The Promises We Keep (Made for Love Book 1) (90 page)

“
Of course,
”
I assure her.
“
Thanks.
”

She winks at me and then points at my book.
“
Okay. Continue being a genius. I
’
m sure I
’
ll think of something to bug you about in a few minutes.
”

We sit together for the next couple hours working on homework. She keeps her promise, interrupting me every once and a while to talk to me about something that
’
s popped into her head, and we share a few laughs. I
’
m glad I decided to come out; partly because it
’
s enabled me to get away from the drama that exists at home, and partly because I think Logan and I needed it. By the time we leave, any lingering awkwardness is forgotten.

Open mic night falls on a Friday this time around and the theme is comedy. I was relieved to hear that Sarah wanted to go, which means that things will officially be back to normal between her and me. We still haven't talked about Roman, because I've decided that if she doesn't want to talk about it I will respect that, but being Avery's support team for the past couple of days has reminded us that we can never let stupid boy drama get in the way of our friendship. Some problems are just so much more relevant and real. Going out with
the boy
himself solidifies our unspoken pact. However, we came close to not coming out at all.

Avery is a mess. I've never seen her so down before. For three days, she's had her hair weaved into a braid that hangs over her shoulder. Three days! She only braids her hair when it needs to be washed. I guess I should be thankful that she's still showering at all. Aside from class, she hasn't been doing anything but moping and playing her cello. It wouldn't surprise me to find her beautiful instrument has been stained by the blood of her tired fingers.
Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration, but not by much
. Needless to say, neither Sarah nor I felt like it would be a good idea to leave her by herself while the two of us went out. I'm not sure how she did it, but Sarah talked her into coming with us. She couldn't talk her into wearing something other than a pair of leggings and one of Grayson's shirts, but she did manage to persuade her into a hoodie in order to hide the fact that the t-shirt she has on is a gazillion sizes too big. Bless Sarah's heart and her powers of persuasion
—
they were put to the test tonight.

Little Bird is impressively full. I didn't know there was this much excitement around here for comedy, but the increased student population now that school is back in session probably plays into that. I'm glad Ave will be in the company of so many people; hopefully the positive energy in the room will seep into her. Who knows, maybe someone will actually make her laugh before the night is through. I'm not holding my breath, though. By the way she's clutching her phone, I'm not sure she'll be doing much more than waiting on a call or a text from a different location than our apartment. Whatever. I'll take what I can get!

Roman is, thankfully, already here saving us a table. Sarah spots him first and as we make our way toward him, he sees us and waves. He stands and greets Sarah with a hug. Then he notices Avery's disposition and hesitates.
“
How about we get some drinks?
”
I suggest, hoping to fill him in on the way.

“
Yeah. Sure. Sarah?
”
he asks politely. While she tells him what she wants, Avery sits down. Knowing what to get her already, I head toward the line and Roman catches up shortly after.
“
She looks a little
…
"

I can't help but laugh as he struggles to find a nice way to say
absolutely horrid
. I save him by finishing his sentence.
“
Awful
. She looks awful, which is exactly how she feels. But she needs to be out.
”

“
What's going on?
”

“
Her and Gray aren't speaking right now. It's been a long week.
”

“
Avery and Grayson?
”
His face expresses his disbelief.
“
The couple that never ceases to be all lovey-dovey? Has the honeymoon phase come to an end already?
”

“
That's one way of putting it.
”

“
Does he look like that, too? He's got a big game tomorrow.
”

“
Oh, my gosh,
”
I gasp, gripping his elbow.
“
Don't
bring up the game, whatever you do!
”
Sarah made that mistake earlier and then felt compelled to make a batch of lemon bars in hopes that they would stifle Avery's tears. They didn't.
But they taste delicious!

