Chapter 13
Quinn stared into her closet on Monday afternoon when her phone rang. She saw Helena’s face on the video call and instantly answered it.
“Oh, I get naked Quinny,” Helena said before giving a wolf whistle.
“Sorry to disappoint,” Quinn said, setting her phone on her dresser and taking a step back so Helena could see her towel wrapped around her.
“Uh-oh.” Helena frowned as she looked behind Quinn. “What are you trying to get ready for? I see your bed is covered in clothes.”
Quinn sighed. “I don’t know why I’m stressing. It’s just a football game and it’s not like I’ll even see Knox. I’ll be trying to save my ass in the gaming lounge.”
Helena smirked as if she knew something Quinn didn’t. “But you want to see Knox. That’s the interesting part. Mr. Hottie QB is clearly giving you kitty flutters.” Quinn sighed and must have smiled because Helena gave a happy shriek. “Tell me everything!”
“Only if you help me pick an outfit. I was thinking of wearing his sweatshirt. Thoughts?” Quinn held up the Lexington Thoroughbreds hoodie and Helena groaned.
“Thank goodness I called. You can’t wear that! It’ll cover all your assets. You have great boobs and a juicy ass, and nothing spurs a man on more than great boobs and a juicy ass. Now, do you have either a blue or black top that’s fitted?”
Quinn turned and started shuffling through the clothes she had. “I have this one,” she said, holding up a black scoop neck sweater that had a smidge of spandex in it to make it more fitted. “And I have this blue one,” she said, holding up a flowy royal blue long-sleeved sweater.
“The black. And a tight pair of jeans. Then, wear that fitted ivory jacket you have, but don’t zip it. Now, tell me about Knox.”
Quinn sat down on the bed and saw her goofy happy smile on the video chat.
“We went out on Monday and he brought me dinner at work both on Tuesday and Wednesday. On top of that, he stayed doing his thing while I worked so he could walk me to my car at night to give me a kiss. He’s been busy getting ready for tonight’s game and I’ve been working on implementing my new program so we haven’t been able to see each other, but he has me video call him every night when I walk to my car and then we text for a while before bed. ”
“How does he feel about your job?” Helena was cutting straight to the heart of it. She knew Karson never supported anyone but himself.
“He supports me all the time. He tells me I’m the smartest person he knows and he listens to the problems I’m having and lets me talk it through with him. It’s how I came up with the fix. And he really wants to punch Karson and the rest of my old team.”
Helena grinned at that. “I liked him in college and I like him now. You totally need to go for that.”
Quinn’s shoulders dropped for a moment. This was going to be embarrassing since Helena is literally perfect.
“He got upset with me when I talked badly about myself. Knox makes me feel as if I’m the most beautiful person in the world.
I can’t help but be a little self-conscious with the other WAGs though.
Have you seen them? They all look like you. ”
“You are beautiful! I can’t wait to see Knox again and see for myself if he’s good enough for you. And I’m looking forward to seeing Karson again, too.” Helena’s smile was like a shark and Quinn shivered.
“You know castration is illegal, Hel.” Quinn loved how fiercely loyal her bestie was. She felt the same about Helena. She was the sister Quinn never knew she needed.
“Only if I get caught,” Helena practically sang. If anyone could get away with it, it was probably Hel. “Now, how are you going to wear your hair?”
Knox held his helmet in his hand as his father finished his pregame speech. He always knew the best way to rile up the team. The team shouted and some men put on their helmets and slapped each other on the shoulder pads or helmets as they jumped around.
“Lock it in. Razor sharp focus, gentlemen. Let’s destroy them before they even know what hit them,” Knox shouted to his offense right before they ran from the tunnel under the stadium and out onto the field.
This was his favorite part of the game—the moment they ran onto the field.
The stadium erupted in cheers and it was almost deafening.
The energy was infectious and Knox could feel it as if it came up from the ground and surrounded him.
Knox glanced at the patio of the gaming lounge, but didn’t see Quinn.
Not that he expected to. She was busy putting her new barcode program into action.
However, knowing she was watching on television and was nearby pumped him up even more.
He wanted to prove he was worthy of her.
“You ready for this?” Zack asked.
“So ready. Just give me time and it’ll be raining points.”
“You got it.” Zack smacked him on the back as they moved to start the game.
Quinn kept her eye on the programs running as she glanced at the television with the game on it.
