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Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Joycelyn’s POV
I expected that night at the Marriott to be a rare moment of surrender in my otherwise perfectly orchestrated life.
What shocked me was discovering that despite his reputation as Boulder High’s biggest player–the guy who supposedly hooked up with half the cheer squad from rival schools–Nathan “The Natural Darwin was just as new to this as I was.
His awkward attempts to recreate moves he’d clearly studied on Pornhub were no match for my thorough approach. All those years solving complex physics problems apparently gave me an edge in figuring out the mechanics of pleasure. Who knew my perfect SAT math scores would translate so directly to other areas?
Watching him beneath me, his tough guy image completely shattered as his eyes went hazy and his breathing turned ragged, fighting and failing to hold back those soft, vulnerable sounds–I finally understood why they say experience beats theory every time.
I might have been a bit too… enthusiastic in my approach. At the next day’s game against Cherry Creek, Boulder’s star quarterback mysteriously couldn’t get enough height for his signature plays. Coach Winters kept barking “What’s wrong with you today, Darwin?” while Nathan winced every time he had to make a lateral move. Tyler and Jason exchanged knowing glances from the bench
when Nathan grimaced during warm–ups.
Men like to brag that women never forget their first. What I discovered is that men are the ones who can’t separate sex from feelings.
Over the next month, I noticed the shift. Nathan’s texts evolved from late–night “you up?” messages to sending me TikToks at random hours with “this made me think of you” captions. He started picking me up for school without me asking. Once, I caught him doodling my name in his physics notebook–a class he was only passing because I tutored him.
When I’d climb into his lap in the backseat of his Jeep, he’d sometimes just hold me for a while, his face buried in my neck, breathing me in before we’d even kiss. The toughest guy at Boulder High would trace patterns on my back with his fingertips and ask questions about my childhood, what books I liked, whether I believed in anything after death.
Raven caught on before Nathan himself realized what was happening.
DI AV. Chean Augen Im Quartorback King
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Chapter 6
After a night that left Nathan passed out in my bed while I made a coffee run, Raven ambushed me in the bathroom at Boulder Bean. Her Lululemon workout set screamed “I just finished hot yoga and still look perfect” while her eyes screamed murder.
Her gaze locked onto the dark purple mark peeking above my crew neck. The fury in her expression was almost comical as she blocked the paper towel dispenser.
“God, Quinn, you and Nathan are like rabbits,” she spat, her sugary tone barely masking the venom. “Don’t you get bored humping his brains out every night? Or is that all you’re good for now that you’ve tanked your GPA?”
I adjusted my collar in the mirror, taking my sweet time before turning to face her with a bored expression.
“If I’m not spending time with my boyfriend,” I replied, “where exactly should I be investing my
energy?”
I let the question hang in the air between us.
“On winning valedictorian?” I widened my eyes in mock innocence. “Oh wait, I forgot–some things just matter more than grades, Raven. Nathan’s teaching me that every night.”
Raven stormed out, nearly knocking over a freshman girl who made the mistake of entering at that
moment.
I can still picture the look on her face–not just anger, but something deeper and darker. A promise that this wasn’t over, that she had an ace up her sleeve she hadn’t played yet.
Today, apparently, was the day she planned to show her hand.
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