Page 59 of Quarterback Sneak

“Yes.” She doesn’t miss a beat. “I’ll be too busy eating orange chicken to stare at him.”

That earns a hoot from Quint and a chuckle from Reid. Quint slaps my back. “Second place to the chicken. That blows.”

I don’t even bother responding to him. “Ready?” I ask Evie. She bites her lip a moment and then nods. We turn and walk away from the stadium.

“Will I get ambushed or anything?” she asks as we walk.

I spin towards her as thoughts of Jace return to my mind. “You are perfectly safe with me.” My words are filled with aggression.

She looks up at me with raised eyebrows. “Uh, I meant from other girls because I’m with you.” She says the words slowly and carefully.

Oh. “If anybody tries to ambush us, we’ll sic Quint on them since he volunteered to come with.” I grin maniacally at Quint.

Quint frowns. “That’s not what I signed up for.”

“Deal with it,” I call over my shoulder and put a hand on Evie’s back, leading her forward. I know I probably shouldn’t touch her, but it’s the only way to keep my wolf calm right now, especially now that we’re talking about Jace again. I know the moment he left back there, but that doesn’t stop me from scenting the air and using my wolf’s vision to watch all around us. I’m going to have to deal with him very soon. Right now, I just want to keep Evie safe and enjoy dinner with her. I look down at her and see her sweet smile, and it eases something in my chest. If I felt like I could, I would reach down and take her hand in mine. But I comfort myself with the thought that I will. It will happen; I just need to be patient until it does. Suddenly, I feel something. It hits me in the center of my chest and nearly knocks the air from my lungs. A grin fills my face because I’m pretty sure I just felt Evie’s joy, as if it were my own. That means a bond is starting to form between us, as it’s supposedto. Right now, it’s super light. Eventually, I’ll be able to hear her every thought and feel her every emotion. We’ll also be able to communicate from a distance through our bond. I wasn’t sure if I’d feel anything from her until I actually claim her as mine, since she’s human. But I’m happy to report, I can. She won’t feel anything from me until we complete the bond, and I may not feel anything but strong feelings from her until then, but I’ll take what I can get.

Chapter 26

Evie

I can’t keep what I’m sure looks like a dopey smile off my face. This feels so surreal right now, walking with Zane. My smile slips as my thoughts drift back to what happened with Jace. I can’t believe he kissed me like that and bit my lip. It wasn’t soft either; my lip still feels tender. I have no idea what is wrong with him, but it’s obvious something is not quite right. I need to talk to Sam tonight. I’m hoping because she’s friends with him, she’ll want to help.

“Hey, where’d you go?”

Zane’s words tug me from my thoughts. I force a smile to my face, but he frowns, like he can tell I’m faking it. I start to tell him that I’m good, but I don’t. “Do you think something is wrong with Jace?” I watch his face as I ask the question, so I don’t miss his instant scowl. “You really don’t like him, do you?”

“No.” His answer is immediate.

“Why?” It’s a simple question, and I wait for his answer as we walk.

“Lots of reasons,” he says after a moment.

“Name one.” I’m genuinely interested. I don’t trust Jace, but I don’t know if that’s just because I haven’t dated a lot of guys. “I guess I’m interested in a guy’s point of view.”

His eyes flick over my face before he looks straight ahead again. “He left you in a restaurant by yourself, alone and unprotected with no way back to campus. He also left you with a huge bill.” I cringe as I remember the embarrassment of that night. “Either of those things is enough in my book, butthen what he did to you tonight.” His scowl morphs into an expression of anger. “He doesn’t deserve to still be breathing.”

“Well, that’s a little much, don’t you think?” I ask, trying to lighten the somber mood.

“No. I wouldn’t let my sister date him, if that’s any indication of how I feel about him.”

I look up at him in surprise. “You have a sister?” He nods. Needing a change of topic, I jump on this one. “Older or younger?”

“Younger. She’s a senior this year in high school.”

“What’s she like?” I ask, genuinely interested.

“A pain in my back side.” He says the words with a smile, so I know he’s not serious. “She plays basketball.”

“Yeah. Is she tall, like you?”

He nods. “Yeah. She’s good too. She’s already got a scholarship lined up to play for FMU next year.”

My eyes widen in surprise. “Really? That’s awesome. Is she intense like you?”

It’s his turn to look surprised. “You think I’m intense?”

“Um, yeah. You’re like Mr. Intensity.”