Page 62 of Keeping Promises

A smug smirk tips Cal’s lips upward. She is good for his ego.

“Ha,” Ben bellows. “I fucking told you.”

Cal rolls his eyes at Ben’s comment. “Well, in that case, can we offer you a drink?”

I begin to shake my head, standing just behind her, but Cal brushes it off. Of course, he’s single and free to do whatever, but tonight was supposed to be low-key. Not to mention that Zoe has had enough.

Cal pulls a chair over to the table, and she takes a seat next to him.

One drink turns into two, and before I know it, Zoe is starting to sway in her seat. Cal has turned his attention away from her to focus on my brother, who has had enough alcohol to think he’s the next Billboard one-hit wonder by singing along with the music currently playing.

“You’re really handsome.” Zoe is so close that I can smell the alcohol painted on her breath. “Hadley is so lucky. I hope I find a man like you one day. My ex, Jared, was such a douche canoe. We just broke up.”

“Sorry to hear that.”

She shrugs and steadies her features. I’ve been around enough drunk women to know that she is trying not to get upset but is kind of doing a shit job at it.

“Well, I should go.” Zoe begins to stand but stumbles under her own feet and falls directly into my lap. Her arms loop around my neck to keep herself from hitting me in the face, and I place my hands on her hips to steady her. It would look like a rather intimate position to the untrained eye, but in reality, it’s anything but.

“How about I help get you back to your friends.” She nods, and I help her stand. When we face the bar, Zoe starts singing, “Oh no,” like that ridiculous social media trend.

“What?” I follow her elongated finger, resembling the grim reaper pointing to my death.

“They’re gone,” she tries to whisper but ends up screaming at me.

Well, shit. Who the hell just up and leaves their drunk friend?

“Okay, umm.” I grip the back of my neck while I try to think. I can order her an Uber to take her home—except my phone is fucked-up. I’ll just have one of the guys do it.

“I live in the dorms on campus.” Double shit. The Willow Creek University campus is over forty minutes away.

“Fuck,” I mutter under my breath. I can’t just put her in an Uber for a forty-minute ride in hopes that she will safely return to her dorm room. Hadley will kill me if I let anything happen to this girl. But I can’t ditch my brother tonight either. An idea comes to mind.

“Okay, Zo Zo, I’ve got a room upstairs. You need to sleep this off, and then we can get you all sorted out tomorrow.”

“Zo Zo. My dad calls me that. You should name your daughter Zo Zo.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I laugh.

“Where are you going?” Cal asks.

“I’m going to take Zoe up to my room to sleep it off. I’m going to knock on one of you fuckers’ doors to crash once I get her settled. Her friends just fucking left her.”

They both nod in understanding. “You’re a good man, Harrington.” My brother raises what should be his last drink of the night.

“Hey, she’s someone’s daughter, and I’d be pissed if it were mine. I’m just thinking like a dad, I guess. Plus, Hadley would have my balls.”

“You mean she doesn’t already,” Cal smirks, encouraging a drunken Ben, who then holds his hand up in a high-five position, shouting, “Heyo!”

I don’t even respond. Instead, I flip them off as I wrap my arm around Zoe’s shoulders and lead her to the elevators.

I swipe the key card at the door, and she more or less falls out of my arms and into the room. “Yikes.”

The giggles that started in the elevator continue, and her little spill here just makes her laugh more.Did I really ever find this attractive? Ain’t this some form of karma.

I help her up and escort her over to the bed. I am sure to hold her a little tighter when I pull the covers back to keep her from falling again. This girl is clumsy as hell. “Come on, in you go.”

“You’re so nice. Thank you for taking care of me.” As soon as her head hits the pillow, she’s out like a fucking light.

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