The Promises We Keep (Made for Love Book 1) (28 page)

“
Hey,
”
Sarah catches my attention as I close out a ticket at the register just beside the bar.
“
You
’
ve got someone at table six. And, boy, is he a looker,
”
she says with a wink before taking her tray back to the kitchen. I shake my head at her as she goes and then make my way back out on the floor. The loner at table six has his back to me, but I can see that he
’
s tall with a head full of disheveled auburn hair.
It
’
s kind of unfair how guys can look so good with what appears to be bed-head. My bed-head is atrocious.

“
Hey, welcome to Cooper
’
s,
”
I say in greeting as I make my way around his table.
“
I
’
m
—”
I gasp loudly and my jaw drops as I stare at him.
“
Grayson?!
”

“
Hey, Addie,
”
he says with a laugh.

“
Oh, my
—
your
—
hair,
”
I stutter, still in shock that his long waves are now cut much shorter.

“
Yeah, weird, right?
”
he says, reaching up to run his fingers through it.

“
No! Good. Really good.
”
I can
’
t help but laugh at myself. I sound like a caveman.
“
I like it. A lot! What made you decide to cut it?
”

He shrugs, but the smile that lingers on his lips says something different.
“
I just thought it was about time I cleaned up a little bit.
”

“
Well, it looks great. Has Avery seen it?
”

“
Yeah,
”
he mutters, averting his eyes from mine as if he
’
s embarrassed.
“
I think she liked it.
”

“
Hey, Addie.
”
Jackson walks up from behind me and offers me a one-arm-hug before he sits across from Grayson.

“
Hi, Jack.
”
For a moment, I bask in the fact that I
’
m happy to see them. I mean, it
’
s not so much that I
’
m surprised
—
they are my friends, after all
—
it
’
s just that I
’
m suddenly reminded that they
’
re important to me. Avery was absolutely right when she said that I
’
m not myself without my friends. I
’
m not a loner. None of us are, which is why we do so many things together.

Together
.

It dawns on me that if Jack is here and Gray is here then there
’
s a chance that
—

“
Hey.
”
He speaks softly, but the sound of his voice is like a warm blanket being wrapped around me. I didn
’
t realize how much I missed it. I turn to face him and it takes every fiber of my being to keep myself from falling apart. I want to hug him. I want to kiss him. I want to feel his arms around me. Knowing that none of those things will happen, I want to cry. I want to eat a chocolate brownie. I want to be anywhere but right here.

At the same time
—
oh, I
’
ve missed his face.

God
—
how in the world do You expect me to handle this?

My heart and my brain simultaneously alert me to the fact that my last thought was my first prayer in two days. I haven
’
t really felt like talking to God lately. I know that I should. I know that Beckham probably is
—
but that
’
s part of the reason why I don
’
t want to. I believed him when he said he had prayed about this decision. I believed him when he said that he felt right about our breakup. I
have
to believe him because it
’
s the only way that any of this makes any sense. And because I believe him, that means that God had something to do with our breakup.

As stupid and childish and unreasonable as it may be to ignore the Creator of the universe, who is not only omnipresent but also omniscient, I
’
m doing it anyway.

“
Addie?
”
Beckham speaks, once more.

I smack my palm against my forehead in an attempt to scatter my thoughts.
“
Sorry. I
’
m sorry.
”

“
Are you okay? I didn
’
t know you were working. Should I leave? I can go.
”

My eyes shoot up to look into his. I want to drown in those pools of blue. I shake my head, answering his question and clearing my mind at the same time.
“
No. No
—
please. Stay. I
’
m okay. I
’
m fine. What can I get you guys to drink?
”

Beck and Jack each order a beer. I don
’
t card them because I know exactly when their birthdays are and I know they
’
ve both been legal for months now. Gray orders a Sprite. As soon as I have their orders, I head back to the bar. Every step I take away from their table, I lose a little bit more of my composure. When I reach my destination, my eyes are stinging and my breaths are coming in short spurts.

