The Promise (43 page)

Even though Corpus is less than an hour away, I still can’t wait to get out of town. I’ve wanted to take Sophie somewhere for a few weeks now, but I’d been so confused about where our relationship was heading, I just didn’t know if I should risk it. For the very first time in our relationship, I feel as though we’re in a good place and I’m looking forward to the weekend that’s in front of us.

We make a quick stop
by my place so I can swap some things and pack a bag. As I climb back in the truck, JT is sitting in the backseat, talking to Lucy on Sophie’s cell phone, while Sophie is sitting quietly in the front, waiting for me and shuffling through the radio stations. She looks over at me and smiles as I climb inside.

“You have everything you need?” she asks. I look
to the space that’s separating us and pull her over so she’s closer to me, leaning down to kiss her before we make our way out of town.

“Now I do. You ready, Baby?” I ask her
see her smile in response.

“You ready little man?” I ask JT and he nods excitedly
as he informs Lucy of our departure. Sophie checks his seatbelt for what is probably the hundredth time before we’re finally on our way.

***

In all my twenty-eight years, I’ve been to this aquarium at least a dozen times before but both Sophie and JT’s excitement is contagious. I have to admit that even I’m stoked as we pull into the parking lot.

It isn’t overly packed
with cars, so we manage to get a good spot and Sophie grabs a few things to take in with us for JT. She throws them in her oversized purse before we make our way towards the entrance.

She looks great today, as usual, in a pale yellow tank top and short cutoffs
, with white flip flops. Her hair is braided just the way I like it, and all the time she’s been spending outside lately is giving her a killer tan.

As
we make it to the entrance gate, Sophie and JT pose in front of the building as I snap some shots of them on my cell phone. We then take one of the three of us together, making goofy fish faces which makes JT laugh. Finally, we snap one of just me and Sophie.

R
eaching down, I take a hold of her hand as I lead them inside.

We spend the day looking at
anything and everything we find and JT appears to be loving everything about the day. Watching Sophie with him is amazing. This isn’t the first time that I’ve wondered what spending my life with her would be like, and this thought alone makes smile.

A couple of hours after we arrive
d, we headed over to the food court and had lunch before taking JT to feed the stingrays. I thought Sophie was going to have a heart attack when he reached inside to pet one.

I suggest
ed the reptile show later on, and she looked at me as though I’d completely lost my mind when I told her that she and JT could pet an alligator.

We stay
ed a couple more hours and took JT to see the turtle exhibit they have, before we decided that it was time to leave. We stopped inside the gift shop to grab a souvenir turtle for JT, with him quickly naming him Sheldon. 

We
enjoyed an early supper at Joe’s Crab Shack and I wasn’t surprised to find JT passed out in the back seat before we made it to Drake’s house. As we pull up on the driveway, I see Sophie’s jaw dropping when she sees the size of the house.

“Holy shit,”
she whispers, and I laugh at her reaction to the place. I watch her as she takes in the massive two story structure that’s standing before us.

This place really is amazing. Drake has spent a fortune on remodeling it over the past couple of years. The blue and white house is surrounded
with soft white sand and sits on stilts, almost at the edge of the water. Two huge decks wrap almost completely around it on both levels.  

“I know! This place is freaking sick, Baby. Wait till you get inside,” I say, grabbing our bags while she unbuckles JT
, before pulling him out of the truck so she can carry him inside. He begins moving around and finally sits up in Sophie’s arms, looking around as his small fists rub his eyes.

“Where are we?” he asks.

“We’re at Drake’s house. Do you remember him?” she asks and he nods sleepily. “This is his house and we’re going to stay here tonight. Then Chase and I are going to take you to the beach tomorrow.”

“Really?” he
asks with a yawn.

“Mmhmm, would you like that
, Baby?” she asks, and he smiles as we make our way inside. “Okay, since you’re awake, let’s get you a bath and ready for bed, alright?”

“Okay,” he agrees
through another yawn.

I quickly show her where the essentials are so she can get JT settled
, promising to give her a proper tour around when she’s finished.

We walk through the spacious den where Drake has an opulent, custom made, white three-piece sectional that rests in front of a mirrored wall. It surrounds an oversized leather ottoman, all facing an impressive flat screen TV and entertainment center
which houses virtually every electronic item you can imagine.

