AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Perfectly. Thank you.”
He should have been excited.
He wasn’t.
At lunch, he sat with his brothers and their girlfriends, but Hunter and Quinn didn’t show up. He didn’t care what his roommate was up to, but he did care about Quinn. Nick sent her a quick text.
She responded almost immediately.
I’m getting study help for US History. I’ll see you later. Can you give me a ride to the studio tonight?
The studio. Adam .
He mentally calculated. He was supposed to help Michael on Wednesdays, but they’d be done by seven-ish.
Sure. 7:45?
“What’s eating you?” said Chris.
“Nothing,” said Nick. He set the phone next to his tray and drove his fork into the cafeteria meat loaf.
Becca leaned in against the table. “Is Quinn okay?” she asked quietly. “She’s really upset about the Elemental stuff.”
She hadn’t said anything to Nick, but he knew Quinn didn’t want Becca to know how rough her home life had turned. And maybe she was still smarting from the secrets Becca had kept.
Nick didn’t necessarily agree with either course of action, but Quinn wasn’t exactly giving him all the details, either. He nodded. “I’ll talk to her. I’m taking her to dance tonight.”
Gabriel snorted. “Wow, playing chauffeur. Sounds like true love to me.”
His girlfriend Layne hit him. “Leave him alone.”
“Will you tell her I’m worried about her?” said Becca. “I don’t—I didn’t mean to hurt her.”
Nick gave her a reassuring look. “I’ll tell her.”
His phone chimed while he was shoveling a bite of meat loaf into his mouth. Nick reached for it.
But then Gabriel said, “Who’s Adam? And why is he asking if he’s going to see you tonight?”
Nick choked on his food.
Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
His heart beat so quickly that he could swear all the blood rushed away from his head just to keep up with it. For a horri-fying moment he wondered if he’d pass out from panic.
He needed to say something. He needed to say something now before they started guessing.
They were all staring at him. Because they suspected something?
No, moron, because you’re choking on meat loaf.
Did Gabriel sound suspicious? Why would he be suspicious?
What did he think?
“Quinn’s dance partner,” Nick said quickly, wheezing a little.
He needed to calm down, but his brain wouldn’t let him stop talking. “He’s auditioning for a scholarship, and she’s helping him.”
