Romantic Promises (Alluring Promises Series, #2)

by Baker, Janice

  I glanced around her bedroom and thought about sitting down on the bed like I did last night, but heard her singing to herself in the vanity area. I peeked quickly and watched Vanessa apply make-up, she caught my eye and smiled.

  “Hoping to catch me naked again?” She teased with a glint in her eyes.

  I walked in and hopped up on the counter as I watched her apply blush. “Nah. Just thought I’d head in here while I wait for you. I meant to invite Aubrey, but forgot to.”

  She chuckled as she searched for something in her drawer before pulling out a tube of something. I watched her unscrew the top and pull out a long black wand. She pulled it up to her long lashes and began to stroke them with the wand brush. “I bet you forgot. Aubrey was wearing her tiny clothes and you couldn’t remember what it was you were saying, huh?”

  I laughed as I averted her eyes and looked to the floor. “Something like that.”

  “She’s packing anyway and has to leave soon. She won’t want to come with us.” I nodded. “So I was thinking about what you said last night — that I shouldn’t call Luke. Is that dating rule 101?”

  “No, that’s just a basic ‘don’t come off as desperate’ 101 rule.” I replied.

  Frowning, she stared into the mirror before protesting, “I don’t think I would come off as desperate.”

  I shrugged while looking around at her countertop. “Fine. Don’t trust my male knowledge. Call him and see what happens.” Did I feel guilty? Nope. Not a bit. If she does wind up calling him and doesn’t get a response or he tells her he doesn’t want to see her again, who’s going to be the shoulder she cries on? Yep. I got a plan for this.

  She stopped applying her makeup and gave a soft pout while turning toward me. “He seemed into me last night, didn’t he? Or was that just me being tipsy?” She shook her head as she looked back at her reflection.

  I picked up a bottle of her perfume and sniffed the pump. Wow. I really like that one. Flowery. “I don’t know. He’s goofy like that. I’ve met him before. Think he’s too into bodybuilding or something.”

  “What do you mean? He doesn’t really date?”

  “Nah. Bodybuilding takes up too much of his time. I haven’t seen him there in a while. I was actually surprised to see him there last night. You’re better off. He travels a lot and girls are always hanging on him.” I picked up another bottle and took a look at the label. I felt her glare so I looked up to see her staring at me.

  Vanessa wrinkled her brows and squinted her eyes while glaring at me. “He said he doesn’t compete,” Vanessa pointed out. One hand moved to her hip and she jetted it out. “Did you chase him away?” She walked the couple steps to me and looked up to my face. I couldn’t help but smile. Maybe I just like to banter with her like this.

  “I didn’t chase him away.”

  Her mouth popped open and she smacked me on my arm. “What did you tell him about me?”

  “Nothing!” I protested as I pretended my arm was hurt where she hit me.

  She squinted her eyes. “Are you lying to me?”

  “Pfft. No.” I tried not to look her in the eyes, but when I looked back at her she dropped her gaze to the countertop. I clapped my hands to change the subject. “Come on. Let’s go get some coffee. You look like you could use a pick me up.”

  She pulled her brows together staring at me and then looked at her reflection. Turning her head from side to side she seemed to be reviewing her features. I hopped off the counter and laughed. “I’m not saying you look bad. I just thought we discussed getting some coffee.”

  After she finished getting ready we headed out to a nearby diner. I grabbed a booth near a window and sat down. I ordered this great platter they have called the Hangover Special. I glanced up to see Vanessa looking at me curiously.

  After the waitress left she asked, “Are you hungover?”

  I shook my head. “No, but the food here is great. I’ll let you try some if you want.” I threw her my best smile and she shook her head, laughing.

  “No, I’ll just stick with my coffee, but thank you.”

  I shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

  Just then the waitress returned with Vanessa’s coffee and my Bloody Mary.

  “I didn’t hear you order that,” Vanessa quipped as she watched me take a sip.

  “Comes with the order. Want some?”

  She nodded and took a sip. “Wow. That’s really good,” she remarked as she licked her lips.

  I smiled. “Wait ‘til you try my food. You’ll be begging to come back here.”

  “Begging, huh?” She teased with her eyes smiling bright.

  I looked right into her eyes and whipped my brow up. “I did enjoy it when you begged.”

  Her smile dropped and just as I thought, she hadn’t intended to tease me about our night. She quickly glanced around the room.

  “Looking to see if there’s any co-workers?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Yeess.”

  “Who gives a shit? What would one of them do anyway if they over heard how you like to beg?”

  Her eyes grew wide and she pressed her lips together. I chuckled, dying to tease her some more.

  Just then the waitress brought my food and placed it in front of me. Vanessa’s eyes grew wide as she took in the food on my plate.

  “Ah,” I clapped my hands together and picked up my fork to dig into the gorgeous display of food.

