Page 13 of Promise Kept

And she’s trying to order from the bar.

I wait a few seconds and look around, then I lose my cool.

“Well, fuck the rest of you guys then,” I growl. “I’ll be the one to stop her from ending up in the hospital… or meeting her father again so soon.”

That is an asshole thing to say.

But now I have all the reason I need to talk to Larissa without anyone giving me weird looks about it.

LARISSA

My daddy is dead, I’m drunk and I want more drinks and don’t you dare think for a second I’m going to pay for a single one of them!

My brain moves much faster than logic as I throw my arm into the air and let out a woo! yell as though I’m some preppy snot on spring break, ready to take my top off and get fucked by some dude who won’t take me out to dinner for crabs but will surely share his crabs as a parting gift.

Does that make sense at all?

I can’t tell.

I’m drunk, remember?

And my father… he’s in a casket in the ground.

That’s the reality of death.

That’s what scares me and hurts me, if I’m being honest.

Like my dad, you know?

The big, tough guy.

Rich. Powerful.

And then… gone.

It’s just…

“Hey, mama,” a voice says from next to me.

I turn my head and snort. “Mama? You’re not going to suck on these tits like a baby, okay?”

I point to my wild cleavage.

The guy smiles. “That’s cool. I’m not into that kind of weird shit. What’s your name?”

“Wait. Is that your pick-up line? Does that work for you?”

“Why don’t you show me yours.”

I inch closer. “I’m drunk because my father died and I buried him today.”

“That’s okay with me,” the guy says. “I can comfort.”

“You can also fuck off,” a deeper voice says.

I look and there’s Ellis, pushing the guy away.

“What the fuck, yo?”

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