The Promise (27 page)

Something i
s definitely wrong.

“You okay, Baby
?” I ask, watching as he looks down at me but after a moment, he smiles again and nods, still not saying a single word or answering my question. “Chase?”

“Yeah, I’m good. You okay? You need another drink? I think I’m gonna grab another one
,” he finally answers in a rush, draining his beer as he stands.

I nod
a yes as he leans over to quickly kiss me on the cheek before heading straight for the bar. I watch him walk away and when I turn back, I see that Ana is eyeing me with a look of both concern and confusion.

“I think I’ll get another beer, too. You
want anything, Love?” Drake asks Ana before making his way over to join Chase at the bar. Once he’s out of earshot, she turns back to me.

“What the hell just happened?” s
he asks but I can only shrug my reply. “Everything was going good a couple of minutes ago and then he just started acting …
weird
.”

“I don’t know!
He was being so sweet, singing that song and everything and then he just …” I start but she cuts me off.

“I know! Something weird
just happened up there. Whatever it is, I think you’ll need to talk to him about it,” she says.

“Do you think anyone else noticed besides us?” I ask. We both look
over to see that Drake has put his arm up on Chase’s shoulder. They’re huddled together talking, both with serious expressions over their faces.

“
Drake, obviously, but I think that’s all. I’m sure it’ll be nothing but I’d still ask him about it anyway. He’s just not acting … I don’t know…
himself
,” she says and I have to agree.

I don’t know what’
s going on in his head, but something is obviously bothering Chase.

I ha
ve a feeling it’s me.

***

Chase

As
I look out into the crowd and see Sophie sitting there expectantly, I’m feeling stunned by her beauty as always. I know there are dozens of people staring up at me right now but in this moment, I only see her.

I smile and g
ive her a wink, my heart warming when I see the smile spreading across her face. I can tell she’s a little nervous but when the music begins and the opening notes of ‘Don’t You Want It’ by The White Buffalo plays out, her grin grows wide enough to match mine. The crimson that colored her cheeks makes my heart skip a beat.

God I love this girl.

I wasn’t sure what song I’d sing when we first arrived here but when I saw this one in the book, it reminded me of being inside her this afternoon. It’s exactly what I want to sing to Sophie.

As I throw
her another wink, she bites down on her lip and all I want to do is drop the microphone and take her out of the bar right now so I can have my way with her. She’s gorgeous and I can’t get enough of her. I make it right up until there’s about another minute or so left in the song before my thoughts completely kill my mood.

I
s Sophie ever going to trust me enough to feel this way for me? She’s admitted to me that she still has feelings for Jack. Although I know she’s trying, I don’t know if my love for her is ever going to be enough. After all, the reason that I’m up here singing this song instead of Sophie is because of him. 

As
I finish the song, the crowd applauds me, but I can tell that Sophie saw the shift in my mood at the very second that it had happened. I knew she would, too. She’s so in tune to me. We’re perfect for each other but she’s still hung up on this other guy. Knowing I’m in love with someone who feels that way about another man, well, it fucking sucks.

I mak
e my way back over to our table and we’re still smiling at each other but it’s not the same as before. I can tell that she knows that something is bugging me. She thanks me for the song and kisses me gently on the neck but as I pull away from her, she looks up at me with concern filling her eyes.

“You okay,
Baby?” she asks.

When she calls me Baby,
I wonder if that’s what she called him.
Shit. Get your head together, dude
. I smile at her before the panic sneaks in.

“Chase?” her voice brings me back from my toxic thoughts.

“Yeah, I’m good. You okay? You want another drink?” I say in a rush. I definitely need one. I stand, drain my beer and as I look back at her, she nods her answer.

Did he ever sing to her like that?

I need to chill my shit out. I’m fucking losing it. I know I am. I lean down and kiss her on the cheek before making a beeline for the bar. I need to get my head straight.

I kn
ew before going into this relationship that she was working on shit. I know she cares about me. I need to keep my word and stay patient but it’s just getting really hard to fulfill my promise to her.

As
I wait at the bar, I hear Drake walk up beside me. Shit. I really don’t want to talk to him about this in the middle of a bar right now. The bartender walks over and I order mine and Sophie’s drinks and Drake orders his and Ana’s.

