The Promises We Keep (Made for Love Book 1) (49 page)

“
I love you, too, AJ. You
’
re cutting off my air supply, but I love you, too.
”

I laugh as I pull away from her.
“
You
’
re lucky I smell coffee or I might have hugged you until you passed out.
”

“
Wow
—
now
that
’
s
love.
”

I grab another bite of my cake before heading back into the kitchen to pour myself a cup of coffee. I
’
m about to make my way back to the couch when my phone alerts me to a text. I left it on the counter by the coffee pot earlier. I grin when I see that Sonny is trying to reach me.
Man, he makes me giddy.
When I go to open his message, I see that he sent me one while I was still sleeping, too.

My Hottie:
How
’
s my girl this morning?

My Hottie:
Shorty? Just checking on you
…
are you alright? Are we still on for tonight?

Me:
Hey, you. Just woke up! :) Crazy, right? And I
’
m counting down the minutes until I get to see you!

Me:
Wait
…
haha, I don
’
t actually know when I get to see you. What time are we going out?

My Hottie:
There she is! And I
’
m going to pick you up at 7, but dress like we
’
re staying in. SUPER comfy.

Me:
Hmm
…
I
’
m intrigued.

My Hottie:
Good. ;)

Me:
Can I get a hint???

My Hottie:
Nope.

Me:
:(

My Hottie:
Miss your face.

“
What are you doing in there? Don
’
t be surprised if your cake is mysteriously missing by the time you get back,
”
says Addison, pulling me from my Sonny-induced-trance.

“
Hey, hands off,
”
I insist as I grab my coffee and rejoin her. I shovel another bite of cake into my mouth before I point at my phone.
“
Sonny,
”
I say with a smile.

“
Oh, I see. Okay. Keep flirting, but keep me company,
”
she insists, stretching her legs out so that her feet rest in my lap.

I sip at my coffee and sink back into the couch as she continues to read and I resume my conversation with my man.

Me:
Miss yours, too. What are you up to?

We text back and forth for the next hour while he does laundry and I sit lazily with my other half. I nurse my coffee, enjoying it until the last drop, and finish my cake before Addie makes good on her threat to eat what I haven
’
t touched. It
’
s just after five when Grayson tells me he has to go get ready for our date. I can
’
t imagine what kind of date requires two hours of prep time, but the possibilities make me even more excited. I leave Addie with her book and go to play my cello for a while to pass the time. I
’
m able to lose myself in music for an hour before my anxiousness returns and I
’
m so full of anticipation that I simply
cannot
sit still.

After a long shower, I dry and curl my hair. I know he said to dress like we
’
re staying in, but I
’
m running out of ways to kill time. I do, however, skip applying any makeup. When I get around to putting clothes on, I debate between running shorts or yoga pants until I
’
m about to go crazy and then slip into leopard print leggings instead. I pair them with a simple black spaghetti strap tank top and my long, lightweight, tan boyfriend cardigan that reaches the tops of my thighs. I
’
m so comfortable that I
’
m practically dreaming of a good snuggle when a knock sounds at the front door.

“
I got it!
”
Addie calls from the living room. She
’
s been glued to the couch pretty much all day, completely consumed in whatever fictional world her current novel contains.
I
’
m surprised she even registered that someone is at the door,
I think with a smirk as I slide my feet into my platform flip flops. It
’
s not quite seven, so I'm not completely sure that it
’
s Sonny who enters our apartment until I hear his laugh mingle with my sister
’
s. The sound makes me happy and I grab my purse before hurrying out of my room to join them.

Sonny looks more inviting than my bed after a long, exhausting day. He
’
s wearing a baggy pair of green sweatpants, CSU Rams printed in yellow down the side of his leg. The plain white t-shirt he wears fits snuggly around his muscular shoulders, arms, and chest, loosening up around his tapered waist. As he continues to grin down at my sister, he reaches up to run his fingers through his hair and I literally stop dead in my tracks, mesmerized at the sight of him
—
his muscles putting on a show as they shift and flex with his movements.

Yup. Hearts all over campus will break because
that
guy chose
me
. Thank you, Jesus. Talk about exceedingly, abundantly, and above anything I could ever ask or think!

He catches me staring and I blush when our eyes meet.