We walk across to the other side of the room where the far wall, almost completely glass with two beautiful French doors, le
ads to the main deck which faces out over the Gulf. I then continue to show her to the rooms that we’ll be sleeping in.  

Sophie follows me down the short hallway that takes us to the three doors
that I’m heading for. The two guest rooms share a joint bathroom. I place JT’s bag in the second room before taking mine and Sophie’s things to the room that’s directly next door.

The two rooms
share the bathroom in the center and this is most probably where he’d be most comfortable, at the same time, me and Sophie can still have a little privacy.

Once
she has him bathed and ready for bed, she carries him into his room and tucks him in after showing him where we’ll be if he needs her. As I make my way into our room to wait for her, I hear their voices traveling through as they talk about the day as I lean back on the huge, four poster bed.

“Did you have fun today, Sweet Pea?” she asks him.

“Yeah, I liked the turtles the best,” he admits with a yawn.

“I liked the turtles too. Did you have fun feeding the stingrays?”

“Yeah, they were funny looking,” he chuckles.

“I’m so happy you had a good time, Buddy. Let’s call momma and
say goodnight to her,” she says, and the next thing I hear is a quick, one sided conversation with Lucy.

“Hey, he’s about to pass out
but he just wanted to call and say goodnight,” she says, and then there’s a pause. “Yes, he had a blast.” Another pause. “Yeah, Chase and I both took some pictures. I’ll forward them to you in the morning … Okay, here he is.”

“Hi mom,” JT starts. “Yes I had so much fun. I saw fishies and turtles and stingrays and dolphins and
... Aunt Sophie what were those furry things?”

“Those were otters, Baby,” she answers.

“Yeah, we saw otters and a shark,” he says before another silence. “I’m sweepy now momma … I love you too … Night.”

“Hey,”
I hear Sophie says as she takes the phone from him. “Okay I’ll call you tomorrow. Are you doing okay? … Well go back to talk to them again ... You need to do it, Luce … I’ll call you tomorrow when I can talk some more. Call me before then if you need anything … Okay I love you too … Goodnight.”

“Aunt Sophie?” JT whispers.

“What Baby?”

“Is Chase my uncle?”

“Do you want him to be your uncle?” she asks him, and after he seems to be considering it for a few seconds, he finally answers her.

“He’s funny and he’s nice,” he admits,
his answer making me smile.

“You’re right, he is funny and nice,” she agrees
. He grows silent again for a moment before he speaks again.

“Do I have to tell you if I want him for an uncle right now?” he asks and
I hear her laughing at his question.

“No
, Baby, you don’t have to tell me right now but you do have to go to sleep right now, okay?”

“Okay
. Would you sing to me?”

“Yes,
but first give me sugar,” she whispers as she kisses him goodnight. “I love you so much, Sweet Pea.”

“I love you too, Aunt Sophie,” he yawns and
the next thing I hear is her soft voice filling the silence with ‘their song’. She only makes it about halfway through before she stops. Shortly afterwards, Sophie comes back into our room, pushing the door silently closed behind her.

“Hey,” she says
while looking at me with surprise in her eyes as she makes her way across to the edge of the bed. “Did you hear all of that?”

“Yeah,” I admit a
s I keep looking right at her. “I’m sorry. I came in here to wait for you and I may have eavesdropped a little.”

“Why?” she asks
. A smile crosses my lips as I watch her climbing onto the bed before coming to lay close beside me.

“I like hearing you with JT and I know you sing him to sleep at night
, so I was hoping to catch some of it,” I tell her honestly. “I didn’t realize you’d be calling Lucy or I wouldn’t have stayed in here. I hope you’re not mad?”

“No,” she shakes her head and smile
s as she leans back on my outstretched arm. “I’m not hiding anything, but you don’t have to eavesdrop to hear me sing anymore. I’ll sing whenever you ask if it will keep you from stalking me!”

I laugh a
s I perch up on my arm, so I can look down at her.

“Anytime I ask, huh?” I challenge and she nods
her acceptance. “What about right now? Will you sing for me now?”

“I don’t have my guitar but I guess so,” she
answers as she gazes over at me. “What do you want me to sing?”

