Pass Protection (Quarterback Sneak Book 3)

by Natalie Brock

  This wasn’t exactly what Brittany had in mind, but she nodded.

  The couple found two seats together near the back of the auditorium where music students were giving a free concert. Brittany leaned her head on Matthew’s shoulder the whole time. She rested her hand on his thigh, and he played with her fingers while the string quartet performed a variety of genres. When the music veered toward the classical, Matthew’s breathing became shallow. She thought maybe he fell asleep but didn’t want to lift her head to check. She was too comfy and this was too cozy.

  Walking back to the dorms after the concert, Matthew dangled his arm over Brittany’s shoulder. She threaded her fingers through his, encouraging him to continue holding her. “So,” she said, breaking the silence, “does this mean we’re a…” She wasn’t sure how to finish the sentence. Were they a couple? An item? In a relationship? In her mind, this wasn’t a casual date because they’d been getting to know each other for weeks now. Not many couples shared a hotel room before they had a date.

  Matthew filled in the blank. “Dating?”

  She pouted. That description would not have been Brittany’s first choice. “I guess,” she answered, even though she thought dating was far too trivial and didn’t do justice to the way she felt about him.

  “Yes,” he added. “It would be my honor.”

  Brittany bit her lip. His answer was formal, but that was Matthew’s style, and she was beginning to appreciate how gentlemanly he was. It was such a refreshing contrast to most of the guys she encountered, like Bennie and Blaine. She quickly wiped them out of her thoughts. “Good,” she murmured. “Um.” She stopped walking and relinquished Matthew’s arm. Facing him, she said, “I know you have this vow thing and I don’t want to cross a line or anything. I just don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”

  “Man oh man are you gonna make it hard to keep my vow.” His unexpected candor surprised her. She blushed and bit her lip again. Touching her chin, he leaned closer and kissed her softly. “I’m sorry I gave you mixed signals and made assumptions before. The truth is, I do have feelings for you and if it’s okay with you, I’m going to stop fighting them.”

  “I like the sound of that.”

  “As for what we do about these feelings and how we avoid crossing that line? Honestly?” He shrugged. “I’m not sure. We might just have to play it by ear.”

  “I like the sound of that too,” Brittany said with a nervous chuckle.

  He grasped her hand. “Come on. I’ll walk you home.”

  As they approached Brittany’s building, he scowled. “Hey, how did you know my dorm number?”

  “Oh. I have my ways.”

  Facing her, he smiled as he ran his fingers down the length of her arm, capturing Brittany’s hand. His smile disappeared and he said, “Show me your phone a minute.”

  “My phone? Why?” She reached inside her cross-body wallet and held out her phone.

  He took her phone and punched a few keys. “I never gave you my phone number.” He glanced up at her and smiled. “I’m correcting an oversight.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  A couple of days later after classes, Brittany and Allison went for a run around the sports complex track. Allison stopped mid-run to catch her breath while Brittany continued jogging until she realized she’d lost her partner. She turned around and jogged in place in front of Allison.

  Allison was bent over, holding her thighs. “I need to take a break,” she said. The girls sat down on the bleacher steps next to the track.

  Allison adjusted her sweat band and pulled her hair out of the pony tail holder. “How come your hair looks great even when you’re doin’ cheers or goin’ for a run? Mine’s a freakin’ frizzy mess.”

  Brittany touched Allison’s hair. “That’s because it’s getting a little long for you. Come by the salon and I’ll cut your hair.”

  “I didn’t know you cut hair,” Allison said with her signature Southern drawl.

  “I’m a woman of many talents,” Brittany said with a shake of her shoulders. She was feeling pretty good about herself today, happier in fact than maybe ever. In her dance class this morning, she felt like she was floating on air. The boy she’d been interested in for months finally admitted he had feelings for her. They spent the evening together on Saturday night. They walked around campus and talked about some serious subjects. He opened up to her for the first time about what was going on in his life, and they made a deeper connection. And they kissed—finally—and it was amazing. Matthew left Brittany wanting more.

