Prologue #2
“I’m sorry you had that experience. We’re not all bad.” Knox looked at his phone and frowned when he saw the time. “I’m so sorry. I kept you past dinner. Come on, let me grab you something on the way to your dorm. The bookstore is still open and they have the best soup.”
Quinn bit her lip. The bookstore also had her algorithm textbook. But Knox wasn’t due to pay her until tomorrow, which he wouldn’t do since he’d be gone for his game. Maybe she’d get paid on Monday?
“What are you thinking?” Knox asked her. “I can literally see your mind working.”
“Um, it’s nothing.”
“Liar. What is it?”
“I’m short on money at the moment and your tutoring money is what I need to buy my last textbook.
But don’t worry. I can wait until after your game.
” Quinn hated admitting to anyone that she had money issues.
Especially to the golden boy on campus who already was making more money through advertising deals than she’d make once she graduated.
That wasn’t counting the fact that he came from money.
His father was a former pro football player turned coach and his mother was one of the most famous actresses of her generation.
Although, she’d never heard any rumors on campus about Knox flaunting money or his parents’ connections.
Knox surprised her by reaching out and grabbing her hand in his. It felt as if her motherboard had been fried by electricity at the contact. His hand was so large, warm, and somehow soft yet calloused at the same time. “Then it’s a good thing we’re going to the bookstore for dinner.”
He felt sorry for her. That was why he was holding her hand and walking her across campus at nine at night. She loved it, yet hated it at the same time. She didn’t want anyone to pity her. They were halfway to the bookstore when they had to stop for traffic.
“Jeez, Q, give a man a break and just tell him when you need something.”
“Q for Quinn. How original.” Quinn rolled her eyes at the nickname she always hated.
“And what do I need?” she asked, but Knox was already pulling his football hoodie off and before she knew it, he was yanking it down onto her body.
It fell to her knees and smelled of sandalwood and fresh rain.
She couldn’t believe he’d noticed she had been cold.
“You’re shivering. If you need something, just ask. I’ll make sure you get it. And Q isn’t for Quinn. It’s for your extraordinary IQ. An IQ that I know got me prepared for this quiz tomorrow.”
Knox, completely ignoring the fact that it was close to freezing out, was now only wearing a T-shirt while she walked with his hoodie on. He placed his hand on the small of her back and guided her to the bookstore. “I’ll put in our food order while you find your book. I’ll meet you at checkout.”
Knox disappeared to the back of the bookstore where the café was as Quinn noticed the checkout girl eyeing her.
Yeah, Quinn wasn’t the normal type of woman on Knox’s arm.
She was only on it to help his grades. Nothing else.
Unfortunately. She’d be the first to admit she’d judged Knox unfairly.
But she wasn’t stupid. Men like Knox didn’t date fuller-figured, romance-bookworm, computer-science geeks.
“Why are you watching football?” Helena sounded bewildered when she walked into their room.
“I can’t tell you.” Quinn didn’t know exactly what was happening, but she winced when a huge man from the other team took Knox down to the ground a second after he threw the ball.
Helena had been Quinn’s assigned roommate freshman year. How Quinn had lucked out with not only getting a roommate but a bestie for life, she didn’t know. They’d roomed together all four years and they were going to rent an apartment together in New York City after they graduated.
“Can’t tell me?” Helena was curvy like Quinn, but had the confidence to pull it off better than Quinn.
Helena’s eyes went wide as she flopped onto the couch next to her.
“You can only not tell me if you’re tutoring someone.
Oh-em-gee! You’re tutoring one of the football players! Tell me everything.”
Quinn sucked in a breath as Knox threw the ball really far. One of his players jumped up into the air and snagged it down, landing in the endzone. “Yes! Way to go, Knox!”
“You’re tutoring Knox Everett? Oh my god, please tell me that man pays you in orgasms.”
Quinn felt her face turn five shades of red.
Not because Helena said orgasms, but because Quinn had had some very vivid sex dreams of just that.
They were in the private study room when Knox confessed his feelings for her, lifted her out of the chair, set her on the table, and then went down onto his knees . . .
“Quinn! Tell me right now if that man has given you an orgasm!”
Quinn shook her head and shushed her friend as if Knox could hear her.
