Chapter 17
chapter seventeen
Quinn
"You," He breathes, standing two feet in front of me. Sweat and a drizzle of blood falling from his brow.
"You," I repeat, staring into the darkest eyes I've ever seen. Eyes I thought I'd never see again.
"What are you doing here?"
The look on his face is one of equal confusion and satisfaction. He looks genuinely happy to see me, but I can also see a million questions behind his stare.
"I go here," I explain. "I'm at Ridge U."
He steps closer and I feel my skin nearly prickle with goosebumps. "Are you shitting me?"
I hike up my eyebrow and shake my head, "No. I'm not shitting you."
By the look on his face, I can tell he wants to ask a thousand questions but standing here in this empty tunnel, I know I have to tell him the truth.
"I'm not Daisy."
Adjusting his helmet from one hand to the other he speaks, "I know. I kind of figured that wasn't your real name."
I'm quiet because I don't really know how to explain to him why I lied about my name. Of course, I already told him about my life, but that was because I thought I'd never see him again. My name was searchable, I didn't know if I was ready to be found. Now he's here, and this stranger is on a team with Grayson.
Why does this crazy shit always happen to me? My life is entertaining to say the least.
Noticing my inability to speak, he tries to fix the awkwardness. "It's okay, you don't have to explain. I get it. Sometimes I don't want to be Gavin."
I cross my arms over my chest as a comfort mechanism, "It's not that. I just didn't want you to get dragged into my shit show of a life."
He looks down at his cleats but back up to me with the cutest smirk, "It's a lot more complicated than I would've ever thought."
I can't help but smile a little, and look behind him through the tunnel. "No shit."
Grayson walks up behind Gavin, and I feel my heartbeat race with nerves.
"What are you doing, Richardson?" He growls, stepping up as close as he can to my side.
Phoenix— I mean Gavin, stares at me for a single beat, almost like he's deciding how to handle this. I'm not sure what the right thing to do is.
"Just ran into Quinn," He says, his voice calm and comforting. I like how he doesn't respond with yelling or cursing. It's just different.
"Did you fuck him?" Grayson asks, and I watch as Gavin's face turns redder. I can tell he's pissed but his restraint is unmatched.
"No," Gavin quips. "I did not fuck her."
Grayson holds up his hand, signaling that he doesn't want Gavin's input, and zeros his gaze on mine.
"If you don't mind, I'm talking to Quinn."
His voice becomes slower and more demanding. "Did. You. Fuck. Him?"
Gavin's hands tighten into fists at his side, and I quickly realize this whole encounter is going to turn into a fight.
Abort mission, Quinn.
"Nope," I say, popping the p. It's none of his business what I did with Gavin, but still I sort of lie. "We just met."
Grayson stares at me like he's trying to gauge my seriousness, and Gavin pushes past both of us.
"See you around, Quinn."
I turn around and watch his back as he disappears into the locker room, but it's Grayson who speaks back to him.
"Fat chance."
Grayson grabs my hand, and tries to pull me along behind him but I jerk away. "What happened out there?"
He shakes his head in dismissal, "Nothing. Just bullshit."
I don't believe him, knowing that something happened between them because of the blood dripping from multiple cuts on both of their faces, and the fact that neither of them are on the field.
"I'm going back to my dorm," I announce.
"I'll take you," He insists. "Wait for me at my car, I just need to change."
I should argue with him, but I have a feeling that won't get me anywhere. Instead I just nod, and walk out toward the parking lot.
I'm disappointed when I don't see any rideshare cars lined up. It must be too early, there's still nearly an entire quarter left in the game. Pulling my phone out, I open the rideshare app. The closest car is only five minutes away so I click to confirm the ride and drop my phone back into my clear stadium approved bag.
Now, it's just a race between Grayson and Manuel, my driver. Who will get to me first?
I plop down on the curb and let my mind reel. I did things with Gavin. I felt things with Gavin. Things I've never felt before.
How would I even begin to explain that to Grayson?
