Page 10 of Quarterback Sneak

“Well, at least they won,” I point out.

“They did,” Stephanie agrees. We step inside our dorm and make our way up the steps.

“Thanks for talking me into going; I had a good time.”

Tessa puts her arm through mine. “I’m so glad you came; it was such a great game!”

“Evie,” Stephanie says in a sing-song voice from behind me. “Looks like you have somebody waiting for you.”

I look towards my room and take in the male standing next to my door. It always takes me by surprise when I see a male in our dorm. I mean I know they’re allowed, but it’s still weird to see them in an all-girls' dorm. “He’s probably not here for me,” I say. Stephanie snorts out a weird laugh, and Tessa shakes her head.

“Right. I’m sure he’s here for one of us,” Stephanie says.

“Yeah,” I heartily agree, but I’m not really sure I believe that either. The thing is, Jace has been around an awful lot lately. I thought at first it was because he had a crush on Sam, but he’s shown up when she hasn’t been around too. He’s walked me to my classes a few times and joined Sam and I for dinner more than a few times. He honestly confuses me, but I don’t have timeto dwell on it. I have my classes to think about; that’s the reason I’m here. I’m not here to date. His dark eyes lock on mine when we get close, and I try to ignore the butterflies in my stomach.

“Where were you?”

I blink in surprise.“Uh, I was at the football game.” His eyes narrow a moment, giving me pause. But then they’re back to normal so fast, I wonder if I imagined it.

“Why?”

I stare at him. “Why what?”

He stands up straight and walks over to me. I don’t cower but stare up at him. “Why did you go to the game?”

“Because we asked her to,” Stephanie says, and I catch the hint of snark in her voice.

Jace must too, because his face relaxes. “Sorry. I just couldn’t find you anywhere and was worried about you.”

I try not to whiplash at his sudden change of mood. “I’m sorry you were looking for me. Did we have something scheduled or something?” I’m still kind of confused.

“No.” He reaches out and tugs on a piece of my hair. “I just wanted to hang with my girl on Friday night.” I try not to visibly react to his words.His girl?I don’t really know how these things work; I’ve never had a boyfriend before. I’m not really sure that I have one now, and I’m even more uncertain I want one.

I turn to my friends, unsure what to do. “Thanks for coming to the game,” Tessa says quickly, leaning in for a side hug. “We’ll catch you later.” Stephanie side-eyes me a moment and then gives me a quick hug before disappearing into her room with Tessa.

“Did you want to come in?” I ask Jace. I don’t really like having him in my room. It’s the rule-keeping side of me. I know he’s allowed, but it still feels like I'm breaking the rules.

He smiles down at me. “I’d love to.” I open the door, and he follows me inside. I drop my phone and wallet on my deskand then spend a minute tidying up, even though it’s already pretty neat. “Hey.” I turn to face Jace and find him closer than I thought he was. “Do I make you nervous?”

“No,” I say quickly and then backtrack. “Yes.”

He smirks. “I don’t mean to, and I didn’t mean to come across harsh in the hallway. It’s just that you’re usually in your room studying at night. When I didn’t find you here, I texted you. You never answered, and you didn’t show up here; I just got worried. That's all.”

I pick up the phone from my desk. Sure enough, there are three texts from Jace. My heart softens. “I’m sorry, Jace. I didn’t see any of these.”

“It’s okay; I knew you weren’t ignoring me.” His words rub me the wrong way, but I remind myself that it’s the end of the school week. I’m just tired and responding to everything. It was my second full week of classes this week, and it’s been crazy! I’m not actually sure how I’m going to stay afloat this semester. It’s all so much, but I’m glad I have the weekend to try to catch up and get my head above water. I plan to chain myself to my desk tonight and tomorrow until I get a handle on every single syllabus. I’m not leaving my room until I have every test date, paper, and project due date written in my planner for the semester.

I look up at Jace. “I should probably warn you; I’m chaining myself to my desk tonight and tomorrow. I have so much work to do.”

“It’s only the second week. You can’t possibly have that much work yet.”

“I do, and it’s going to be a long weekend. Plus, I have to work at the coffee shop tomorrow, so I probably won’t see you much.” True to her word, Sam was able to get me a job at the coffee shop on campus. I’m so thankful. I started a few days ago and really enjoy it.

“Well, I’ll find you anyway.”

I don’t argue with him; I don’t have the energy to anyway. “Okay.” I yawn. “I’ve got to start studying.”

“Is that my cue to leave?” he asks with a smirk.