“No! I’m a professional. You know I’d be fired if I slept with someone I’m tutoring.
I need that money too badly. And, I mean, come on, look at him.
” Quinn pointed to the television where confetti was falling over the field and as Knox ripped off his helmet to celebrate the big win.
“I am looking at him. That is a man who knows how to give a woman an orgasm. Not like Linus.”
Guinn groaned. “Leave Linus alone. He was nice.”
“The man thought the clit was a myth!”
“At least he apologized for poking around down there,” Quinn said on a sigh because that summed up her sex life.
Knox had never met someone so immune to his flirting as Quinn. That didn’t mean he gave up. He still tried every time he saw her. But school was ending in two weeks. She’d gotten a job in New York City at SA Tech and he was heading to Massachusetts for football.
“Q, can I ask you a favor?” Knox asked as he closed his textbook. This was their last tutoring session before finals began. They’d just completed his study guide and now it was time to do the rest of the studying on his own.
“Sure.” Quinn smiled at him and Knox wished like hell she’d have grabbed any of the flirtatious lines he’d tossed out to her over the semester. Instead, they talked about school, the draft where he’d been selected second overall, and her plans for the future.
“Will you come over to my house with me? I got you a graduation present and thought I’d have enough time to get it before meeting you, but didn’t.”
Quinn stared at him in disbelief. “You got me something? But, why?”
Knox wanted to laugh at her surprised reaction.
However, instead of laughing he felt sad.
After spending all this time together, even if they weren’t romantic, they had still become friends.
She shouldn’t be that surprised he got her a graduation gift.
After all, she’d gotten him a tiny trophy that said Best Football Player on it after he had been drafted.
“Because you helped me get a B in a class I would have failed without you,” Knox told her. “And more importantly, I’d like to think we’re friends.”
He watched as she grabbed her bag and gave him a shy smile. “I guess that’s true. Sometimes I think you know me better than Helena.”
It didn’t take long to make it to the house he rented with some friends, but Knox only frowned.
He could hear the music from the car, and then there were the people and the keg on the front lawn.
They weren’t just people. And they certainly weren’t friends of his.
They were all just jersey chasers and bros.
He could tell by the complete lack of clothing.
Instantly, Quinn seemed to shrink into herself.
“What the hell?” Knox muttered as two girls started walking to his car. “Come on, Q. Let’s see if we can get inside before I get mobbed.”
“It’s okay if you want to go party,” Quinn said, stalling. “I have to meet Helena in a minute anyway.”
“I don’t want to party. I want to be with you.” If only Quinn understood how honest and literal he was being.
Quinn gave him a forced smile and Knox felt it like a truck to the balls.
She didn’t feel the same way about him. All those nights laughing and talking didn’t mean as much to her as they did to him.
Now he felt stupid about the gift he had for her.
It was clear she didn’t want anything to do with him.
“I’ll just run and grab your gift.” Knox brushed by the jersey chasers and up to his room.
He’d gotten in the habit of locking his door after finding a woman in it after practice one time Freshman year.
He unlocked his door and grabbed the bag with the graduation cap on it before going back outside.
Quinn was standing beside his car with her backpack on and texting on her phone. “Here you go. Thank you for all you’ve done and for being my . . . friend. Good luck at SA Tech.”
Quinn took the gift bag with surprise. “You really didn’t have to do this, Knox.”
“I wanted to.” Knox looked back at the women circling him like starved coyotes. “Do you want a ride to meet Helena?”
“No thanks. She’s on her way.” Because Quinn had asked her to drive over here ASAP and pick her up.
One thing here was not like the others, and that was Quinn.
“There she is.” Quinn opened the door to Helena’s car and forced a smile to cover the tears that were about to fall.
“You’re going to do great things, Knox.”
“You are too, Q.”
Quinn got into the car and didn’t start crying until Knox was out of sight.
“What happened?” Helena demanded. “Do I need to kick him in the balls?”
Quinn shook her head and pulled the tissue paper from the bag. “He got me a gift.” She reached inside and first pulled out a gold letter Q paperweight. Below that was something familiar. It was Knox’s football sweatshirt she’d borrowed every second she could.
Quinn pulled the sweatshirt to her and hugged it tight. She wouldn’t ever have Knox, but she could have this one piece of him.