Keep This Promise

by Willow Winters

  “God, you’re gross,” I say as I start to laugh. Though she has a point. I have been feeling a little…hotter lately. I just figured it was from my constant rehashing of the kissing incident with the hottest kisser on earth. Shepard Prescott.

  If they handed out medals for kissing, he would most definitely win the top prize.

  “You won’t think I’m gross when you see those shirtless hunks out on the field. Trust me,” Kelli says firmly.

  I don’t bother to protest. I figure she’s probably right.

  I’m just sitting down on the bottom bench of the bleachers, sucking in a breath as my butt connects with the cool metal when I catch a flash of a certain someone running by. My body goes on instant high alert.

  Freaking Shep. Shirtless Shep. Running like a madman out on the field while chasing a little black and white ball Shep.

  I turn an accusatory eye on Kelli, who holds her hands up in mock innocence. “You knew he’d be here.”

  Kelli drops her hands and shrugs. “I was hoping for it.”

  “Damn it, Kell. I look like terrible.” I glance down at myself. Ah crap, my leggings have a hole in them too. Right at the knee. I feel bloated and still a little crampy. My hair is falling out of the braid slowly but surely, and my pedicure is for shit. Chipped Kiss Me I’m Brazilian coats my toes. Sort of.

  “You look fine. He won’t notice you anyway. He’s way too focused out on that field,” Kelli says nonchalantly.

  “Thanks for the uplifting speech,” I mutter as she bumps her shoulder into mine.

  “Please. You whine when you’re afraid he’ll see you, you whine when you think he won’t.” Kelli shakes her head. “Just watch him. It’s fun. Trust me.”

  “You’ve done this before?” I’m almost afraid to turn my attention back to the field. What if watching Shep run around in shorts and no shirt for too long makes me do something stupid? Like…drool?

  Hey. It could happen.

  “By complete accident. I was out here last week and stopped to watch because, hello. Who wouldn’t? While you were writhing around on the bed clutching your stomach earlier, I knew I needed to do something to help perk up your mood. I figured you might want a covert glimpse of your precious Shep, so now you’re here. You’re welcome.”

  “I didn’t say thank you.” Though I guess I should be thankful for a glimpse of shirtless Shep. I can’t even look yet, I’m so afraid I’ll be dazzled to death.

  “Well, you should because the man is a sex god. Seeing him without a shirt on makes me want to weep with joy.” She turns to stare out at the field, tipping her head to the side. “We need to figure out which one has the sexiest back. He’s a strong contender.”

  “Sexiest back?” Slowly, carefully, I turn my head, my gaze snagging on him immediately.

  Of course. It’s like I’m automatically drawn to him no matter what.

  “Mmm, hmm. Haven’t you ever noticed how sexy a man’s back is? All sleek and full of muscle and covered in smooth, smooth skin.” She sighs dreamily, her gaze riveted on the field. “They’re all contenders. Look at them.”

  I study them. Him. Damn it, just him. It’s like my eyes refuse to look at any of the others scrambling out on that field. He’s wearing black shorts that hang to his knees. That’s it. Oh, and shoes of course. But they don’t count because he’s not wearing a shirt and just like Kelli said, all I can see is sleek, smooth, smooth skin. His shoulders. His chest. His abs. Good lord, his abs. Defined with ridges of muscle and covered in the faintest sheen of sweat, accentuating every dip and curve of his body. He slows down some, resting his hands on his hips, lifting one bent arm to wipe the sweat off his brow, his hair a haphazard, damp mess.

  I clamp my lips shut hard to prevent the drooling.

  “Please tell me this isn’t the first time you’ve seen him without a shirt on,” Kelli says out of the side of her mouth.

  “It’s the first time,” I admit, not bothering to look at her, afraid she’ll mock me.

  She sighs. “You two seriously blow my mind. Why haven’t you done it yet? This goes against every Shep is a man-whore story I’ve ever heard. And I’ve heard a lot of stories about his man-whore status.”

  I hate hearing about his man-whore status. It depresses me. He has all of this experience and I have so little. Worse, what if I don’t measure up? There’s a distinct possibility that could happen. “I don’t know what’s going on with him. And I have no clue what he wants from me.”

