The Promise

by Natalie Clarke

  Around four o'clock, Ellen and Nate arrive, and Lucas comes barrelling through the living room and jumps into my arms, Ellen and Nate eyeing both me and Zach knowingly. I’m not going to lie and say that it still doesn’t feel weird to be with another man, considering they are Luke’s parents, but it does. Had Luke not been in the accident four years ago, I’d probably be with him now, married, raising our son together.

  Just before they leave, Nate nods at Zach and a silent conversation passes between them, and he turns to follow his wife out the door.

  “What was that about?” I ask.

  “I think that was his way of telling me that if I hurt you, he’ll castrate me.”

  Chapter 33

  Zach

  The next few days pass by in a blur, and if I’m being totally honest, I’ve never felt happier. Aside from her having to go to work most nights, we’ve been inseparable. We’ve spent too long apart, taking the long route to where we are now, no thanks to me, so I’ve got some serious making up to do.

  I'm done fighting it. I’m done pretending I don’t feel anything, because I do, I always have, I was just too scared to admit it to not only her, but to myself.

  Today we took Lucas to Central Park, and spent an entire day there, we visited the zoo, where Lucas discovered a new interest in snakes. He could have taken an interest in anything, why did it have to be snakes? Once we entered the enclosure, Gwen tucked herself into my side, shielding her eyes from the endless glass tanks, featuring every coloured snake imaginable, while Lucas pressed his face up against the glass, totally mesmerised by them. Before leaving, I took a little detour into the gift shop and bought him a large green toy snake that is twice as long as his body. For the better part of the day, he had it wrapped around his neck, wearing it like a scarf, making hissing noises as he skipped down the narrow winding pathways around the park a few steps ahead of us, as Gwen and I walked side by side, her hand clasped tightly in mine. Being with her is so easy.

  We had a picnic on the grass under the warm summer sun, Gwen sat between my legs, her back resting against my front, my hands clasped tightly around her as we watched Lucas dance around us with his toy snake.

  Not long into the ride home, Lucas falls asleep, through the rear-view I can see his head bent at an odd angle, his chest rising and falling steadily as he clings to the long furry toy snake that's still slung around his neck and I smile to myself. I glance over at Gwen, who too has fallen asleep. Her eyes flick rapidly behind her closed eyelids, her lips parted. I feel like pulling over and just watching her all night, wondering what she’s dreaming about.

  If I wasn’t driving right now, I'd just sit and watch her sleep. She looks so peaceful. I could happily watch her sleep for hours and never tire of the sight. She’s so beautiful, and so mine. Deep down I’ve always known it, I was just too stupid to see it. I was an idiot, all of those months wasted because I was too much of a fucking coward to just own my feeling for her.

  I pull up outside her apartment and neither of them stir. I unbuckle my seatbelt and lean across the center console, pressing my lips gently to Gwen’s. Her eyes blink awake, and she smiles, stretching, letting out a yawn.

  “We’re here,” I whisper.

  We climb out of the car and I reach in the back for Lucas. I lift him out of his booster seat and cradle him against my chest, still deep in sleep. We head up to her apartment and she unlocks the door, flicking on the light.

  I enter Lucas’s room and place him in his bed, taking off his shoes and pulling the covers over his little body. I run my fingers through his hair and kiss his forehead. “Goodnight, buddy,” I whisper before retreating out of the room, where Gwen stands leaning against the doorframe watching us.

  I click the door shut behind me quietly, staring down at Gwen, running my thumb over her cheek.

  She smiles softly. “I’m so happy you’re here with us.”

  “I’m happy I’m here too.” I lean down and capture her mouth, encasing her in my arms. her arms wind around my neck and I lift her, her legs wrapping tight around my waist as I carry her into her bedroom, ending a perfect day on an even more perfect high.

  Chapter 34

  Gwen

  “G-Spot, please tell me it ain’t so.” Jake leans forward across the bar, his eyes flicking between Zach and I as he slaps a hand against his chest over his heart dramatically.

  “Sorry. As of five days ago, I am officially off the market,” I say, leaning into Zach’s body beside me. His arm snakes around my waist, holding me close.

  “Damn. Well, if you get tired of pretty boy over here, you know where to find me.” Jake winks.

  “Not a chance in hell, dickface.”

  “And why’s that?” He cocks his head to the side.

  “Um, other than the fact that I’d rather French kiss a piranha?” I fight back a smile.

  “That’s not actually possible, given that they’d rip your face off in about two seconds,” he shoots back with a shit-eating grin.

  “You get my meaning.”

  “You’re breaking my heart, G-Spot.” His voice softens, his face morphing into a kind smile. “Just answer me this, you happy?”

  “Yeah. I am,” I answer without hesitation, because it’s the truth. I haven’t felt this happy in a long time, it feels nice.

  “Then that’s good enough for me.” Jake smiles and gives Zach a curt nod before turning to another customer across the other side of the bar.

  “G-Spot?” Zach asks.

