The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback (Astra and Zayne) novel Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Chapter 32

ŽANE

“Yo, Zane, what the fuck happened with Maya, bro?” Tyler asked as we headed toward the gym for last period The rest of the guys were trailing behind us, still buzzing from the morning drama. “I didn’t believe it until I saw her change her status to single and post that corny ass ‘sometimes the boy you love turns into the man you hate’ quote with the broken heart emoji.”

I didn’t even look at him. My jaw stayed tight as we pushed through the double doors into the locker room hallway.

Cristiano laughed. “She’s been crying in the girls’ bathroom all day. Her little squad is out here saying you’re heartless.”

“Good,” I said flatly. “Let them.”

Tyler jogged a step to keep up with me. “Nah, but seriously, man. You two were solid. What’d she do? Cheat? Talk shit? You just woke up and decided to nuke her in the parking lot?”

I stopped walking for half a second and turned to face them. My voice came out cold, bored, and final.

“She stopped being useful.”

The guys went quiet for a beat, exchanging looks.

Jax whistled low. “Damn. Cold.”

Erling grinned. “That’s our captain.”

I didn’t smile back. Maya had been loud, clingy, and cruel in all the ways that used to entertain me. But after hearing that video of her laughing while they beat on Astra… every fake moan she’d ever given me turned my stomach.

She was nothing now.

We walked into the gym and the noise hit us, squeaking shoes, chatter, balls bouncing. Most of the class was already there. changing or stretching. My eyes scanned the room out of habit.

And then they locked on her.

Astra.

She was standing near the bleachers, back partially turned, adjusting her gym uniform. The standard black shorts were shorter on her than on most girls, riding high on those thick thighs, the fabric hugging every soft curve like it was painted on. The white top clung to her full chest and the gentle dip of her waist, showing a strip of smooth stomach when she reached up to fix her ponytail.

She adjusted her glasses, biting down on her lower lip in concentration. A few strands of that long, golden hair escaped and fell around her face like liquid sunlight. When she turned slightly, the hair swung down her back like a waterfall, almost reaching her waist.

Fuck.

My cock twitched hard in my shorts.

She looked soft. Curvy. Ripe. Like something that should’ve been hidden away so no one else could see it.

Tyler followed my stare and let out a low, appreciative whistle.

“Damn… why the hell does Hawthorne always wear hoodies?” he muttered, eyes dragging over her body. “Look at all those

3

O

O

Chapter 32

curves, man. She’s been hiding a whole ass snack under there.”

The other guys laughed and made comments, but I didn’t join them.

55 th

My jaw clenched so hard it ached. The urge to punch Tyler in the mouth was almost overwhelming. Instead, I just stared at her, dark hunger twisting in my gut.

She must’ve felt my stare because she suddenly looked up and straight at me.

Our eyes locked across the gym.

Her cheeks flushed instantly, a pretty peach color that spread all the way to her ears. She looked flustered, embarrassed and something else I couldn’t quite name. Her lips parted for half a second before she quickly turned her head away, letting that long golden hair curtain her face like she could hide from me.

Too late.

I smirked, slow and dark, letting her feel every second of it.

Run all you want, Trash-tra.

Those curves belong to me now.

She grabbed the hem of her top and tugged it down nervously, trying to cover more of her stomach, but it only made the shorts ride higher on her thighs. My hands itched to grab those hips and pin her against the bleachers.

Tyler nudged me with his elbow, still grinning. “You good, bro? You look like you wanna eat her alive.”

I didn’t answer.

Because I did.

I wanted to drag her somewhere private, rip that tight little gym uniform off her body, and remind her exactly who she gets to blush for.

Jason wasn’t here right now.

No one was going to save her from me in this class.

And the way she kept stealing glances back at me, cheeks still burning?

She knew it too.

I cracked my neck and started walking toward the court, my eyes never fully leaving her.

This was going to be a very long gym period.

And I was going to enjoy every fucking second of watching her squirm.

Coach blew the whistle and split us into teams for basketball drills. Of course he put Astra on the opposite team from me. Cute. Like that would stop me.

I jogged onto the court, rolling my shoulders, but my attention stayed locked on her like a predator tracking prey. She was trying so hard to stay invisible, tugging at the hem of that tight white top, shifting her weight from one foot to the other so those thick thighs rubbed together. The black shorts were criminal on her. Every time she moved, the fabric rode up just a little higher, teasing the soft underside of her ass.

Mine.

3

O

O OM

|||

O

10:21 Fri, Jul 30

Chapter 32

55 Vour tayy

The thought hit me hard and fast. I didn’t want it, but it was there anyway. She was living in my house, sleeping under my roof, wearing that uniform at my bar, and now parading these curves in front of the entire fucking gym class like she had the right.

Tyler passed me the ball. I caught it one-handed and dribbled once, eyes still on her.

She was guarding someone half-assedly, biting her lip again, glasses slipping down her nose. When she reached up to adjust them, the crop top lifted and showed a flash of smooth, soft stomach and the faint curve of her waist.

My grip on the ball tightened until my knuckles went white.

Jason gets to twirl her in the parking lot.

She gets to blush and giggle for him.

But she trembles like a scared little rabbit when I put my hand on her thigh.

The rage and hunger mixed into something ugly and addictive.

