The Promises We Keep (Made for Love Book 1) (92 page)

My gaze flickers to my door as soon as it opens and Claire comes barging in. Before I can open my mouth to say a word, she
’
s ripped my covers off of me.
“
Get up and get in the shower
—
oh, and wash your hair, because I
’
m not letting you leave here looking like that.
”

I just stare at her. She looks incredible, which makes me want to stay in bed even more. Her honey brown hair is loose and hangs to her shoulders. Her makeup is minimal, but she
’
s got CSU painted on her cheeks in green letters and gold trim. It
’
s delicate and feminine but screams of her school pride. The t-shirt she
’
s wearing looks impeccably homemade and fits her like a dream. The fabric is dark green and there are yellow varsity letters with white trim sewn onto the front. In the center, the letters are big and spell out CSU; across the top, in smaller letters, is reads
“
Davis
’
s,
”
and across the bottom, it says,
“
Future Wifey.
”
She grins when she notices me eyeing her attire and she spins around so I can see the rest. Jack
’
s number, twenty-eight, is sewn onto the back. Instead of his name above the numbers, it says
“
My Man.
”
It
’
s so great that it makes me want to cry, but I
’
m not sure I have any tears left.

“
Perfect, right? My mom made it for me. But enough about me, let
’
s talk about
you!
The girl who needs to get her ass out of that bed and in the bathroom before I drag you by that disheveled braid, strip you down, and throw you in the tub myself!
”

“
He doesn
’
t want me there,
”
I reply softly, wrapping my arms around myself. The ache of his absence is all consuming. I can
’
t believe it
’
s been three
—
going on four
—
days since we
’
ve spoken. I don
’
t know what it means, but it
’
s killing me. I want to know how he
’
s doing; if he
’
s read the letter; if he threw it away. I want to know what he
’
s feeling and what he
’
s thinking. I broke my promise to never keep secrets from him and now it seems as though the distance between us is filling up with secrets
—
thoughts, feelings, truths
—
things that would never even be considered secrets if we were speaking to each other. But we
’
re not.

“
Snap out of it!
”
she demands, stomping her foot.
“
He
does
want you there. If you just got out of your own way for two seconds, you would remember that.
”

“
Claire, I hurt him. I hurt him so badly and we haven
’
t
—”

“
Spoken. I know! Trust me, honey,
we all know
. You
’
re both
miserable
shadows of your former selves without each other. But just because he can
’
t say the words, doesn
’
t mean he doesn
’
t want you there today.
”

“
There
’
s going to be
thousands
of people there!
”
I mutter, pushing myself up into a seated position.
“
He won
’
t even notice if I don
’
t come!
”
Saying the words out loud is like running a dagger through my heart.

“
Bullshit
. Pardon my French.
”
She huffs out a breath and then takes a seat next to me.
“
Listen to me. This is your first fight, but it sure as hell isn
’
t your last. This isn
’
t the last time you
’
ll hurt him. Sooner or later, he
’
s going to hurt you, too
—
and it
’
s going to feel
worse
than this. I guarantee it. But you two love each other something fierce. It
’
s like Romeo and Juliet
epic
—
except for without the death.
Damn Shakespeare and his tragedies.
”
She shakes her head and then squares her shoulders as she refocuses.
“
Anyway, what I
’
m trying to say is, you
’
ll get through it. I know you will. But if you don
’
t come to this game today, you
’
ll regret it forever. It
’
s the last game he
’
ll play at Mile High! It
’
s his last season opener. It
’
s his last big rivalry game. This year is going to be filled with
lasts
—
but with you by his side, there will be just as many
firsts
! This is your first game as his girlfriend and you
cannot
miss it. So will you please get out of this bed?
”

Her words hit me like a slap in the face. For a moment, I
’
m too stunned to think, let alone move or even speak.

“
Okay,
”
she says as she stands.
“
Guess I have to pull out the bait.
”
When she leaves the room, I notice that Addison and Sarah are standing at the door, both of them dressed and ready to go. Like Claire, they
’
re in shorts and each of them is wearing their favorite CSU t-shirt. They also have their hair pulled up into ponytails with matching yellow bows wrapped around the base. Neither of them says a word and we all watch as Claire comes back into the room. When she holds up the shirt, my jaw drops open.
“
My mom made you one, too.
”

The shirt in her hands looks almost exactly like the one she
’
s wearing; the only difference is, instead of
“
Davis
’
s Future Wifey,
”
it says,
“
O
’
Conner
’
s Shorty;
”
and on the back, below
“
My Man,
”
is the number ten
—
Sonny
’
s number. When my eyes fill up with the tears I didn
’
t think I had, she shakes her head at me.

“
No crying. We don
’
t have time for crying. We have to leave in forty-five minutes and
you
are behind. Now get your tush in the shower
—
and
don
’
t
make me beg.
”

She
’
s right. I know she
’
s right. I told Sonny that I would fight for him and there
’
s no way I can do that in this bed. I refuse to break another promise to him, so I get up and I get in the shower.

Forty minutes later, I
’
m armed for battle. I
’
m wearing a pair of white shorts and my gifted shirt, which tells the world that Grayson is mine and I am his. Claire has painted CSU across my cheeks, and now all of us girls are sporting our school pride on our faces. My hair is washed and halfway dried
—
which will have to do
—
and I feel so much more like myself. I leave it down, where it hangs almost to my waist, and I tie a yellow bow in it as a headband. I slip my feet into my favorite pair of Toms
—
the navy ones I was wearing when Grayson asked me to be his girlfriend
—
and just in time, we
’
re out the door.

We arrive at the stadium at eleven thirty and our small crowd climbs out of Hammy
’
s vehicle immediately. I
’
m vaguely aware that Hammy is the
only
man standing without Sonny and Jack; at least today he is. Sarah, Addison, Claire, Logan, and I make up his entourage
—
but I
’
m so distracted, even Logan
’
s presence doesn
’
t bother me. Not even a little bit. Kickoff is at one thirty and, while everyone else eats sandwiches, chips, and cookies, I keep checking the time
—
which is moving too fast and too slow all at once. I
’
m so anxious, I can hardly sit still.

I know that I won
’
t actually get to speak with Sonny, but I
’
ll get to see him. Yeah, it might be from very far away, but it
’
ll be more than I
’
ve seen of him since
Tuesday
. Then, of course, there
’
s the game to worry about. He needs a win. I know that better than anyone else. Today, when I
’
m routing for our team, it
’
ll be about so much more than school pride. I need our team to win so that he has something to feel good about
—
a victory that he can hold onto in the midst of everything else that sucks in his life right now. I want this for him more than anything.

And, to be honest, I
’
m hoping that a win will soften his heart a little; maybe then he
’
ll finally talk to me.

“
Come on, Little Red,
”
says Claire, reaching for my hand.
“
I can tell you
’
re chomping at the bit to get in there. Let
’
s go.
”
I circle my fingers around hers and check the time. 1:00. My heart beats faster in anticipation.

Whether or not the others follow, I
’
m not sure; I assume they
’
re right behind us and if they aren
’
t, then they will be soon. By the time we get to our seats, after Claire insists on a bathroom stop, there
’
s less than fifteen minutes until the game begins. My stomach is in knots and I suddenly feel like I need to go for a run. I don
’
t, of course; instead I sit impatiently in my seat. As I guessed, we
’
re pretty far away from the field
—
but when the team finally comes out, my heart stops when I spot him. I recognize him right away.
I
’
d know my man anywhere.