The Promises We Keep (Made for Love Book 1) (53 page)

A smirk pulls at her lips as she looks down at me.
“
Beckham. Fancy meeting you here. Mind if I sit?
”
Remembering her brazen attitude Friday night, I
’
m surprised she asks; so surprised that I find myself nodding lamely in reply. She accepts my nod as approval and sits down without missing a beat.
“
No work today?
”

“
Um, I have work tonight,
”
I answer, trying to catch up. She
’
s made herself comfortable already and acts as if our chance run in was more than just chance.
“
You?
”

“
Off, thank god. I needed the break.
”

The corners of my mouth turn down as I
’
m still feeling behind.
Did she tell us about her job at Coopers?
“
Where do you work?
”

“
Smitten Kitten.
”
She laughs at my confused expression.
“
It
’
s a vintage clothes boutique a couple blocks down from here. The store has been crazy busy this week, for some reason, and I
’
m so glad to be out of there for the day.
”

“
Oh, okay,
”
I mutter, unsure what else to say.

She sips at her frozen drink and a moment of awkward silence passes between us. I
’
m not really sure why she sat down, seeing as how we
’
re practically strangers who only just met at a bar a week ago, and nothing more.
“
What have you got there?
”
she asks, interrupting my thoughts.

“
Oh.
”
Instinctively, I place my hand over the pages of my open journal and slide it closer to me.
“
Nothing.
”

She lifts a perfectly sculpted blonde eyebrow at me in disbelief and apparent amusement.
“
Your reaction says otherwise. Is that a journal? You write?
”

“
I don't know what you mean by
write
, but it
is
a journal I scribble words in.
”
Her eyes grow narrow as she squints and smirks at me in a way that leaves me feeling uncomfortable. It
’
s not so much that I think she
’
s judging me; it
’
s more like she
’
s trying to figure something out.
“
What? Why are you looking at me like that?
”

“
Mysterious Beckham
…
don
’
t get you briefs in a bunch, I think it's great. More people should express themselves that way.
”

Her response surprises me. Again.
“
Speaking from experience?
”

“
I
’
ve been writing,
Dear Madge
, since I was ten,
”
she replies, curling her fingers to imply quotations marks around
‘
Dear Madge.
’

“
Madge?
”
I ask, my curiosity too great to be discarded.

“
Yeah.
Dear Diary
was far too clich
é
and common for me.
”

“
So you chose Madge instead?
”
I ask with a chuckle.
“
Where did you even get that name?
”

“
It reminded me of an ugly girl with no friends, you know? Pretty girls can always trust the likes of them with their secrets.
”
Now it's my turn to lift an eyebrow at her; and yet, for some reason, I
’
m not surprised by her comment.
“
Kidding
!
Geez,
”
she scoffs.
“
It was my grandmother
’
s name. She died when I was ten.
”
I relax my face in sympathy and offer her a nod, internally apologizing for my assumption that her original statement was legit. This, apparently, encourages her to share more.
“
I didn
’
t handle the loss well and I wouldn't talk to anyone about it. My parents bought me a journal and I
’
ve been writing in one ever since.
”

Wow.
She has surprised me.
Again.
“
You must have quite the collection by now.
”

“
I do.
”

“
Hey, you two. Making friends over here without me?
”
asks Daphne as she pulls up a chair. The top of her apron hangs from her waist, which leads me to assume she
’
s on a break. I don
’
t know how my table turned into a hangout spot, but I don
’
t mention it, not wishing to be rude.
“
Shit, I
’
m sorry, you were in the middle of something,
”
she says apologetically, noticing as I close the pages of my journal.
“
Geez, LG, interrupt much?
”

“
Look who
’
s talking,
”
she retorts with a grin.

“
I only came over because you were here first.
”

“
LG?
”
I question. Hoping to interrupt their banter, I grope for the first conversation starter I can think of.

Daphne pulls her focus from Logan and smiles at me.
“
Ever notice how there aren
’
t any nicknames for
Logan
? Well, I made one up. I
’
m kind of big on nicknames, for some reason.
”

I nod, a small smile tugging at my lips as I think of Avery.
“
I know someone else like that.
”

“
Anyway
—
sorry for barging in. But since I
’
m here
…
I was just thinking, what are you doing tomorrow night? Are you working?
”

“
No, actually. Why?

“
There
’
s a new brewery that just opened up this week. LG and I were going to check it out. Do you want to join us? You
’
re definitely welcome to invite some of your friends from the other night. It
’
d be fun to go in a group.
”

I think about it for a second. Immediately I wonder if Addie will be working, or if this might give me an excuse to hang out with her again. I'd bet anything she doesn't have any interest in beer, though. It's an acquired taste for most. Gray probably has plans with Ave
—
but Jack would be up for it, if he doesn't have anything else going on. It beats staying at home and playing video games.
“
Sure, why not,
”
I answer with a shrug.

“
No white horses, though,
”
Logan insists, emphasizing her command with a pointed finger.
“
Someone else will have to play responsible.
”

“
I doubt I
’
ll be drinking that much, but I
’
ll keep your request in mind,
”
I assure her with a chuckle.

I don
’
t miss it when Daphne rolls her eyes as she reaches for a napkin.
“
Ignore her. She thinks everybody likes to party as much as she does. Can I borrow?
”
She slips my pen from between my fingers before I have a chance to respond. A couple seconds later, she hands me both the pen and the napkin, her number etched below her name.
“
Shoot me a text, okay? I
’
ll get you the
deets
tomorrow.
”

I accept her offering. The irony isn
’
t lost on me that this is the second time I
’
ll be leaving Little Bird with a note-filled napkin.
“
Okay.
”

“
Awesome. We
’
ll see you tomorrow then. Come on Logan, let the man get back to whatever it was he was doing before you sat your pretty little ass down and interrupted him.
”

“
Alright,
”
she says as they both stand.
“
But only because you said my ass is pretty,
”
she adds, winking at me as they both make their way back to the counter.

I watch them go, replaying the last few minutes in my head. I wonder how it is that the two of them got to be so close. From the outside looking in, they seem very different. I also can
’
t help but think how random it is that I
’
m acquainted with them at all
—
and making plans to hang out with them on a Friday night. I shrug off my curiosity, reminding myself that it
’
ll be fun to get out. I
’
ll shoot out a mass text later, inviting everyone.
Maybe, just maybe, Addison will want to come, after all.

Me:
Hi Daphne. This is Beckham.

Daphne:
Hi!! Are you still interested in hanging out tonight?

Me:
Yeah. Name the place and time.

Daphne:
It
’
s called Golden Brew. It
’
s off Mountain Ave. You can
’
t miss it. They have a restaurant, too, so we were thinking dinner at seven.

Daphne:
And live music!! Band goes on at nine.

Me:
Sounds fun. I
’
ll try and bring a crowd. See you at 7.

Daphne:
Awesome!

Me:
Hey guys. Headed to check out a new brewery tonight. Dinner and live music. Are you in?

Jack:
Yup.

Sarah:
Oh, man
…
already have plans. Let me know how it is. Maybe a repeat visit soon? Have fun. Or, you know, as much fun as you can have without me ;)

Avery:
Are you talking about that new place off Mtn.? Dottie went last night! She says they have a HUGE patio that
’
s super nice, especially considering the weather. I guess there are games and such set up on the lawn in celebration of their grand opening week!

Grayson:
Sounds like we
’
re going
…

Avery:
Sonny, we don
’
t have to! I can always check it out another time.