All Chapters of The Pop Star and the Playboy Quarterback: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

*Ophelia*"Miss Lane!" a voice bellows.I don’t stop to check over my shoulder at the stout man with a wiry mustache pursuing me. "Don't you dare run!" he snaps, the threat hanging heavy in the air. His companion is close behind him as they follow me through the busy bar. They are after me for my debt, and these particular collectors are a nasty breed…I finally find my way to the restroom hallway. As I glanced over my shoulder again, I pushed the door open without checking the gender on the door. Inside, a man stands at the urinal, his mind focused on the task at hand. But his concentration shatters as I burst through the door, and with a frantic gesture, I implored him to keep silent."Get out," he hisses, his voice a mixture of annoyance and disbelief.“Please,” I beg quietly. “I need help!” "No, you shouldn’t even be in here," he declares, his tone firm as he turns away from me, determined to wash his hands of the situation.Before I can respond, voices sound from out

*Ophelia*The steady beeping from the heart monitor has become a white noise. My hand has grown numb while holding onto my mom’s, cold to the touch. She’s been breathing gradually, as usual—just a small sigh of air exiting her mouth. She sleeps more than she’s awake these days. Dark circles protrude under her closed eyes, indicating her exhaustion.Susan Lane, my mother, is the strongest woman I’ve ever met. When Dad died, she took over the family farm, and no single complaint left her lips. How can that fierce, independent, diligent woman be the same one I watch lie in this hospital bed? I sniff, wiping away the tears that I’ve let fall down my cheeks. It’s hard trying to convince myself that everything will be okay. Even when Mom’s the one smiling up at me, touches my cheek, and tells me she’s a fighter, it doesn’t hurt any less.“Hey, girl,” there’s a knock at the door behind me, and I look up to see Skylar Leigh, my best friend and roommate. She offers me a kind smile and take

*Ophelia*After dropping some plates in the kitchen sink, I grab a towel to wipe my hands, growling at what I saw once again. Fuck! Every time my brain wanders for a second, I see Camila entering the tavern. And then hearing the quarterback talk about how much he loves her voice?“What the hell was that?” I hear from the entrance to the kitchen. Skylar storms in, grabbing me by my wrist. “Are you absolutely insane?”I shake my head. “What are you talking about?”Skylar waves her arms emphatically in the air. “Um? Hello? The sexy football quarterback that's sitting out there? Asher Slater?! The one that just asked you out?”“What about him?” I question, pulling my wrist back from her grasp. “He's sexy as fuck! Every woman in the world with half a brain can see what a catch Asher is. And he was talking to you, smiling at you! I saw him, you can't hide that, O.”I shrug. I can't tell Skylar the truth. So instead, I end up mumbling, “He's just some playboy jock.”“Do I need to rem

*Ophelia*I keep pushing Jake down the street until we’re out of Asher’s sight. Sighing, I bend over to catch my breath, my heart screaming inside my chest from the close call we just encountered.“What the fuck was all that?” Jake asks, breaking the silence between us. “Why did you just lie to the dude?”I look up. “The ‘dude’ in question is a person in the spotlight, Jake. He doesn’t need to know my personal business.”“But you could tell me,” he challenges. “You just stood there and sang in front of me, and then all of a sudden, you shut down and start lying about your voice? Like, what’s to lie about?”I feel myself cracking, but I try to stand my ground. “You wouldn’t understand, Jake. It’s no big deal.”He turns and looks back to where we came from. “Is he harassing you?” He returns his gaze to me. “Did he touch you?”“What?” I nearly shout. “How the hell did you jump to that as a conclusion?”“Because you just ran away from him and lied about singing, when none of that a

*Ophelia*When I walk into Touchdown Tavern the next day, my best friend tackles me. Her face is red, and she’s talking so fast I’m afraid she’ll run out of air.“Sky, slow down, I can’t understand you when you’re like this!”Skylar bends down, her hands on her thighs, as she seemingly catches her breath. It takes a minute, but then she stands straight again. She whips out her phone to show me whatever it is she’s trying to get across to me.“Camila! Someone filmed her the other night with an older guy!”Shock overcoming me, my eyes widening, I look down at Skylar’s phone. It’s clear that it’s Camila, and she’s leaning over at a bar with a much older man. The woman is talking to him, running her fingers up his arm and batting her eyelashes. It’s impossible to hear what she’s saying, but it certainly looks like flirting to me.It’s a shaky video, but it’s clear who the main subject is. After all, her red hair and signature red lips are the most prominent of features on display. An