  He starts to jog across the field, his head turning in my direction and I shrink into myself, dropping my head, hoping he doesn’t notice me.

  “Uh oh,” Kelli murmurs and I know. I just know he spotted me.

  It’s like I can feel his gaze on me, hot and intense. Awareness prickles over my skin, making every tiny hair on my body stand on end and slowly, I lift my head to find him staring at me. His mouth curls into this half smile that’s way too fucking cute and his eyes light up as he makes his way toward where I’m sitting. I smooth a hand over my hair, tuck a few wild strands behind my ears and pray to God he has a secret thing for girls who wear no makeup and holey clothes while out in public.

  He stops just in front of us, his breathing accelerated, the now familiar scent of him surrounding me and I try my best to inhale as discreetly as possible because wow, he smells good. I can actually see sweat glisten on his belly and oh my God, I think my ovaries just exploded.

  Or that could just be cramps.

  I can’t really tell.

  * * *

  Shep

  * * *

  I couldn’t miss her if I tried. She’s the last person I expect to see sitting on the sidelines while I’m at soccer practice—shit, I don’t even think I’m going to stick around town this summer to play, though I did last year and had a blast—but there she is. You can’t hide all that glorious, vivid red hair from me. I’d know that pretty head from a mile away.

  Jade. Looking flustered with her hair falling out of a braid. I don't think she’s wearing any makeup and her freckles really stand out against her creamy skin. Her lips are this peachy pink color that I’m dying to kiss. I can’t stop staring at her and I try to catch my breath, calm my racing heart, which had started out racing because of the exercise. But is now racing because the girl I want more than anything I’ve ever wanted before in my entire fucking life is sitting right in front of me.

  “Hey.” I take a deep breath, wipe at my forehead again with my arm. Fuck, I’m a mess. I bet I stink too. “What are you doing here?”

  “I brought her.” Her roommate sends me a serene smile and a wink, like we had this planned all along. Which we so didn’t, but now I owe her one. “She’s been grumpy lately.”

  Jade jabs her in the ribs with her elbow. “Shut up.”

  “She’s been avoiding me,” I say, deciding to just lay it all out. Fuck it. Any other girl who didn’t reply to my texts, I would’ve said good riddance. Hell, I don’t think I’ve ever texted another girl much unless it’s to say the following:

  * * *

  Wanna hook up?

  Got any weed?

  Aren’t you the girl I kissed in the men’s bathroom last night?

  * * *

  You know. Along those lines. This makes me sound like a shallow asshole and I’ll agree wholeheartedly. I’ve been a shallow asshole most of my life. A product of my environment, I’d say. But there is always that defining moment when a man decides he wants to change his ways.

  Meeting Jade, spending time with Jade…has become that defining moment for me. Wild but true.

  “I’ve been…” She sinks her teeth into her lower lip and I want to groan. It’s like she’s so incredibly sexy and doesn’t even realize it most of the time. “Busy.”

  That’s the lamest excuse I’ve ever heard. I’m not going to give her any grief for it though. I’m walking a delicate line right now. I can feel it. “Totally understandable.”

  The roommate frowns at me, as does Jade. “Really?” she as
ks.

  I nod, glancing over my shoulder to see what’s going on out on the field. We called a break a few minutes ago and I should be chugging water so I don't collapse from dehydration when I get back out there but…I can’t walk away from Jade. I’d rather suffer and pass out than miss this opportunity to talk to her. “What are you doing right now?” I ask when I return my gaze to her.

  Jade’s cheeks turn pink. Almost as pink as the shirt she’s wearing, which happens to have a hole in it. A couple of them actually—one at the neckline and another that’s just below her left boob. “Um…”

  “Nothing,” the roommate supplies for her. “She’s absolutely free.” That remark earns her another elbow jab.

  “Kelli right?” I smile down at the roommate who beams back up at me like I just made her day. “I owe you. Big time.”

  “I’ll collect too. Just saying.” She breathes deep and stands, smiling at the both of us. “My work here is done.”