  “It’s a nickname he gave me when I first started here and it kinda stuck.”

  “G-Spot… I think it suits you.”

  “If you start calling me that, I’m gonna kill you. I can just about deal with him calling it me without you starting.” I nudge his side with my elbow as he throws his head back in laughter.

  “What time did you say the others will be here?” Zach asks, running his hand up and down my waist as I stand between his spread legs as he sits on a bar stool, his plain white t-shirt stretched over his chiselled upper body.

  “Any minute now.”

  Zach slides his hand down to palm my ass, his fingers roaming further to dip under the hem off my dress. I’m wearing one of the dresses I bought when Hayley and I went shopping on my birthday. It’s a strappy white mini dress with a ruffled skirt that ends mid-thigh. It’s tight and clings to every curve of my body. When I walked out of my room in it earlier, I thought Zach’s eyes were going to pop out of his head.

  He leans in, his lips inches from mine. “Do you have any idea how much I want to rip this dress off you right now?”

  A smile tugs at my lips. “Right here?”

  “Right here in the middle this bar, in front of all these people, just so I can show them that you’re mine.”

  “What exactly do you want to do?”

  A deep growl rumbles up from his chest. “I want to peel this dress off your body, and lay you across this bar,” he says, smoothing a palm over the shiny mahogany bar top. “Where I’m gonna fuck you so hard that you come screaming my name loud enough to shatter each and every piece of glass in this bar.”

  I crash my lips to his, and the world around us seizing to exist. He pulls me against him so my chest is pressed against his, his arm tight around my back while his other hand dives into my hair.

  “Finally.” I hear behind me. I break the kiss and turn to find Kyle and Hayley walking over to us, both wearing grins that spread from ear to ear. “It’s about damn time,” Kyle comments, giving Zach a wink.

  “What do you want to drink?” Zach asks.

  “I’ll have a Bourbon,” Kyle says.

  “Just an orange juice for me, please,” Hayley replies.

  “Not drinking tonight?” I ask.

  “Not anymore, not for a while at least.” She glances up at Kyle, who puts his arms around her body, his hands resting on her belly and she leans back into him, resting her head on his chest and placing her hand over his. The way they’re looking at each other
it’s like they’ve fallen in love all over again, it's like she's...

  “Are you... are you pregnant?” I ask.

  She nods, a smile spreading across her face.

  “Oh my God!” I squeal, clapping a hand over my mouth. “How far along are you?”

  “About four weeks.”

  “I’m so happy for you.” My eyes fill with tears of happiness for my best friend. I pull her into a hug and squeeze her tight.

  “Gwen.... can’t breathe,” she gasps, and I release her.

  “I am gonna throw you the biggest baby shower you’ve ever seen, it’s gonna knock your tits off.”

  ∞∞∞

  A short while later, Aaron and Eva join us and the six of us stay at the bar. It’s a nice sight to see my two best friends happy, the warmth it fills me with has me wanting to cry.

  I stay stood between Zach’s legs, his arms locked around my waist with his chin resting on my shoulder where every now me then he nibbles my earlobe or whisper something in my ear, creating a steady throb between my legs.

  “So this one time, Gwen decides she’s gonna quit school and become a model,” Aaron says.

  “How did I know this story was gonna embarrass me somehow?” I ask.

  “Because out of the three of us, you did it so much better.” He winks. “So anyway,” Aaron begins, trying to contain his laughter as he tries to tell his story. “Gwen gets all the pictures together, to be more specific, lingerie pictures. She attaches them to an email and hits send, only to realise she didn’t actually send them to the modelling agency, she sent them to our math teacher Mr Pearson!” He howls in laughter.

  “By accident! And in-”

  “In my defence,” Hayley and Aaron both answer for me in unison, cutting me off, knowing exactly what I was going to say.

  “In my defence,” I continue. “It was an honest mistake, the agency just happened to be called Pearson and Price. I just clicked his email by accident.”

  “What did your teacher say?” Eva asks.

  “He wasn’t impressed. I tried to flirt my way out of it, but it just made it worse. The frigid old bastard gave me two weeks detention.”

  Everyone laughs, including me, after all it was seven years ago, though it wasn’t so funny back then. I’ve never been more embarrassed in my life. Every time I stepped foot through his classroom door, my cheeks burned with humiliation, but I guess I should be thankful he didn’t report me to the principal and got me expelled.

  “And what about that time you kissed your gay boss?” Hayley so lovingly chimes in.

  “Shit, I forgot about that!” Aaron doubles over in laughter.

  “What is this, a competition to see who can come up with the most embarrassing story about me?” I ask, a smile slowly spreading across my face. I sigh and roll my eyes. “So this one time I kissed my boss who it turned out, was gay and banging the guy that sat at the desk directly behind me.”

  Everyone laughs.

  “Do you still have those photos?” Zach whispers in my ear so the others can’t hear.

  “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

  “Mmm, I most definitely would.”

