The Promise (12 page)

“Yeah, I get that. Just don’t wait too long. I think he’ll understand
, but I think you owe it to him to be upfront.”

Before I ha
ve a chance to say anything else, I see Ana turn her head and smile. When Drake walks over and pulls her up further on the bar for a kiss, I know that Chase can’t be far behind.

A
s I turn my head to find him, I feel the familiar flurry of excitement in my belly that I still can’t comfortably acknowledge. He approaches me, still in his work clothes as though he’s come straight from the worksite. His skin looks freshly kissed by the sun giving his already tan skin an even healthier glow. The muscles in his arms and chest are inches from me and my eyes have no choice but to linger there for a moment. But when he smiles, all the nervousness disappears and I smile back easily.

When he lean
s in to give me a quick peck on my lips, I want more but think better of it. I need to take things slow and not give into temptation. I like Chase a lot and I can sense his struggle to not linger when he pulls away from me, but I need to be smart about this.

“Hey
, Baby,” he greets me quietly as he sits down on the stool beside mine. I can’t stop the smile that spreads across my face.

“Hi,
how was your day?” I ask.

“Bet
ter now, how about yours?” He answers and I feel my cheeks beginning to blaze.

“Good
! I got a job interview for Monday,” I announce and he beams at me.

“That’s awesome! Where’s the interview at?”
I fill him in on everything quickly and he rubs my back and kisses me on the side of my head. “That’s so cool. Well, we have to celebrate! Are you still up for dinner later?”

“Sure, what did you have in mind?”

“Whatever you want, Babe; you pick,” he says taking another drink from his now nearly empty beer as Ana hands him another. “What sounds good?”

I chew on my lip as I think about it for a second
before smiling. “Anything I want, huh?”

He laugh
s and nods, “Yep, anything you want. Ladies choice.”

“Alright, then, steak it is.”

“Wow that was fast! You must’ve had that one in the holster for a while,” he teases. “Okay well I need to take a shower and change, but then I’m all yours. Are you gonna hang out here?”

“No, I need to go home
and change, too,” I answer.

“Why?
You look great already,” he says, which makes me blush again.

“These are errand clothes, not date clothes,” I explain as I wave goo
dbye to Ana and Drake. When I look up, I see him studying me as we make our way out of the bar. “I won’t take long if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Nope
, not worried at all,” he says as his eyes rake over me. Arriving at Jack’s truck, he turns to face me. “It’s just that you look so good in your
errand clothes
I can’t imagine what these
date
clothes
are gonna do to me.” As he leans over to kiss me on the cheek, my face begins to heat yet again. “Pick you up in an hour?”

“Okay,” I say with a shy smile
as he opens my door for me. I hadn’t even notice until now that he’s taken the keys from me.
How can I be so affected by him?
I pull out of the parking lot and head home.

Taking things s
low might prove to be harder than I had originally thought.

Once I mak
e it back to the apartment, I realize that this is the first time I’ve gotten ready for a real first date in almost five years. Two near panic attacks, three calls and seven frantic texts to Ana later, I finally decide on what to wear. I don’t want to get too dressed up just in case he doesn’t, so I pair my favorite jeans with a black sleeveless cowl neck top and heels that match. I add a few loose curls to my hair and after some smoky eye shadow, mascara, a light bronzer, and a little clear gloss, I’m done. I always wear the tiny diamond studs that Jack had given me for our first anniversary and his dog tags on a long chain hidden under my blouse.

F
or a brief moment, I wonder if it might be weird to wear them on a date, but dismiss the thought almost immediately. No matter who comes along, Jack is a part of me and I won’t give up that part of myself for anyone.

While I’m finishing up
in Ana’s bathroom using some of her perfume, I hear Chase knock on the door.

Giving myself a final look over, I decide I look
pretty good. I double check to make sure everything is switched off in my bathroom before hurrying to the door to let him in.

Before I open the door, I say
a little prayer and throw a quick kiss to the sky for Jack. “Love you, forever, Babe,” I whisper.

One last deep breath and I open
the door wide, realizing a second too late that neither of us are ready for what’s standing in front of us.

***

Chase

As soon as the door
opens and I see her, I almost fall over. She looks absolutely incredible and whatever beauty I’ve ever seen in the world pales in comparison to the woman that is standing before me right now.

For the first time since I met Sophie, I do
n’t want to throw her up against anything and attack her.

I want to
belong
to her.

I
need
her.

I want
to take her slowly in a fucking meadow.
Holy shit
. I sound like a tampon commercial but I don’t even care. What the hell is this woman doing to me? I’m already so turned on that I can’t breathe. Whatever she is doing to me, she can do it forever.

I decide that minute in the doorway of her apartment that I d
on’t care how slow she wants to take things with us, I’ll wait forever if it means I can have her.

Finally
remembering how to speak, I manage something close to a, ‘Hi.’

She’s staring at me just as I’m
staring at her and I’d be lying if I said that I’m not ecstatic to see how much I affect her too.

I’m
wearing a black button down shirt that I’ve tucked in and jeans with a pair of black boots. I picked this shirt especially because it was a little more fitted and Sophie seems to enjoy my arms and chest. Right now, I am all about making this girl like me as much as possible.