Seriously, face
—
we need to have a talk about you keeping secrets. You suck at it.

“
Hi,
”
I exhale.

“
Hi, sleeping beauty.
”
His voice makes me want to dissolve into a puddle right here in the middle of the room.
“
I
’
m a little early. Is that okay?
”

“
Mmhmm,
”
I hum with a nod.

“
One foot in front of the other, Ave,
”
Addie teases.
“
It
’
s called
walking
. We learned how to do it
ages
ago.
”

“
What? Oh. Yeah,
”
I stammer as I do as she says, placing one foot in front of the other until I
’
m standing beside Sonny. As soon as I
’
m in reaching distance, he takes my hand in his. When I look up at him, he leans down and pecks my lips, making my stomach do a couple somersaults.
“
Ready?
”
I ask, squeezing his hand, suddenly impatient to be alone with him.

“
Yes, I am.
”
He waves at my sister, who stands admiring us with her novel clutched against her chest.
“
Catch you later, Addie. Enjoy the rest of your book.
”

“
I most certainly will. Thank you. You two have fun!
”

As soon as we
’
re on the other side of my front door, he stops and grabs my face in his hands before kissing me
—
for real
this time. I lean against him as his mouth opens and he gently sucks on my bottom lip. I can
’
t help it. My knees are suddenly weak. He kisses me deeper and, for a second, I think I could be quite content if we just stayed right here for the rest of the night. He uses his tongue sparingly, which feels like a tease, but it
’
s blissfully frustrating and I don
’
t want him to stop. I
’
m breathless when he finally pulls away from me.
“
If this is what you look like when you and I have plans to stay in, maybe we should stay in all the time. You look amazing.
”

“
Thank you,
”
I reply, holding him tighter around his waist.
“
Comfy suits you quite well, too.
”

He presses a quick kiss on my lips and then my forehead and then in my hair before he grabs my hand, once more.
“
Come on. Let
’
s get out of here.
”

“
Are you going to tell me where we
’
re going now?
”
I ask as I practically skip alongside of him, still tingling from our kiss. He smirks down at me and shakes his head
no
.
“
Note to self, Sonny likes to keep secrets.
”

“
Oh, no, no, no
—”
he insists with a chuckle.
“
This is a
surprise
not a secret. There
’
s a difference. I have no intention of keeping secrets from you.
”

For just a moment, our light conversation feels heavy. I squeeze his hand and promise not to keep secrets from him either. When we stop at Beckham
’
s SUV, I furrow my brow at him and store our promises away for safe keeping.
“
We
’
re taking Hammy
’
s car?
”

“
Yup,
”
he confirms, opening the passenger side door for me. I climb in, even more curious than I was before. When he slides into the driver
’
s seat, he flashes a sly grin before he pulls a bandana from his pocket.

“
You
can
’
t
be serious,
”
I mutter, glaring at him in disbelief.

“
One hundred percent, sweetheart.
”
He twirls his finger, signaling for me to turn around so that he can blindfold me.

“
Now you
’
re just torturing me,
”
I huff as I obey.

“
Hey,
”
he calls out once the bandana is securely fastened around my eyes. I turn my head in the direction of his voice and am rewarded with a kiss.
“
Just trust me.
”

I can
’
t help the smile that tugs at my lips.
“
Okay. You win. Can we go now?
”

“
Yes, we can go now.
”
I hear the smile he wears in the tone of his voice and I relax as he begins to drive. Our ride lasts about twenty minutes, all of which he fills with conversation to distract me. I tell him about the girls
’
day I had with Addie, Sarah, and Claire before everyone got together the night before. We then talk about our celebratory night out and how much everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. He tells me about his introduction to Daphne and Logan, which makes me like Daphne a little bit more and Logan a little bit less, and then the vehicle slows down.

“
Oh, are we here? Can I take my blindfold off?
”

“
Not yet,
”
he answers, rolling his window down. He speaks to someone and pays for something before we
’
re driving slowly again. It feels like forever before we stop and he turns the car off, even though I
’
m sure it
’
s no longer than two minutes.
“
Stay here for a second.
”

“
Grayson!
”
I whine. I surprise myself with my impatience. I
’
m usually not a whiner, but he
’
s killing me!