  “You’re not leaving are you?” Jade asks, her voice low and vaguely threatening.

  “You’re going out with Shep after he’s done, right?” Kelli asks.

  “That’s the plan,” I confirm.

  “I can’t go out like this.” Jade waves a hand at herself, the frown she’s wearing so deep I swear she’s going to give herself permanent wrinkles. “I look…”

  “Beautiful,” I finish for her, which only makes her cheeks turn pinker.

  “You’re so full of it,” she mutters and I chuckle, moving so I can sit in the spot her roommate just vacated.

  “Just telling the truth.” I take hold of her hand, my arm pressed against hers and I’m ultra-aware of her scent, the way she feels next to me, her fingers curling around mine. “Hang out with me tonight, Jade. You’ve ditched me all week. I’ve missed you.”

  She turns her incredulous gaze upon me, those big hazel eyes eating me up, I swear. “You missed me?”

  Nodding, I bring our connected hands up between us and drop a light kiss to her knuckles. “Yeah.”

  “You don’t even know me,” she whispers.

  “I want to. Get to know you.” I kiss her knuckles again. Her skin is so soft. I want to kiss more than her knuckles. Hell, I want to kiss her all over. “Come over. I’ll ditch practice right now. We can leave together.”

  “But Kelli.” She waves a hand at the spot where her roommate once stood.

  “Is gone.” I need to send her flowers or something as a thank you for bringing Jade to me. “Come on, Jade. Let’s go.”

  “Don’t you need to finish practice?”

  “They’ll survive without me.” I stand and pull her up along with me, releasing her hand. There are a few stragglers sitting on the bleachers, most of them female and gawking shamelessly at the field. I’m guessing they’re here for the shirtless show. Speaking of my shirt…“Let me grab my stuff and we’ll go?”

  “Okay.” She nods, a bunch of strands of wild red hair falling around her face and I give in to the urge, reaching out so I can tuck all that silky soft hair first behind one ear, then the other. I skim her face with my fingertips, hear the shuddery breath she sucks in and I know I’m not the only one buried deep in this.

  We’re both feeling it. The chemistry that crackles between us, that’s been there from the start, from that first moment our gazes met in the mirror. I touch her chin, smooth my thumb across her lower lip and her eyelids waver.

  “Stay here,” I murmur. “Don’t leave this spot, okay?”

  She nods silently, her gaze dropping from mine to stare at my…chest.

  Right. Because I’m not wearing a shirt. And I’m all sweaty and I probably smell and whoa, is that interest flaring in her eyes because that’s the first time I’ve ever seen Jade look at me like that.

  “Five minutes,” I tell her, leaning in so I can press a quick kiss to her surprised lips. Who knew lips could be surprised? And they would taste so damn good? “Give me five minutes.”

  “Okay,” she whispers.

  I walk away from her backwards, like I can’t stop looking at her and truth be told, I can’t. Her lips curl into this mysterious little smile and she shakes her head. “You’re going to hurt yourself,” she calls right as I fucking stumble.

  I right myself, quickly glancing over my shoulder before I look at her once again. “It would be worth it.”

  Her cheeks go pink again and I swear to God, I’m going to make it my life’s mission to make her blush as much as possible.

  I turn and head back to the field, snatching my T-shirt from where I flung it on the ground, then grab my phone and car keys. We’re so casual out here, I know none of these guys are going to take my shit. Gabe’s standing nearby, polishing off a bottle of Gatorade and I approach him.

  “I’m out,” I tell him. He’s never been part of the summer soccer league. He just comes out here to practice when he has nothing else to do. I think he likes feeling like he belongs to something. “Tell the rest of the guys, okay?”

  Gabe frowns. “Where you going?”

  I slip my shirt on and shove my phone in my pocket. “Home.” The less I tell him the better. Tristan’s not home tonight. It’s his turn to manage the tables. I’ll be working Saturday night. Gabe’s on for tomorrow. We’ve decided to close on Sundays for the rest of the semester. Business is down and school’s almost over.

  This means I have Jade all to myself tonight. No interruptions, no nothing.

