Inevitably Yours
Chapter 79

MICHAEL

It was late afternoon, and I’d mostly left Quinn alone all day since she was in school. I threw on some khaki shorts and a band shirt to head out to the concert. I didn’t want to dress up, but I figured something other than athletic shorts would be appropriate. Nic came to me as usual, and I drove. It had been bugging me that I hadn’t been to her place since she moved here, and she was always so secretive about it. But I figured she would tell me in her own time. I could tell if she was lying to me, and she hadn’t lied about anything since I’d seen her in the grocery store. It did feel like she was keeping something from me, though; we’d never talked about why she left Stary or disappeared on me.

She buzzed with excitement next to me as we drove out of town. The concert was in a major city south of us, and it would take a little over an hour to get there. We just talked and listened to music on the way, stopping for an early dinner. We’d left early specifically so I could call Quinn before heading into the concert. I hoped I was timing it right, but you could never tell how a football game went with stopping the clock, timeouts, etc. We pulled into the ridiculously packed parking lot and took forever to replace a spot.

“You want me to replace our seats to give you some privacy?” Nic asked with her hand on the door handle.

“That would be great, actually,” I told her. She’d been awesome about Quinn since I’d asked her to give us a chance. I honestly thought they’d be good friends when they finally met. It was a first; Nic had never given any other girl I dated the time of day. They were never good enough. I guess telling her that I was sure Quinn was my mate helped.

Once she was gone, I pulled my phone out and speed-dialed Quinn’s number. To my disappointment, I got her voicemail. I must have caught her at halftime or in the middle of a song in the stands. I waited a few minutes, but when she didn’t call back, I decided to head inside and wait for her as the concert began.

I felt and heard my phone ring a few songs into the band’s set, and everyone around me booed. Nic said something, but I couldn’t hear her. She squeezed my hand and then waved me out. I assumed she was trying to tell me it was okay to leave.

“Hey! Hold on!” I yelled into my phone. My heart was beating a little quicker, the way it always did when I talked to her. I didn’t know why; it was just a phone call. When I was finally out into the hallway, it wasn’t too loud to talk anymore, “Hey, I’m sorry. I’m at a concert for my birthday. That’s why I tried calling you earlier.”

“Oh… I’m sorry! I can let you go, and we can talk later?” Quinn apologized quickly, her voice a little sad.

“No, no! It’s your birthday. I want to talk to you. How’s today been? Find your mate?” I asked teasingly.

“It would be hard to smell you from so far away,” she shot right back.

I breathed for what felt like the first time that day. I knew to the depths of my soul that he wasn’t her mate, but it didn’t stop me from worrying. My heart skipped its next beat before I could get out, “Happy birthday, Quinn. I wish I could be there to celebrate it with you.”

“Thank you for this morning and for calling. I wish you were-”

“Quinn?” I asked. She’d cut off mid-sentence like I lost her or something, but I could hear a muffled argument.

“Hello?” an angry male voice came through, a familiar voice.

“Jaxx?” I growled.

QUINN

“Alright, don’t forget tonight. After the first song, they will count us off, and we shift to third. We’ll play the Alpha tribute standing there, then finish the show,” I instructed our section.

“Our Alpha doesn’t even give a s**t about us. Why do they insist on this bullshit?” one of the others grumbled.

“Look, I’m just relaying the information. I don’t call the shots,” I told him.

“Just keep up with the beat in the third show song, and everything will be fine,” Dylan, my co-section leader, said. “Go get ready.” Our section dispersed, going to finish getting prepared for the game.

“Alright. Don’t forget we need to do section gifts for the competition next weekend. I’ll make brownies. You get them something semi nutritional,” I told Dylan.

“Got it covered,” he said. “And Q?”

“Yea?” I asked. He held up a small box with a bow.

“Happy birthday,” he smiled. “Hope you aren’t mad, but I had to go in your cubby to figure out the right ones.”

I took the box and flipped it over to see it was brand new reeds. I had been trying to limp along with the last remaining ones I had from the previous school year, but they weren’t in good shape.

“Thanks, Dylan. It means a lot,” I told him. It wasn’t the first gift I got today. Against my pleas, Carl got me a new harness strap for my saxophone that was more cushioned than the last for my birthday. Mr. Ganbar had a slice of cake from the cafeteria for me, and Brina had a new book.

Dylan headed to get his stuff, and I went to get mine. Soon we were lining up and heading down to the football stadium. The drumline counted us off, beating out their cadences so we could dance and horn flash for the growing crowd.

On our way inside, Christy, Aubree, and Jaxx waved me down. I was happy to see her but not excited about going out later. When we got into the stands, and the game began, an announcement came over the speakers wishing me a happy birthday. To my surprise, the band broke into a round of ‘Happy Birthday.’ It was the first time any of us had a birthday on a Friday home game since I started high school, so I didn’t expect it to happen.

During the first half, Christy snuck up in the stands to talk to me, leaving Jaxx and Aubree in the regular spectator section. We hugged and hid behind the Tubas, catching up on life. I was happy to hear she enjoyed living with her mate and her new job.

When it was time to perform, she returned to her mate and my boyfriend, making me promise to replace her immediately after we finished. After we finished, I put my things away and headed down to everyone. Jaxx put his arm around me like usual, and Christy wanted to get drinks.

