pinky promise - jamie tartt

‟ FUCKING CRUSH HIM „

"Is this for real?" Jamie asked, holding up the note and referencing the contract still sitting atop her desk. Tate nodded, still unable to form words. "Are you—"

"No," She hurried to interrupt, shaking her head. "I'd never."

Because as much as she somehow still wanted to please her mother, wanted to be able to see Chase and Tommie more, leaving Richmond was so far out of the question.

"But—"

"Jamie," She cut him off once more, holding his face between her hands, thumbs brushing across his cheeks. "I promise I'm not planning on taking this job. I just got... caught up in it all for a moment."

Though he nodded, she could tell he wasn't convinced. So, she extended her pinky towards him, nothing but sincerity in her red-rimmed eyes. A pinky promise, the most sacred of vows—especially between them.

Her worrying only settled when he finally wrapped his finger around hers, sealed with a kiss.

A new tradition.

「☺ ☺ ☺ 」

"And how long have you known Javier?"

"Only a couple of months, but he turns one hundred and eight years old next week."

"Dani, that's not—" Tate cut herself off, unable to hold in her giggle any longer at her friend's words. She hadn't realized the self-control she would need to oversee Shandy's promotional shoot for Bantr, but the boys' pickup lines were so ridiculous that most of the time she had to cover her mouth with her hand to keep from making noise.

"Final checks," Shandy ordered the hairdresser brought into the shoot, moving back behind the camera to where Tate sat. Studying Dani on the screen displaying the camera's view, Shandy started adjusting last minute details as Tate turned at the sound of the door opening behind her.

Keeley stood quietly, holding three cups of coffee, and Tate mouthed a greeting as Shandy called for Dani to start.

"You may not know who I am, but I think the most beautiful parts of a woman... are her flaws."

Tate bit the inside of her cheek to keep her grin at bay, unable to stop herself from glancing at the line of players still waiting for their turn as Zoreaux took Dani's spot on the bench.

Jamie grinned back at her, and her smile faltered just slightly. He hadn't been able to get out of the shoot without seeming suspicious, and Tate knew watching her boyfriend shoot a promotional video for a dating app was karmic punishment for asking him to keep their relationship a secret.

"And how are you doing, babes?" Keeley grinned, wrapping up her short conversation with Shandy and pressing the third cup of coffee into her hands.

"I'm realizing that some of these boys have absolutely no game, whatsoever." She taunted, gesturing towards where Zoreaux, who insisted on being called Van Damme, as he readied to deliver his line.

"You don't know who I am, but I'm looking for someone who likes shorts walks on the beach, so we can spend more time, you know..."

His pickup line was one of the times that Tate had to press a hand over her mouth to stop from laughing out loud, though the boys waiting on the bench didn't care so much to hide their amusement.

"So many dramatic pauses," Tate muttered so only Shandy and Keeley could hear her. Zoreaux made room for the next player, and Tate felt her heart skip a beat as Jamie slid onto the bench in his place.

"He's so fucking hot," Shandy was careful to keep her voice down so no one but Tate and Keeley could hear her, and Tate wasn't even sure if she was supposed to hear. But there was no ignoring her words—not when Keeley's head snapped in her direction. "What's his story?"