Page 65 of Puck My Stepbrother

“I hear you.”

“To me, the world might as well have revolved around her.”

“Then what happened?”

“She dropped me like a bad habit for some asshole on the football team.”

I sputtered, trying like crazy not to laugh.

“You know, you werethisclose to helping me, bro.”

I held up my index finger and thumb an inch apart to demonstrate.

In a way, I still had it worse. I’d rather Quinn kick me to the curb for a football player instead of some dork like what’s-his-name. I should’ve had no competition at all.

“So what’s the deal?” he asked. “Are you going to tell me about this person who you’re so head-over-heels in love with that you’re flushing our season down the drain?”

I paused, wanting so badly to tell him the truth about me and Quinn. It stood on the tip of my tongue, ready to leap off. But if I said it now, I’d cross the point of no return.

I shook my head.

“I don’t want to talk about it anymore,” I said.

“Come ooooooon, Levi. You can’t tell me the first part without telling me the rest.”

“You really want to hear some mushy love story?”

“Now that you’ve started the story, hell yeah.”

I shook my head again, saying, “I can’t.”

Detenbeck snorted and shook his head like I was being the biggest pain in the ass.

I slung my equipment bag over my shoulder and headed for the door, realizing how right Quinn had been. If I couldn’t even admit my love for Quinn to one teammate, how could I open up to the entire world?

25

QUINN

“Why do you keep looking over your shoulder?” Jeff asked.

“No reason.”

He glanced at me, smiling, like he knew I was full of crap.

Of course I had a reason. Levi Dunn seemed to show up wherever we went, so I always had to stay guarded.

This time, we were walking down Elmwood Avenue, which would’ve made it harder for Levi to interrupt us. You could say we were a moving target. If we kept moving, then maybe Levi wouldn’t crash our date. On the other hand, he could decide to walk with us and make it a trio.

I wouldn’t put anything past him.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you,” he said. “What’s the deal with you and your stepbrother?”

I paused. The guy had practically read my mind, but there was more. Something in his tone sounded irritated, like he’d planned to ask me about it, but already had an idea of what was going on. On the other hand, Levi had made me paranoid enough that I could be imagining the whole thing.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Well, it looks like you really don’t like the guy.”