That's a Promise, page 2
He was dressed in nice dark jeans, and a black button down shirt over a fitted red t-shirt. He had dark brown hair that was cropped close to his head, but just enough to get a slight tug on it. He had broad shoulders in a dominant and confident kind of way, and you could see the definition of his muscles under his shirt; I knew he could pick me up easily if I let him. When he came to full height, I noticed he had gorgeous deep dark, coke-brown eyes and a nose that was slightly crooked. He had a strong jaw and a square chin, which screamed intense and sexy to me.
A layer of a five o’clock shadow rested against his jaw perfectly. That little bit of scruff made him look even more handsome and masculine. He was also extremely tall; he towered over my 5’2” frame at about 6’2”. He was so handsome he almost took my breath away.
Almost.
He was just a guy. Nothing to suffocate over. He smirked at me as I tried to shake myself from the embarrassing blatant act of checking him out.
“Here you go,” he said. With a slight shake of his head, he added, “Some people have no respect.”
I looked up at him and said, “Yeah. Asshole just knocked right into me and didn’t even acknowledge me.”
Seth looks over at me from where he was standing not doing anything to help and chuckled. “He looked like he could have killed you if he was any closer to you. You could have died!” he teased. I rolled my eyes at him and slipped my books into my backpack. I slipped the backpack onto my shoulder, and gave a slight raise of my hand to say goodbye to the stranger who helped me.
“See you around, Josie,” he called out to me as I started walking past him. I turned slightly and furrowed my brows in confusion as to how he knew my name, but he was already walking away.
“Did you tell him your name?” Seth asked.
“No… that’s strange,” I said. We continued to walk down the halls of the building until we came to the door that led to my next class. “Anyway, this is me. I will see you after classes later.”
“Ok. See ya later, Pussy Cat.”
I rolled my eyes at the stupid nickname he had been calling me for years and walked into the classroom, away from the sound of him chuckling at my expense.
The next class was Life Science for Elementary Students, which was taught by none other than Dr. Smith (allegedly the most boring professor on campus). Luckily, Brooke was enduring the class with me, so I wasn’t too worried about falling asleep at my desk. She was already sitting in her seat when I walked in, so I sat in the seat next to hers.
She leaned over and whispered (well, her version of whispering), “So, I was talking to this guy at the coffee shop before class, and he said that there is this house party going on tonight at one of the senior soccer player’s house. He said we should come, but that it wasn’t supposed to be a big party so we need to keep it quiet.”
“Why didn’t Seth say anything? He’s on the soccer team too.”
She swiveled back around, and shrugged her shoulders, “I don’t know. Maybe he forgot. Or maybe…” She turned abruptly to look at me, eyes wide. She continued, “…they are brainwashing him into thinking that he can’t trust his friends anymore. I read about that somewhere on the internet once. This girl was on the cheerleading squad, and they found out that the team was brainwashing her, and that’s why she stopped hanging out with her old friends and started drinking all the time.” And that statement was exactly why I wondered where she came up with half the things that spilled out of her mouth.
“Hmmm, that’s an interesting theory. However, I am going to have to say that that is probably not what happened,” I replied, and chuckled under my breath.
She shrugged her shoulders again, and turned back towards the front of the class. She said, “Oh well, just a hypotenuse.”
“Hypothesis,” I said lightly, trying to hold in a laugh. I swear this girl was going to kill me. In addition to her conspiracy theories, she also had problems with how to correctly say things. She was always changing the words to songs and getting different phrases wrong. She was smart, but she obviously made some silly mistakes.
The professor started the lecture, and I suddenly understood why everyone said that he was the most boring teacher on campus. I sunk deeper into my seat, and prepared myself for the monotonous lecture. I looked around the classroom at the other students who were also half asleep. My eyes caught with someone else who was looking in my direction. I gave a small smile to him, and he winked at me. Winked at me! He had really blonde hair and looked like a slimy preppy boy who plays tennis as a hobby, so all I could do was glare at him. I had an immense, albeit strange, aversion to guys with super blonde hair. I didn’t look around the class again after that.
I only had two classes on Monday and Wednesday, so I was done for the rest of the day. I told Brooke I would see her later once the class ended, and started to walk back to my room. I decided to take a longer route to my dorm so I could enjoy the weather, and texted Seth.
Me: Why didn’t you tell me there was a party tonight?
Seth: How did you find out about it? We were all supposed to only invite like one person. I was gonna invite you later
Me: k. Well, Brooke thinks that they may be brainwashing your team, so you may want to keep an eye out for that ;)
Seth: Ahh… thanks for the warning. I’ll ttyl
Me: k
I am usually really good about texting and walking, but it seemed that my luck that day was wearing thin. I was knocked into, yet again, by a blonde bitch who just kept walking. She didn’t turn around and apologize for rudely walking into me, or for knocking the phone out of my hands. It’s not that hard to apologize for knocking into someone, why couldn’t she just say sorry?
“You have got to be fucking kidding me!” I bent down to pick up the pieces, and when I came up, I found a familiar face in my bubble of personal space. I backed away from his handsome face which held a small amused grin. The grin turned into a smile, and it warmed my insides seeing such a genuine happiness in his expression.
