Promise Me Always (5 page)

With that, I got up and walked back out to the party in search of my much needed beer. After obtaining what I was looking for in the fridge, I shut the door and ran into something.
Oh shit!
I felt like I smacked into a freaking brick wall. Looking up, Blake was standing right in front of me. He was just dripping with masculinity. I had an excellent view of his new muscles penetrating through his t-shirt and his captivating scent invaded my senses
. Holy crap, he smelled good
! I took in a deep breath, letting the smell of his cologne overtake my senses.

“Hey, baby girl. Can we talk?” His voice was low and quiet.

“Uh… Sure, Blake. What’s up?”

“Not here. Come with me.” He grabbed my hand and led me out onto the balcony. It was about time he came to talk to me. I was starting to think he was mad at me for staying away for so long.

I don’t know why, but my heart was beating so hard it felt like it was trying to escape. I thought for sure he was going to hear it.
What was wrong with me? It is just Blake.
I never felt like this when he was around. Maybe it was all the time we spent apart, or maybe it was his new ripped body that had me all flustered. Either way, I didn’t want to get my hopes up.

When we got outside, he wrapped his strong arms around me and gave me the biggest hug. I felt so protected in his arms and I prayed he wouldn’t let go. Then he whispered in my ear, “Are you okay? I swear—you just say the word and I will kill that jackass. You deserve so much better than that, Tess.”

The tantalizing combination of his breath on my ear and the rough feel of his stubble on my neck made a shiver run up my spine. “I’ll be alright, but thank you. Pretty sure I knew it was coming. It’s not like this is the first time he’s done this,” I admitted. “I guess I was just stupid for thinking he really was sorry. I’m just so embarrassed! I mean, how stupid am I?” I twirled my hair in my fingers as I waited for his response.
Why was I always so nervous around him?

“Tess, you are not stupid. He’s the jackass that fucked up. If he couldn’t see how amazing you are then that’s his loss. Please don’t ever think that about yourself. You are one of the smartest girls I know and you deserve someone that will treat you like a damn princess.”

That made me smile. I couldn’t help it—I threw myself into his arms and just held on tight. I couldn’t explain it, but something just felt right about being there. A few moments later, Blake pushed me back gently and held me at arm’s length. My nerves immediately started fraying again. Hopefully I didn’t cross a line with the way I was holding on to him.
Shit!

“So, I’m sure Palmer told you what we were talking about, huh?” he said, looking down at his feet.

“Yeah, she told me. And I would love to accompany you to the firefighter ball, Blake. That is, if you want me to,” I joked with him.

“Of course I do, Tess. I mean, we would just be going as friends. I never take actual dates to work functions. It just complicates things.”

Doesn’t take dates to work functions?
Then why was he so upset about being stood up? Man, I was so confused.

“That sounds even better then. The last thing I need is more complications in my life right now,” I said with a smile, even though a tiny little part of me broke with his admission. He really did just want to be friends. I was pretty sure that is all he’d ever want from me.

“Great, baby girl. I will pick you up around five on Saturday then. It’s a black tie event. Do you have something to wear?” he asked.

“Yes, Blake,” I chuckled. “I’m sure I can scrounge something up. No worries.”

“Perfect… well… Should we head back inside and join the others? Sounds like some of the girls finally showed up and I am sure Palmer will be telling them all about what happened tonight,” he said with a smug smile on his face.
Bastard!

“Yeah I better get in there and calm their asses down.”

My breath hitched in my throat as soon as Tess walked through the front door. Even with her bloodshot eyes, she was stunning. You could tell she had been crying her eyes out.
That prick, I swear I will kill him!

She was wearing a short, white summer dress that made my dick wake up in my pants. Her chestnut hair was longer than I remembered and was lying perfectly across her ample chest. She looked right at me the second she walked in. I recognized a hint of lust in her brown eyes as she stared at me like she had never seen me before. Even though they were a little red and puffy, her eyes were still breathtaking. She started to twirl her hair around her fingers as she headed for the kitchen.
God, she was cute when she was nervous.

I heard Cole ask her if she wanted a shot of Patron and that’s when I finally tore my eyes off of her. I looked around the room and saw Shane staring at her like she was a piece of meat. I knew he liked her. He used to brag all the time about how they almost hooked up a few years ago. I was happy as hell when Tessa came to her senses and decided they were better off friends.

Shane was pissed at first, but he played it off like it was no big deal. That didn’t stop him from telling me how mad he was that he never got to fuck her. If he wasn’t one of my best friends, I would have kicked the shit out of him for that. No man should ever talk about her that way.

“Come on, douchebags! Get over here and let’s make a toast to Tess,” Cole demanded. Once we were all standing around the counter, holding up our shots, he continued. “Here’s to Tess! Hopefully she’ll have the balls to chop off Jared’s dick and shove it down his throat.”

“Cole!” Tess laughed “I would never do that,” she said, with the biggest smile was on her face.
My God, she’s beautiful
.

All the guys went up to her and gave her hugs and told her what they really thought of Jared—everyone but me. I was usually the first person to even speak to her when she would come over but, for some reason, all I could do was stare at her. Shane was royally pissing me off by the way he was eyeing her. Just when I was about to get up the nerve to say something to her, Shane jumped in and took her out to the balcony.
Fuck!
What was he up to?
Considering the way he had been eye fucking her since she walked in, this was no good.

I started to go follow them outside, but just as I reached the door, Palmer cut me off. She grabbed my hand and led me over to the couch.
Damn it! What did she want?

“What’s wrong, Blake? You look like you are about to beat someone’s ass,” she said, nudging me with her elbow.

I decided not to answer her question and changed the subject. “How’s Tess doing? Did she say much downstairs in the parking lot?”