Drak
e leans over, “You good man?” he asks me discreetly.

“Yeah
… my head’s just fuckin’ with me,” I answer him.

He nods
while giving me a rough pat on the shoulder, “You’ll be alright. Try not to worry so much about that shit right now.”

“Yeah,” I agree.

We turn back towards the table just as the girls look over at us. As Sophie’s eyes meet mine, she gives me a small smile, thanking me as I hand her the drink she wanted.

“Thanks,” she whispers. T
aking my seat beside her, I rest my hand on her thigh and lean in so I can kiss her on her neck.

“Yo
u’re welcome, Baby,” I whisper, laughing when the scruff on my chin tickles her neck and watching as it causes her to giggle.

We spend
the rest of the night laughing and hanging out. While my mood isn’t much better than before, I can’t let her see that. I have to keep my head together in front of her because I know my jealousy won’t do either of us any good.

At the end of the day, she’
s here with me,
not Jack
. I just can’t help but wonder if it’s where she really wants to be.

Chase

I wake up in my bed and notice immediately that Sophie isn’t in here with me. Half asleep, I reach over to her side, feeling the cold sheets but nothing else. I glance towards the bathroom door. It’s still open with the light off and my bedroom door is cracked like usual. I sit up and rub my eyes awake, pulling myself from the bed before poking my head out of the door.

“Sophie?” I call
out but hear nothing. Gathering my underwear off of the floor, I slide them on before walking out into the living room. “Baby, are you in here?” I don’t hear her answer me but I see that her purse is still on the table and her keys are beside it so she must to be here somewhere. 

I walk
around the house looking for her and then I hear her muffled voice traveling from the back porch. I look through the glass door and see her sitting on a lounge chair while talking quietly on her phone.

I tap
on the window to get her attention. She looks up, giving me a small smile and a wave before I see her eyes rake over my chest before settling on my morning hard on as she bites down on her lip.

“Wait, what?” s
he asks, pulling her eyes away from me and looking into her phone. Her cheeks begin to redden and it makes me smirk a little.

I walk
over and stroke the hair back from her face. Looking down, I see her empty coffee cup. I lean over and grab it while kissing her on the back of the head before walking back into the kitchen to get both of us some coffee.

Once I’ve made our drinks and take hers
to her, she mouths a ‘thank you’ to me as I wink at her. I’m about to head back in the house to give her some privacy but pause when I see her covering the receiver.

“
You can stay, Baby,” she whispers and so I turn back around and take a seat on the chair beside her.

“I know you are,
sweetie. It’s fine. Please stop apologizing. I can’t make any promises but you know I’ll do whatever I can to help, okay?” she speaks into the phone, pausing only briefly before she continues. “Stop worrying, Honey. I’ll do whatever I can to help you and I know Ana will too. Just go ahead and get him ready. We’ll bring him up when we come back on Thursday.” Sophie begins to smile, her eyes becoming teary as she whispers into the receiver. “I know…yeah…yeah…me too,” she says. “Okay, see you soon. Give him kisses for me. Love you.” As she hangs up her phone, she takes a deep breath before looking over to me. “Good morning.”

“Good morning, Baby,” I sa
y, motioning for her to come to me. She gets up and walks over to sit on my lap and I pull her closer so I can kiss her on her neck. “Is everything okay?” I ask.

“Yeah, everything is okay but I need to talk to you about something
,” she answers.

“Hmm?” I
s all I can manage as I try to hide the fact that I’m suddenly extremely nervous.

“Have I ever mentioned my godson to you?” she ask
s me. I shake my head. “Well, his name is JT and he’s four. He lives back in Camden and his mom is having a pretty hard time and needs some help. So anyway, I told her I’d bring him back with me on Thursday so she can try and work because she doesn’t have anyone else to help her right now.”

“Okay,
well that sounds cool,” I say while kissing her on the temple. “JT, huh? That’s cute. What’s the JT short for anyway?”

As soon as I ask those words
, I feel her body tensing which makes my heart drop. I don’t think that I want to know anymore.

“It’s um
… his name is Jackson Thomas,” she answers. Hearing her answer me so quietly makes the knot that’s formed in my stomach tighten and a lump form into my throat.