  “Oh, that reminds me,” Allison said. “I’ve been meanin’ to do this for ages. I wanna treat you to lunch to thank you for everythin’ you did for me with tryouts and with Tony and all.”

  Brittany waved her off. “Lunch sounds like fun, but you don’t owe me a thing. It was my pleasure. I loved watching you and Tony become an item.” Brittany took out her own ponytail and put it on again. “So, things still good with you and Tony? Every time I see you two together, you’re like peas in a pod.”

  Allison blushed and nodded. “Yeah, we’re awesome. I just love him to pieces.” When Brittany smiled inadvertently, Allison’s brow knit. “What? What’s that look?”

  Brittany covered her mouth and spoke through her fingers. “I think I’m in love too,” she admitted with a little nervousness.

  Allison’s jaw dropped. “What?” She elbowed Brittany. “I can’t believe you’re holdin’ out on me. Tell me! Who is he?”

  “It’s Matthew Warner.”

  “Matt Warner? Tony’s backup? I thought…um…I thought he wasn’t—”

  “Wasn’t what? Interested? He wasn’t.”

  “But what? He is now?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe. I mean, I think so. We’re kind of dating.” Brittany thought for a minute. They’d gone to a concert on Saturday night and wound up having lunch together after he got back from Sunday church service the next day. “Well, we’ve never been out on an official date. But that’s not important.”

  “Oh. Um. That…makes no sense,” Allison said hesitantly, choosing her words carefully as if she didn’t want to hurt Brittany’s feelings. “So is he or isn’t he into you?”

  “He is, but we’re taking it slow because of his purity thing.”

  “Ohhh. The purity thing. I get it now. So, what are you gonna do?”

  Brittany shrugged. “Nothing. Just what I’m doing, except maybe be a little less pushy. He doesn’t like it when I come on too strong. I think he’s not used to girls like me.”

  Allison laughed. “Oh Brit, there are no other girls like you.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment.” She sighed. “I don’t want to scare him off or anything, Al, especially now that we’re finally getting somewhere, you know?”

  “You shouldn’t have to change who you are for a guy,” Allison said definitively.

  “I know. I know. And I’m not,” she said, nervously scratching her leg. “I’m just adjusting a little. Letting him take the lead, I guess. You know, like my professor in my creative writing class says, you have to know your audience.”

  “I hope things work out for you, I mean it.” Allison tilted her head back and took a long gulp of bottled water. She wiped her forehead with the back of her forearm. “I was in a lot better shape when I was trainin’ for cheer tryouts.”

  “You’re not starting to regret not making the squad, are you?”

  Allison pushed her hair off her forehead. “Maybe sometimes, but not for the reason you’re thinkin’. It’s just…Tony’s gone every other weekend and if I was on the squad, I’d be on the road with you guys. Oh well,” she said with a shrug. “It’s not like I’d be stayin’ in Tony’s room or anythin’. I hear they’re pretty strict about those kinds of things when the team is on the road.”

  Brittany was in the middle of taking a swig of water when she started coughing. Allison patted her friend on the back. “Brit, are you okay? You’re not havin’ a flare-up of your allergies again, are
you?”

  Brittany shook her head no. “I’m fine, but…can I tell you something, like super confidential?”

  “Of course.”

  Brittany remembered sleeping in the same room with Matthew the past few away-games. If there was a next time, it would be a whole new ball game. Things were different now. They were sort of a couple, and sharing a room could be awkward under the circumstances…or it could be heavenly. She was about to confide in Allison when she realized the fewer people who knew about it, the better. “Uh. Never mind.”

  “Brittany! You can’t do that.”

  “Do what?”

  “Set me up to share a secret, then pull it back.”

  “Oh. Uh.” She avoided looking directly at Allison. “Well, I was just thinking about how Matthew’s been kind of down lately.”

  “Down? Why?”

  “He’s upset about being backup. Tony’s doing so great which means Matthew may never get another chance to be a starter.”

  Allison twisted the cap on her water bottle. “Oh. I guess I never thought about that. I only thought about Tony gettin’ his job back, not how it affected Matt. That kinda sucks.”

