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"I don't know what that means!" Quinn called after her.

She turned and glanced over her shoulder with a playful smirk in his direction then turned back around, hair swinging and swaying across her back as she set off for the library.

Quinn found himself staring after her with a satisfied grin for a few moments before continuing to the boys' locker rooms.

Once dressed and out in the weight room, Quinn, Chris, and Jett found their places at the squat rack and deadlift platform and began loading bars with weights.

Jett gave a quick look around the weight room before saying in a low voice to Quinn, "Did I see you and Rae walking together in the hall? You guys were looking pretty friendly."

"Well, we are friends," said Quinn, loading the final fifty-pound plate on his bar. He caught the exchange of glances between his friends. "What?"

"I mean, I know the past two months have been a nice distraction for you, and obviously we're glad you took our advice," said Jett, "but I guess I just thought you were still into her."

"The past two months have been like a Rae detox,” Quinn said.

It was a lie, of course, but something made him want to keep his feelings for Rae tucked away.

After the whole homecoming debacle, it had almost seemed worse that his friends knew what kind of pain he was in watching Rae with Liam.

He wasn't able to pretend he was fine because they knew he wasn't. There was something that made him want to go back to simpler times when the four of them were just friends and no one had any idea that he secretly pictured Rae as his own.

Now, he looked across the weight room to where Rae's boyfriend was performing chest presses and grunting loudly at the top of each rep.

He wondered what she saw in him. Obviously the guy was ripped, but Rae couldn't just be into him for that.

Quinn wasn't exactly scrawny, and there might be guys who could bench more than Liam. Maybe .

"It was just this long-held crush, and now I'm good," he shrugged. "I'd been missing out just focusing all my attention on her, and now look. I'm livin' the fuckin' dream."

Chris and Jett hesitated, looking at each other skeptically, then back to Quinn. Jett got in position to spot Quinn, and Chris finally spoke up, "And who do you have to thank for livin' the fuckin' dream?"

"Don't flatter yourselves," Quinn replied with a cocky slanted grin. "You probably wouldn't have suggested it if you'd known I'd be playing the field this good. You guys had no idea I'd take all your options away when I got in the game."

"Oh, but we're the ones flattering ourselves?" said Chris with a shake of his head. "Sounds like someone needs to let a little air out of that ego."

"It's only ego talking if it's not true," Quinn said with a grunt as he stood back up from his low squat.

"Yeah, yeah…" Jett rolled his eyes and Chris laughed as he set his deadlift bar back on the platform.

The rest of the weight training class went on with the guys joking around while they lifted, alternating stations and spotters, talking about the girls they were hanging out with over the weekend or ones they had seen recently.

Jett admitted he was interested in a particular girl in his French class but had no idea how to ask her out.

Quinn silently wished he'd signed up for French at the beginning of high school so he could understand when Rae randomly threw sexy little French phrases at him.

"What's...' ah bee-yen-toe'?" Quinn asked as they made their way back into the locker rooms to change. Quinn had completely sweat through his shirt and wasn't going to be able to avoid taking a shower.

" á bient?t ?" Jett repeated, but far more French-sounding, "It just means 'see you soon'. Why?"

"Oh, uh, just something Rae said before she left for the library," Quinn muttered, realizing too late he didn't want to get caught talking or thinking about Rae too much.

"Soon, huh?" Chris said. "Are you guys gonna start hanging out again outside of school? Now that you're really back to being just friends?"

Quinn thought he detected a flicker of doubt or skepticism in Chris's tone but ignored it. "I don't know. I guess I wouldn't mind it. It's not like I'll be having too many dates over the next two weeks while we're on break."

Raucous laughter and other male voices filled the locker room as a group of seniors made their way in.

Among the new group was Liam Hamilton, who seemed to be the source of the laughter.

He was about the same height as Quinn, but had more bulk, with a broad chest that he seemed to puff out when he walked.

Tall and lanky Wes Evans, with his floppy boy-band hair was peeling off his shirt on the way to his locker as he spoke to Liam, "You're not seriously telling me you've been with her for two months and haven't hit that yet."