“Surprise me,” I say. She thinks for a long time, obviously nervous. “Have you had a song stuck in your head today?”

“Yes,” she says, with a small smile this time.

“Sing that to me,” I offer.

“You don’t even know what it is,” she says, giggling when I shrug my shoulders.

“I don’t care what it is. I just want to hear your voice,” I say
, kissing her on the top of her head as I lay myself back down next to her, getting comfortable as I pull her closer to my side.

“You asked for it,” she says with a
small chuckle. Once she begins to sing, I know why she found it so amusing.

I immediately
grin beside her as I listen to her flawlessly singing the lyrics to ‘Thrift Shop’ by ‘Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’. As she lowers her voice to sound like Wanz, I let out a full on laugh as I pull her up so she’s lying across my chest.

Kissing her hard,
I rest my hands low on her waist. As I pull away from her, she smiles down at me while playfully whispering another lyric. I respond by singing the next part to her, quietly into her neck and between kisses, making her laugh before pulling her back down to kiss me again.

“You know what just happened, Baby?”
she looks at me curiously as I ask. “You just sang me a rap song. We’ve come full circle. You’ve just proven that we were made for each other.” I say returning her soft smile with one of my own.

“You got all that from a little Macklemore, huh?”
she teases as I move my hands over her ass, moving them down her legs until I reach her knees and pull them apart, making her straddle me.

“Among other things,” I say smiling
while kissing her on the lips, “but yeah, the Macklemore really helped,” I joke. I run my lips down her jaw, rolling us over so that I’m on top of her as I nestle myself between her thighs, finding my perfect piece of Heaven.

Sophie

Spending time
at the beach today really is the perfect Sunday. I open my eyes to find Chase behind me, nuzzling my neck sweetly while holding his arms around me, quietly sings ‘I’ve Been Loving You Too Long’ by ’Otis Redding’.

As he reaches
the end of the ballad, I’m fully awake and my eyes are moist with unshed tears. This man is just too good to be true. He rolls me over to face him, kissing me gently on the lips while smiling down at me.

“Good morning
, Baby.”

“Good morning,” I says quietly
, sighing at the sight of his scruffy face and the mussed up sex hair he’s still sporting this morning from the night before.

We stay like th
is, studying each other for a couple minutes before he leans in and kisses me again, while gently tugging on my braid.

“Come on, Gorgeous. Let’s
go and get you some coffee. JT’s awake and itching to get down to the beach,” he smiles as I sit up and search for my phone. Glancing at the clock, I see that it’s nine seventeen. I look back up at him confuse.

“How long have you been up?” I ask
him.

“Not too long
. Only for a couple of hours. JT came in here a little after six thirty and because you were sleeping so peacefully, I didn’t want to disturb you. We went into the living room and watched cartoons over a bowl of cereal.”

The thought of the two of them sitting on the floor
and watching cartoons together, with their cereal and crazy morning hair makes my smile widen

“You’re so sweet, Baby. Thank you,” I say a
s I kiss him. Taking a hold of his hand as he pulls me from the bed, we make our way into the living room. Drake is on the couch now, with Ana sleepily curled up against his side. They both smile up at us when they see us walking in.

“Good morning, Sleeping B
eauty,” Ana teases.

“Good morning
, Sophie,” Drake greets me with a pleasant smile.

“Good morning everyone,” I say with a yawn
, while leaning down to kiss JT on the head. “Good morning, my Sweet Pea.”

“Hi
, Aunt Sophie,” he says, looking up at me with seemingly impatient eyes. “Can we go outside yet?”

“Soon, Baby. Give me a second to wake up and I’ll take you,” I say
, inwardly chuckling to myself as he agrees grumpily.

I drink two cups of coffee and eat some toast before I shower
, while Ana helps an extremely impatient JT to get ready.

Within forty minutes, the three of us are hand in hand on the beach. We spend the day making sandcastles, swimming
, and searching for seashells with JT.

At lunchtime, we head back to the house to join Ana and Drake for sandwiches. Once we finish eating, JT surprises us all by taking a short nap on the couch
, with Chase and I taking advantage of this time by slipping into our room for some privacy.

Once JT
wakes up, we take him back out to play in the water for a little while longer.

I
t feels as though I haven’t been to the beach in forever.

