Promise Me Always (37 page)

“The only reason he ever said or did any of those things to you is because he despised himself. He pushed all of his self hate and repulsion onto the people he actually cared for the most. You can’t believe anything he ever said because none of it was meant for you—he was saying every word to himself.” I closed my eyes and took in every word she was desperately trying to get me to hear and, as they sank in, I knew she was right. “You have to leave all of this self-doubting bullshit behind you because, if you don’t, then you’ll end up just like him.” She paused for just a moment and then in her overly sarcastic tone, she continued. “And, if that happens, I’ll personally kick your ass to the moon. There’s no way in hell I would ever let you get away with that shit.”

With that last sentence my eyes flew open and I couldn’t help but laugh. She was my little smart ass and I fucking loved her.

“You ready to go, Tess? We better leave now if we want to make it to the party before everyone arrives,” Lexi yelled at me from my living room.

I couldn’t believe it was the Fourth of July already. In just a three short days, I would be starting my internship and I knew things were going to be crazy then. I also knew that I wouldn’t be seeing Blake as often and the thought depressed me. We had spent almost every waking hour with each other since he confessed his past to me and I didn’t know what I would do not seeing him every day. I even visited him at the station because the days he was on shift, I missed him too much. He was my addiction, my drug, and not having my fix was going to be hell.

“I’ll be right out, Lex!” I hollered as I finished applying the final touches to my makeup. I looked myself over in the mirror one final time. My cut off denim shorts were showing off my tanned, toned legs, while my low cut red, white and blue tank top revealed just a hint of my fairly impressive cleavage. I threw on my silver flip flops, checked my hair, and headed into the living room.

Lexi was impatiently waiting for me and she looked fabulous as always. Her white summer dress hugged her body perfectly and the American flag cowboy boots she had on were absolutely perfect for the occasion.

“Ready to go?” I asked as she eyed me up and down.

“Damn, girl! You look hot!” she squealed. “Hopefully you don’t give Blake a heart attack when he sees you in those shorts!”

“What? They aren’t that short. Are they?” I asked as I looked behind me. I thought they were actually pretty modest compared to the shorts I usually wore. Lexi just laughed as she grabbed my hand and yanked me out the front door.

After a quick stop at the store to pick up more food, we arrived at Blake’s. It was just about four o’clock when we pulled up in the driveway. Blake was hauling large bags of ice into the garage and Brent was right behind him, carrying his equipment.

Blake and Devin’s Fourth of July parties were seriously off the charts—the whole neighborhood joined in on the celebration. It was one massive block party with tons of fireworks, burgers, and beer.

We got out of the car and had just started unloading the food, when I heard the front door slam shut. I looked up and saw Matt trudging down the porch stairs, looking irritated. He looked up as he pushed his hand through his short, dirty blonde hair and spotted Lex. His face softened immediately and he headed straight for us, never taking his eyes off her.

“Do you ladies need some help?” he asked as he approached Lex’s Jeep.

“Um, yeah, sure. Thanks, Matt,” Lexi said. She sounded nervous and I laughed a little at her response. I knew Lexi was head over heels for Matt, but ever since she ran into him last month while she was out with Avery, she had been trying to forget about him. After seeing him back together with Britt, just weeks after the most spectacular kiss of her life, she was devastated. I couldn’t blame her.

Matt reached over and took the bags from Lex’s grasp, giving her a little wink; her face flushed a deep crimson color. Matt took the bags into the house and I watched as Lexi stared at him the whole time.

“Ahem! What the hell was that all about?” I questioned her, raising my eyebrows. I could tell I startled her a little when she jumped. Her gaze hit the floor and she looked embarrassed.

“Uh, nothing. It was nothing,” she said apprehensively, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

“I don’t think so, Lex. I mean look at you! You’re a mess and your face is all flushed. And he winked at you. I swear to God, Lexi Miller, if you don’t start talking right now, so help me…” I threatened her.

“Okay, okay. I ran into him last night as I was leaving work and we got to talking,” she whispered, her hands up defensively. I gave her a look like I knew she was lying. “But nothing happened, I swear. We just talked.”

“Okay, so why did he wink at you? And why were you acting like something happened between you two?” I prodded. I knew her better than she knew herself sometimes and she was most definitely avoiding something.

“Seriously, Tess, I swear nothing happened. We talked, had a few drinks, and harmlessly flirted a little—but that’s it. I slept
alone
in my
own
bed last night, I promise. Trust me, if anything like that had happened, you would have been woken up at dawn this morning,” she laughed.

I eyed her suspiciously. I wasn’t one hundred percent sure she was telling the truth, but I decided to drop it for now. “Alright, lady, but if I find out you are hiding something from me, your ass is in deep shit.”

I grabbed the last couple bags out of the Jeep and flung my arm around her shoulders while we both laughed. We made our way inside and started to get everything ready for the party.

A couple hours later, Blake’s street was littered with bodies. His driveway had been turned into a make shift dance floor and people had blankets and chairs all over the front lawn. Everyone was waiting for darkness to fall so they could catch a spectacular view of the fireworks. Half of the garage had been converted into a self-service bar, while the other half housed Brent and his DJ equipment.

Devin was flipping burgers and hot dogs on the grill and I noticed that Avery had spent most the evening keeping him company. The two of them had become so much closer over the past month and I wondered if one day it would turn into more. I hadn’t seen Devin with any other woman since Matt’s party a while back and that was extremely out of character for him.