It was a tight game as they reached the middle of the fourth quarter.
Her phone vibrated in her back pocket and she thought it might be Helena, but immediately answered it when Nico’s name appeared on her screen.
“Hello?”
“How is your barcode working out?” Nico asked, getting straight to the point.
“We’ve had zero problems. It appeared to be a fix until I can get to the bottom of how this mistake happened.”
She could hear Nico release his breath. “Good. I knew you could do it. Where are you?”
“Behind the betting desk. Why?”
“I see your old team took advantage of the free seats we get. They’re on television, but you weren’t. I noticed and I’ll remember this when I talk to Sebastian. In the meantime, the game is almost over and your patch is working. Go grab a beer and enjoy the last bit of the game.”
“But—”
“It’s an order from your boss.”
Quinn smiled. “Then I'd better do it.”
“Good job, Quinn.”
Quinn thanked Nico and hung up her phone. She left her computer hooked up to the system, but password protected so no one could get onto it, even if they tried.
Normally a beer would sound good, but she didn’t want to waste a minute of the game to get one.
Quinn headed out the patio door and flashed her ticket to the security guard who then allowed her down into the lower levels of the stadium.
The seats were only five rows back from the field and behind the Thoroughbreds’ bench.
There was one empty seat in the middle of the row that was hers—right next to Karson.
Quinn grumbled to herself, wanting to sit anywhere but there.
Unfortunately, no open seats magically appeared and she was stuck making her way to the seat next to her ex.
Quinn kept her eyes on the field as Knox executed a play that left people jumping up and cheering as one of the players snagged the ball out of the air.
“What are you doing here? You don’t know anything about football,” Karson asked as they all stood with the rest of the crowd, cheering on the team as they got closer to the endzone.
“It only took someone teaching me about football for me to care.” Karson never wanted to take the time to do so, but Knox did. He had reviewed film with her and broken it down so she could understand more than a casual fan.
Quinn turned back to watch the next play. She could tolerate the rest of the game if it meant watching Knox. He was a pillar of strength and leadership on the field. Calm, cool, collected, and ready to win. The huddle broke and the team lined up on the fourteen yard line.
The whistle blew. Knox held out his hands in the shotgun formation and stomped his foot.
Zack snapped the ball. The play was on. The wide receivers were flying downfield, but suddenly the person Zack was blocking lost the battle with the Thoroughbreds' big center and was pushed to the side.
There was no hesitation as the tight end rolled over and blocked an incoming defender from the right.
Knox sprinted forward as he tucked the ball tightly to him.
He turned his shoulders and slipped through the center of the line.
Quinn was on her feet, screaming for Knox as he sprinted forward.
The defenders who had been chasing the receivers, turned and ran toward Knox even as defenders closed in from behind.
Knox was at the five when the first hit came.
A defender tried to grab Knox, but Knox spun and hit another defender, this time at the three.
Quinn gasped as Knox didn’t go down, but battled forward as the defender tried to drag him down.
He was at the two when Deon shoved Knox in the back, forcing him toward the goal line.
There were bodies everywhere as defenders and Thoroughbreds collided.
Suddenly all Quinn could see was Jaylen shoving the pile forward and Knox’s arm outstretched with the ball as he was taken down.
She had no idea if he’d scored or not as the whistle blew, but the stadium was so loud that she could feel the noise coming up from her feet.
It grew louder when the ref standing at the goal line held up his hands signaling a touchdown.
“Yes! Way to go, Knox!”
“Look at this, guys,” Karson yelled to Neil and Archie. “Someone is a groupie. Doesn’t even know a thing about football, but will gladly slurp up any sloppy seconds she can get. Sorry, Quinn, but players don’t go for girls who look like you.”
Quinn had had enough. “Maybe you’re right, maybe not. What does matter is that I fixed the barcode problem that you all said was pointless and we had no problems today. So, how does it feel for this curvy girl to be smarter than you three?”
Quinn went to leave her seat. She’d watch from the lounge’s patio.
But Karson wouldn’t let her go without ripping her to shreds.
He grabbed her arm, yanking her back, so that his red face was even with hers.
“You’re pathetic. Always trying so hard to make up for being the failure that you are.
You wouldn’t be where you are without us.
You left us behind. You have no loyalty and that’s why you’ll never amount to anything. ”