Page 47 of Topping the Jock

“Hey, Franklin,” I said, placing the page on the scanner and gently closing the lid.

“Are you really talking to the machine?” Quinn asked from behind me.

I whirled around, seeing him standing near the coffeepot. “We’re going through a rough patch in our relationship.”

“Why is that?” Quinn poured coffee into a large mug before taking a sip.

“He knows I have feelings for someone else.”

“Is that so?” he asked, eyeing me over his cup.

“Yeah. You see… I met this other guy who’s extremely moody but smokin’ hot. Not sure if it will work out, since he’s a superhero and I’m a villain and all. He says he doesn’t like me, but I can’t get him outta my head.”

Quinn frowned as a strange look gleamed in his eyes. Then he returned to his cool demeanor from before. “Poor Franklin.” He stepped away from the counter and went toward the door. Before he passed through, he stopped and turned his head in my direction. “If it means anything… you’re not really a villain anymore. Maybe give the hero some time to figure things out. I’m sure he’s confused about things right now.”

He left before I could respond.

But hope blossomed in my chest. It was Quinn’s way of asking me not to give up on him. A sign that I wasn’t crazy or misreading things between us.

Good. Because I had no intention of giving up on him.

***

Two days later, Quinn still hadn’t given me an answer about whether he wanted to make hooking up a regular thing. However, him asking me to be patient kept me from messaging him about it and bugging him.

I mean, I still bugged him. But not about that.

Wednesday morning, we both arrived early to school, even though we weren’t on duty. I needed to be there to open the weight room for the boys, and Quinn… well, he came to the athletic hall.

I saw him before he saw me. He walked down the hall, looking at the glass cases with awards and pictures, sipping his large coffee. I could tell he was lost in his head. I stepped in front of him.

“You’re in my domain again.”

Quinn startled before scoffing. But I saw the blush in his cheeks. “I only came to tell you I’ll be using buzzers again in my classes today for the test prep. If it’s too loud, please let me know.”

“Is that the only reason you came?”

“Yes.”

“Nothing else you wanna tell me?”

“No.” He swallowed hard as his eyes fell to my lips.

“Liar.” I stepped closer.

“Monty…” His breathing turned heavy. “I… I should go to my classroom. I need to set things up before the bell rings.”

“You have to pay the toll before you leave.”

His face scrunched up. “The toll?”

“Yeah, like paying the toll to the troll under the bridge,” I explained, watching as his face slowly went from confusion to annoyance. “You come down my hall, you have to pay.”

“What’s the price?”

We were already so close, and I stepped even closer. His green eyes lifted to mine as we stood only inches apart.

“A kiss,” I said, my voice raspy with need.