Kade shakes his head. “Didn’t think you had it in you, buddy.”
“All right,” I say, steering Brinley toward the door before they keep on razzing me. “That’s enough.”
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Talon calls.
“That doesn’t exactly narrow it down,” Kade mutters under his breath.
I shake my head, pulling the door open. Brinley’s laughing quietly by the time we step outside.
“Ignore them. They’re smart-asses,” I tell her.
I glance down at her, giving her hand a small squeeze.
“But they’re not wrong.”
She peers up at me. “About what?”
“About the fact I got lucky with you.”
Her lips press together, like she’s trying not to laugh. “This ruining our first date is a two-way street, so knock it off.”
I grin and open the passenger door for her.
“Get in the truck.”
She shakes her head and climbs in, smoothing her dress down once she’s settled.
The sun is already dipping low behind the mountains, the sky turning a soft orange that lasts only a few minutes before everything goes dark.
Brinley watches the road for a while before she finally turns to me.
“So,” she says slowly. “Are you really not gonna tell me where we’re going?”
“Nope. You can guess, though.”
She narrows her eyes at me, then starts to glance around like she’s studying the road signs.
We pass a turnoff that leads back toward campus, and I take the road that winds out of town instead. She notices immediately.
“Cooper…”
I keep driving.
“Cooper,” she repeats. “Why are we leaving Rixton?”
“You’ll see.”
The road narrows after a few minutes, and the curves get tighter as we head up the mountain. That’s when it finally starts to click for her.
Her head slowly turns toward me.
“Are we going up the mountain?”
“Maybe.”
She looks down at what she’s wearing. “Am I dressed okay for that?”
I peer over at her, letting my eyes trail over her again, and nod. “You look perfect.”