“Is he named after
…?” I begin but she cuts me off.

“Yes
.”

“Is Jack his godfather?”

“Yes,” she answers before moving slowly away as she stands. I stay tense find myself unable to say anything else for several minutes. “Chase, if you’re not comfortable with this, I’ll understand. You don’t have to meet JT but I need for you to know that this child is non-negotiable for me.”

“What are you saying?” I ask, genuinely confused. She c
an’t seriously think that I’m petty enough to not go along with this, can she? Yeah, I’m jealous. I’ll admit it, but I’d never take it out on a kid.

“It means that regardless of anyone else’s feelings, yours included, he is always going
to be a part of my life,” she tells me firmly and I find that I’m already shaking my head at her.

“Baby, no. I would never ask you to stop seeing your godson.
Never
,” I say as I grab a hold of her hand gently, pulling her back down to me. “Come here,” I say as she cuddles up against me again. I wrap my arms around her as I begin to stroke her back softly. “I’ll admit that it’s a surprise but that’s all it is. I’ll look forward to meeting him if you’ll let me,” I tell her. “I love kids.”

She’s quiet for a
while and when I’m about to check if she’s still awake, she looks up at me. “I know you want to ask me if I’ll be seeing Jack while I’m there and the answer is no.” She’s right. That’s exactly what I was thinking about but I won’t admit it to her. Instead, I gaze down at her. “You know you can trust me, right?”

“I know, Baby. I’m sorry
that I get so jealous … I just …”
Love you, cherish you, want you to be mine forever.
“I just know you have a history with him, that’s all.”

“Chase, that
isn’t anything you need to worry about. Just give me a little more time and I promise that all of this will make sense, okay?” she asks, keeping her eyes locked with mine. Hugging her tightly, she wraps her arms around my neck before pulling herself up closer to me and pressing her lips to mine. “Thank you, Baby,” she whispers, kissing me again.

I tig
hten the already firm grip that I have on her waist as she rests her lips back on mine, stroking them softly with her own. As she pulls her body up, she places her legs on either side of mine, running her tongue across my bottom lip while gently sucking it into her mouth and pulling a groan from my chest.

O
pening my mouth, I feel her slipping her wet tongue inside as she begins lapping and massaging my tongue with her own. I push my hands up her bare legs and underneath the oversized t-shirt I gave her to wear. I feel as she runs her hand up behind my neck while placing her fingers up through my hair. As she gently tugs on it, I can feel myself getting rock hard again.

While kissing her harder,
I groan into her mouth. Running my hands up her sides, I pull the shirt over her head as I begin to grind my hips against her, causing for her to let out a moan as I assault her mouth again.

Parting my lips from hers, I begin
biting and sucking my way down her neck, moving one hand from gripping at her waist up to her already hard nipple. Squeezing onto her breast with one hand, my mouth finds the other and starts sucking furiously as she grinds her hips against me harder.

“Please Chase,” she gasps
as I bite down on her nipple and grip her waist with newfound urgency, simultaneously pinching her other nipple as I push my dick against her with more force this time.

“Please what
, Baby? Tell me what you want,” I say huskily, watching as she blushes a deep shade of pink without answering me. “Say it, Baby. Tell me what you want and I’ll give it to you, Sophie.”

“I want you to
…” I grind into her again and hear as she gasps for air.

“Say it, Baby,” I order. I need
to claim her again.

She look
s directly into my eyes and almost silently whispers, “Fuck me.”

“Are you sure that’s what you want
, Baby? You don’t have me fully convinced,” I tease as I grind into her again, biting down on her nipple which causes her to almost shriek.

“Fuck me
! Chase, please!” she whimpers, louder this time which brings a low growl up from deep within my chest. I stand immediately and place her small frame over my shoulder, causing for her to let out a louder shriek this time. I laugh.

“You
’ve got it, Baby,” I say as I carry her back through house, heading straight for the bedroom.

As
we make it to the bed, I smack her on the ass before throw her down onto the mattress. My eyes meet with hers and I watch as she bites down hungrily on her bottom lip while her whole body wriggles in anticipation.