  “I know.” The two girls grew quiet for several minutes. Finally, Brittany said, “Ready to go again?” Allison nodded and they hit the track.

  »»•««

  “Hey, Warner. Heads up.” In the locker room before their next home game, Tony tossed a football that bounced off Matthew’s chest. The locker room was buzzing with activity as the team was getting ready for the game, but the second string quarterback had been caught daydreaming. Stunned, Matthew took a step back before retrieving the ball.

  “Where were you, man?” Tony walked over to Matthew’s locker, holding his protector pads. “You look like you’re a million miles away.”

  He tossed the ball back to Tony. “I guess I was. Sorry.”

  “What’s going on? Got a girl on your mind?” Tony elbowed Matt. Matthew nodded slowly as he pulled his shirt over his head before starting to change into his uniform. “Brittany, huh?” Tony asked, but it seemed more like a statement than a question. “Hope it’s okay I gave her your dorm room number.”

  Matthew’s lips parted and he looked at his teammate. “You did?”

  Tony tossed the ball straight up and caught it again. “What can I say? She’s a hard girl to say no to.” Matthew wondered if there was a double meaning in that statement. He gave Tony a disapproving look, but refrained from digging further. Brittany said she hadn’t been on a real date in years. If there was once something between her and Tony, he figured she would have told him. She’d been so open about so much, he didn’t think she’d omit dating one of his teammates. Tony placed a foot on the bench next to the lockers and touched Matthew’s shoulder with the back of his hand. “I thought you said you weren’t interested in her. What changed?”

  “I got to know her. She’s something else, you know? I mean, she’s not just a pretty face. She’s got a lot of depth and warmth. She’s got a great sense of humor. Kind of balances out my overly serious nature.” Matthew smiled inadvertently when he thought about their impromptu date last weekend. “And she’s sexy as hell,” he said without realizing he said those words out loud. Looking at Tony, he quickly added, “Which right now isn’t necessarily a good thing.”

  Tony appeared to be at a loss for words at that comment. “Uh. So things are going good?”

  “Well, to be honest, things just started between us. But she gets to me.” Matthew thumped his chest with his fist. “I haven’t felt this way about a girl in a long time. It’s a little intimidating.”

  “Hey man, I know what you mean.” He took a seat on the bench and pulled on his knee pads. “If you want my advice, I’d say don’t fight it. It could be the best thing that ever happened to you, like me and Allie.”

  Before Matthew could respond, Coach Ryan appeared in the doorway. “This ain’t no tea time, boys.” Clapping his hands once, he barked, “Suit up. We don’t have all day!”

  Matthew started to pull a pair of socks out of his locker when a folded piece of paper fell onto the floor. He picked it up and unfolded it.

  Chapter Fifteen

  W.A.I.T.I.N.G. Brittany pressed submit on the fifteen point virtual crossword game she was playing with her mom. Right now she was waiting for Matthew outside the locker rooms after the game.

  She had printed out the article she found online about how abstaining from sex during courtship could actually have a negative effect on marriages. The article followed a number of couples who didn’t have sex until marriage, and it turned out nine out of the twelve couples were incompatible. Seven of them ended up divorcing within the first year of marriage. She’d been planning to share the article with him for a while but waffled about whether it was a good idea. She knew it was a sensitive subject and the last thing she wanted to do was insult him. But the more she thought about it, the more she liked the article on multiple levels. On the surface, she thought it conveyed a kind of cute and flirtatious message that reinforced how attracted she was to Matthew. On a deeper level, she figured it could be a good way to start a conversation about a serious subject. So she went into the players’ locker room first thing this morning before the pre-game warm-up, found the locker labeled “Warner, M.” and slid the folded article through the vents.

  Finally, he emerged. He gave her a big smile as soon as he saw her. She smiled back, letting her eyes drift down his torso. He looked so handsome in his pale blue, fitted knit polo shirt and khaki shorts that showed off his well-toned chest, muscular arms, and defined calf muscles.

  Before her mind went too far off track, she said, “Did you read it?”

  His smile instantly turned into a scowl. “Read what?”

  “The article I left you. In your locker.”