“
Okay,
”
he says with a chuckle.
“
At least I know my team has the advantage now. A heartsick quarterback is definitely a handicap.
”

I laugh again and playfully punch his shoulder.
“
Watch it, bud. You are
so
outnumbered right now. This is CSU country.
”

“
Yeah, yeah. You know I don't really care. I do have to give my alma mater my support, though.
”

“
It's a good thing you aren't going to the game tomorrow. You might get lynched or something.
”

He gasps in jest, bringing a hand up to cover his heart.
“
You wouldn't protect me?
”

“
Little ole me?
”
I flash a wicked grin before I cup my hands around my mouth and yell,
“
C-S-U!
”
Everyone in the coffee shop responds with a resounding,
“
RAMS!
”
and I shrug my shoulders as if that answers his question. When he busts out laughing, I can't help but join in.

Laughing with Roman will never get old.

“
Hey, you two!
”
greets Daphne from the register as we approach.

“
Hi, Daphne. How are you?
”
I ask, still grinning. As usual, she looks incredibly like
…
herself
, as there is no other way to describe her style. Under her apron, she
’
s got on a wide-neck, light weight sweater with some sort of retro pattern all over the front; it
’
s tan, orange, teal, maroon, brown, and yellow. On anyone else, it would be ugly, but somehow her quirkiness makes it anything but. Her earrings look like life-size, golden maple leaves and they shimmy every time she moves. Her pink bangs are french-braided away from her face and the rest of her waves hang in a drastic bob. Her eyeshadow is made up of different shades of brown, which make her matching eyes appear smolderingly dark.

“
I
’
m good. Ready to get my laugh on. You?
”

“
The same.
”

“
What can I get for you?
”
I go first, ordering my drink and then Avery
’
s. Daphne
’
s head snaps up as I complete my order.
“
Is my sour puss here?
”
she asks with a sympathetic frown.

“
Yeah, believe it or not.
”

“
Brandon? Finish this ticket. I
’
m going to make her drink
extra
special,
”
she says, switching spots with her partner for the evening.
“
Think if I went over to give her a hug she would accept?
”
She makes a face and shakes her head before I can respond.
“
Fu
—”
she interrupts herself, cutting her eyes at Roman, who is reciting his order, before she corrects herself.
“
Eff that shit! She
’
s getting a hug, regardless.
”

“
I love your sister,
”
I tell Roman as he joins me and makes room for the group ready to order behind us.

“
Hey, what do you know? Me, too.
”

“
Oh! Corny, did you ask her?
”
Daphne gasps.

I look from Roman to Daphne and then back at Roman, hoping one of them will clarify.
“
I haven
’
t. I guess I will now,
”
says Roman.

“
Ask me what?
”

“
Sooo
—
you know how they had a singer/songwriter open mic night at the beginning of the month?
”
asks Daphne, clearly too excited to wait for Roman. I nod, as I remember it quite well. There were a few really good acts.
A few not so good, but
—
“
Well, I found out when they
’
re having the next one,
”
she says, interrupting my thoughts.

“
O-
kay
,
”
I murmur, now completely confused.
“
When?
”

“
The end of October,
”
she says with a grin.

“
Cool,
”
I chuckle.
“
Am I missing something?
”

“
I
’
m thinking about doing a song,
”
pipes in Roman. Daphne squeals and my jaw drops as I look up at him.
“
I thought maybe we could do it together.
”

I have to shake my head to focus my thoughts.
He didn
’
t just ask me
—
“
What?
”
I mutter lamely.

“
I know you sing. And, well, I
’
m not that great,
”
he says with a self-conscious shrug. As he continues to speak, I realize that I
’
ve never seen him this nervous before. It
’
s actually kind of adorable.
“
But I figured, if we teamed up, we might not be too bad.
”

“
I
’
m sorry, rewind! You told me you played the guitar, but you
never
told me you were a songwriter.
”

“
You never asked,
”
he replies with a smirk.

“
So, will you do it?
”
asks Daphne as she places two drinks on the bar.

“
Uh.
”
I don
’
t know what to say. I
’
m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that Roman is a
songwriter
.
“
I don
’
t know,
”
I manage.

“
Dammit, Addie, just say yes! Do you know how long I
’
ve been trying to get this guy to
share his music?
”