I felt my phone vibrating from the pocket inside my jacket. I pulled it out, seeing Michael’s name. “Hey, I need to answer this. I’ll catch up with you guys,” I said, clutching it to my chest.

“Can’t they wait?” Jaxx asked a little impatiently.

“No. I’ll be so quick,” I told him.

“I couldn’t come over this morning, and now you’re taking a call during the fifteen minutes I get to see you now?” he pushed. My phone stopped ringing, going to voicemail. Christy and Aubree back away nervously.

“I just need one minute. I bet this is just a Happy Birthday call,” I told him.

“Can’t it wait until later or like tomorrow? They could have called you earlier,” he said.

“I was in school all day, Jaxx. I can’t just answer my phone in class,” I snapped. He took a step forward, grabbing my arm.

“You don’t need to be mouthy,” he said in a low voice. I froze, swallowing the lump in my throat. “Take your call but make it fast.”

He let go of my arm after turning me by it to walk in the other direction. I took a few steps before I let out a breath. I had talked to Michael this morning, but that was different. I redialed his number, but he didn’t answer right away. When he did, he was yelling, “Hey! Hold on!”

The background noise died down after a minute, and he spoke again, “Hey, I’m sorry. I’m at a concert for my birthday. That’s why I tried calling you earlier.”

“Oh… I’m sorry! I can let you go, and we can talk later?” I asked. He must have called me right before it started, and now he was missing it. I didn’t want to interrupt him if he was having fun for his birthday.

“No, no! It’s your birthday. I want to talk to you. How’s today been? Find your mate?” he joked.

“It would be hard to smell you from so far away,” I returned, not even thinking about all the ears around me.

“Happy birthday, Quinn. I wish I could be there to celebrate it with you.” His words made my heart pace. When my mom gave me birthday muffins with candles this morning, I pretended to make a wish. I knew my wish couldn’t come true, so there was no point in making it.

“Thank you for this morning and for calling. I wish you were-” The phone was yanked out of my hand from behind me. I spun around to see Jaxx with an enraged look on his.

Jaxx started yelling at Michael over the phone. I stood there terrified at first. Jaxx and Michael weren’t supposed to touch.

“Say something!” Sapphire said.

“Jaxx, give me my phone back!” I blurted out.

He turned away from me, still going off on Michael. Christy came over as we started attracting a crowd. “What’s going on?” she asked. I gave her a panicked look. “Oh no,” she said. Even though I couldn’t link her anymore now that she was officially apart of Wild Paws, she knew who was on the other end.

“I’m sorry. He just wanted to say happy birthday and then….” I put my hands up toward Jaxx.

“Q, what did you do?” she whispered. Aubree was trying to get Jaxx’s attention to calm him down, but it wasn’t helping.

“f**k YOU!” Jaxx shouted. He spun back around with a furious look in his eyes. He shoved my phone back toward me and stomped away. Aubree looked at Christy before following him. I watched him stomp away, my mouth opening and closing without words.

“Q, what is going on?” Christy said, rounding on me. “Why are you talking to Michael when you should be with Jaxx? He looked so hurt.”

“I just… I…” I didn’t know how to justify it. Michael was safe; he was always safe.

The whistle rang out, calling us back to the stands for the final part of the game. “Go. Aubree and I will try to calm him down, but you two need to talk after this. If something is going on, you know you can tell me, right?”

“Yea,” I sighed, looking away. I didn’t want to talk about it. I wanted him to leave me alone; it would just be easier.

Christy squeezed my arm. “It’ll all work out,” she promised. I just nodded. She didn’t know how much of a coward I was.

–

After the game, I took as long as possible to put all my things away and change back into regular clothes. It was cooling off a little, so I pulled a wrestling hoodie on over my t-shirt before heading out to the parking lot. I wanted to text Michael and apologize, but I was too nervous that Jaxx would take my phone if I was getting messages.

Jaxx was waiting for me, leaning against his car with his hands in his pockets. I gripped my backpack tighter as I approached him. He didn’t say anything, making my stomach sink. He stood, opened the passenger door, then looked at me expectantly. I got in, knowing it was best not to argue.

He slammed the door and walked slowly around to his side. When he got in, he started the truck and pulled out of the parking lot. We drove in tense silence until we hit the Wild Paws border. “I don’t know what you’re playing at, but you aren’t going to talk to other males,” he said in a cold voice. We were headed toward our usual restaurant in Wild Paws.

“He was just telling me happy birthday,” I lied. It wasn’t just sweet well wishes with Michael, and I knew it.

“Not him. You’re my girlfriend,” he growled.

“Jaxx, I…” I tapered off. I wanted to say the words, but they weren’t coming out.

He pulled into the parking lot. Christy, Aubree, and Carl were all waiting for us on the sidewalk. When the truck stopped, I didn’t move. “Quinn, I love you, but this is unacceptable. It’s your birthday, so I’ll let it go, but I don’t want to catch you talking to him again. All he does is f**k girls and drop them. You aren’t his.”

“That’s not….” I said. I thought back to the flirty messages and steamy pictures that had started happening more and more.

“Let’s go,” he said, opening his door. “They are waiting to celebrate you.”