“
Got an order?
”
asks Roman as he makes his way toward me.

“
I lied,
”
I blurt out the words without thinking.
“
I lied to him. I
’
ve never lied to him.
”

I barely register that his eyebrows dip in confusion as he asks,
“
Who? What are you talking about?
”

“
He asked me if I was okay.
”
The words just keep pouring from my mouth and I can
’
t stop them. I think if I don
’
t keep talking, I
’
ll start crying.
“
He asked me if I was okay and I told him I was. I
’
m not. I
’
m not okay. Oh, crap
—
I
’
m not okay.
”

“
Hey, look at me,
”
Roman insists. For some reason, I obey.
“
What
’
s wrong? Talk to me.
”

I can no longer speak. My eyes are too full and if I open my mouth now
…

I bite down on the inside of my cheek until I taste blood. It doesn't stop the tears from falling.

“
Addie
…
.
”

“
Addie?
”

“
Addison.
”

Roman, Sarah, and Beckham all speak at the same time but Beckham wins my attention. He standing so close I can
feel
his body heat radiating off of him. For a split second, I don
’
t care that we
’
re broken up
—
I need to touch him; and in that split second, my body acts before I can stop it. I cling to him and the relief I feel when he wraps his arms around me is overwhelming. He awkwardly yet gently guides me away from the bar and further down the service hallway, all the while keeping me close.

“
Addison, I
’
m sorry. It was really stupid of me to come. Stupid and selfish. I
’
m going to go.
”

“
No,
”
I sniff, looking up at him.
“
Please, don
’
t go. I
’
ll stop crying in a minute. I just
—
this is so hard and so confusing. I
’
ve missed you and I don
’
t know how to handle it and I
’
m sorry. I
’
ll stop. I just
—
I just need a minute.
”

“
You don
’
t need to apologize, okay? I get it. Better than anyone.
”
He reaches up to wipe away my tears and his touch soothes me.
“
I
’
ve missed you, too. To be honest, I didn
’
t know you were working tonight but I was hoping you were. I realize, now, that makes me kind of an ass.
”

I know he knows that if we ran into each other tonight that it would be hard for me. But the fact that he wanted to see me, the fact that he missed me, it makes
public meltdown number two
completely worth it.
“
No, it doesn
’
t,
”
I assure him.
“
Don
’
t leave. You being here
—
with Jack and Gray
—
that
’
s normal. If we
’
re always avoiding each other
…”
I let my voice trail off, unwilling to finish the sentence.

“
When do you get off?
”
he asks, pulling away from me. He slides his fingers into his pockets as if he needs some sort of restraint to keep himself from touching me. It kind of makes me feel a little better.

“
At eleven,
”
I answer.

“
How about you and Sarah join us when you
’
re done? Like you said
—
all of us hanging out, that
’
s normal. We
’
ll kill three birds with one stone. I
’
ll get to see you, you
’
ll get to see me, and we
’
ll get a chance to adjust to the new normal.
”
His suggestion is both appealing and totally unattractive, but I nod in agreement. I need to be near him no matter how much it tears me apart.
“
Okay. I
’
m going to head back.
”

“
Yeah,
”
I mutter, rubbing away the remnants of my outburst.
“
I
’
ll be over with your drinks in a second.
”
As I make my way back to the bar, I notice Sarah is out on the floor, helping one of her tables. She catches my eye and shoots me a worried look but I force a smile and mouth
I
’
m fine
.

“
You okay?
”
asks Roman as he rests his elbows on the counter.

I shift my focus toward him and free a sigh.
“
I will be,
”
I answer honestly.

“
So it wasn
’
t my amazing yoga class that brought you to tears this morning, after all,
”
he quips. I surprise myself when I laugh.
“
Ah, a smile,
”
he says, flashing me a smile of his own.
“
Yeah, you
’
ll be alright.
”
My amusement lingers as he pushes himself up off the bar.
“
So, what can I get for you?
”

I decide then and there that Roman is
officially
my new friend.