  Gabe scans the bleachers, his gaze snagging on Jade, no doubt. “You found the redhead.” He sends me a look. “Did she come here to tempt you or what?”

  “She didn’t know I’d be here.” And I believe her. She’d looked too surprised, too mad at her roommate, for this to be a planned visit.

  “Right. What a coincidence.” Gabe rolls his eyes and I clench my hands into fists. “You’re confusing me, bro. I don’t understand what’s going on here with you and the redhead.”

  “Her name is Jade,” I bite out.

  “Okay. Then I don’t know what’s going on with you and Jade.” He shakes his head. “Are you actually trying to pursue a relationship with her?”

  Am I? I don’t know. “What does it matter?”

  “I guess it doesn’t matter. It’s just weird to see you so twisted over a girl. A girl you don’t even know,” Gabe explains.

  “Yeah well, that’s the thing. I want to get to know her. And fuck all that one and done crap, and it’s the rules and I’m breaking the rules or whatever. I don’t care about any of that. I just…” The words die in my throat and I glance over my shoulder, my gaze going unerringly to Jade. She hasn’t moved, just like I asked, and she’s watching me. I feel her eyes on me and I smile, my stomach tumbling when she smiles back.

  Fuck. I’ve got it bad.

  “I just like her,” I say to Gabe when I turn back to face him. “I can’t explain why and I can’t explain what exactly I’m doing, but I like her and I want to spend time with her.”

  “No one and done?” Gabe asks, sounding genuinely—confused? Sincere? Perplexed? All of the above?

  I shake my head. “I think I’m sick of that shit.”

  “You think?”

  “Yeah.” I start to laugh. “I think. We’ll see. I’m testing this out. One day at a time.”

  “And that’s all you can do, man.” Gabe takes a step closer and slaps me on the back. “That’s all you can do.”

  Chapter 14

  Shep

  * * *

  She’s waiting for me when I return to the bleachers and she stands without a word, approaching me with hurried steps, her gaze filled with unspoken…urgency. An urgency I’ve never seen before, but I’m not about to question it.

  Instead, I settle my hand at the small of her back and guide her away from the bleachers, the field, the campus. We’re headed to the parking lot, toward my car and it’s so fucking deep in, practically at the end of the row in the middle of the lot. It’s like what you see on TV or movies, when the path stretches out for an eter
nity, and it seems endless, like you’ll never be able to find what you’re looking for.

  That’s what it feels like. We keep walking, the silence between us stretches on and holy hell, I hope I don’t screw this up.

  As discreetly as possible I try and sniff my pits to make sure I don’t smell and she catches me, sending me a small smile. “You don’t stink.”

  I frown. “I don’t?”

  She slowly shakes her head, all those wayward strands of hair tickling her cheeks. Her hair is like fire. Vibrant and bright, wild and free—I sound like a fucking poet in my head. Jesus. “You smell…nice,” she says.

  “Nice?” My frown deepens and I scan the lot, spotting my car waaaay down there. I press my fingers into her waist, steering her toward the row where I’m parked.

  “You smell good.” She pauses and I glance at her, see that her cheeks are yep, rosy. “Like sunshine and the outdoors. Like…grass.”

  “As in weed?” I’m joking and she knows it.

  “No. God, you’re awful.” She bumps her shoulder into my chest and it’s the most casual thing in the world but it feels like a victory. They’re so few and far between, those victorious little moments I earn when I melt Jade’s resolve. Slowly but surely I’m tearing down her walls and she’s actually letting me. I can’t forget what happened Monday night. The kissing. Her hands all over me. Her hips subtly thrusting against mine as I rolled her beneath me.

  “You don’t really think I’m awful,” I tell her, sending her a heated look. One that says, I know the taste of your lips. The sounds you make when I kiss your soft, soft skin.

  She looks away, a faint smile still curling her mouth. “I think you’re awful for parking your car so far away.”

  I laugh. “Couldn't be helped.” I slip my arm more firmly around her waist and pull her in close, pressing my nose to her hair. It smells like wildflowers. “You don’t mind going back to my place, do you,” I murmur.