I drove to the basket hard, blowing past two defenders like they weren’t even there. The ball slammed through the net with a satisfying swish. Coach yelled praise, but I didn’t give a fuck.

My eyes found her again.

She was watching me. Trying not to, but failing. Her cheeks were still that pretty scarlet color. When our gazes locked, she quickly looked away, golden hair swinging like a curtain as she turned. That long, silky waterfall of hair I wanted to wrap around my fist.

I smirked.

Keep running, little rabbit.

During the next drill, we ended up on the same half-court. I made sure of it. Every time she tried to guard me, I got in her space, chest brushing her shoulder, my taller frame towering over her, close enough that I could smell the faint strawberry on her skin mixed with nervous sweat.

She was breathing faster.

“You’re slow today, Hawthorne,” I taunted quietly when we were shoulder to shoulder fighting for position. “Distracted?”

“Shut up,” she whispered, voice shaky but trying to sound brave.

I dribbled once, then leaned down so my lips were right beside her ear.

“Make me.”

She shivered. Actually fucking shivered.

I drove past her easily, scoring again. When I jogged back, I made sure my arm brushed hers, deliberate, lingering. possessive.

Across the gym, I caught Maya glaring daggers at both of us. Her eyes were red and puffy.

Pathetic.

She looked like she wanted to rip Astra’s head off.

1

I didn’t care.

3

ว

O

O

|||

O

Chapter 32

Let her watch.

Let the whole damn school watch.

Astra Hawthorne was off-limits now.

And the sooner everyone, including her understood that, the better.

55

By the time Coach called for water break, she was flushed all over, chest heaving, that crop top sticking slightly to her skin from sweat. She bent over to catch her breath, hands on her knees, and those tight black shorts rode up dangerously high of the back of her thick thighs.

I stared.

Openly.

Tyler appeared beside me, wiping sweat from his forehead. “Bro, you’ve been eye-fucking Hawthorne the entire period. You good?”

I didn’t answer.

Because I wasn’t good.

I was obsessed.

And the more she tried to hide those curves, the more I wanted to rip the hoodie off her forever and make sure the only person she ever blushed for again… was me.

I took a slow sip of water, eyes never leaving her.

“You can run, Trash-tra.”

“But you live in my house.”

“And I’m nowhere near done playing with you yet.”

Coach blew the whistle again. “Boys versus girls! Volleyball! Let’s move!”

The class split. Boys on one side of the net, girls on the other.

I made sure I positioned myself directly across from Astra.

She noticed immediately. Her eyes widened behind her glasses when she saw me standing there like a wall, arms crossed, staring straight at her. She quickly looked away, tugging nervously at the hem of her crop top, trying to make it longer. Her long golden ponytail swayed as she shifted on her feet.

The game started.

Every time the ball came near her side, I was at the net, jumping higher, spiking harder, blocking her view like a fucking shadow. When she tried to set the ball for her team, I was right there, towering over the net, my height making her look tiny,

Once, when we both jumped for the same spike at the net, my chest brushed against her shoulder mid-air and my hand “accidentally” grazed her waist as we came down.

She gasped softly, landing unsteadily.

I smiled down at her through the net.

“You’re in my way, Hawthorne,” I murmured, loud enough for only her to hear. “Move.”

3

O

E

|||

O

1

10:21 Fri, Jul 30

Chapter 32

“Stop it,” she whispered back, voice shaky. “Just play the game.”

“I am playing.”

55 Vouchers

Every point I scored, I made sure she felt it. Every time she tried to hit the ball, I was right there, breathing down her neck from across the net, crowding her space, making her hyper-aware of me. The rest of the class was laughing and cheering. but I barely heard them.

All I saw was her.

Sweaty. Flushed. Trembling every time I got close.

By the middle of the game, she was a mess, ponytail messy, glasses slightly fogged, chest rising and falling fast under that damp white top. And every single time our eyes met across the net, she looked away first, golden hair swinging like a curtain

Like she knew.

Like she could feel me stripping her with my eyes.

Tyler slammed the ball down for another point and whooped. “We’re destroying them!”

I didn’t celebrate.

I just kept staring at Astra as she bent over again to catch her breath, those tight black shorts riding up dangerously high on her plush thighs, sweat making her skin glow under the gym lights.

The game kept going. Every rally pulled my focus tighter on her.

Then it happened.

One of the guys on my team, some loudmouth junior named Brock who always tried too hard to impress the seniors spiked the ball hard toward Astra’s side. She jumped to block it, arms up.

“Move your fat ass, Hawthorne!” Brock shouted with a laugh.

The ball smashed straight into her face.

Astra cried out and crumpled to the gym floor like a rag doll.

For a split second, everything went dead silent.

Then some of the guys laughed. A couple of Brock’s idiot friends. Maya and her crew started giggling loudly from the sidelines like it was the funniest shit they’d ever seen.

Blood trickled from Astra’s nose, bright red against her pale skin, One hand pressed to her face as it started dripping down her chin and onto her white crop top.

Coach blew his whistle hard. “What the hell is wrong with you people?! Knock it off!”

The laughter died down, but not fast enough.

I froze.

Then something dark and violent snapped inside me.

I dropped the ball I was holding and stormed across the court, shoving past two of my own teammates. Brock was still smirking, proud of himself like he’d done something clever.

Big mistake.

3

O

DOM

O