cannon banks

Atreus was a big fan of Cannon’s already. He’d been highkey admiring him since moving to St. Cloud and the fact that they were now both contestants on a show about finding love was thrilling. 

“She knows I’m good for sharing.” Atreus shrugged with a way-too-hopeful smile as he stepped forward. He reached into his pocket for the bag of baby carrots that he kept on him at nearly all times around the farm, having at first started carrying them as a defense mechanism because he’d been terrified of the horses. “I was surprised to hear you were gonna be part of it.” He admitted to Cannon, extending his hand to the horse to offer her a carrot.

Cannon narrowed his eyes at the way Sweet Pea gleefully stamped her hooves before reaching for the carrots, poorly feigning jealously as his dimples betrayed him. Sure, Atreus looked like a wet dream come true— and Cannon would be very interested if he weren’t straighter than a cowpoke. That didn’t mean he wasn’t above flirting, thoroughly delighting in being pursued.

“I wasn’t surprised to hear that you were,” he returned. He’d crossed paths with enough Hollywood types to know who the clear fan favorite would be, and Atreus was the whole package. Even Cannon couldn’t compete with that level of enthusiasm and a face that said America’s Sweetheart. “Looks like I’m going to have to step up my game if I still want to be your one and only,” he lamented.

This was it. First day of the rest of her life. There was a time the thought hadn’t seemed so daunting. But now, watching all those trucks pull into town, Tommie was really beggining to wonder what the fucking point of it all was. Like, really. She had worked so hard just to end up right back where she’d started. She’d thought it had been hard trying to feign interests in the locals and their crap, and now she had to feign interest in the love lives of attention seeking nobodies. Perfect.

Tommie had been heading in that direction- trying not to look like she hated every second- when a familiar voice said something far too familiar. She turned around to give him what for, but quickly realized his affections were directed elsewhere, thank goodness. “I heard, and I remember.” Tommie shook her head, thinking back to the interview a few months prior. She was occasionally glad to be working in radio, if only because no one would ever know that the stupid horse had tried to chew on her hair.  “Hate to break it to you but I’ll only start demanding more of your time now that you’re on the show.” She had after-all started doing research on contestants already, but Tommie had called that Cannon would be taking part way back when she first heard that the show was happening.

Cannon’s grin softened but didn’t dim in the slightest when his gaze landed on Tommie. She was as smart as she was gorgeous, and it was fun being around someone who knew they were far out of anyone’s league. His only disappointment with her was the fact that they wouldn’t be trading barbs on the show.

“You make that sound like it’s a bad thing.” As much as he loved attention, he wasn’t a huge fan of being interviewed, but Tommie always made it interesting. Even if she thought local celebrity gossip was beneath her. “Tell you what, I promise you’ll be the first to get the inside scoop if you tell me about the other contestants.” Despite her reticence, she did her job amazingly well; he wondered what she could do with it a job she actually enjoyed. “Think there’s anyone I’ll be able to take home to Mama Banks?” Highly unlikely: there was no one who would be good enough for her little boy, and she made that devastatingly clear to anyone who would listen.

“Y’think any of them will be as gorgeous as you?” Cannon mused aloud, breaking into a wide grin when she nipped at his pockets. “Yeah, I doubt it too. But a fella can hope, right?” He wasn’t so naive as to think he’d find a suitable partner on a reality show, but the exposure for the town (and sponsorships for him) was too good to pass up. 

Hearing the crunch of gravel behind him, Cannon turned with the same million-watt smile that had landed him the gig. “I hope you didn’t hear that.”  He made a show of covering the horse’s ears. “Sweet Pea’s got a jealous streak in her.”