Page 102 of I Promise You
“But you’re right, I guess…you should check on her. Last time Emilia, Ari, and I talked, she mentioned something about her and Danny not being together anymore.”
A burst of a flame flows through me so seamlessly. I look over my shoulder for a split second.
“What?” My eyes light up like fireworks, and I clear my throat, trying to disguise my feelings.
“They’re not together?” I ask, looking away from Meredith and instead at the city lights outside my window. Then I return my gaze to her to seem uninterested.
“I don’t think so.” Meredith shrugs.
She tears off the blankets from her nude, curvy body, grabbing the clothes she came here in.
I should stop her from leaving. Or maybe I should let her go entirely until I feel like I am officially ready to date again.
“I’ve gotta go, anyway. I promised my sister I’d babysit late tonight so she and her husband can go to the movies and catch the midnight premiere.” She tosses her shirt over her curls and shoves her feet, one by one, into her wedges.
I guess that means I’ll be spending my night at El Devine with Lopez and his new bed buddy of the week.
“Okay, but you’re still my date to the ball, right?” I ask, walking toward her. She stiffens when I lift her chin, forcing her to look at me.
I smile as I lean down to give her a peck on the lips.
Even through the moonlight, I can see that she’s blushing.
“Yup,” she replies, giddy and high-pitched.
She pops the p in yup, and I chuckle at her flustered voice.
“Good night, Kane.” She sighs, slipping out of my bedroom and closing the door behind her.
28
ARI
Another night of angst, regret, and uncertainty. My words I spilled with no remorse sicken me. My limit has fractured. It finally cracked from continuous trauma and worry. I love Danny, but his job is a lifestyle I would be signing up for, and…I don’t love that part.
A part of me feels relieved, yet why do I feel destroyed?
Danny hasn’t reached out to me. It’s been a couple of days of long, lonely nights on the phone with Emilia and Meredith. I call them whenever I’m tempted to look for him instead. They stop me from running back to Danny when I crave him. I crave his scent, his arms…his everything.
It hurts so much.
So, I call my girlfriends.
Meredith is smitten by Kane. Every time we get on our girlfriends call, she goes on and on about how great he is in bed and how she doesn’t want this fling with him to end.
I don’t know what to say. He confessed he was in love with me a day before they started their relationship. And a part of me felt happy for her. And another small part of me felt weird about it and I was unsure of where it was coming from. There was a line drawn between Kane and I, and he made it hazy the night ofour soccer game. I love Danny. But Kane…he’s everything good. And Danny…he’s the man I can’t stop thinking about.
But here I am, another night of junk food, wine, ice cream, and horror movies binging them all until I cry myself to sleep, because I can’t bring myself to pick up the phone and call him. I want to swear off ever dating a Special Operator again.
Tomorrow is the military ball. The thought of dancing the night away with my 6’6 man appears in my mind, like a fantasy that won’t come true. He told me once that he doesn’t dance but for some reason, I think if I asked him to dance the night away with me at the ball, he wouldn’t say no.
I’m tucked underneath my velvet covers, watchingScream. It just started, and I’m rewatching it for the thousandth time. I take another swig from the wine bottle when I’m tempted to text Danny. I want to text him to come over when I hear three loud knocks on my door.
Drew Barrymore’s house phone rings and knocks on my door send me into a jump scare. I flicker my gaze at the door, then back to the TV. I almost spill wine all over my lap, gripping the glass tight as my nerves jolt through me, and I curse out loud to myself.
I look at the time on my cell-phone when I see it’s nearing midnight, and someone is at my door.
It has to be…Danny.
