Page 6 of Falling Double: The Mating Grounds

“Aw, man! I knew you were into one of them!” He slaps his knee before getting up and grabbing my shoulder, shaking me excitedly.

Imani

I leave our room to go get my bed set up in the bunkroom when I hear Reid and Leo talking across the hall. The door to the Afraad room is barely open, but I hear Leo ask Reid if either of us piqued his fancy, and I can’t resist leaning into the door to listen in.

I hear Reid’s soft, deep voice mention my name and immediately do a little twirl of excitement. At the end of my spin, I lose my footing and almost crash into the door, barely catching myself on the wall next to it. Panicking, I dash down the hall so I’m not caught.

That had to be loud, right?

As I take a moment to catch my breath in the bunkroom, I giggle in anticipation. Reid likes me. Me! I don’t know if I’ve ever had a real crush before now, but I can feel one bubbling up inside me, and I can’t wait to tell Dominique.

As I lay my favorite blanket out on a bunk, I can’t stop thinking about his pouty lips, that tousled blond hair and those deep-set blue eyes.

What a dreamboat!

Chapter 6

1 Week After The Choosing

Parker

I am eating breakfast alone, ruminating on my dour prospects when I hear the familiar tempo of Imani’s tapping feet coming down the hallway toward the kitchen.

“Imani, hey! Good… god.” I lose my morning greeting and stare at her, trying to school my expression into one of nonchalance.

Imani frowns, looking down at herself. “Too much?” She smooths her, all together, much too revealing dress down her hips and spins back toward the Kedua room to change, doubt plaguing her features.

“No. Not at all! Blue. Nice!” I sputter out.

I try to imagine kicked puppies and dead grandmas to keep my body from reacting to the unexpected sight of her like this. With her chest pushed up and her ass hugged so perfectly by a dress I could swear I’ve never seen her wear before.

I worry I’m losing the battle as all the blood in my body tries to head south, but she takes the bait and responds with a quick, “Oh, alright. Well, thank you!” before prancing off with a spring in her step. No doubt to go find and romance Reid.

As she walks away, I mutter quietly under my breath, “You’re not welcome. And I hope you never dress like that in public again…”

Not long after, while I am still fighting the battle for my self-control, Sean plops down with a huff. Obviously upset about something.

“What’s eating you?” I grit out, trying to distract myself and make friendly conversation.

“Nothing. I’m fine,” he insists, proceeding to demolish a protein bar like it did something to his mother.

“You sure?” I ask.

“Well. If you really want to know.” He looks around, checking to make sure we’re alone. “It’s that Reid kid. He kind of made a move on Ana just now in the gym, and it was really uncool.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Made a move? Isn’t that kind of the point of this whole forced baby-making scenario?”

“Well, not so much ‘made a move’… But he was definitely more friendly than was strictly necessary,” he peters out, looking flabbergasted.

“Uh-huh. More friendly than was strictly necessary, was he?” I tease, leaning in and punching him in the shoulder good-naturedly.

“He tried to help her with a lift! A lift she was clearly doing just fine with!” he protests, going red in the face.

“Okay, so he was spotting her?” I suggest, seeing how far I can push him before he cracks.

“She didn’t need a spotter! She was doing just fine!” he yelps, pounding his fist on the table for emphasis. I give him a look, and he goes redder in the face. “Okay, alright, I’m being touchy. This competition is killing me, man!”

“You and me both, friend, you and me both,” I murmur.

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