Second Chance: A Military Football Romance

"Please tell me that is not your ex-boyfriend," I said, even though I knew it was.

"Do you think he's here with that guy?"

"If they didn't come together, I would not be surprised if they left together. Shit, sorry, Quinn."

"No, it's alright. Obviously he's really broken up over our breakup," she said. She pulled out her phone.

"No. Wait. What are you doing?" I asked. I lunged across the booth for her phone, but she pulled back.

"Just letting him know that I'm at my parents if he wants to come and talk."

"You think he's going to make the four-hour drive from UCLA to talk about your relationship?" I asked.

"You would. Wouldn't you?" Quinn said.

I was glad the drinks arrived. Before she noticed, I tipped back both shots and signaled the waiter for another round. Watching Quinn be tortured by an obviously awful ex-boyfriend was going to take a high level of intoxication.

"Besides," Quinn said, typing furiously on her phone, "he's not in L.A., he's here. So it would be easy for him to tell me he was already on his way. You know, play the hero."

Trent's flailing arms dropped when she pressed send. In the midst of the dance floor, he pulled his phone from his pocket and checked it. A pleased smile spread across his face before he shoved the phone back in his pocket without a response.

Quinn grabbed her beer with both hands and groaned into the foam. "Oh God, of course. He doesn't even care. Did you see that smile? All he cares about is that I still have feelings for him."

"Do you?" From where I sat, he looked like a grade-A douchebag.

"Yes. No. We were never really that serious but it still hurts, you know? He just used me to feed his ego," Quinn said. She picked up the pint and took a long drink. "Hey, didn't you order shots?"

I laughed. "Yeah, they're on their way. So, besides getting drunk, what are you going to do?"

She took another long drink. "I suppose you would not help me with a Coyote Ugly type takeover, would you?"

"Sweetheart, there is not enough alcohol in this bar for that." I said. "I'm sure there are other ways you could make him jealous. Is he really worth that much effort?"

She looked back at the dance floor. Trent was sandwiched between two enthusiastic girls while flirting with the man over their heads. "He was always the life of the party."

"That's a terrible reason to stay with someone," I said.

"Yeah, I know. I guess it was just sort of effortless," Quinn said. "We got together, had fun, and never fought."

"Until you caught him with another guy."

The shots arrived and Quinn grabbed hers immediately. "Yeah, there is that. Ugh, I can't get that out of my head."

"This might help. Cheers," I said. We knocked back the shots. "Alright, now that you've had that, I have to say he looks like a complete asshat."

Quinn laughed. "That's exactly what Sienna said. She made me promise she could be there when he met our parents. Can you imagine?"

"So, I still don't get it," I said. "Why did you date him?"

She scrunched up her nose and gave me an adorable,

cringing smile. "He was a good kisser."

"Next round is on you and now I definitely need another shot," I said.

Quinn's smile faded as she watched him flirting around the dance floor. "I wonder why he dated me."

"Are you kidding?" I asked. I got up and joined her on her side of the booth. "Just look at you."