The Promise (22 page)

“You want another beer?” Drake laugh
s as he heads toward the kitchen.

“Sure,” I say. He hands one to me and before walking
back over to sit in his spot.

“
Good game tonight,” he gestures to the TV after a few minutes. I drain half my beer and look over at him.

“Shut up, man,
” I say, taking a sip of my beer as we both laugh. “Fuck this shit! I’m going to bed.”

“At
nine thirty? Seriously?” he asks while laughing at me again.

“Dude, I don’t care anymore. I’m si
ck of looking at your ass,” I joke. “I’m taking a shower, calling my girl and then taking my loser ass to bed.”

Once
I get out of the shower, I dial Sophie’s number and she picks up on the third ring, already sounding pretty hammered. I wait for her to say something but instead I hear her drop the phone.

“Shit!” I hear
her yell in the background. After a minute, she finally brings the phone up to her ear. “Hello?” she answers through her laughter, which causes me to laugh, too.

“Hey
, Baby,” I say.

“Hey yourself,” she slur
s. “Sorry I dropped you. Hey, you left a set of keys here on my dresser and they look like they’re important.” I glance down at the table which usually holds all my work keys and realize that I must have left them there.

“Oh, I guess I left the shop keys there. I’ll stop by in the morning and grab them. What are y’all up to?”

“Nothing, just drinking some margaritas and watching some dumb reality show Ana DVR’d,” she groans as I hear Ana yell at her in the background.

“It’s a good show, Soph! Drake!
Sophie’s making fun of our show!” 

“Wait
… Is she on the phone with Drake right now?” I ask.

“Yeah, he called her a few minutes ago
. Why? Wait, isn’t he with you?”

“Yes, he’s here. Hang on
, Baby,” I say laughing and walk into the living room to find Drake on my couch, grinning like an idiot. I point at him and laugh. “Ha! Fucking loser!” he flips me off before I walk back into my room. “Sorry, Sweetheart. So are you having fun?”

“Yeah, we are. I miss you, though,” she sa
ys and her words make me feel a lot better.

“I miss you, too
, Baby. I’ll see you tomorrow, though. Then we’ll have the whole weekend together,” I say.

“Okay. Well,
I’ll see you tomorrow. Goodnight, Babe,” she slurs but I can hear the smile in her voice.

“Sweet dreams, Baby
,” I say, waiting for her to hang up before I put my phone down.

Once she does,
I walk over to my bed, sit down and try to remember the last time I’ve been alone in my own bed by ten o’clock for a girl. I realize that it’s never happened before, not even when I was with my ex, Lauren and about to propose, did I sit around and pine.

It’
s right at this moment, sitting on my bed like the loser that I am that it suddenly hits me.

I’m in love with
her. I’m in love with Sophie.

***

I leave my house early so I can stop by Sophie’s and grab my other set of keys.

I decide
to surprise her by grabbing her favorite coffee and some of the donuts I know she loves. She’d surprised me by giving me a key to her apartment the other morning when I knew that I’d have to work late and she wanted me to sleep over.

We’
ve tried to take things slow, but I see more and more every day that ‘slow’ just isn’t for us. Even though she’s needed time to open up to me, little else about us or our relationship can be considered as slow.

I
walk into her apartment, shut the door and then hear noise coming from her room. It sounds like a whimper at first but quickly turns into a much louder, more anguished cry.

As I s
it everything down on her counter hurriedly, I feel my heart drop into the pit of my stomach. As I rush towards Sophie’s room, Ana’s door flies open and it’s then that I hear the most guttural, tortured scream I’ve ever heard in my life.

Ana’s gaze
catches mine.

“No!” Sophie screeche
s. I’ve never heard her scream like this before, and in that moment, I pray that I’ll never hear it again.

Ana makes her way
through her door and I find myself frozen in place, but only for a moment. “Stop! Jack! No!” I run in behind Ana and watch as she her tries to shake Sophie awake.

“Soph! Sop
hie! Wake up! You’re dreaming, Honey!” she says as she keeps shaking her small shoulders furiously.

“Stop! Jack!” Sophie scream
s and I feel my heart falling further.

Who the fuck i
s this guy and what the fuck did he do to my girlfriend?

Ana’s eyes me
et mine. In them, I see her unspoken apology. She’s sorry I’m seeing and hearing this, and to be honest, so am I. I lower myself on the other side of the bed and beside Sophie, rubbing her arms and trying to wake her as well.

“Baby, wake up,” my voice crack
s as I brush the sweat dampened hair away from her face. I hate seeing her like this. “Sophie, Baby, open your eyes. You’re dreaming.”

Finally,
after another loud whimper, her eyes begin to flutter as she begins to wake up. She’s still sobbing as I stretch out next to her, pulling her into my chest as I try to comfort her.

“Shh, Baby
. It’s okay.” I slowly rock her in my arms, kissing her on the top of the head as she continues to sob into my chest. I look up at Ana who is now frozen in place and watching us. “Can you please call Drake and tell him I’m not coming in today?”

She looks at me, still in shock. “Serious
ly?”

“Ana
, I can’t leave her like this,” I tell her. She nods before leaving the room to call him for me. Sophie’s sobs are quieting but I don’t think she’ll stop crying altogether for a while.

“Ch-
Ch-Chase I’m s-s-so, so s-sorry,” she wails and so I hold her tighter.

“It’s okay, Bab
y,” I start, instantly feel as she begins shaking her head.

“No, it’s n-not fair t-to you,” she protest
s as I rub her arms, pulling her in closer to me. She’s still crying but not as furiously as she was before.

