Page 16 of Promise Not To Fall

Oh, wow, okay, bring it on, pretty boy. I know he’s not just talking about his drinks. I just know it. The thought sends a thrill through me. My chest feels tight as I swallow. His eyes linger on the tops of my breasts peeking out of my sundress, watching my every move. He’s curious, I know he is.

His eyes lift to mine, a certain hunger hidden deep within his sky blues. “Are you here alone or with someone?”

“Alone… well, not really. My best friend is getting married this summer, so they invited me to come along to celebrate.”

He kind of smiles. “Don’t you sorta feel like a third wheel?”

My posture slumps forward. Those breasts he’d been eyeing pushed against the edge of the bar and right up in his business. “Yeah.” My lashes flutter, and I can’t bring myself to look at him. “Go ahead and kick me while I’m down.”

Clearing his throat, he adverts his eyes to a glass he’s drying. “What’s your deal, then? Why can’t you keep a man?”

I’m harsh. I’ve always been, but the harshest people are the ones with the biggest hearts. It’s why we’re mean. We’re protecting the one part of our body that can crush us to pieces when broken… our hearts.

“I just have expectations,” I tell him. “Are there any good men left? And I mean the honest ones. Ones who aren’t taken and nice. Or married. Ones who have some fucking chivalry in them.”

He snorts and sets the now dry glass down behind the counter. “Chivalry is overrated. You’re puttin’ too much pressure on it.”

“Of course you would say that.” I sigh, knowing he’s right in some sense. I put too much pressure on my entire life.

“Tell me about him.”

“Who?” I try to play it off.

“Great answer.” His eyes are down, making a drink, until he looks up again. “But who is he? Did he actually mean something to you?”

I laugh. “He’s the shortstop for the Diamondbacks. I was his assistant, and like every other time I’m in a relationship, I tried to control the way he loved me. He broke up with me on Valentine’s Day.”

Jake gives me a look, one I can’t decipher it’s meaning. And then he shrugs that same shoulder again. “His loss.”

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