“We should really stop meeting like this. Are you always like this?” He asked, humor lacing his beautiful deep voice. There was a slight southern drawl in his voice, which wasn’t uncommon for the people who lived around here. It wasn’t overbearing, though, which made it even sexier.
“Yeah, it seems like the people around here are inconsiderate assholes who seem to think I have a desire to be knocked around.”
He smiled at me again. “Well, if you need any lessons in how to walk, I like to consider myself an expert.” It took me aback a little that he was teasing me, but it felt good. A lot of people I came in contact with usually kept their distance.
He was being sarcastic, and that was always a trait I really admired in people. The best way to get through life is to have a sense of humor about it. Of course, there were some exceptions. Some things can never be funny.
“Ah funny guy. I don’t need lessons, thank you very much. I just need people to pay attention.” The girl who knocked into me seemed to be waiting for the stranger who kept witnessing my clumsy hands, so I glared some bad karma in her direction.
I turned my attention back to the handsome specimen, and took him in again. He seemed to make my insides squirm just by looking at him. There was something wrong with me; it was like I was having difficulty getting a good breath around him. I stepped back a little, positive being close to him was making me worse… or stupid.
Is it just me or did he get hotter since the last time I saw him? I thought.
Over the past summer, I had gone to a couple of parties and met other people, but I hadn’t ever really felt an attraction to anyone other than Seth. I hadn’t been able to feel attracted to any guys since the incident two years ago. This sexy stranger had a handsome smile, and I knew that if he ever pursued me, there would be no way that I could just ignore him. He would be a hard one to shrug off, mostly because I didn’t think I would even want to.
There wasn’t much else to say, and I didn’t want to further humiliate myself by just standing there, so I got ready to tell him a simple goodbye and be on my way. I wasn’t expecting him to lean into me before I could get away, sending my senses into a tizzy with his close proximity and his sensual smell of rain and citrus. I don’t know how I was able to define exactly how he smelled, but it was intoxicating and I didn’t want him to move.
As ridiculous as it sounds, I was practically drooling with him so close to me. I swallowed the excess salivation that was pooling in my mouth, and I made a big gulping sound while I did it, adding to my humiliation. I internally rolled my eyes at my awkwardness, and tried to make myself look more confident by straightening my stance and lifting my head. He was only an inch away from me, and while his height was a little intimidating, I was kind of enthralled by him. Definitely intrigued.
“The soccer team is throwing a party tonight, so I hope you can make a grand entrance that doesn’t involve you sprawled out all over the floor. I’ll see you there, Josie,” he said to me softly and without waiting for an answer to his not-so-much invite.
He winked and walked towards the girl who was waiting impatiently. She eagerly put her hands on him when he came up to her, and I noticed that he didn’t initiate any touching. It made me feel a little better to see his reluctance to put himself all over the girl who knocked into me apathetically.
Who is this guy? I wondered. And why the hell do I care?
Chapter 3
I finished my walk to the dorm room, and climbed onto my bed so I could lie down.
I pictured the smile and handsome face of the stranger who kept witnessing my clumsiness. That smile. Looking up to see his face, and catching that smile. I couldn’t get it out of my head, and with my heart fluttering like it was at the memory of that smile being directed at me, I didn’t think it would be leaving my consciousness for a while.
He seemed nice enough, but didn’t they all? This guy seemed to elicit some kind of interest out of me, but that didn’t mean I could get stupid about him. I didn’t know who he was. I didn’t know if he liked to use girls for fun, or if his charming personality was simply a façade. I knew when I decided to transfer over to the university that I wanted to move on. I wanted the friendships and the dating that goes along with a college experience, but I also understood that I was different. I couldn’t just jump onto this guy because he had a seemingly genuine smile.
My phone rang, interrupting my daydreaming.
“Hi Daddy,” I said answering the phone.
“Hello, baby girl. I wanted to know how well your classes went today. I just know you did great. Am I right?”
I smiled at his enthusiasm. “Yes, it was great. I think I’m really going to like my English class this year. The teacher doesn’t have us reading the boring stuff. I may not be able to make it through my life science class, though. I swear the professor is worse than listening to the pope give a speech.”
I heard him chuckle at my synopsis of the day, and he responded in the only way he knew how. “I’m pretty sure you have never heard the Pope give a speech anyway, but I’ll assume you were just trying to emphasize how boring your professor is.”
“Yes… obviously,” I said rolling my eyes, knowing that he couldn’t see.
“So…,” he said elongating the “o,” “did you meet any cute boys today in class?”
“No Daddy. No cute boys in my class,” I said, trying not to groan into the phone. Technically, it wasn’t a lie. Sexy Stranger Man was not in any of my classes. The one good thing about being an hour away from home was that Daddy couldn’t tell if I was lying or not.
“Alright then baby,” he said not sure if he should believe me. “How are you doing? Are you doing ok with being around everyone?”
“Yeah, I’m okay. As long as I stay in control of myself, I will be okay. I have Dr. Peterson’s number on speed dial, and Seth is always around, so I don’t think you need to worry,” I said trying to ease his concern. “I have to go over some of my school work, so I will talk to you later. I love you!”
