowd and appears at my side. I tense, wondering what he might think of me holding his sister, but as I look over, his face is tight with worry, focused on her. “You okay, Quinn?” he asks, and she gives him a small nod. He deflates and slaps my shoulder. “Get her to the physio, Miles,” he orders, his voice low but firm.

I nod, already moving in that direction, my grip on her secure. “I'm on it.” I should be more worried about repercussions, of just running over here, acting on instinct, but I’m hoping he won’t read into it and plays it off as a friend’s duty to help.

“Hey! She’s our responsibility,” the squad captain clips, her hands on her hips, snapping my attention her way.

“She’s hurt,” I shoot back, and my tone leaves no room for argument. “I’m taking her inside.”

Glancing once more to Seb, he nods and says, “I’ll be there in a sec, just gotta talk to coach.”

Quinn’s arms instinctively wrap around my neck. She’s light in my arms, her warmth against my chest a stark contrast to the cold sweat on my skin. I can feel everyone’s eyes on me, but I don’t care. My only concern is the girl in my arms.

The hallway to the locker rooms is fortunately empty. Quinn trembles slightly, whether from pain or something else, I’m not sure. I glance down at her, to see her chewing her bottom lip. “Hey, you doing okay?” I ask softly.

Quinn nods, her face pale. “Yeah, just hurts. Thanks, Miles.” Her voice is barely above a whisper, and I can see the pain she’s hiding. Without thinking, I shift her slightly in my arms and lean down, pressing my lips to her forehead. Surprise flickers in her eyes before they soften. A small smile tugs at the corners of her mouth, and I catch a hint of color returning to her cheeks.

I nudge the locker room door open with my shoulder and carry her inside, gently setting her down on a bench. Kneeling in front of her, I gently pull off her sneaker and rest her foot in my lap. The skin around her ankle is already starting to swell and looks a little angrier than the other foot.

“We need to get some ice on this.” Grabbing a nearby towel, I wrap it around her ankle for support before slowly lowering it to the floor.

“I’m such an idiot,” Quinn mutters.

“Hey, don’t say that.” My voice is gentle as I look up to her. “I already know this isn’t the first time you’ve sprained your ankle. Remember when we were kids?”

“And I tried to outrun you and Seb to the park?” She huffs an empty laugh. “Yeah, that was really dumb too.”

I chuckle because I remember that day. She insisted on racing us, because she had these new sneakers from her dad. They were some fancy running ones, and he’d convinced her she would run faster than Seb in them. We let her take the lead initially, but then halfway there, she stacked it, and I ended up giving her a piggyback the whole half-a-mile back to her house as her tears soaked the back of my t-shirt. “I mean, you were pretty fast, until you ate mud.”

She groans, her eyes closed as her head falls back between her shoulders, and the sound and image in front of me awakens something inside that I immediately have to tamper down. “I ate so much mud, it wasn’t even funny.”

“It was a little bit funny.” I gesture with my thumb and forefinger. “You all good to wait here a sec?”

She gives me a weak smile, and I leave, walking over to the cabinet in the room and rummaging through the first aid kit, pulling out an ice pack and snapping it to activate, before returning to her to press it against her ankle. Quinn winces as soon as it touches her swollen skin.

“There we go,” I soothe, pulling her foot back into my lap as I sit. “Just need to keep this on for a while.”

Quinn leans her head back against the wall, closing her eyes. “You’re really good at this.”

“Good at putting ice on ankles?”

“Well, it’s more than that. You should major in physiology.”

I laugh, assuming she’s joking. “I am.”

Her mouth drops open. “Since when?”

“Since this year. I picked Sports Medicine and Exercise Physiology.” I let the smirk break free on my lips as I look up at her. “I’m really good at icing ankles, see, so I figured it’s a safe bet.”

“Ha ha, you think you’re funny.”

“Hilarious, actually.”

She snorts and then winces, her eyes fluttering, when the ice pack shifts over her ankle. “You didn’t have to carry me, you know.”

“Of course, I did,” I scoff. “I couldn’t just leave you there.”