  “Is that…?” I looked up at Vanessa asking her almost question as I chewed my food smiling. She grabbed the fork that was with her spoon for her coffee and dug in for a taste. Putting her fork to her mouth, she moaned and I swear her eyes rolled back the same way as I remembered when she came for me. I stared at her as my dick got rock hard immediately. I swallowed and tried to tear my gaze away from her tongue licking her lips after she swallowed. “Wow. That really is good. You were right,” she said as she nodded. Her eyes met mine and I must have looked like a dumb ass. “What?” she asked, clearly concerned by the look on my face.

  I shook my head more to get my erotic thoughts out of my head. If I could have grabbed her and slammed her against the wall to fuck her hard I would have. “Matt?” She asked again when I still couldn’t answer her.

  “Nothing. I, umm.” I ran my hands through my hair trying to just breathe again and shake my desires for her. One night with her was definitely not enough.

  Vanessa didn’t seem to notice what could possibly be going through my mind by my facial expressions because she wanted to start a discussion.

  I watched her lean in slightly, placing her arms onto the table as she asked, “So when you see a girl, Matt. Do you automatically think ‘Hmm, I want to bang her?’”

  I chuckled, especially that she dropped her voice trying to sound like a guy. “Bang her?” I repeated as I raised my eyebrow.

  “Yeah, well what word do you use?”

  I laughed again while I stared at Vanessa. I was wondering where she was headed with this question. I can’t answer her honestly since I’m still trying to “bang” her again. Veering on the safe side, I said, “Well, I…”

  She held up her index finger as she interrupted me, “Be honest,” she instructed me.

  I closed my eyes and hung my head down. “I can’t be honest about something like that. That’s pretty much a rule you never tell your girlfriend.” Fuck. Why would I say that? I swallowed and hoped she didn’t pick up on that.

  “Well I’m not your girlfriend, Matt. We’re just friends. And you don’t do the girlfriend thing anyway, remember?” She smiled teasingly. Fuck. That smile of hers is just…entrancing. Is that the word, I asked myself as I stared at her lips. She pulled me out of my moment by hitting my arm playfully.

  “Stop doing that lip staring thing. Answer my question,” she demanded teasingly.

  My eyes flicked back to hers quickly. I didn’t realize I had done that. “What was the question?” I honestly couldn’t remember. Right now all I want to do is lean in and brush my lips against hers. I wante
d to taste her again. I want that breath thing we shared where right before we kissed, I inhaled her…

  “Matt! What do you think when you’re looking at a beautiful woman?” She insisted I answer.

  I snapped out of my thoughts and remembered the conversation we were having. “Oh come on! You don’t really want to hear this. Not to mention…”

  “Sure I do. I want to know what a man really thinks.”

  “You know what a man thinks. He looks at your tits and your ass and thinks, damn I need to bend her over and shove my cock in her.” Vanessa pulled back slightly shocked. “Oh, don’t give me that. You’re not so innocent.” I leaned in closer and whispered, “I remember how dirty you can be. You think the same type of shit when you see a hot guy.”

  She pulled back and seemed to pretend to be surprised. Bullshit. “I do not!”

  “Really? So what does a woman think?” Vanessa looked around, still holding a small smile on her beautiful lips. Then she pressed them together as she rolled her eyes. “Come on. You tell me what a woman thinks as she’s looking at a good looking guy like me.”

  I couldn’t contain my laugh as I watched her roll her eyes. “Forget it. I surrender. We’re done with this,” she stated plainly as she held her hand up, still holding her coffee mug in the other hand.

  “Oh no. You started this. I want to know now. What did you really think when I first walked into your office?”

  She smirked and coyly asked, “What makes you think you’re a good looking guy?” Then her teeth tugged on her full bottom lip. Her eyes were definitely telling me something totally different. My heart beat faster as I awaited her answer, wanting to know what she really thought about me when we first met.

  I stared deep into her eyes and lowered my voice as I placed my arm on the table. “Because the way you’re looking at me right now, I can’t be ugly.”

  She swallowed and took a drink from her mug. I leaned in, refusing to let this go. If I could get another night with her from this or God help me, many more, then I was sure as hell going to try. “Did your panties get all wet for me? Did you picture us together? What I could do to you?”

  I watched her chest rise as if trying to catch her breath. I got to her. Hell yeah, I got to her. “Just say the word Vanessa and I’m yours again,” I whispered as I placed my hand on her jean-clad thigh, rubbing her lightly with the tips of my fingers. Her hand came immediately on top of mine to stop the movement, but she didn’t remove it. I noticed that. Her hand was on top of mine, pressing down slightly into her thigh.

  Her eyes were wide, not looking at me as she swallowed. “We can’t,” she insisted, although I was unsure if she was trying to convince herself or try to remind me.

  I couldn’t resist trying to press harder to see if she would give in as I squeezed her thigh slightly making her breath hitch. I turned up the corner of my mouth, as I watched her eyes flick to my lips. “We can. No one would ever know. We live right across from each other.” She pressed her lips together as she glanced back into my eyes.