“Well, I’d be lying if I said that
it wasn’t hard to see,” I admit. She tries to start to interrupt me. I gently place my finger to her lips. “I know you care about me, Sophie.”

“I do, Chase, so much. I don’t ever want to hurt you,” she sa
ys quietly into my chest with so much force and conviction that I don’t think I could ever doubt her.

“I know, Baby. I’ll never be upset with you for feeling what you feel as long
. Just as you’re honest with me about it,” I promise.

“Thank you,” she says
, burying her face deeper into my chest as I press my lips to the top of her head again.

Silence hangs between us as Sophie’s breathing settles
. I decide to ask her the question that’s been eating away inside of me for weeks.

“Sophie?” s
he looks up at me, her eyes still moist from the tears. The combination between the heartbreak hiding within her expression and my intense feelings for this woman cause desperation inside of me like I’ve never known or experienced before. “Baby, please tell me what happened to you,” I plead as she stares into my eyes for a moment before brushing her fingertips along my jaw line.

“Soon,” she says in a tiny voice
. “I promise.”

***

         
 
Sophie

As Jack gazes down at me through his hooded eyes, a small smile spreads across his face as I reach my climax.

“God
you’re so beautiful like this,” he breathes as he pushes deeper inside of me. “I love you so much, Baby.”

“I love you
too,” I tell him breathlessly. He bends his head down to kiss me, swallowing my moans as we come together, quietly.

L
ying in his bed for a while like this, staring at each other without saying a word, I feel cherished. A brief moment passes between us before his face breaks out into a wide grin. “What are you grinning about?”

“
I brought you something,” he answers me excitedly, before leaning in to give me a chaste kiss on the mouth.

Shifting slightly, he
reaches over the side of the bed to his bag, digging around for a minute before he seems to find what he’s looking for. We have to be quiet because Ana’s in the next room with Maverick, Matt, Lucy and her son. The last thing we need is an audience but we haven’t seen each other in months and waiting wasn’t even an option. He sits up a little and looks over at me, still beaming.

He’
s so unbelievably handsome that he still takes my breath away. He has to keep his thick, light brown hair short but he wears it well. His already olive complexion is gorgeous against his bright blue green eyes and that beaming, lopsided smile that I love so much.

“Okay,
Baby. Close your eyes,” he tells me. I shake my head and laugh but then immediately comply. He’s so excited that I’ll do anything he asks of me if it means keeping that ridiculous look on his face.

He’
s still sitting with my legs wrapped around his waist and I can feel him trying to maneuver until he finally becomes still. I can feel his hands resting on either side of my head. I slide my hands from his hips to admire his chiseled chest and when I reach his abs he laughs. “Stop, Baby, that tickles!” I laugh at him through my still closed eyes.

“J
ack, what are you doing?” I ask, still laughing.

“W
aiting for you to open those beautiful green eyes of yours, my Love,” he answers. When I do, he’s hovering over me with a softer smile over his face now. “How are you so pretty, Soph?” he asks. I smile up at him as crimson stains my cheeks before resting my palm against his square jaw. “Do you have any idea how much I love you? How much I miss you?”

“Maybe
,” I whisper as a couple of tears escape. He leans down, kisses the tears away and then raises his gaze up to meet back with mine again. His long, thick lashes are damp, but he holds his emotions back so much better than I do.

“Happy Anniversary, Baby
,” he says quietly, placing a small black box between my breasts. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here to give it to you last week.” He gauges my reaction as I pluck the box up and open it. When I see the small diamond studs staring back at me, my breaths hitch.

“Jack, I love them!” I gasp
as I pull him closer for another kiss. “Thank you, Baby! You shouldn’t have done this, though. It’s too much.”

“Nothing’s too much for my beautiful girl,” he sa
ys before kissing me again.

“But we said no gifts
. I didn’t get you any …” I try to say, feeling awful now but he quickly cuts me off.

“You’re all I want, Baby. I don’t want anything else
. All I want and need is for you to promise me that you’ll always love me,” he says.

“Of course, Baby. I’ll love you forever,” I sa
y as I press my lips to his.

And then
… and then he’s gone.

W
aking up, I’m immediately startled to see Chase sitting on the edge of my bed. I didn’t ever want him to see me like this. My heart aches for Jack but now I feel awful because the hurt in Chase’s eyes makes it obvious that I’ve just woken up and screamed for Jack as usual. I can’t help the way I feel, but I know that I never want to hurt Chase.

He talk
s me through everything, but despite his best efforts, it makes me feel even worse. Even though both his patience and understanding warm my heart, I feel like a jackass for having put him in this position. He has to be the nicest, most patient person on the planet. I don’t deserve him, not one little bit.                                                                     

H
e asks me to tell him about Jack again and I almost do, but I know I need to get through his anniversary first. I watch his facial expression fall, but if he could just wait a few more days, I know I’ll be able to tell him. I know he isn’t thrilled about putting this particular discussion off, but instead of pressuring me, he nods as he closes his eyes.

“Okay,” he whispers
.

I do
n’t know what I’ve done to be so lucky, but I know I can’t screw things up with him. I still need to talk to him about Camden, but I’ve already made him late for work and don’t want to open that can of worms right before he has to leave.

I definitely d
on’t want him to go yet.

“Will you get into trouble for being late?” I ask.

“Nah,” he smiles softly. “There are some benefits to being on the boss’s good side,” he says with a wink and makes me smile. “Hmm…there’s my girl,” he whispers softly as he presses kiss on my right cheek.