Page 40 of Every Broken Promise
I closed the door at his words. Not because anything was going to be happening, but because I didn’t need my parents nosing around things they had no business nosing around anymore.
His masculine chuckle had my stomach dropping for different reasons.
I just fucking showered. There was no reason for me to be wet so soon.
Forget that my happy place wanted Tyler, and the stupid hussy didn’t get the memo that he wasn’t for us, but there was nothing more annoying than wanting to beat someone up one second to wanting to know if the promise of having them was all you made it out to be.
In my experience, cocky guys equaled disappointment.
“They won’t be catching us?—”
“Because you closed the door,” he interrupted me smugly.
“Because you are leaving!” I pointed to my window and continued to glare at him. I was sure if I had Superman’s laser vision, I would have to explain to the Kane family why Tyler was no longer with us.
Tyler grinned at me and then let himself plop back on my bed.
Enraged, I closed the distance between us and took one of his hands. The same hands that had been wrapped around me an hour ago, and I tried to pull him out of my bed. Except he wasn’t budging at all.
One second, I was standing, trying to pull the asshole up. The next, he turned the tables on me, and not only did he pull me toward him, but then maneuvered me so I was lying down on the bed. His actions had my blood racing. It was one thing having his body pressed against mine in a crowded bar, and a whole different thing having him hover above me in my own bed.
My childhood bed remembered his imprint. How many nights did he “sneak” into my room and we proceeded to have impromptu sleepovers? Too many to count. My mom caught him the morning after the first time he did it. She walked into my room, waking us both with the promise of pancakes. She wasn’t mad, because how could anyone be mad at him for needing comfort?
Then I made Ty call his dad to apologize for worrying him. After that night, Ty’s dad would drop him off if he couldn’t sleep. That went up until eighth grade when our parents made us stop. Ty would only sneak in when he couldn’t sleep, and then, during our sophomore year, he stopped sleeping over altogether. He would come, but he would leave right after I fell asleep.
“What’s going on through that mind of yours?” Ty asked as he removed the towel from my hair. He threw it on the floor, and somehow, the action made me feel bare despite still having my clothes on.
“What the hell are you doing?” I said, trying to wiggle free, but it was useless. I was pinned down.
“Making sure you keep your word,” he stated.
I could smell mint with a hint of tequila on his breath. Maybe he was a bit drunk after all.
“My word?” I asked as I put both my hands on his chest and tried to push him away.
“Four,” he told me.
Before I could grill him further, he moved back, and I sighed in relief that I wouldn’t have him so close to me anymore. My pajamas were not going to do me any favors if I stayed in that position much longer.
“Four birthdays I’ve spent without you. I might not be your best friend anymore, and that fucking kills me, but you never stopped being mine.”
My mouth parted at his admission, and I could feel Tyler’s eyes zeroing in on my lips. And for the ten thousandth time, I wondered if the thought of kissing me ever crossed his mind like it plagued mine all through high school.
“Beautiful girl. You made a promise, and I’m going to make sure you keep it.”
“Stop calling me that,” I replied, my voice losing the annoyance and anger it held earlier.
Something seemed to have shifted at that moment. The air became electric and heavy. I wasn’t the only one affected; I could tell Tyler was, too, because, at that moment, his eyes went from my face to my lips and my face once more.
I held my breath.
He was going to kiss me, wasn’t he?
Did I want him to kiss me?
Just then, my stomach grumbled, and my cheeks immediately went red. The moment was officially ruined, and Tyler smiled at me just like he used to do before I left town. It was the kind of smile he rarely ever let anyone see—carefree and full of white teeth.
He sat up and reached for something he left on the vanity that was by my window.