My phone buzzes with a text from Ava checking on me. I let her know I'm headed back to the dorm, and pull up Instagram to search for Gavin.
I quickly type Gavin Richardson into the search bar and smile at his handle.
Richie_Gav2
His tiny circle profile pic is just the back of his jersey on full display. Number 2 filling the screen. There is no bio, just an athlete label and a gazillion followers.
"Stalking me?"
I jump at the sound of his voice, turning around to look at him. He's gorgeous. Dark hair and features that literally make me weak, not to mention a jawline that could cut straight through glass.
"No," I gasp. "I would never."
He nods down at my phone open on his Instagram profile. "Then what do you call that?"
I pull it up to my chest, hiding it. "I was just curious. I was just about to click off it."
I shrug it off, and mentally kick myself in the ass.
What the fuck are you doing, Quinn! Stop mumbling and talking like a nervous fool! Get your shit together, I demand.
"Why are you sitting out here?"
I wiggle my phone, "Waiting on a ride."
He stretches his arm out, offering me his hand, "Come on, I can give you a ride."
I look past him in the direction of the Eagle locker room but don't see Grayson.
"Unless you are waiting…" He trails off, but I immediately stop him.
"No, I'm not."
I take his hand and he uses very little effort to help me up off the ground. We both hesitate before pulling our hands apart. To be quite honest, I can't stop staring at him. Of course he was sexy as hell on our cruise, but seeing him like this, in his natural element, there's something so much more sexy about it.
He looks good.
Really good.
He doesn't look like the nervous guy I met a few weeks ago. This Gavin is much more confident, and it's so damn attractive.
I follow him to his truck and he opens the door for me, waiting until I'm completely in before gently shutting me inside.
His truck smells clean, and there is not a single piece of trash or so much as a fleck of dust. It seems so odd for a college guy but it fits him. He slips into the driver seat and tosses his keys into the cupholder, pushing the button to start the engine.
"Where do you live?" He asks, and I look over at him, the small spot right above his eyebrow starting to bleed again.
I don't ask, I just open the glove box to find a napkin and place it on the cut. "Here."
He grabs it, pulling down the visor and inspecting it in the mirror. "Thank you."
"What happened?" I ask.
He stares at me, like he's trying to decide what to tell me. Or how much.
"Just a misunderstanding," he says. "Well, sort of."
I blow out a deep breath and stare out the windshield, "He's a jackass."
Gavin laughs, "Tell me about it. I've dealt with his shit all summer."
I roll my eyes, "Try doing it for two years."
His grin turns wicked and he points his thumb over his shoulder, "I can drive you back to the locker room?"
"Over my cold, dead body," I laugh. "The dorms are fine."
He salutes, "Aye aye, captain."
I try my best not to stare at him but it's so hard. I want to look at him, better yet I want him to look at me.
"Thanks for the ride," I tell him. "You didn't have to do that. I know you weren't expecting to see me again, and that's okay, you know? I don't expect anything or…"
Oh my god, why am I talking?
"Stop," he interrupts. "I wanted to see you again, Daisy."
The way he still calls me Daisy makes the butterflies soar in my tummy.
He pulls up outside of Lancaster Hall and I hesitate to get out. I want to spend time with him. Something about him is so comforting to me, and I can't explain it.
"Are you going to give me your number?" he asks. "Or are we going to have to rely on another twist of fate?"
My cheeks turn pink and I grab the phone out of his hand that he's offering me. I type my number into it, and hand it back to him, simply saving myself as the daisy emoji.
"Well played," he smiles.
I open the door, and step down off the running board to the pavement. I simply smile at him before closing the door and walking across the lawn to the main entrance. He sits there in his truck until I pull the door open and walk inside.
What a gentleman, I swoon.
I walk to our room and as soon as I'm settled in, my phone buzzes with a text.
Unknown
I had fun driving Ms. Daisy.
I save his number in my phone as Phoenix. I catch myself smiling at my phone screen for the first time in a long while, and think about what Gavin said. I don't know if this is fate, but it kind of feels like it.