“I think she’s actually doing okay. She just feels naive for ever taking him back, you know?”

She continued to speak, but I barely even heard what she was saying. I was too focused on what was going on outside with Shane and Tess. I was staring at the door, hoping it would open, when Palmer snapped me out of my reverie.

“Blake? Did you hear me?”

“Oh, uh… no, sorry. What did you say?”

“I asked if you still planned on going to the firefighter ball. Isn’t it next week?” she asked, a mischievous look in her eyes.

“I’m a rookie—of course I’m going. It’s almost a requirement for me to attend. Plus, my whole shift will be there and they’ll beat my ass if I don’t show up,” I paused for a moment. She was up to something. Palmer had never been interested in my job before. “Why? What are you up to?” I asked her with apprehension.

“Well, I was thinking maybe you should take Tess. You know just as friends. She needs a night out where she can relax and I know you’d show her a good time.”

I knew Tess and there was no way she was ever going to agree to go with me—even if it was just as friends. “Well, if you want to convince her to go with me, Palm, by all means go ahead. But I know she won’t go. The last thing she’s going to want to do right now is go to a boring work function with me.”

“Well, I guess we’ll just see about that, Mr. Bentley,” she said, moving her attention to the doorway as the balcony door opened up.
It’s about fucking time!

Tess looked white as a ghost and I knew that Shane had tried something. As soon as she spotted Palmer and me, her color returned. She looked perplexed; like she knew we were up to something but just couldn’t figure out what. I looked over at Palmer and all I saw was her back as she made her way towards Tess. She snatched her by the hand and pulled her down the hall, towards the bedroom.
Good luck, Palmer.
I took a long swig of my beer. I was trying not to get my hopes up, but deep down, I was really hoping she could work her magic.

Needing to get my mind off of it, I immediately turned my attention to Shane. I had to know what he was up to and, if I knew him like I thought I did, it wasn’t going to be good. I got up and walked over to where Shane and Matt were talking.

I slapped Shane on the back, a little harder than I should have. “Hey, man. Did you talk to Tessa about Jared? How is she holding up?”

“She’ll be fine. Too bad she doesn’t want us to go find him though. We could all use a good fight.” Shane said as he took a sip of his beer. “You know, I think I’m gonna try to make another go at it with her now that she and douchebag are over with,” he said, a cocky smile crossing his face. “I never did get to see how she was in bed.”

Those last words were enough for me to see red. I didn’t want to cause a scene here at Cole’s, but I was getting pissed. I was going to have to keep my eye on him the rest of the night and, if he as so much touched her, I was going to lose it.

“Dude, in your dreams! You tried that once already and she sent you right back to the friend zone,” I chuckled sarcastically. All I could think about was throwing him across the room. “Pretty sure she doesn’t see you like that.”

“I agree with Blake. You’re just in it for sex and Tess isn’t like that. I can’t believe you are still hung up on not getting her in bed,” Matt snorted and shook his head.

“Well, I guess we’ll just have to see,” Shane said, standing up to get another beer. “That girl is going to play right into my hands. Just wait.”

Matt and I just looked at each other dumbfounded. Within seconds, we were both hunched over laughing hysterically. Shane was good at some things, but women were not his specialty. Just to make sure, I made a mental note not to let them be alone again tonight.

A few minutes later, the bedroom door opened. Tess came walking through it and Palmer was right behind her. Palmer looked right at me. She winked and I knew Tess had agreed to be my date.
How the hell did Palmer do that?
She was such a manipulator—that girl could get anyone to do anything she wanted. Cole was so screwed.

Tess headed for the kitchen, so I got up and followed her. As soon as she shut the fridge from getting her beer, she rammed into my chest. She backed away looking all flustered. Color slowly crept into her cheeks as her eyes scanned the length of my body.
Damn! She was hotter than I even remembered.

“Hey, baby girl. Can we talk?” I whispered in her ear.

“Sure, Blake. What’s up?”

“Not here. Come with me.” I grabbed her hand and led her out to the balcony. For some reason, I didn’t want an audience for this conversation.

Once we were outside I took her in my arms and gave her the biggest hug. I had wanted to do that since she walked in the door tonight. Fuck, she smelled just like the beach and her scent was enough to make me hard. I needed to talk before my dick got me in trouble. “Are you okay? You deserve so much better than that asshole,” I said softly into her ear.

She took a deep breath and started twirling her hair again. “I’ll be alright, Blake. Pretty sure I knew it was coming. It’s not like this is the first time he’s done this. I guess I was just stupid for thinking he really was sorry. I’m just so embarrassed. I mean, how stupid am I?”

“Tess, you’re not stupid. He’s the jackass that fucked up. If he couldn’t see how amazing you are, then that’s his loss. Please don’t think that about yourself. You are one of the smartest girls I know and you deserve someone that will treat you like a damn princess.”

With those words she threw herself into my arms and held onto me like she was drowning. She fit perfectly wrapped all around me and I couldn’t help but think back to that afternoon in my truck. I started to feel my pants getting tighter as the memories filled my mind. I pushed her back and held her at arm’s length. Her face fell a little at my gesture and I felt like an ass, but the last thing I wanted her to feel was my dick pressing against her.

I needed to say something fast so she didn’t think I was pushing her away. “So… I’m sure Palmer told you what we were talking about, huh?”

“Yeah, she told me. I would love to accompany you to the firefighter ball, Blake. That’s if you want me to,” she said, an irresistible grin on her face. That grin could make me do anything. Maybe I was as screwed as Cole.

“Of course I do!” I said, a little too eagerly. “I mean, we would just be going as friends. I never take actual dates to work functions. It just complicates things.”