Page 11 of Promises We Meant to Keep

“I know the drill, boss!” Abagail laughed as she stepped away.

The warmth was suddenly gone. Elia hadn’t realized how much of that had come from Abagail’s very presence until that moment. Sipping her drink, Elia stared down into the cup. She would finish drinking it and then she would head back to the school for the night. That would force her to stay out just a little longer. It’d be good for her in the long run.

There was that laugh again.

Elia was drawn to it, trying to figure out where it was coming from. She was determined this time to figure out why it sounded so familiar. Carefully walking through the throng of people, Elia followed the noise until she stopped short.

Kamryn.

Her boisterous laugh was what Elia had heard, and it tickled the recesses of her memory because it had been so very long since she’d heard it. Swallowing back the disgust, Elia stared. Kamryn was being obnoxiously loud, something Elia hadn’t ever seen before. Her movements were all over the place.

Staying put, Elia sipped her drink again, observing. What was it about Kamryn that irked her so much? Was it actually Kamryn herself or was it something else entirely? Elia listened carefully to the music and the voices around her. She could fade in here, fall into the background, and no one would know that she existed.

But her entire being was centered on Kamryn.

Maybe she was just happy? She seemed to be with friends.

A small group of women surrounded Kamryn, five women to be exact. One of them looked familiar, but Elia couldn’t make out her face from this distance. She was the one facing Kamryn so it was hard to see, but Kamryn’s facial reactions didn’t exactlysay that she was excited to be there. There was something hard about them, something stiff.

Elia caught sight of Bristol and two other girls from the Speech team hanging out by the band that was playing. They giggled as they pointed toward a group of boys who were also seniors at the school. That was hopefully not going to make for some interesting drama throughout the school year, but Elia would keep her eye on it if she could.

Kamryn lifted a small cup to her lips and chugged it. Elia frowned. That was definitely alcoholic, and if she remembered correctly, the vendor who had those cups specifically sold shots and nothing else. Elia watched as Kamryn threw the cup into the trash next to where she was standing and then turned back to her group of friends. She wobbled slightly.

This was going to turn into something else entirely, something that Elia wasn’t sure she wanted to deal with. But she couldn’t let Bristol or any other students who were out tonight see Kamryn make a fool of herself. She would embarrass the school, and the school was having enough issues right now. It didn’t need any added ones.

Dropping her half-full cup into the nearest trash, Elia started to weave her way through the throng of people. She couldn’t let Windermere go through another scandal on her watch, although at least she wouldn’t be the one who caused this one or was at the center of it.

Straightening her shoulders and plastering on the best disappointed face that she could manage right now, Elia walked. She had to move all the way to the back of the crowd in order to get around them. She wasn’t a person who would just push through people to get where she was going, especially when she was trying not to make a scene.

She’d text Abagail all about the drama when she got home that night. But this incident only confirmed exactly what Eliahad thought from the start. Kamryn wasn’t fit to be temporary Head of School, and the board shouldn’t have hired someone so young and immature to take on the position. They should have hired Elia, someone who had a reputation with the school—good or bad, it didn’t really matter—but someone who knew how to control themselves.

As she approached, her stomach twisted into knots. Kamryn definitely wasn’t herself. Elia had never seen her like this—not just drunk, but loud and boisterous. It was so forced, like she was trying to cover something up. But what exactly was it?

Elia rounded the last small group of people. Kamryn’s eyes lit up when she reached her, going from surprise and shock to bold and knowing. Kamryn tipped back another one of those small brown paper cups that no doubt hada shotin it that was actually equal to three shots and way overpriced.

“Elia!” Kamryn slurred.

She was definitely drunk.

Elia approached cautiously, with the goal to mitigate any drama or scandal that could result from this. She needed to get Kamryn under control and back to the school where she could sleep this off and forget tonight happened. Well, probably not forget. Elia wouldn’t let her do that. She would remind Kamryn of the stupidity of this moment every chance she got, especially if it made a difference in keeping the school safe from her stupid mistakes.

Kamryn snagged Elia’s hand and jerked her close. She leaned in, up on her toes and pressed her lips to Elia’s ear. Elia’s entire body shuddered. Only Abagail touched her like this, and even then, it was far more reserved than whatever Kamryn was doing right now. This was… this was nearly intoxicating in and of itself.

The scent of alcohol wafted to Elia’s nostrils, and her stomach churned with it. “Kamryn—”

“Please just go with it,” Kamryn whispered, managing somehow to keep her voice so quiet that even Elia who was right next to her had to strain to hear what she said.

“I’m not—”

Kamryn’s lips covered hers, cutting off anything that Elia was going to say. Kamryn’s hand slid behind Elia’s neck, her fingers diving into the rough hairs at the back of Elia’s neck, the ones that were graying but that she ignored because unless her hair was up no one could see them.

Gasping, Elia parted her lips to say something. But the words were lost again when Kamryn slid her tongue against Elia’s. Those shudders from before turned into shivers of pleasure. Elia wrapped an arm around Kamryn’s side when she started to sway to the right. She propped Kamryn back up and had to use her other arm to prevent her from falling the other direction. She was surprised to find that she was essentially hugging Kamryn in a tight embrace.

Elia sighed, physical sensations floating through her and sparking alive. It had been a long time since a kiss had managed to do that. Not since she’d kissed anyone, but since it had been such a basic physical reaction. Elia relaxed and pushed into Kamryn, tangling their tongues as her eyes fluttered shut for a brief moment before her mind came back to her.

Pulling away, Elia kept her arms around Kamryn, scared that she was going to topple over herself in her drunken state. And there was no mistaking it now. Kamryn was sloshed.

“So you’re her new girlfriend.”

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