Page 60 of The Comeback Pact

“Whoa,” a male voice says, chuckling. I glance up to find Aidan approaching our table. My heart leaps, and my face heats. West isn’t following him, though. He places his arm on the back of Sydney’s chair. “Who’s sending who dick pics?”

Sydney immediately straightens and plasters a sexy smile on her face. “I’m just wondering when West and Kenna are going to seal the deal.”

Aidan stares down at her, his expression charged. “I’ve been wondering the same.”

Sydney claims nothing has happened between the two of them, but I’m not so sure. The air around them fills with tension. Of course, they’re both super busy right now—Sydney with her halftime show, and Aidan doing his QB thing. This coming weekend is a big one for both of them.

They stare at one another for a while longer until he turns to me. “I forgot, West is waiting for you down in the truck, Kenna. Something about a special date night.”

My body thrums. I’ve been looking forward to this all day, but West hasn’t told me anything about what we’re doing. He wanted it to be special, so he’s planned the whole thing from start to finish.

I gather my books and shove them in my backpack. Sydney smirks. “Be safe. Make good choices.”

Aidan chuckles alongside her. “Aren’t they cute?” He touches his heart in a mocking gesture. “My babies are growing up.”

I stand, tossing the backpack over my shoulder. “Aidan?”

“Hmm?”

I grin back at him. “Fuck off.”

The laugh that pours out of him earns him a scowl from the librarian, so I decide to scoot out of there before we get one of her infamous lectures. She runs this place like an army barracks.

My insides twist in excitement as I hurry toward the exit. Through the glass door, I spot West in his truck, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. He’s freshly showered, his hair still a bit damp, and he’s staring down at his phone.

My footsteps skirt over the slate ground out front, and then I’m at the curb. I open the passenger door, drawing his attention. He grins at me, and I take it in. His face completely opens up. He went from being guarded one hundred percent of the time we were together to this right here in front of me.

“Hi,” I state, my voice coming out dry and fast. He makes to get out of the truck to help me up into the cab, but I wave him off. “I got this.”

Before he can answer, his phone rings, cutting through the electricity in the cab like a razor. He checks the screen and then ignores the call. The wordMomblips off the screen, and then he turns his phone completely off. She’s been calling him a lot lately, but he hasn’t said much about it.

I get myself in the seat, and he frowns. “I was going to help.”

“I don’t need it.”

“Maybe I just wanted an excuse to touch your ass.”

“In that case,” I tell him, pretending that I’m going to back out of the truck, earning a laugh. Before I get all the way out, I heave myself up and shut the door. “Are you going to tell me where we’re going now?”

“Not now.” There’s an unguarded expression in his eyes as he pulls away from the curb. He starts off, deftly maneuvering his huge truck down the streets of Warner. I decide not to try to guess where we’re going. Being surprised is fun.

“Are you guys ready for Saturday?”

“Always.” He reaches over and places his hand on my knee, his huge palm engulfing it. An inevitable warmth starts, quickly followed by the rapid beating of my heart. I couldn’t have been more wrong about West. He’s caring. Sure, he’s intense about football, but he’s not aloof like I thought he was. He just doesn’t do a lot of talking to people he doesn’t know, which I know is brought on by his father.

Luckily, he hasn’t tried to contact West again since the game.

“Are you nervous?”

He shrugs. “I’m more nervous about the commercial spots I’ve promised everyone after homecoming.”

“They wouldn’t have asked you if they didn’t already love you.”

His grip on me tightens, and he peers over to catch my gaze momentarily before focusing back on the road. He got weird last time we talked about it, but I have a feeling he’ll be doing a lot more commercial spots in the future. When the NFL comes calling, he’ll be a big deal. I can feel it in my gut.

It’s all so…exciting, and knowing more about where West came from, I’m pulling for him even harder. He deserves this.

He makes me want to try harder.

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