Page 40

Quinn's focus had gone elsewhere at the sight of long blonde hair over a white, green, and gold football jersey, and those skinny jeans he swore she wore just to torture him.

Rae was wearing Liam's jersey. Clearly this was more significant than her borrowing Quinn's baseball hats all the time.

He was caught between feeling sick to his stomach and wanting to fucking level that smug bastard.

When Liam wrapped his arm around Rae and grabbed a handful of her ass, that feeling became far less mixed.

Quinn watched as Liam pulled Rae to him and kissed her, both hands now hanging onto her butt.

Quinn groaned in disgust, "Do they have to fucking do that in front of everyone?

" At first he hadn't realized that he'd spoken out loud.

When Chris, Jett, and Alaina all turned their attention to him, he added defensively, "Seriously, every time I turn around they're practically eating each other's faces. It's fucking gross."

"Those people are making out," Jett pointed to a couple pressed up against a Jeep who were essentially dry humping. "Does that bother you? "

No. But if that were Liam and Rae it fucking would.

"Yes," Quinn lied. "It's gross. Why can't people just do that shit in their cars? Or their bedrooms? Not everyone needs to see that."

"Maybe if you were getting some it wouldn't bother you so much," Chris said, subtly nodding toward Alaina behind her back while looking meaningfully at Quinn.

"Or maybe if you suddenly discovered you had a multi-million dollar trust fund, you could finally get Raelyn's attention," Alaina said, eyes traveling back and forth between Quinn and Rae.

"That's not why she's with him," Quinn insisted. "That's not Rae. She's...she doesn't care about that."

"Are you sure?" Alaina asked. "You guys have been friends for years and she's never considered even trying to kiss you? Wasn't her last boyfriend Ryan North? His dad's like a big shot administrator at the hospital, right?"

"So?" Quinn looked to Chris and Jett for support.

"I heard they went to the Dominican Republic or something last year for spring break and he bought a hospital just so he could write the trip off as a business expense," Alaina said. " Those are the kinds of guys your girl is interested in."

Quinn shook his head, "You don't know her."

"Maybe not," Alaina shrugged, "but maybe you don't know her as well as you think."

Chris and Jett stood awkwardly, looking down at their feet, not meeting Quinn's eye.

"See you around, Quinn," Alaina gave another wave toward Chris and Jett, who looked up just enough to give feeble waves of their own, before heading off into the parking lot toward her red Pontiac.

Quinn looked to Chris and Jett, arms out to his sides. "What the fuck, guys? She's your friend, too!"

Chris opened his mouth and paused while he contemplated his words, "She is our friend and I don't think she’s that shallow. But…" he looked to Jett for assistance .

"But she's with Liam, Quinn," Jett finished. "She picked him. Granted, I don't think she knew you were an option, but for now, maybe you should try finding someone else. Or just find a way to accept that you lost this round."

"You're seventeen, dude," said Chris. "We're supposed to have fun, make out with a whole bunch of girls, try to get to third base or see how far they'll let us go. We're not supposed to be hyper-focused on one person."

Quinn squinted over his shoulder where moments ago Rae and Liam had been sucking face.

Liam was no longer there and Rae was now talking to a group of girls he knew were on the swim team with her.

As if sensing his gaze, her head swiveled around they locked eyes.

In spite of himself, his mouth curved into a small but friendly smile.

He wanted to be mad at her, though he supposed she really hadn't done anything wrong.

Rae returned his smile with a much wider one and a wave.

Turning back around, he let out a long sigh, "You guys are probably right."

"Exactly! Yes!" Chris pumped his fist. "After we win our game tonight, we'll go to the mixer and you are going to begin your reckless adolescent phase."

"He's a late bloomer, folks," Jett said, slapping a hand to Quinn's back, "but I think he'll catch on quick."

Nearly two months after Quinn's declaration to really enjoy being seventeen, it had become abundantly clear that he had been squandering his potential simply holding out for one girl, amazing as she was.

His classmates had forgotten all about the homecoming scandal and his new reputation as a badass lady-killer had reached, well, just about everyone.

At that first post-game mixer, he had danced with several girls, and had to be pulled away from a hot and heavy lip-lock session at the end of the gym corridor with a girl when Chris had told him if he wasn't walking home, they needed to get going.

