The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback (Astra and Zayne) novel Chapter 191

The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback

MINE DOESN’T HAVE YOU IN IT

ASTRA

Something was up with the twins.

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I’d known Lucas and Mason long enough to recognize the full spectrum of their questionable behavior, and whatever was happening tonight ranked somewhere between we broke something expensive and we’re planning something that will eventually become your problem”.

Lucas had been whispering to Mason when I pushed open their door. The second my shadow fell across the carpet, they went completely silent.

I stopped in the doorway.

Lucas was already under his covers with the blanket pulled high. Mason sat cross-legged on his bed. The exaggerated innocence on both their faces told me more than either of them probably intended.

“What?” I asked.

“Nothing.” Lucas said quickly.

Mason glanced at his brother before looking away.

Oh, they were terrible at this.

I walked farther into the room. “What did you do?”

“Nothing.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Nothing,” Mason repeated, nodding like saying it enough times might make me believe him.

“You realize you’re making this worse, right?”

Another look passed between them.

I sat on the edge of Lucas’s bed and folded my arms. “Talk.”

“There’s nothing to talk about.”

Mason nodded far too enthusiastically. “Exactly.”

“Then why were you whispering?”

“We whisper all the time.”

“No, you yell all the time. Whispering requires self-control.”

Lucas scowled, which only made Mason’s barely contained smile worse.

“And you disappeared into the kitchen with Mrs. Ashton earlier,” I added.

Lucas opened his mouth. Mason kicked the side of his bed hard enough to make the frame rattle.

His mouth snapped shut.

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10:03 Fri, Aug 14

The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback

Right.

Whatever was happening in this house, everyone seemed determined to keep me out of it. Zane had disappeared for hours,” come home hiding something behind his back, and locked me out of his room the second he let tomorrow” ship. Now the twins were kicking each other to stay quiet.

“Does this have something to do with Zane?”

“No!” they blurted at the exact same time.

Lucas pulled his blanket higher until only his eyes showed. “Can we go to sleep now?”

I stared at him. “You’re voluntarily asking me to turn the lights off?”

“Yes.”

That might have been the first time in recorded history either Ashton twin had requested bedtime.

“Fine. I’m going.”

1 crossed to Mason and kissed his forehead before doing the same to Lucas. The affection still felt new sometimes, but not uncomfortable anymore. Somewhere along the way, loving these two had become easy.

“Goodnight. And no talking for hours after I leave.”

Lucas frowned. “We don’t do that.”

Mason dragged his blanket over his mouth to hide his grin.

A smile pulled at my mouth. “Goodnight, criminals.”

“We didn’t do anything!”

“Yet.”

I switched off the light and closed the door behind me.

!

Whatever they were hiding could wait until morning. Between them and my complete failure at getting anything useful out of Zane earlier, I’d done enough investigating for one night.

I reached my bedroom and pushed open the door, only to stop when I found Zane sitting on my bed.

He’d changed into gray sweatpants and a black T-shirt and was leaning against the headboard with his phone in one hand, already settled in like he had every intention of staying.

I closed the door behind me. “You know you have your own room.”

His eyes lifted from the screen. “Mine doesn’t have you in it.”

A look was all he got from me. His mouth twitched before he returned his attention to his phone.

The silly little burst of relief that hit me as I crossed the room was harder to ignore. Last night, asking him to stay had made sense. Everything had still been too fresh. Tonight should have been different. Being home, surrounded by people I loved, should have made sleeping alone easy.

Except the thought of closing the door to an empty room had started bothering me somewhere between leaving the twins and reaching my bedroom.

Then I walked in and found him waiting.

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10:03 Fri, Aug

The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback

I was glad he was here.

When had that happened? When had Zane gone from the person most likely to ruin my day to someone whose presence made everything inside me feel a little less unsettled?

I didn’t know, and right then, I didn’t particularly care.

“You could at least pretend you were invited,” I said.

“I was invited last night.”

“That invitation expired when the sun came up.”

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