We said our goodbyes and got off the phone. I laid there a little longer reflecting on the conversation and the worry that I’ve been trying to hide since I left the house, before grabbing my assignments and getting to work on them.
* * *
Later that night when Brooke and I were getting ready for the party that I had finally gotten details about, she started telling me about some new conspiracy theory about aliens. I didn’t like to tell her that her ideas were crazy because in reality, if that was what she believed, then who was I to take that from her? I didn’t think anything in this world was absolute, so I had no right to tell her that her theories and stories were invalid.
I was always that nerdy girl who preferred to stay at home and read a book instead of going out, but I learned that going out to a party every once in a while made me feel a little free. Seth started taking me with him so I could meet some of his friends, and I slowly learned how to have fun and still be safe.
Brooke loved parties. She was always telling me about parties that she was going to, and what she would wear and do at these get-togethers. That night, Brooke dressed in cute little black shorts and a quarter sleeved silver sequined top. She finished her look with thigh high boots that would make all of the boys drool at her feet at the party. She always knew how to dress to impress, but she always stayed classy about it.
I looked at myself in the mirror as I finished my make-up. I went with some skinny jeans and a white t-shirt underneath a cute faux leather biker’s jacket. Some red high heels helped give me some height, but they almost seemed unnecessary because I would likely be talking them off within the first thirty minutes. I curled my hair into soft waves and applied some smoky eye make-up to my eyes.
I looked good. I felt good. I had dark brown hair with natural chestnut highlights, that fell mid-way down my back, and eyes that alternated between dark olive green and a dark blue. My eyes looked pretty normal, but there was a slight slant to them. I also had naturally tanned skin because of the Philippine heritage that I got from my daddy’s side of the family.
I looked over at Brooke, and was shocked to see her putting extra make-up onto her flawless face. “Whoa Brooke, you looking to get laid tonight?”
“Oh you know how it is. It’s the first school party, so I have to make sure I get the pick of the lottery.”
I laughed. “Do you mean litter? The pick of the litter?”
She scrunched up her nose and shrugged her shoulders. “Sure. Either way, I want to have them all focused on me, so I can choose which one I wanna take to my bed later.” She smiled and winked at me before turning back to her make-up.
I heard a knock at the door, successfully taking me away from a conversation about her bringing someone back to the room. That we shared. Ew. I opened the door, only to find a distracted Seth who was checking out the passing girl’s ass.
“Seth! You can’t knock on my door, and not even acknowledge me when I open it!” I chastised.
He turned his attention back to me and laughed. “Sorry Josie. But did you see her ass in that dress?”
I let out a soft laugh and shook my head at his typical male hormonal response to a woman, and invited him into the room. He leaned in, hugged me, and kissed the top of my head. He leaned his head down to whisper in my ear, “You look really hot tonight, Pussy Cat.”
I smiled up at him, because he always knew how to make me feel good. We may have made it clear that we were strictly friends, but it still sent tingles through my body to hear him tell me I looked good.
“You’re looking pretty good tonight too,” I said back to him. He did of course. Seth always looked good. I had always thought he was attractive because of his looks, body, eyes, and smile that melted souls, but unfortunately, he also knew how good he looked. Sometimes he wore his cockiness proudly, and it annoyed me.
“So, you ladies ready to go? It’s only about a five minute drive from here.”
I checked myself out in the mirror one last time, and I nodded to Seth when I realized I wasn’t going to be able to get much better. Brooke finished her make-up and said she was ready to go too. We all hopped into Seth’s Dodge Ram truck, and went over the party rules, like we did for every party we went to. I was designated driver for the night, so I was in charge of making sure that everyone made it back safely to the dorms.
We made it to the house that was hosting the party, and I was surprised to see it was an actual house. I assumed it would be a run-down apartment or town house. This house was a cute yellow house that was two stories and looked slightly Victorian. It was so cute, and I was instantly grateful we weren’t going to a party in a crappy environment. We got out of the truck, and Seth stood next to me while I admired the house.
“You ready?” he asked.
“Of course!” I replied with a smile.
He smiled, wrapped his arm around my waist, and walked Brooke and me into the house. The music was pumping, and the party was already in full swing. Everyone had a cup or a beer in their hand and were dancing and talking loudly to one another. There was a DJ booth set up in what I assumed was the living room, which had been cleared out so that it could be a makeshift dance floor. We squeezed through the throng of people, and made it to the kitchen area where people were getting their alcohol and where a beer pong tournament was in full swing.
Brooke went right to the vodka and took a shot. I grabbed a water bottle, and Seth grabbed a beer. After Brooke took her shot, she quickly lined up a second shot to follow. After she downed her third shot, she grabbed my arm and shouted to me, “Let’s go shake our asses!”
I laughed at her, but acquiesced because I was ready to get lost in the music and have some fun with my friends. I turned to tell Seth that we were going to dance, but noticed him already chatting up a cute redhead. I eventually caught his attention and I motioned to the dance floor; he nodded to let me know he understood, and went back to talking to the girl.
