The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback (Astra and Zayne) novel Chapter 193

The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback

AN ENTIRE ROOM REMEMBERED

3

ASTRA

My eyes opened slowly.

For several seconds I didn’t move, letting the quiet settle around me. Sunlight had already found its way around the curtains, spilling across the floor in bright, golden strips.

But something felt different.

It took my half-asleep brain another moment to place it.

I was alone.

My hand moved across the mattress before I could stop it, searching for the solid warmth that had been there the last two nights. Instead, my fingers slid over cool sheets.

Zane wasn’t there.

I blinked at the bare pillow beside mine.

Oh.

Disappointment hit before I could stop it, which was stupid considering he had his own room and absolutely no reason to wake up beside me simply because he’d spent the night here.

Even so, my fingers drifted across the pillow. The fabric had already gone cold.

He’d been gone for a while.

Something unpleasant tugged behind my ribs as I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling, trying to ignore it. What exactly had I expected? To open my eyes every morning and find Zane Ashton beside me like he’d permanently moved into my bed?

Actually, considering the last few days, that didn’t seem entirely impossible.

I pushed myself upright and dragged both hands over my face. Maybe he’d gone downstairs. Maybe he was with his dad. He was allowed to exist somewhere that wasn’t within touching distance of me.

My gaze landed on the clock.

“Shit.”

It was after ten.

I threw the covers aside and scrambled out of bed. How the hell had I slept this late again?

The twins would already be at school by now. Nadine or one of the staff must have gotten them ready and out the door without waking me, which probably meant someone had specifically told them to let me sleep.

Zane.

Somehow, I had a feeling he was responsible for that.

I was halfway to the bathroom when the date finally registered.

November sixth.

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The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback

My birthday.

I’d forgotten. Again.

A quiet, disbelieving laugh escaped me as I stood there barefoot on the cool floorboards.

Eighteen.

Somehow, I was eighteen.

59 vouchers

I’d always imagined the realization would feel bigger, as though crossing that invisible line overnight should have changed something. Instead, I felt exactly like myself, right down to the tangled hair that already seemed determined to fight me.

My attention drifted toward the empty bed once more.

“Happy birthday to me,” I murmured before disappearing into the bathroom.

After brushing my teeth and washing my face, I spent several minutes fighting with my hair before giving up and getting dressed. By the time I stepped into the hallway, I’d mostly convinced myself that waking up alone hadn’t bothered me.

Mostly.

The house was strangely quiet as I headed downstairs, but at first I didn’t think much of it. The twins were at school, Zane was probably somewhere doing whatever Zane did when he wasn’t following me around, and everyone else had their own lives to get on with.

It wasn’t until I reached the first floor that the silence started to bother me.

Usually, even with Lucas and Mason gone, the estate was never this still. There were always footsteps somewhere, voices drifting from another room, staff moving through the halls.

Today, there was nothing.

“Nadine?” I called.

No answer.

I checked the kitchen, expecting to find someone there, but it was empty. So was the dining room.

Okay. Weird.

I kept walking, rubbing my palms against my pants as an uncomfortable awareness began creeping over me.

“Hello?”

Still nothing.

I hated how quickly my body responded to the silence now. The house was secure; I knew that. There were guards outside and cameras everywhere, and nobody could simply walk onto the estate without security knowing.

Knowing that didn’t stop my shoulders from tightening.

Where the hell was everyone?

I checked the family room and found that empty too. Before I could decide where to look next, a muffled thump came from somewhere farther down.

My steps slowed.

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10:04 Fri, Aug 14

The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback

A whisper followed, too faint to make out, and then someone hissed urgently, “Shhh!”

$5 your her

Someone was definitely here, and the more I thought about that hurried little shhh, the more familiar it sounded.

Was that Mason?

I followed the noise toward the large sitting room at the rear of the house. The double doors were closed.

They were never closed.

Okay. Something was definitely happening.

My hand settled on the handle. “Guys?”

Silence answered from the other side.

I pushed the door open.

“SURPRISE!”

A shriek tore out of me as I stumbled backward, one hand flying to my chest while the other caught the doorframe before I could lose my balance completely.

“Oh my God.”

Balloons floated across the ceiling in bright clusters, ribbons curling down between them, while a huge banner stretched across the far wall in bold letters: HAPPY 18TH BIRTHDAY, ASTRA.

Someone had transformed the entire room while I slept. Even the long table had disappeared beneath enough food to feed a small army, with a beautiful cake sitting proudly in the middle-far prettier than anything I would ever have chosen for myself.

And then I noticed everyone.

Nadine stood near the table wearing a ridiculous party hat that somehow still looked elegant on her. Phoebe was beside her, grinning at my reaction, while Marco had abandoned the kitchen long enough to join several other members of staff gathered around the room. Mrs. Ashton stood among them, her usual composure replaced by a smile so wide and openly delighted that my throat tightened.

Directly in front of them stood Lucas and Mason, both looking seconds away from exploding with pride.

“WE DIDN’T TELL YOU!” Lucas yelled.

Mason immediately shoved him. “That wasn’t what we were supposed to say!”

I tried to say something, but my gaze wandered from the twins to the decorations surrounding them and the words simply refused to come.

Mrs. Ashton stepped forward with a soft smile. “Happy birthday, sweetheart.”

My eyes burned immediately.

Nope. I had cried more than enough recently, and I was not doing it again in front of an entire room full of people.

I blinked quickly and searched the crowd for something, anything, that might distract me from the pressure building behind my eyes.

That was when I found Zane.

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10:04 Fri, Aug 14

The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback

5 vouthe

He stood a little behind everyone else in a black T-shirt and dark jeans, his arms folded loosely across his chest as he watched me with the kind of focused attention that made everything around him seem less important.

Suddenly, yesterday made a lot more sense. His disappearing act, the bag he’d hidden behind his back, that accidental mention of tomorrow, even the twins’ behaviour, it had all been for this.

“You.” I breathed.

Zane’s mouth curved. “Me.”

“You left me.”

His brows lifted at the accusation, and somehow the chatter around us faded as several people turned our way.

Heat rushed into my face the second I realized how that had sounded.

“I mean you weren’t there when I woke up.”

Lucas immediately made a disgusted face. “Were you sleeping together?”

Mrs. Ashton closed her eyes for a brief, pained moment.

Zane looked far too pleased with himself.

Several staff members suddenly became extremely interested in the nearest balloon arrangement.

Zane was enjoying every single second of this.

I pointed at him. “Stop smiling.”

His smile widened, shameless.

Asshole.

Mrs. Ashton rescued me before my face could combust completely.

“We wanted you to sleep,” she explained gently. “Zane came down early, and everyone was under strict instructions to keep the house quiet until you woke up.”

I looked at him again.

So he hadn’t just left.

He’d been down here the whole time, making sure of this.

That weird little hurt from earlier vanished so quickly it was almost embarrassing.

“You all did this for me?”

Lucas threw his hands up. “Obviously.”

A breathy little sound escaped me, somewhere between amusement and disbelief, as I took in the room again. All these people I’d slowly come to know since moving here had gathered in one place for me, and the twins looked ready to burst from the effort of containing their excitement.

Elira’s warm smile nearly made my eyes burn all over again.

And finally at Zane.

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10:04

Fri, Aug 14

The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback

Yesterday I’d completely forgotten my own birthday.