“Let me j
ust grab my bag, okay?” she says and I can only nod dumbly.

Speaking
still seems to be a little tricky for me right now. When she turns around, I don’t waste a second before I sneak a peek at her ass in the jeans she’s wearing. I immediately realize what a bad idea that is when I feel myself getting even harder. At this rate, I’m not going to make it to the parking lot before totally lose all of my self control.

“You look amazing, B
aby,” I tell her as I lean over to kiss her on the forehead. She smiles and thanks me before taking a hold of my proffered hand before we make our way out to my truck.

O
pening the door for her, I make sure she’s comfortable before I shut it for her and walk around to my side. When I get in, her scent assaults me and I catch myself squirming the whole way to the restaurant.

I love
my truck but I wish she was closer to me. I want her to scoot over closer, but I don’t say anything to her because we both agreed to take things slow. I turn the radio on and glance over to see her biting down on her lip like she’s nervous.

God, it’s so fucking sexy when she does that
.

Taking things slow with her might kill me at this rate.
I meant what I said before though. I’ll wait forever for this girl if I have to.

***

Sophie

Sitting in his truck, I’m
trying desperately to keep it together.

All I want
is to scoot over closer to him and inhale his manly scent, but I don’t. I know taking things slow is the smarter thing to do. Besides, it was my idea in the first place. It will be the one thing that could save me from getting my heart broken.

I need to
be careful and make sure Chase is as good a guy as he seems to be. I have to know that I can trust him. I know that once I feel comfortable telling him about Jack, I’ll be okay. I just want to make sure he deserves to know about him first.

He switch
es the radio on and I find myself having to bite my lip to keep myself from singing. I love singing along to the radio and often do so without even realizing it, but I’m not ready for that with Chase yet. Between that and the nerves of being on an actual date with him, I’m completely flustered.

We mak
e small talk about our day, the restaurant, and Chase asks me about Camden again. I don’t tell him much and he doesn’t ask anything extremely personal, so it’s an easy conversation.

I ask him about some of the p
laces around the area and we make plans to visit the beach sometime soon. I can very easily see this becoming a regular thing with us and I’m happy to find that we can talk easily and share so many interests. It doesn’t really seem to matter what we talk about, everything about Chase seems effortless, except of course the taking it slow part.

The place he’
s chosen for dinner is perfect.

It’s quaint with a mellow vibe and I find that it’s exactly the type of place I’d have chosen for tonight.
We make our way to our table and I make Chase laugh by knowing exactly what I want as soon as we’re seated. As I ramble off my order for a medium New York strip, a fully loaded baked potato, a Caesar salad with a white zinfandel and a sweet tea he watches me with an amused look spreading across his face before he says, “Make that two, please, but no wine for me. Thanks.”

“Sorry, I’ve been
craving this all morning so it’s been on my mind all day,” I laugh.

“No apology necessary. I love a woman wh
o knows what she wants,” he answers me with a wink.

“A
ren’t you having a beer?” I ask when our server arrives with our drinks. I don’t miss the way she stares at Chase but I can’t blame her. Oddly enough, I feel a hint of jealousy at the idea of another woman gazing at him in that way and I can’t decide how to feel about that.

He acknowledges
her with a slight nod of thanks for our drinks before returning his attention immediately to me and my question, “Not right now, I’m driving.”

“Well, that’s awfully responsible. I’m sorry would you prefer I don’t drink so you don’t feel left out?” I ask
, suddenly feeling awkward about my wine.

“No, not at all,” he chuckle
s. “Enjoy your wine. Besides, tonight we’re celebrating your interview, remember?”

“Well, that’s sweet, but we’d already made plans before I got my interview.
Anyway, it’s just a serving job. It’s nothing special.”

“Will it make you happy if you get it?” he ask
s me and I consider it for a second.

“Well sure, I need a job,
” I laugh my reply.

“Don’t sell yourself short, Babe. You got a job interview and if that makes you happy th
en that’s all I care about. It should be all that matters to you too. I for one would love for you to get a job there,” he says.

“And why is that?” I ask.

“Because then I’d have an excuse to see you every morning,” Chase says, making me blush for what seems like the hundredth time. Man, he’s good
.

I’m so screwed
.

***

The rest of our date is perfect. We enjoyed each other’s company and I find myself having more fun than I have in months. For the first time in a long time, I feel comfortable with someone other than Ana and that says a lot.

Once we’ve finished
our dinner, Chase and I take on a short walk to a nearby park and sit on a bench and where we can continue talking. He wraps his arm around my shoulders and gently massages my arms while we talk about everything from our childhoods to places we want to travel to and music we enjoy listening to.

With
the exception of Jack, Chase is the only person I’ve ever met who enjoys music as much as I do. Of course, I don’t tell him just how much I love it because I’m not ready to share that part of myself with anyone else yet, but I’m happy to be able to relate to someone in that way again.

It’s pretty late when Chase ta
kes me home and although I’m exhausted, I’m not ready to say goodnight to him yet.

He
accepts my invitation to come in for a drink and we find Ana and Drake out on the balcony.

We
decide to join them for a few drinks while we discuss a trip to the beach they’ve been planning for next weekend. They invite us and although I’d love to go, I’m not sure how I’ll do sleeping.