From the corner of my eye, I spotted Blake across the driveway talking to Matt and I couldn’t help but stare at him. He was picture perfect in a pair of camo shorts that hung perfectly from his hips. His white t-shirt hugged his sculpted chest impeccably and I licked my lips as my eyes roamed down his body, imagining everything that was underneath. Just then, Blake looked up and caught my gaze. His eyes instantly filled with lust as he peered at me. He gave me the sexiest, panty dropping smile I had ever seen and I bit down on my lip in response to it.

Just as I was crossing the driveway to whisk Blake away to take care of the now ever growing throbbing coming from between my thighs, I saw Cam walking up to him.
What the hell is he doing here?

I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw a beautiful woman attached to his arm. Her blonde hair cascaded past her shoulders, stopping just shy of her ample chest. Her cleavage was inappropriately spilling out of her white and blue striped v-neck top and her annoying giggle pierced my ears as Cam introduced her to Blake and Matt. I couldn’t help but think of Cara and what she was going to do when she saw him with this bimbo. Cam wasn’t even supposed to be here tonight and Cara would be here any minute.
This isn’t going to end well.

I didn’t know what to do. I knew shit was going to hit the fan when Cara showed up, but all I could do was stare at this woman as she shook Blake’s hand. She must have sensed me watching her because when she released Blake’s hand, she immediately looked at me. She had emerald eyes that looked malicious and the self-righteous smile on her face had warning signs flashing in my mind.

Trying to hide my aggravation, and doing a crappy job at it, I stomped over to Blake.

“Hey, Tess! I’d like you to meet Amber. Amber, this is Tessa, Blake’s girlfriend,” Cam said cheerfully. She smiled a phony ass smile as she looked me up and down.

“Pleased to meet you,” she uttered, looking in the other direction. Everything about this girl just screamed
bitch
.

“Yeah, you too,” I replied with a fake smile on my face, looking at Blake in frustration. Blake’s face was contorted into a “What the fuck?” expression as he looked Amber over.

“Cam, baby, can you run along and get me a drink? Vodka and Cranberry—and don’t forget the ice,” she ordered, waving him away with her manicured fingers.

Cam shrugged his shoulders and headed into the garage, leaving Amber standing impatiently in her white stilettos, waiting for him to return.

“Hey, hooker!” I heard from behind me and my heart stopped in my chest. I turned around and saw Cara walking up to me with a huge smile on her face. She looked spectacular in a cute pair of white shorts and a red sequined, sparkly tank top.

She looked me over before leaning in, giving me the biggest hug. I hadn’t seen her since the night of Jared’s attack and I could tell she was trying to survey the damage that he had caused. Luckily, all traces of that horrible evening had diminished. At least all of the exterior traces—my ribs were still a little sore and I was still suffering from reoccurring nightmares.

“I have so much to tell you,” she murmured in my ear. Just as she started to pull away from the hug, my heart beat started to pick up as I saw Cam returning with Amber’s drink. I knew this was going to devastate her and I wanted so badly to protect her from what she was about to witness, but I didn’t know what to do.

While I was contemplating dragging Cara into the house or just knocking her out cold, a tall, dark, and handsome man came up behind her and snaked his arm around her waist. I watched in awe as he pulled a now giggling Cara closer to him.

“Tess, this is Nolan.”

“Uh, hi, Nolan. Nice to meet you,” I said, totally confused, as I reached my hand out for his.

“Likewise,” he replied as he shook it firmly. His warm, friendly, brown eyes looked right at me as he released Cara’s waist and ran his free hand through his thick brown hair. Instantly, I felt Blake’s hand on the small of my back.

I stood there, totally perplexed, as Cara introduced Nolan to Blake. As the two men exchanged small talk, I heard a low growl coming from behind Cara. When I looked up, I saw Cam stomping his way past us, his stare glued to the concrete as he purposely avoided eye contact.

I looked back at Cara and watched as hurt spread across her face from the sight of him. Then a soft gasp left Cara’s lips when he threw his arm around Amber’s mid-section and handed her the drink.

“I thought he wasn’t coming,” Cara whispered in my ear.

“He wasn’t! He was supposed to be working,” I promised. “What’s going on with you? Who is this guy? I thought you wanted to be with Cam?” I asked her.
What in the hell have I missed?

“Crap! Everything is so screwed up, Tess,” she cried as her hands flew up and covered her face. “I can’t talk about it now, though. Not with Nolan here,” she looked at me sadly. “I swear I’ll tell you later. I just want to try to have a good time tonight and not think about Cam.”

“Okay. But you’re not off the hook! I want details before you leave,” I said as I shook my finger at her.

Nolan came up behind Cara and threw his arms around her waist. “Ready for a drink, sweetie?” I heard him whisper in her ear. She nodded at him, forcing a smile, before her gaze shifted to Cam one more time.

I couldn’t help but notice Cara’s eyes filling with agony and my heart broke for her. I knew how much she cared about Cam and I had no idea why they were here with people they obviously didn’t want to be with; they could have just came together.

When I glanced in Cam’s direction, I immediately understood Cara’s distress. Amber was pushed up on her tip toes, devouring Cam’s mouth while she grinded her hips into him. My stomach churned at the sight and I looked back at Cara. She gave me a weak smile as tears filled her eyes. She grabbed Nolan’s hand and followed him into the garage, her head hanging low.