Page 62 of Falling Into You

She placed the quiche on a trivet and put the pie cutter down next to it, then slid in beside him on the floor. This dress was going to need a serious dry cleaning and steam after this night. They had danced for hours, so she was sure it was sweaty, and now it was going to be wrinkled up under her butt. As long as she didn’t drop egg down the front, though, it should be okay.

“It’s the Gruyère,” she joked, nudging his shoulder with hers.

He smiled, and his face was so close to hers it made her chest hurt in the best possible way. “I’m becoming more cultured already, thanks to you.Stranger Thingsand unpronounceable French cheese.”

Rory, who had been reaching for the pie cutter, paused. “Hang on. Are you trying to tell me you’ve never seenStranger Things?”

“Nope,” Jacob said nonchalantly as he unfolded a napkin and draped it across his lap.

“You havegotto be kidding me.” Rory shifted a bit to face him better. “I am so glad I didn’t know that before now—that could’ve been such a deal-breaker! How could you not have watched this show? People sayGilmore Girlsis the best fall show, but I think you can’t beat the spooky vibes ofStranger Things.”

“It’s not my fault,” Jacob said. “My house is full of little kids. I can’t watch alien zombie serial killeranything, or I could scar them for life.” He reached for the pie cutter now, but then he also paused. “Wait. You said itcouldhave been a deal-breaker. It’s not now?”

Rory blushed hard. She grabbed the pie cutter herself and sliced into the quiche to avoid looking him in the eye. “I mean... no.”

“How come?” he asked, his voice a bit lower.

She extricated a slice of quiche and placed it on his plate. The scent got stronger, and her stomach grumbled. They both laughed lightly, and now she did look at him.

“I guess because it’s too late,” she said quietly, lifting one shoulder. “I’m already too invested.”

Slowly, Jacob smiled. The sight of it just about melted her. “Yeah?” he said.

“Yeah.”

Jacob

“Where the hellarewe?” Jacob asked as he helped Stuart out of Rosie’s cab and handed him his crutches. He had gotten special permission to drive himself so that he could get Stuart there—the bus had seemed like a bad idea with his full cast—and so that he could run straight to the soccer game afterward. Stuart’s parents were coming later to drive him home.

“You’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto,” Stuart told him.

“Ya think?”

Rosie had unwittingly transported them to another planet. It was a brisk, blue-sky day, and the beautiful, hilly campus of Fairmont Community College had been overrun by loud, mega-enthusiastic aliens in bright clothing. Dozens of squads of cheerleaders crowded the grounds outside the gymnasium, hair sprayed into updos, faces glittery, ridiculously long eyelashes aplenty. Some squads were practicing their routines on grassy areas around the parking lot.Others walked in clumps chanting their team names.

Jacob felt a frizzle of excitement race down his spine. The energy in the air was infectious. He’d never felt anything like it. Certainly not at a soccer game.

“There’s the Woodmont bus.” Stuart pointed at a yellow school bus with the Woodmont Lumberjacks banner attached to the side. It was just pulling into the lot and up to the front of the school. Rory and the rest of the team shook poms out the window as they chanted, “Go, Lumberjacks, go!” Jacob and Stuart hustled across the blacktop to meet them at the curb.

Rory was the first one off the bus. “Hey!” she said, her face lighting up when she saw him. “Rosie got you here safe and sound?”

“Like she’d ever let me down,” Jacob said, grinning.

Rory blushed and smiled back. She looked incredible with her shimmering eye makeup and the tiny gold stars pasted at the corners of her eyes. God, he wanted to kiss her. Like more than he’d ever wanted to do anything ever.

“All right, all right. This is so cute I might barf,” Layla said, yanking Rory away by the arm.

“Let’s go, Lumberjacks!” Carlos shouted, jogging after them.

Spell broken, Jacob whooped and cheered with the rest of the team as Rory and Layla led the way into the school. Jacob waited for everyone else to go ahead, then followed, keeping pace with Stuart, who was still learning to maneuverin crowds. Rory’s high ponytail was like a flag held aloft by a tour guide, and Jacob kept his eyes trained on her.

“This is way more intense than a soccer tournament,” he said.

“Cheerleaders don’t come to play,” Stuart agreed.

Inside was even crazier and louder. Cheerleaders of all ages—from the kindergarten tykes wearing massive bows bigger than their heads to the other varsity squads the Lumberjacks would be going up against—packed the halls. Rory huddled into a little alcove that led to a pair of bathrooms, and everyone gathered around.

“There’s a field out behind the gym where we can stretch out and practice,” she told them. “Layla knows where it is. She’s going to take you guys while Coach and I get us signed in. I’ll meet you back there.”