Quinn opens her eyes, looking at me with a mixture of gratitude and something else. Something that I’ve seen on her face a handful of times but could never place it until now. Heat. My fingers rest on the front of her leg and suddenly they itch to explore more of her. More than I let myself do the other night in the stairwell. To feel how she can yield under my touch. To drag my hands all over her perfect skin.

My pulse gallops wildly in my throat as I beg my body not to react, but it’s too late. I know it is. I can already feel the want traveling around and settling right in my crotch as my body takes over. I’m not in control anymore. Something has switched in my brain from protector to predator, and I’m incredibly thirsty for the girl in front of me.

Moving my hand slowly up her leg, I don’t break my eyes from hers. I watch every single micro expression, every shudder, every flicker of pleasure that crosses her face as I caress her skin torturously slow. Her skin is smooth, soft, and just as I get to her knee, I twist my hand to graze behind, tracing over the softest part of her.

She audibly gasps, parting her legs ever-so-slightly, and a moan slips past her perfect lips, begging me to react to it, to her. I barely think before I place her foot down and lunge toward her mouth, connecting our lips in a bruising kiss. Her taste floods my senses, mint, cinnamon and just her. Our teeth clash in a frenzy, tongues dueling in desperate sweeps as I devour her, every ounce of restraint shattering like glass.

My fingers grip the back of her neck, holding her there, deepening the kiss like I’m afraid she’ll slip away. Her nails dig into my shoulders, sending sparks skittering over my skin as we press closer, like we’re starving for this—each breath, each touch, only making the hunger worse.

Just then, the door creaks open, and we spring apart like two repelled magnets. I practically make it to the other side of the room, wiping at my mouth, just as Seb pokes his head in. “Everything alright in here?”

“Yeah, we’re good,” I say gruffly, clearing my throat. I point to Quinn’s foot. “Just getting some ice on her ankle.” And my balls.

Seb nods, looking at his sister. “All good, Quinn?”

“Great. Fine. I mean, good.” Her lips look slightly swollen, but it’s her wild eyes that give her away. She blinks a couple of times before she continues. “I’m sure it’ll be okay. Well, no, it does hurt, but I’ll be fine. Super, super fine, actually. I’ll be…super.”

Oh god, kill us both now.

Seb tilts his head, eyebrows knitting. “Did you bang your head too?”

“W-what?!” Quinn laughs, obnoxiously loud, bending at the waist. “No, silly. Just my ankle.”

Oh god, I need to step in before she starts singing or some shit. Dragging my hand down my face, I step in front of her, looking at her brother. “She’ll be fine. I’ll get the physio to look over her too,” I say, trying to distract from Quinn’s hysteria.

Seb’s eyes widen in a ‘whatever you say’ kind of way. “I’ve let Coach know you’ll head out of practice early.”

“Thanks, man,” I say, grateful for the reprieve.

Seb hesitates, but closes the door behind him. I turn back to Quinn, who is watching me with a dazed expression.

“What the heck was that?” I ask, stifling a laugh.

“What was what?”

“That! You laughing like a lunatic and saying all the synonyms for good.”

“I panicked!”

“Clearly,” I snort.

She pauses, a thoughtful expression crossing her face. “Do you think he could tell something is going on with us?”

Panic flares in my gut at the thought that my best friend might not be okay with this. “I doubt it…”

“But…?”

I scrub the back of my neck as I sit next to her. “How do you think he’ll react?”

“I’m not sure. But he isn’t the boss of me, and I can date whoever I want.”

My lips lift in an honest to god belly-fluttering smile as I look at her. “Is that what we’re doing Quinn? Dating?”

Her shoulder lifts, a faint blush stains her cheeks. “I guess not yet… We would need to go on a date first.”

“Or be exclusive,” I reply without an ounce of hesitation, the words tumbling out before I can second-guess myself.

I pause, meeting her gaze, waiting for her response.

I can almost see the wheels turning in her head as she watches me. She bites her lip. “Exclusive, huh?” she finally says, playfully, but I hear something deeper in her voice too.

“Yeah.” I nod with a smile, feeling my cheeks heat. “I’d like that.”

Her smile beams like sunlight. “I’d like that too.”

I shake my head, partly unbelieving of her wanting me. But I focus back on her as her answer settles in, leaving me on cloud nine.

“Come on, Queenie. Let’s get you checked out by the physio.”