The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback (Astra and Zayne) novel Chapter 195

The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback

This Part Was Mine

ZANE

By midafternoon, the house had finally recovered from Astra’s birthday celebration. Most of the staff had returned to work. Mom had disappeared after convincing Astra she needed one more slice of cake, and the twins were upstairs finishing the homework they’d spent most of the morning pretending didn’t exist.

Astra had gone upstairs nearly an hour ago to shower and change.

I’d checked the time enough times to know she was taking her sweet fucking time.

There were still plans for the rest of her birthday, and I needed to get her out of the house before sunset At this rate, getting Astra dressed and downstairs might take longer than the actual drive.

I was stretched across one end of the family room sofa when footsteps sounded behind me.

“There you are.”

I glanced up, and whatever complaint I’d been preparing died immediately.

She’d changed into a soft cream sweater that slipped off one shoulder and a dark skirt that ended at mid-thigh, hugging her curves in a way that made it difficult to remember what the hell I’d been thinking about two seconds ago.

Her long golden hair was still slightly damp from the shower, spilling down her back, and the gold bracelet Mom had given her caught the light as she tucked a strand behind her ear.

Astra caught me staring almost immediately.

Her steps slowed. “What?”

“Nothing.”

Color crept into her cheeks. “Then stop looking at me like that.”

“Like what?”

“You know exactly what you’re doing.”

I didn’t, actually. I’d forgotten what I was doing the second she walked into the room.

“Come here.”

She hesitated, eyes dropping briefly before returning to mine. “Why?”

“Do I need a reason?”

Her cheeks darkened. “With you? Usually.”

That pulled a smile from me.

She still came closer.

Astra sat on the other end of the sofa and tucked one leg beneath herself, trying very hard to act unaffected. Her sweater shifted with the movement, exposing more of her shoulder, and my gaze betrayed me immediately.

Jesus Christ.

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The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback

She’d probably thrown the outfit on without thinking twice.

And somehow she’d walked downstairs looking like someone I had no business being left alone with.

Maybe it was the bare curve of her shoulder beneath all that golden hair or the way the skirt hugged her hips before ending halfway down those thick thighs. Then again, I was probably too far gone for this girl to blame the clothes. She could’ve walked downstairs wearing one of my old hoodies, and I still would’ve wanted to pull her into my lap and keep her there.

Astra squirmed beneath my attention, pink spreading slowly across her cheeks.

Fucking beautiful.

She had no idea.

My phone vibrated against my thigh, dragging me back to the reason I’d been waiting for her in the first place.

I checked the time. We needed to leave soon.

“We have somewhere to be.”

Her embarrassment disappeared beneath immediate curiosity. “We?”

“You’re coming with me.”

“Where?”

“You’ll find out.”

“Another surprise?”

“Maybe.”

She opened her mouth, undoubtedly preparing to interrogate the answer out of me, when the sound of a car pulling up outside interrupted her.

A few seconds later, the doorbell rang.

Nadine appeared in the doorway shortly afterward. “Astra, you have another visitor.”

Astra turned toward her. “Who?”

A familiar voice answered from the foyer.

“Me.”

For fuck’s sake.

Jason stepped into view with his car keys looped around one finger and a black gift bag in his other hand.

Astra’s entire face brightened when she saw him. “Jason.”

Perfect.

Exactly who I wanted showing up when I was trying to get her out of the house.

Jason acknowledged me with a nod. “Ashton.”

“Jason.”

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The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback

Astra’s gaze moved between us. “Behave.”

Neither of us answered, which was probably for the best.

Then she noticed the bag in his hand.

“What’s that?”

Jason held it toward her. “Something I should’ve given back to you a while ago.”

Astra frowned as she reached for it, but the moment she looked inside, her eyes widened.

“Oh my God.”

“Halloween night,” Jason reminded her.

“My sketchbook.” She pulled it free, then glanced into the bag again. “And all my supplies.”

“When everything happened that night, they got left behind. I ended up taking them with me.”

Astra ran her fingers over the dark blue cover scattered with silver stars.

“You kept everything?”

“Wasn’t going to throw it away.”

55 vounfure

I remembered the gift box now. Jason had given it to her that night, although at the time I’d been more interested in the fact that his hands kept finding their way onto Astra while they danced.

She opened the cover, only to pause when something caught between the pages.

“What’s this?”

Jason shoved his hands into his pockets. “That part’s new.”

Astra glanced up at him. “You added something?”

“It’s your birthday.”

She pulled out a slim silver bookmark with a tiny star hanging from one end. Her thumb moved over the engraving, and a smile slowly appeared.

“For all the pages you haven’t filled yet,” she read softly.

Jason shoved his hands into his pockets. “Turn it over.”

Astra flipped the bookmark.

Happy 18th, Astra. — Jason

Her smile widened. “I love it.”

“Figured you’d get some use out of it.”

“I will.”

She carefully slipped the bookmark between the pages and returned the sketchbook to the bag before stepping forward and wrapping her arms around him.

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The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback

“Good thing you’ve never accused me of being normal.”

vash

The corner of her mouth betrayed her, but she held out for another second before finally slipping her hand into mine.

The ease of it got me for a second. There had been a time when Astra barely tolerated being in the same room with me, and now she reached for me without thinking.

I curled my fingers around hers and drew her closer.

“You’re really not telling me?” she asked.

“Not a chance.”

She groaned, and I pressed a kiss to her forehead before she could start arguing again.

“Trust me, Trouble.”