In most of his classes, he had girls asking to pair up with him for in-class work and asking him for help when they clearly didn't need it.

Most of the girls would flirt shamelessly, giggling at everything he said and using any excuse they could find to touch his arms or shoulders.

Frequently, Quinn would take advantage of these cues and ask the girl out.

By December, his confidence had been elevated to the point that he rarely asked the girls if they would like to go out with him but simply told them he was taking them out.

The lines “Go out with me this weekend” or “Let me take you out tonight” were now regular and frequent pieces of his vocabulary bank, and they had yet to fail him.

Despite all the fun and female attention he was receiving, the reason for it was painfully clear every time he caught sight of Rae.

She was still dating Liam, and Quinn couldn't help the tight squeeze in his chest every time he saw them together.

It was a reminder that he was simply stalling, distracting himself until the girl he really wanted was available again.

Thankfully, Quinn had two classes with Rae in which he felt he could pretend nothing had changed.

They talked and worked together whenever there was partner work or free time.

It wasn’t as if their friendship had collapsed because of her relationship or his flings, but they certainly spent far less time in each other's company in and out of school.

No amount of third-base hook-ups could stop Quinn from missing Rae's companionship as much as he did.

It was the week before winter break, and Rae walked back to Quinn's locker with him after their shared chemistry class. There was a small group of girls huddled near Quinn's locker when they approached, but upon registering Rae’s presence, they dispersed abruptly.

"Wow," Rae said as she watched the fleeing trio. "Sorry, Casanova, I didn't mean to cockblock you there."

Quinn furrowed his brow and looked at Rae with puzzled amusement, "I don't think you can cockblock me ."

"What do you mean?" Rae asked, her attention still on the retreating girls .

"I could cockblock you by preventing you from getting some, but it doesn't work the other way around," Quinn explained.

"I thought it was like...blocking you from giving your cock to someone else," Rae said, her expression perplexed and adorable.

"Uh, no," Quinn chuckled, turning the combination lock on his locker.

Her eyebrows raised. "Huh, I guess I've been using that all wrong." She blinked a few times, then set her gaze on Quinn. "What are your plans for the holiday break?"

"Probably just hangin' with the guys," he shrugged. "And you? Spending Christmas in Paris with your new beau?"

Rae's eyebrows pulled together. "Why would you think that? And since when do you use words like 'beau'?"

"I was trying to appeal to your French side," said Quinn. "And I don't know. We peasants don't know what you fancy power couples do on your holidays."

"I think I'd take you to Paris with my family before I took my new beau ," Rae replied with an eye-roll.

Quinn closed his locker after grabbing his gym bag. He cleared his throat, trying to sound more casual than eager. "Trouble in paradise?"

Rae gave a small shrug, falling into step beside him as they began their trek down the hall. "It's fine. He's not much of a conversationalist."

"Maybe you should try grunting," Quinn offered, biting his lip and failing to repress his grin at his own joke. "Pound on your chest a little bit."

Failing to conceal her own giggle, she pinched his arm. "He's not a caveman, Quinn."

"Could've fooled me," Quinn said.

"Well, you only see him, like, on the football field, or in the locker rooms, or weight room.

You guys all sound like cavemen in that environment," Rae said.

"We just run out of things to talk about and then it's like, guess we'll just make out or fool around.

Honestly, Quinn, I think my lips are getting chapped. "

"Spare me the details. ”

"Oh, sure, I have to listen to every last detail of your endeavors from every girl you've gone out with, but you have a right to complain when I talk about kissing Liam?" Rae said, incredulously.

"I don't have to hear about it. I can see it just fine."

Rae's cheeks flushed. "Oh, right." She seemed to glance around at their surroundings, figuring out where they were headed. "Are you going to the gym?"

"Yeah, I've got weight training. Your boy toy's in my class if you want to say hi." Quinn had no idea why he had suggested this, but he was getting the impression their relationship was approaching its expiration date.

Rae stopped walking. "No, that's okay. I didn't bring my Chapstick." She gave a what can I do about it? kind of shrug with her hands up. "I have a free period so I'm just going to head to the library," Rae placed her hand on his arm briefly before turning away. " á bient?t , Quinn!”