  “You left that article for me?” His tone of voice was not what she expected. It sounded more accusatory than surprised.

  “Um. Yeah.” His demeanor threw a wet blanket on her enthusiasm. She nervously played with her necklace. “What did you…um, what did you think of it?”

  He squinted and craned his neck forward. “I think you have a lot of nerve.”

  Brittany’s eyes widened. This was not the reaction she hoped for. “Excuse me?” she shot back defiantly.

  “What was the point of that, Brittany? Was it just to make fun of people who take the vow?”

  That was not the intent. “No, of course it wasn’t meant to make fun of you, not at all. It was just to let you know that maybe the vow isn’t a wise idea.” Actually that wasn’t the main reason she left the article, and she didn’t even know why she said it, but once she started, she couldn’t stop. “Things don’t always work out and, um….”

  Matthew folded his arms across his chest and shook his head from side to side. “You know, I was really starting to think that maybe there could be something special between us—”

  “Starting to? Could be? What do you mean?” His remark stung her as much as if she’d been slapped across the face. “I thought there already was something special between us.”

  “So did I, but not if you can’t accept me the way I am, and obviously you can’t.” He kept his voice low, but she could hear the anger and hurt. She could see it in his eyes as well. “I’m not looking for a girl who’s going to try and change me. Been there, done that. I am who I am, and if you can’t deal with it, well, that’s your problem, not mine!”

  He turned and walked away from Brittany, leaving her stunned.

  »»•««

  She’d blown it. Her plan totally backfired. She wasn’t trying to insult Matthew. She actually was naive enough to think he’d find the gesture endearing. She neglected to factor in her audience. Matthew took himself pretty seriously, especially when it came to his purity vow, and she should have thought about that first. He’d taken a lot of heat for the vow over the years and probably got ridiculed for it. She wondered if she just set the record for the world’s shortest romance.r />
  Leaning closer to the bathroom mirror, she wasn’t looking at a pretty sight. Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy from crying. Still wearing her pajamas, she climbed back into bed and pulled the covers over her head.

  There was a soft knock on the bedroom door. “Brit?” Jamie entered the room. “Brittany, have you eaten today?” Brittany shook her head no from under the covers. Jamie pulled the covers back. “Here. I made you a parfait.” She held out a glass cup filled with Greek yogurt and topped with fresh strawberries and blueberries. “Eat this.”

  Brittany sat up in bed but shook her head and pouted. “Not hungry.”

  Jamie sat down on the bed. “I know you’re upset about Matthew, but I won’t let you slide into a depression.”

  “It’s day one. I’ve only just begun the slide.” Brittany sniffled.

  “Well, to hell with him if he can’t take a joke. You deserve a guy who makes you laugh, not one who makes you cry.” Brittany pulled at the sheet without responding. “Okay, look, I have to go out for a few hours. Please take this.” She pushed the cup of yogurt into her roommate’s hand. “You going to work this afternoon?”

  “I guess,” Brittany said without energy. “Is it still raining?”

  “Yes. Wear closed-toe shoes.” Jamie got off the bed and kissed her friend’s forehead.

  “Yes, Mom,” she replied sarcastically. In truth, she was grateful for a friend like Jamie who was more like a sister, and sometimes more like a mother, than just a friend. They were each other’s family-away-from-family.

  Brittany dangled her legs off the bed so she could look out the window. It was raining harder now than it was when she got up to make a trip to the restroom.

  She pulled herself up with some effort and walked into the kitchen, setting the yogurt on the table. She slid a chair out, sat down at the table, and pressed her fists against her temples. She was pouting like a baby and she knew it, but she couldn’t help it.

  She couldn’t accept that it was over between her and Matthew. Okay, so they weren’t in the midst of a torrid love affair yet and she probably wouldn’t die without him, like heroines in those melodramatic tearjerkers did. But there was something between them—and it had been on the verge of becoming something incredible. She thought he was going to be the one, her soul mate, her Mr. Darcy, the man she could spend her life with. They were growing closer. She confided in him about things she never told anyone else, and he was sweet to her. And he was kind. And he was understanding and empathetic and supportive. He was perfect for her.