Page 41 of My Promise To Keep

‘Bree, I can’t…’

‘I know, I know,’ she swats her hand at me, ‘and I think you’re a damn fool, but regardless of whether you act on it or not, I still think he’s the one.’

I breathe deeply and blow it out, unable to speak.

The one.

Leo.

Huh…

I Need A Plan

Leo

Zoe had to leavethe party to work. I guess the bar won’t run itself. It sucks, though, that we didn’t get a chance to talk.

When she hugged me,fuck,I thought I was going to pass out. She looked so pretty. Her lilac hair was longer than I’d seen it in years, the top half pulled back into a messy little bun and the rest hanging down in waves. She looked like a little fairy, and honestly, I couldn’t get enough.

I need to think carefully about my next steps. I made a promise a long time ago, one I never expected to make but have every intention of keeping. I promised to love her. I promised to show her that I love her.

I knew I wasn’t the man Zoe needed me to be, but I was trying to become that guy. I haven’t hooked up with anyone since the moment she walked out of my apartment all those months ago, and I’ve taken the time to consider what she said. She wants something real. I thought I was ready to give her that then, but I wasn’t, not really. Now I am. I just hope I’m not too late.

Pushing open the door to the bar is like entering another world. The quiet warmth of the early evening outside gives way to the noise and buzz of a town full of locals and tourists wrapping up their summers. The music is loud — the laughter infectious, and the heat from the warm bodies filling the bar is too intense for the air conditioning to make an impact. I take in the sight with a grin on my face; she did this. Zoe turned this sleepy little small-town inn into a venue. She brought together the visitors and the townspeople, all with smiles on their faces and cold beers in their hands.

I move my gaze to the bar and spot her, a little purple firefly buzzing around, serving customers with the speed of someone who grew up to do just this. She smiles and hands over two bottles of beer, popping the tops off without even looking down before moving down the line — the long line. I turn my attention to the queue at the bar, then back to Zoe, and then I realize she’s on her own back there.

Making my way to the bar, I quickly head behind and ask the next customer what I can get them.

Zoe turns to me wide-eyed as I fill up two glasses with Coke and take out two beers, popping off the tops and taking payment.

‘What are you doing?’ she asks, confused, and I gesture to the line.

‘You can’t do this alone, Zo. It’s been a while, but I think I can remember what I’m doing.’

It has been a while. I’ve helped out at the bar a couple of times over the years, usually at Christmas when we’ve all had a few too many, and it’s all hands on deck. I can’t see her struggle tonight.

She turns her body toward me, and it’s as if the line disappears for a minute.

‘Leo, you don’t have to.’

I smile, just a little, at the soft, grateful look in her eyes and reach my hand up to grip the top of her arm. There’s a soft sheen of sweat on her skin, and I have to fight against the images and the memories of a night in my bed when her skin glistened like that for very different reasons.

‘Munch, I’ve got you, always. You know that.’ And she does — the small nod before she turns back to the waiting crowd tells me so. ‘Who’s next?’

‘Thank you for tonight.’

Zoe sits next to me on the roof of the bar, dangling her legs over the edge the way we’ve done a hundred times before.

‘You’re welcome, munch.’

The evening air is a welcome relief from the heat of the bar, and the silence of the now-sleeping town is comforting.

‘You did pretty good.’ I turn to find her smiling down at the bottle in her hands. ‘For someone who’s used to sitting down all day.’

I laugh, and she raises her gaze to meet mine.

‘Why were you alone tonight, Zo? The bar is always busy this time of year.’

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