The QB Bad Boy and Me (Sidelined) - Wattpad Books Edition

Chapter 3

Tuesday morning I decided not to waste any time getting the ding in my car fixed, so I took it down to the body shop first thing and asked Gabby to follow me so that I'd have a ride to school.

"What's the damage, Harry?"

Harry was a sweet old guy I'd worked for a few summers ago doing odd jobs like cleaning and sweeping for a little extra cash, before I started working at the diner.

"Well, darling," he said as he adjusted the oil-stained cap on his head while he examined the dented bumper, "I'll do it for four hundred and fifty. That's as cheap as I can go."

It was a very good deal. The repair would have cost anywhere up to a grand at any other shop. Once I paid Harry, I was left with an extra hundred, and contemplated getting myself a new outfit. But I immediately squashed the idea, knowing that I'd give the money back to Drayton.

"Thank you, Harry. You're a lifesaver!"

"You can have her back by Thursday." He patted the top of the car before signaling Tony, one of the young panel beaters, to fetch the keys and move it inside.

"Thanks, Harry!" I called as I ran across the road to Gabby's waiting car.

"Have you still not fixed the air conditioning in this thing?" I waved my hand in front of my face, gasping for some cold air as Gabby sat in the driver's seat taking selfies. "Nothing Breaks Like a Heart" by Miley Cyrus and Mark Ronson crackled through the small speakers.

The air conditioning in Gabby's little Mazda hatchback had carked it at the beginning of the summer. Even now, toward the end of the season, the need for fresh air was high. The windows were rolled down, but the breeze was just as warm, so it really didn't help at all.

"I remember why we used my car all summer now," I groaned, wiping at the sweat beads on my forehead. I gripped the front of my T-shirt and fanned it in and out.

"You think you have problems with the heat?" She pointed at her thick head of curls tied into a bun. "You know what heat does to this Afro? It gets so damn big that it needs its own area code. I have six different products going on in this situation."

I giggled. "Yeah, you migh—"

"Ahh!" Gabby cut me off with an excited squeal as she clutched the steering wheel and bounced in her seat. "I just remembered! Tell me about last night. Like, everything."

"I already have."

"No, no, no! Last night you said it was 'uneventful.' I refuse to believe that having Drayton Lahey over for dinner could possibly be uneventful."

"Honestly, he and Nathan talked about football all night. He helped me with the dishes, and then he left. He did tell me that he isn't really in a relationship with Emily."

I left out the part about his not-so-subtle flirting. I didn't need a headache right before school.

"Oh." Her brows moved up and down suggestively as she pulled into a parking space. "He made it clear that he's available, did he?"

"It's not that deep, Gabs. There was nothing to it."

We hopped out of the car and met at the tail end while she sighed with a dreamy expression. My best friend might have been overexcited and reading into things that weren't there, but I adored her enthusiasm for love.

"I can't believe you spent the evening with Drayton Lahey."

"Please don't idolize him." We linked arms and started toward the brick building. "He's a football player. He can't heal with his hands."