It has been almost two years since
Jack and I had visited a beach together, which was when he’d come home during leave.

I’
d forgotten just how much I love to be near the water.

I smile to myself at the memory of Jack and I walking hand in hand across the sand, perusing through the shops that line
d the boardwalk while promising to return every chance we possibly could.

We imagined retiring in one of the houses that line the shore and making sand angels together when we were in our eighties. At the end of the day, Jack had taken me to dinner at one of the restaurants on the water
front. That night, we stayed in a motel together for the first time. I smile as I remember how he had told the lady at the front desk we were on our honeymoon, while he slipped me a sly wink.

When the temperature
begins to drop, Chase and I curl up in a chair on the porch, watching the beautiful sunset while JT talks to Lucy on the phone about our weekend together.

We’re all exhausted
, so instead of driving back to Rockport, we decided to stay here for another night. JT and I will ride back with Ana in the morning once Chase and Drake leave for work.

After
our supper, I help JT get a bath and tuck him in before making my way back to our room, where Chase is waiting for me patiently.

He takes
me by the hand before leading me out to the back porch again, where he has a bottle of wine with two glasses already waiting for us.

P
ressing a few buttons, his phone begins to play the soft, bluesy sound of ‘Wild Horses’ by The Rolling Stones. Setting it on the table next to our chilling wine bottle, he takes my already half drained glass from my hand before pulling me to his chest, gently swaying slowly from side to side to the beat as he sings quietly into my hair.

“You’re being awfully sweet today, Baby,” I tease as we move slowly across the porch. He looks at me and chuckles
softly.

“Is that uncommon for me?” he asks.

“No, that’s not odd for you at all. You’re always sweet to me. You’ve just been exceptionally sweet today, is all I meant,” I explain.

He spins me around
before bringing me back to his chest, gently engulfing me in his muscular arms again as he moves his lips closer to mine, without actually touching them. We’re so close that I can taste the mixture of the sweet wine and his minty toothpaste. As he speaks against my mouth, I can feel them moving only a whisper away.

“You make it very easy to be sweet, my
Sweetheart,” he says before kissing me very softly. “Did you enjoy yourself today?”

“Yes, I did,” I smile. “It was the perfect Sunday. Thank you,” I answer
, returning the kiss.

“Every Sunday I’ve had with you has been perfect, Baby, so thank you
,” he very slowly dips me backwards at the end of the song and kisses me gently on the dip in the center of my collarbone.

He raises us both up slowly, taking my hand in his
, while making his way to the table where our wine is waiting. He sits in the chair and pulls me onto his lap, handing me my glass before grabbing his own and wrapping his free arm around my waist. I lean sideways against his hard chest, resting my cheek over his heart.

“So I was thinking about something today,” he starts. “I know we didn’t really follow our own rule about sleeping in separate houses until JT had been with you for a little while,” he laughs. “He seems to be doing okay with it, though.” I nod in agreement as he
places his wine glass down, before then resting his hand snugly between my thighs. “So I was thinking that since I have a couple of extra rooms, how would you feel about the two of you staying with me over at my place?” I can’t seem to hide the sharp intake of breath that escapes from me. As Chase hears it, he squeezes my side and kisses me on the side of my head. “You don’t have to decide right now. I just wanted to let you know that you’re both welcome.”

“Thanks, Baby,” I say a
s I look at him. Does he want me to move in with him? Is that what he’s asking me?  I don’t think he is, but the last thing we need is more confusion. I decide that I have to ask him. “That’s very generous of you but I think that it’s maybe a little soon for us to be talking about moving in together, Chase.” His quiet laughter surprises me.

“I agree, Baby. That’s not what I was asking you,” he
reassures me while kissing me on my cheek. I blush redder than I thought would be possible and as he touches my chin I groan with my own embarrassment. “Look at me.” I shake my head and he repeats the words again, more firmly this time. “Baby, look at me please?” I turn to face him and think that I might actually die from humiliation. “I’m sorry I laughed at you. Don’t ever be embarrassed about asking me a question, just let me explain myself.” I nod and wait for him to go on. “Sophie, I would love for you to move in with me, but I know that it’s still too soon for you and that you’re not ready for that which is fine with me. We promised we would take things slow and I meant what I said,” he says, rubbing circles over my lower back like he always does to soothe me. “We don’t have to rush into anything, but I would like you to consider coming to stay with me for a few days. You can see how you feel about it and then we can go from there. JT will have a room to himself. I have a back yard he can play in and we’ll have more privacy than we do on the couch at your apartment,” he explains. I take a deep breath and nod at what he’s suggesting. “So, do you want to try it out?” I nod a yes again and see him smiling as he leans in to kiss my hair. “I mean, we may as well. We’re pretty much living together anyway.”

