Page 27 of Pinkie Promise

“So, uh, do you come here a lot?” Fallon asks, tucking a curl behind her ear and glancing up at me under her lashes.

“Yeah, I come a lot. I mean – fuck – I comeherea lot!” I swallow hard and grip the back of my neck. “I come here, like, a normal amount of times.”

My voice is so deep right now that I barely recognise myself. Fallon hides a small smile as she submits our order in the reader so that I can pay and then she turns around to grab our receipt from the printer. I turn a full one-eighty to stop myself looking at her perfect little ass again.

Tanner looks like he’s praying for strength. When he catches my eye he mouths,for the love offuck, stop saying the word ‘come’.

Fallon turns back to us with the receipt and she holds it out with a warm glow on her cheeks.

“Well, see you, I guess,” she says, looking up into my eyes.

Yeah, I’m more than a little gratified that she isn’t paying Tanner a single second of attention.

I take the receipt and clench my jaw when her soft fingers brush against mine.

Tanner clears his throat and I look at him, although all I can think about is Fallon’s hand in mine. He raises his eyebrows like I’ve forgotten something. It takes me a good fifteen seconds to get my brain in gear.

“Fuck, yeah,” I rumble, and I quickly stash the receipt in one pocket while pulling the paper wristbands out of the other. “Here,” I say to Fallon, thrusting the two blue bands towards her over the counter.

She looks down at them and then back up at me, a question in her eyes.

“Our next home game. Thursday. There’s a QR code on the band that y’all have to get scanned on the door.” Not all colleges are strict about having an accounted for audience, but Carter U likes to ensure their players’ privacy and safety.

“There are two bands here,” she points out, and this time her eyes slide over to Tanner.

He looks behind himself as if he has no idea that she’s addressing him.

“Am I supposed to bring someone?” she asks.

Tanner shrugs and says to the floor, “Can if you want. Bring a roommate or something.”

Fallon makes an interested hum before sliding the bands off the counter and into her apron pouch. My eyes wander over the tight cinch of her waist before roaming up to the soft mounds of her chest. For a petite chick I’m surprised by how… full they look. I remember seeing her at the car wash in her jeans and her little cheer top, and she looked so damn hot that every window in my truck steamed up. I take a second to imagine seeing herin her whole cheer outfit and the cords in my neck instantly tighten.

I need to get back to my room and work on spraining my fucking wrist.

“We should go,” I rasp, my thickness straining against my zipper. I can barely meet Fallon’s eyes as I rake my hands through my hair and grunt, “See you Thursday.”

Tanner mumbles an equally gruff goodbye and then we muscle our way out of the doors.

When we’re both inside the truck I stare blankly out at the diner windows. I’m borderline panting. Tanner covers his face with his hands and muffles a low groan.

There’s no denying it. Fallon is really fucking hot.

“You need to beat it out of your system before you even think of asking her on a date,” Tanner says finally as I pull into a space outside of the hockey house. “I can see the way that you’re looking at her, like you’re already picturing her in a wedding dress.”

I stifle a grunt.Great. Now I reallywillbe spraining my wrist tonight.

“I know what I’m doing,” I tell him, even though I don’t have a damn clue.

I’m still telling myself that I know what I’m doing as I throw a takeout box down on my bed and lock my bedroom door. I pull off my shirt and exhale deeply as I settle my body on top of the duvet, my muscles bunched tight.

I pull my phone out of my pocket and click the Apps button, typing in ‘Instagram’ and then hittingdownload. I’m not a social media user but the Carter Ridge Rangers have a team page, and damn if I don’t know that password.

I open the app as soon as it downloads, typing in the username and password and waiting for it to connect. Once I getmy bearings on the app, I find my way to the search section and type in Fallon’s name.

I scroll a little until I find her and then I tap on the tiny circle with her picture.

I swallow hard as I open up her account. The little picture of her is bigger now, showing her smiling as she crushes a huge trophy against her cheek. She’s got her cheer bow in so I guess that it was taken at a previous competition.

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