Quinn's eyes snapped up, but he kept his head low, still rummaging around his gym bag for his shower stuff. Chris and Jett both stopped what they were doing to subtly gauge Quinn's response. If he wasn't mistaken, Quinn could've sworn he saw both his friends flare their nostrils and go tense, too .

"Hey, hey, hey," Liam put his hands up defensively. "I knew it was going to take time going into it, all right? She's a virgin, remember? But it's not like I'm not getting anywhere."

"Oh yeah?" Wes asked, grabbing a towel before walking toward the showers, "Tell me you at least got something in those panties." He held up a hand and wiggled his fingers, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

Liam laughed wryly, "Oh, fuck yeah. Gotta prep that tight pussy for what's coming."

Quinn stood up, his jaw and muscles now clenched as he stared at the row of lockers, his back to Liam.

Jett looked as if he were biting his tongue, and Chris shook his head at Quinn.

He wasn't sure if the gesture was out of disbelief in what they were hearing, or if it was meant as a warning for Quinn to not let it get to him.

The voice of Nick Preston, a senior wrestler, joined the conversation, "There he is; we were starting to think you'd gone soft on us."

"Nah," Liam's cocky voice rang out. "I just like a little bit of a challenge, ya know?"

Fucking jackass…who the hell does this guy think he is?

He couldn't wait to tell Rae about this.

It would be tough, and probably awkward, but she needed to know her boyfriend was a fucking creep who didn't respect her boundaries or privacy.

He was sure she wouldn't hesitate to kick this asshole to the curb if she knew how he talked about her in a full locker room of eagerly listening ears.

Grabbing his towel, soap, and shampoo, Quinn turned and walked rather stiffly toward the showers, glowering at Liam over his shoulder as he passed by. He'd expected Liam to look alarmed or maybe concerned that Quinn had overheard, but instead the smug bastard smirked in response.

He fucking smirked.

Quinn was white hot. He turned away from Liam and let an aggravated breath out his nose like a bull getting ready to charge, and, with much effort, forced himself to his destination before he decked the son of a bitch .

His movements during his shower were robotic, eyes staring ahead, replaying the vulgar discussion of his best friend's intimate life.

He squeezed his eyes shut tight, willing the sickening images of Liam having his way with her, touching her, out of his head.

The memory of her cute grin as she walked away and her flirty French popped into his head, helping him breathe easier.

She's over him. He just doesn't know it yet. She's getting sick of him. That's what she'd been hinting at, right?

Quinn walked back to his locker after his shower, toweling off and getting dressed. Liam, Wes, and Nick started up their boastful discussions of female conquests again.

"I remember thinking I'd hit the jackpot when I hooked up with Candace Newman," said Wes, "but Raelyn DeRose, man. She's like a prime fuckin' piece. That pussy probably tastes like some gourmet coq au vin ."

The sardonic laughter that met Quinn's ears instantly made his muscles tense and he could practically hear his blood boiling.

He looked up at Jett and Chris who had also gone rigid at these last comments; Jett met Quinn's stare and Chris was glaring up at the seniors who were still jeering and carrying on about Rae.

"The way she uses that mouth of hers- mm!" Liam moaned crudely. "Fuck, you'd think I was the gourmet meal."

The echoing bang of a locker door being slammed shut cut through another chorus of raucous laughter. Everyone looked in the direction of the loud noise, and Quinn was surprised to see it had come from Jett who was now staring down the guys across the room.

"You guys might wanna be fuckin' careful," Jett said, his voice low and threatening. "I don't think I need to remind you we've known that girl you're boasting about for a long fuckin' time, and I guarantee if we tell her how you're talking in here, it'll be game over for you."

"Aw, come on," Liam whined mockingly. "This guy knows what I'm talkin' about, right?

" He gestured toward Quinn, who looked up but refused to respond.

"This guy's got all the girls in the school eating out of the palm of his hand- kudos, by the way.

That was pretty impressive how you were able to show Raelyn up after she picked me over you. "

Liam's cronies stood on either side of him, watching with enjoyment.

Their self-satisfied grins made Quinn want to level each one of them, but he remained calm- at least on the outside.

He was glaring at Liam, still not taking the bait.

He'd drawn himself to his full height and was standing with his shoulders back, feeling almost like he could stare down at Liam.