  “Well, in answer to your question, no I don’t. I couldn’t bear to look at them again and I deleted every single one.”

  “Damn, I could only imagine how hot you looked in all that lingerie. Silk... Lace.” He sucks in a sharp breath.

  “I could always model it for you later?” I offer, a mischievous smile spreading across my face.

  “Fuck, Gwen,” he moans.

  “I take that as a yes?”

  “Fuck yes.” He tips his forehead onto my shoulder and sighs deeply, making me chuckle.

  The thought of what awaits me tonight has butterflies doing cartwheels in my belly and has my panties soaked.

  The front door of the bar swings open, a cool gust of wind sweeping in, breaking my exposed skin out in goose bumps. My stomach drops when my eyes land on who just walked in. Josh, followed closely by Brad, Mason and couple of other guys I don’t recognise.

  “Oh shit,” I mutter, forcing my eyes away, pretending that I haven’t seen him. I feel Zach stiffen behind me, his grip tightening around my body.

  I always knew the risk of running into them by coming here. But this is a special place for me and my friends, and I’ll be damned if I’m forced out by him.

  “Well, well, well...” Josh comes to a stop while his friends take their seats at a table not far from where we are. “If it isn’t Gwen and the guy who settled for my sloppy seconds,” he sneers, walking away to join his friends.

  Zach stands up from his stool abruptly, trying to move past me to get to Josh but I hold him back with all my strength, spinning around in his arms, pressing my hands to his chest.

  “Zach, look at me,” I say, taking his face in my hands. He tears his eyes from Josh and looks down at me. “He’s taunting you, he wants a rise out of you, don’t give him the satisfaction, don’t let him win.”

  He holds my gaze for a moment and takes a deep breath, his body beginning to relax. He replaces his arm around me and pulls me into his side, kissing my temple before turning his attention back to me and the rest of our group.

  “You know Zach,” Josh begins, leaning back in his chair which is turned to face us. “I’d take some extra caution with this one, you don’t know where she’s been.” His friends roar with laughter, all except Mason, who shifts uncomfortably in his seat, while Josh sits there, smirking.

  “Josh, come on, man,” Mason says.

  “Fuck, Mace, what’s crawled up your ass all of a sudden?” Josh shoots back. “Just having a little fun with my ex-piece of ass over here.”

  “Fuck you Josh,” I spit out, my fingers biting into Zach’s thigh to keep him from going over to Josh and knocking seven bells out of him, which seems like a great option right now, but the last thing I want is for Zach to end up in jail for assault.

  “Been there, done that sweetheart. Not really something I want to do again. Don’t really want to risk catching something.”

  “That’s it. You shut your fucking mouth, asshole!” Zach roars, his nostrils flared, his body shaking with rage as he takes a couple steps towards Josh.

  Josh stands from his seat and squares up against Zach, the two of them are practically nose to nose. “What are you gonna do about it?”

  I force my way between them and push against Zach’s chest before cupping his face, forcing him to meet my eyes. “Zach, come with me. Come on, calm down.” I take his hand in mine and tug him out of the bar, out into the cool evening and down the narrow alleyway between the bar and the shop next door.

  I back him against the wall where I crash my lips to his, my fingers raking through his hair. I need to distract him, to take his mind off of Josh and calm him down, and this is the only way I can think of achieving it. It doesn’t take long for Zach to kiss me back, taking control of the kiss, his tongue invading my mouth while his arm snakes around my waist, his free hand gripping my thigh, hitching it high on his hip.

  He spins us around and pins me between his body and the cold hard brick wall behind me. I can feel the hard ridge of his erection jutting out of his body as he rocks his hips into mine. I reach down to unbutton his jeans and pull him out, stroking his cock with my hand. He groans into my mouth as his hand grips my other thigh and lifts me, my dress bunching at my hips as I lock my legs around his waist.

  He breaks the kiss and rests his forehead against mine, his chest heaving as he fights to regain his breath. I continue stroking his length, the tip brushing my clit through my panties. I slide the lacy material out of the way, the cold air hitting the soaking skin between my thighs, before returning to stroke him as I guide the head of his cock to my opening.

  My body aches for him, my pussy throbbing with the need to feel him inside me.

  “This is gonna be quick,” he says, and without warning, he slides me down onto his cock, impaling me on his long, hard length and I cry out as he begins to
fuck me. His grip on my thighs tighten as he thrusts up into me with a fast, hard rhythm, our pants and the sounds of our skin the only sounds in the dark, empty alley.

  “Shit, you feel so fucking amazing,” he moans, his lips brushing mine.

  He dips down and covers my left breast with his mouth through the fabric of my dress, and begins sucking, and biting. Each bite on my nipple sends zings of pleasure straight to my core.

  “Zach,” I moan.

  “Touch yourself,” he rasps.

  I reach down between our bodies and begin rubbing my clit with my finger, my climax growing closer and closer with every thrust of Zach’s hips, every circle of my finger on my sensitive, swollen nub.