Her expression softened. “I do.”

Those two words hit harder than they had any right to.

She trusted me.

After everything between us, she fucking trusted me.

I brought our joined hands to my mouth and kissed her knuckles before leading her toward the door.

Everything else today had involved the whole family.

This part was mine.

Just me and her.

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15 O

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Aug 15

The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback

Whatever Makes Her Smile

ZANE

Astra lasted less than five minutes before she started trying to figure out where I was taking her.

“Are we leaving the city?”

“No.”

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$5 vour bes

“A restaurant?”

“No.”

“The movies?”

“No.”

She studied me for a moment, golden hair spilling over one shoulder. “Are you taking me somewhere embarrassing?”

I glanced over. “What kind of places do you think I take women?”

“I’ve known you long enough not to rule anything out.”

“And yet you got in the car willingly.”

“Against my better judgment.”

“Little late for that now.”

Astra turned toward the window, but the restless movement of her fingers against her thigh told me she wasn’t finished.

“Can I have one hint?”

“No.”

She groaned and sank deeper into the seat. “You’re impossible.”

I let her suffer and kept driving.

More thought had gone into today than I’d ever admit. Even during the birthday celebration that morning, there had been moments when her smile faded and that faraway look crept back into her eyes. Asking if she was okay again wouldn’t change anything. For a few hours, I just wanted her happy enough to forget there had ever been a reason not to be.

The first lights appeared ahead as I turned onto the next road. Beside me, Astra straightened, leaning closer to the window.

“Wait…”

The Ferris wheel came into view first, glowing against the late-afternoon sky. Then the roller coaster appeared behind it. tracks twisting above the rides and flashing lights below.

Astra whipped toward me. “You brought me to a carnival?”

“Looks like it.”

Her whole face lit up.

And just like that, every second I’d spent planning this was worth it.

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10:13 Sat, Aug 15

The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback

Shiverner

I pulled into the parking area. She already had one hand on her seat belt by the time I killed the engine and was reaching for the door when I caught her wrist.

“Wait.”

Before she could argue, I got out and rounded the car to open it for her.

Astra peered up at me. “You know I can open my own door, right?”

“Never said you couldn’t.”

Her lips parted, whatever comeback she’d been preparing disappearing. A faint blush crept across her cheeks instead. I waited until she finally slipped her fingers into mine and helped her out.

“Come on, birthday girl.”

The carnival was packed by the time we made it through the entrance. Music rolled over the crowd beneath the screams coming from the rides, strings of lights stretching above booths overflowing with food, games, and prizes.

Astra’s gaze wandered until it landed on the roller coaster towering over everything. The second her eyes lit up, I knew I was fucked.

“We’re doing that,” she announced.

A car plunged down the steepest section of track, carrying a chorus of screams with it.

“No, the fuck we are not.”

Astra turned to me, and the grin spreading across her face told me she’d just discovered something she was never going to let me live down.

“You’re scared.”

“I have survival instincts.”

“You play football.”

“And I’d like to keep doing that with my spine intact.”

Her grin only grew. “We’re going.”

“Trouble…”

Too late. Her fingers closed around mine, and she started pulling me toward the line with entirely too much enthusiasm.

Bringing her here was beginning to feel like a serious fucking miscalculation.

Twenty minutes later, with a metal restraint locked across my chest and Astra practically bouncing in the seat beside me, I knew it was.

“This is going to be amazing,” she said, grinning.

“If I die, I’m haunting you.”

“You’ll have to catch me first.”

The car jerked into motion and began its climb, each metallic click carrying us farther from the ground than any normal person needed to be. I made the mistake of looking over the side once and immediately decided I’d seen enough.

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The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback

“Why the fuck are we still going up?”

Astra twisted toward me, laughter already spilling from her. “Oh my God. You really are scared.”

“I’m not scared.”

“You’re turning pale.”

“I’m reconsidering every decision that brought me here.”

That only made her laugh harder as we crawled toward the top. Then the clicking stopped.

For one horrible second, we hung there.

Astra reached for my hand, and I locked my fingers around hers just before the car tipped forward and the entire fucking world dropped out from under us.

“FUCK!”

Her scream dissolved into wild laughter as we plunged down the track. Wind tore at my clothes, my stomach abandoned me somewhere near the top, and when the car whipped around the next turn, Astra threw both hands above her head like she had absolutely no interest in seeing eighteen.

“PUT YOUR FUCKING HANDS DOWN!”

She laughed even harder.

And…. somehow, we survived.

By the time the car rolled back into the station, Astra was breathless, cheeks flushed and eyes shining, while I was developing a new appreciation for solid ground. The restraint released, and she turned to me with her lips pressed tightly together.

“Don’t,” I warned.

That lasted all of two seconds.

“Hahaha, you screamed fuck so loudly the little girl behind us started laughing.”

I glanced over my shoulder and found a kid staring straight at me with a huge grin.

Fantastic.

Astra made it off the platform before the laughter finally got the better of her. She folded against me, and I caught her around the waist while she struggled to get herself under control.

“I cannot believe Zane Ashton is scared of roller coasters,” she managed between breaths.

“Keep talking and I’m putting you back on it alone.”

She lifted her face to mine, still grinning. “You wouldn’t.”

No. I fucking wouldn’t. Especially not when she looked like this-hair a mess from the wind, still clutching my shirt, completely unguarded for once.

This was what I’d wanted. Not the roller coaster trying to rearrange my organs. Her like this. Happy.