Page 39 of Past

"Ladies first." I smirk, and my jaw drops as she bends over, throwing the ball and knocking down every single, fucking, pin. That has to be first time luck, there is no fucking way she can do that again.

"This should be fun." She laughs as I tickle her before rolling my own ball.

Half an hour later, I'm not sure how, but I've lost by quite a bit. Allie just looks way too pleased with herself.

"Don't say anything, angel," I say, grinding my jaw.

"I won't." She winks, and I pull her to me, giving her a deep kiss.

"That's one way to keep you quiet," I whisper in her ear, and I enjoy feeling her shiver.

She clears her throat, making me chuckle. "Let's get some food, and I promise not to brag about beating you," she says, but I know she will. I nod, keeping my arm around her waist as we sit in the eating area. We both order a hamburger and some chips.

"I love the chips here." She sighsaround one.

My phone rings, and as I'm about to answer, I frown seeing who it is. I told Luke about tonight, so I have no idea why he would call and it worries me.

"Hey, Luke."

"Hey, listen. Arthur called and the fight tomorrow is going to be a double, so I'm with you. I thought you should know he called. It's weird even for him," Luke mutters.

"Thanks, I'll speak to you later about this, and get in the gym,"I tell him. We usually spend days before the fight preparing in the gym, working out as much as possible, and I don’t like that he has dropped Luke into this.

"Cool, will do. Have fun," Luke says, and I end the call.

"What was that about?" Allie asks.

Thankfully, the food comes so I have time to think about if I want to tell her I'm fighting tomorrow. I don't want to lie to her, so I'm not left with much choice.

"Well, I have a fight tomorrow; your dad just made it a double. So Luke is fighting with me," I tell her.

She doesn't say anything, she just goes pale before looking up at me from across the table.

"You don't have a choice, do you?" she asks, and I shake my head at her, taking her hand in mine.

"I want to help, but I can’t. My dad would kill you," she says shakily.

"He would try," I reply, my words taking on a more threatening tone.

"I'm sorry," she says, looking away from me.

I get up from my chair, not caring who sees, and turn her chin so she is looking at me.

"None of this is your fault. I was stupid when I was younger, blaming you when I knew it had nothing to do with you. I don't want to hear you say sorry to me again,"I tell her, my tone not leaving her any chance to argue.

I kiss her gently before releasing her chin and sitting back down, all while she stares at me in shock.

"Okay," she says with a small smile.

We eat in a comfortable silence before getting in my truck.

"So? Where are we going now?"she asks.

“I’m taking you somewhere I’ve never taken anyone before. I haven’t even told anyone about this place,” I say, being vague because I want to surprise her.

"Thank you for trusting me," she says, smiling at me and trusting me completely.

I kiss her hand before driving again. It takes an hour before we arrive at the start of the woods, and Allie frowns at me. I drive up the empty road, thankful for the large truck when we go over the massive bumps.

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