R
eaching down, I peel my underwear off and toss them aside before crawling across the bed to her. Flipping her over, I pull her up so that she’s facing away from me but so we’re both upright on our knees, with her back to my chest. I grip her blonde hair into my hand and expose her neck so that I can kiss, suck and bite my way up to her already swollen lips.

I suck
her bottom lip into my mouth as I place my other hand between her thighs, massaging her sex over her silk panties and causing for her to moan loudly into my mouth.

She pushe
s her ass against my cock, which makes me bite down hard on her lip, causing another whimper to escape from her beautiful lips. Pushing my hand into the waistband of her thong, I pull it until I hear the ripping sound I’m looking for. She gasps at the sound as I throw the now destroyed material to the side. “Shh, Baby. Be quiet,” I whisper.

S
he reaches around, placing her hands on my hips behind her, pulling them into her at the same time as she grinds her ass against me again. Reaching my arm around her waist, I position myself by her entrance just long enough to tease her with the tip.

“Chase
! Plea…” she groans desperately but I cut her off with another hushing noise and watch as she bites her lip while whimpering quietly again. I continue to tease her entrance with the swollen tip of my cock as I move the hand from around her waist down further to until I’m playfully teasing her clit. “Ahhh!” She gasps loudly.

“I know
, Baby,” I say into her ear as I push a finger inside of her, gasping myself as I feel her excitement. “You’re so fucking wet for me, Sophie.” I push my fingers further inside and grip her hair tighter, while running my tongue up the side of her neck. “I’m going to fuck you so good, sweetheart,” I whisper and press my thumb against her clit, causing for her to pant incessantly. “Are you ready for me, Baby?”

“Yes!” she crie
s loudly.

“Tell me y
ou want me, Baby,” I order through clenched teeth, still teasing her entrance mercilessly with my dick as I continue to finger her clit.

“I want you, Chase. Please, I want you inside me so
fucking bad right now!” she cries out and with this, I immediately remove my fingers, pushing myself all the way into her, causing another loud gasp break from her mouth.

“Wrap your hands around my neck, Baby,” I
tell her, and she immediately complies. I continue to drive into her, sucking on her shoulders as I keep a firm grip on her hips, feeling her grow wetter. “Your pussy feels so good, Sophie,” I whisper, earning a whimper as her reply as I push into her even faster. She loves it when I talk dirty to her and I’m more than happy to give her anything she craves. “Tell me what you want, Baby.”

“I
want all of you,” she whispers. I move my hand up to secure her against my chest before biting down on the back of her neck, causing her to wail. “Fuck me harder!” she yells out.

“Good girl, Sophie. Now, l
et go of my neck,” I tell her and when she does, I bend her over and keep my pace, plunging into her as hard as I think she can take until she’s screaming her approval with delight. “I love taking your sweet little pussy from behind, Baby,” I grind out as I feel her walls beginning to clench around me. Moaning deeper than she was before, I know she’s going to explode soon. “Say it!” I order, gaining for her to yell out the words I always want hear from her.

“I’m yours, Chase
! I belong to you!”

“Sophie!
” I grind out again as I feel my own orgasm building. “Go, Baby,” I command and with that, she’s gone.

Feeling how soaking wet
her orgasm is making her is all it takes before I feel myself coming hard right behind her, still gripping onto her hips while giving her a few more thrusts. Enough to finish us both off.

We stay like
this for a moment before I finally pull her down to the bed with me, nuzzling into her neck from behind. As she settles against me, I wrap my arms around her and pull her as close to me as I possibly can. Kissing her in the spot between her shoulders and neck, I hear her let out a contented sigh and watch as she closes her eyes while hugging my arms into her chest.

S
taying like this for a few minutes, completely entwined with each other, I feel us both slowly drifting off to sleep.    

***

Sophie and I woke up a couple of hours later and were both very reluctant to get out of bed.

We ha
dn’t made any plans for the day and I for one was more than fine with that. I’m still not been feeling so great about everything that happened at the bar last night and Sophie has been busy making plans for her godson so a day in sounded perfect. Once she gets done with making a few of the phone calls she needed to make, we lounged on the porch, deciding to lie out in the sun. Actually, Sophie read a book in her bikini and attempted to tan while I ogled her and drank beer as we talked and listened to the radio.