I choke on my wine and he laughs a proper belly laugh
. When I realize he’s messing with me, I playfully smack his chest. We stay on the porch talking for a while and when he empties the last drop of wine into my glass, Chase picks me up and wraps my legs around his waist as he carries me back into our room.

“I can walk, Baby. You don’t have to carry me,” I laugh. He kisses me on the neck
before shaking his head.

“I know you can walk but I like carrying you,” he admits, nuzzling in closer
. I look at him like he’s nuts.

“Why?” I ask with a light laugh.

“I have my reasons,” he says with a smile as we make our way into the living room, where we see that Ana’s lying on the couch with Drake and watching a movie.

We say goodnight to them as he crosses
through the room, carrying me like it’s the most natural thing in the world. He even stops to talk with Drake, asking him what time he wants to leave for the office in the morning.

Chase pushes the door open and pulls the covers down
, before sitting me on the edge of the bed gently. He quietly walks over to the room next door, checking in on JT for me.

“He’s out,” he says
, pushing the door that separates us from the joint bathroom closed silently. While pulling his shirt over his head, he makes his way across the room to the bed.

I watch him as he
removes his shorts, throwing them into a pile in the corner before stopping in front of the nightstand to set the alarm on his phone.

I sit silently
, enjoying the sight of the gorgeous man in front of me, wearing nothing but a pair of boxer briefs that fit so beautifully they should be outlawed. He grins down at me as I take a sip from my wine glass and smirk wickedly at him. “See something you like, Baby?”

“Yep
,” I nod. “I see lots of things I like.” I lean back on one arm, still sipping from my wine. I leisurely rake my eyes over his perfectly sculpted chest, paying special attention to the V that hugs his abs. I admire how it snakes down into his boxer briefs, directing me to the rest of the masterpiece that is Chase and I can’t hide the sigh that escapes from my lips.

He reaches for my now empty glass, placing it on the nightstand
before pulling me upright, placing himself between my knees at the edge of the bed. He peels my blue tank top off of me, dropping it behind him before untying the top of my black bikini top and tossing it to the side. He begins softly stroking my breasts with the pads of his thumbs as he stares down at me greedily, before meeting my eyes again.

“To answer your question, I like carrying you for the same reason I like you to sit on my lap,” he starts quietly. “I love having your body close to mine, it’s something I crave. I need to be consumed by you. I need to ha
ve you as close as I can.” He continues as he crouches down in front of me.

Pulling
my sandals off of my feet, he drops them to the floor beside us. He stands back up and pulls me closer to him, before going to work on my shorts. He briefly returns to his crouching position as I stand in front of him, peeling them down my legs while I hold onto his shoulders for support.

He runs his hands slowly up my legs until he reaches my black bikini bottoms
, pushing his hands under the material covering my ass. Pulling me closer to his mouth, he dips his tongue into my belly button as he looks up at me. “I need that intimacy with you all the time, Sophie. I need to see you,” he whispers as he unties the strings on the bottoms in one swift movement.

They fall to my feet, leaving me completely exposed to him. “I need to inhale your sweet smell.” I blush crimson as I hear him breathe in the scent of my moist center
as he releases a low, appreciative groan. He gazes up at me through his thick eyelashes again seductively. Licking his lips, I watch a wicked grin beginning to spread across his face as he hooks my right leg over his shoulder, before pushing my slick folds apart with his thumb and fingers. “Taste you,” he whispers so quietly, I barely hear him.

He slowly runs the tip of his tongue up my center, causing my hips to buck involuntarily. I grip his hair hard with my hands and he lets out my favorite growl, causing a delicious vibration against my core. He holds me in place with his free hand on my waist tightly as he presses his tongue against me, flattening it against the base of my entrance.