  “Excuse me.” She jumped up and practically ran to the bathroom. Shit. I sat back in my chair, ticked off at myself for pressing too hard, but knowing she really did want to.

  When Vanessa returned from the bathroom, she wasn’t in a playful mood anymore. She must have had a discussion with herself or something. I wondered if she called Aubrey and had a “don’t give in to Matt” talk or something.

  We walked back to our building and she told me she had some work to get done. I reminded her about heading over to Mel and Flynn’s around five for dinner. I think she forgot about it because she seemed slightly surprised, but nodded her head.

  We walked several blocks together to get to Mel and Flynn’s townhouse. I always loved their place. Flynn’s dad bought it way back when the whole area was starting to be built up. Flynn dated an interior decorator at the time and she really did a nice job. Too bad she was a little crazy, but also good because he and Mel got together after. It all worked out.

  Izzy and Z were already there and Clark shot me a text that he was on his way. We walked in and the guys were on the couch watching pre-season football. I smacked Z and Flynn’s hands before walking over and hugging Izzy, who was cooking up a storm. Mel was already perched up on a bar stool at the kitchen island right next to the couch. Vanessa took an empty bar stool and sat down after greeting everyone. Vanessa handed a bottle of wine to Mel, thanking her for inviting her over. I kept telling her she didn’t need to bring anything, since we do this just about every Sunday night, but she insisted it was proper etiquette.

  Mel thanked her and uncorked the bottle immediately, pouring a glass for both herself and Vanessa. The rest of us all drank beer. I started to sit next to Vanessa at the kitchen island, but she looked over towards me and told me I should sit with the guys on the couch. I didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable, remembering what she told me about how nervous she gets when she first meets people. Although this wasn’t the first time meeting everyone, I still didn’t want her to feel odd. I gave her a quick squeeze on her shoulder and walked over to join the boys.

  I was chatting with the guys about the game when I overheard Vanessa ask the girls, in a lowered voice, “So do you guys get tired of Matt bringing a different girl here each week?”

  I glanced back in time to watch Mel and Izzy exchange glances. “He’s never brought a girl over for dinner,” Mel responded. I couldn’t see Vanessa’s expression, but I could imagine she was surprised.

  Izzy reaffirmed Mel’s statement, “No, he’s never brought anyone over,” as she shook her head.

  I was glad I took the corner seat so I could turn my body to listen to Vanessa’s next question. “What about Clark?”

  Izzy laughed, “Only Tina and that’s every once in awhile.”

  Mel chuckled, “Only every third month. Oh wait and make sure it isn’t that time of the month.”

  “He keeps track of her cycle?” Vanessa asked surprised. It’s Clark. I would think she would know by now not to be shocked by what that guy does.

  Speak of the devil, Clark picked that same time to walk through the front door. “Honey, I’m home!” he called out as he walked in holding up his hands, smiling. “Damn that smells good, Izzy!” He proclaimed as he walked in and grabbed Izzy for a hug. He came around and gave Mel a hug and then looked at Vanessa. “Hey neighbor,” he chimed as he tried for a hug. I watched Vanessa awkwardly hug him back.

  “Hey Clark, we were just talking about when Tina comes over for dinner and Vanessa was surprised you keep track of her monthly. When is it?” Mel asked with mirth shining in her eyes. She couldn’t help but prove to the girls what Clark does. Again, it shouldn’t surprise any of us what he does anymore.

  Clark pulled out his phone and replied, “In about nine days,” without skipping a beat as he turned to chat with us guys and sit on the couch. He looked back over to me and in Clark style, loudly told me, “You better figure out when Vanessa’s is. You don’t want to be around women during that shit.” Wadded up paper napkins started flying at Clark’s head as we all started to yell at him. Hey, we’re not about to get on the girls’ bad side, we might not get fed tonight.

  The girls continued to chat as the guys sat there watching football and commented on favorites and what would happen.

  We all sat down at Mel and Flynn’s new dining room set that accommodates eight comfortably. The dining room held a small table for years and we never used it. Adding to our Sunday night ritual must have prompted the new purchase.

  The dinner, as usual, was fantastic and the conversation always fun and light. Being home with these guys was actually working out pretty nicely and having Vanessa fit into the group so well was an added bonus.

  Vanessa thanked them profusely for the wonderful meal and great company when we were trying to head out. We were going to stay and play some pool, but Vanessa said she had some work to get done before tomorrow, so we decided to head back. Clark had left a while ago, claiming
he was going to meet up with some chick a little later.

  Grey heavy clouds started forming in the evening sky as we started our casual stroll back to our apartment building. Aside from those clouds, it was a warm and comfortable evening. The sun was still hanging over the city behind cloudy skies and the moon was already making an appearance in the sky line. There was a mix of almost dark with the warm glow of the sun still hanging over us. It was a perfect night for walking back with a beautiful girl.

  “Oh crap. I didn’t bring my umbrella,” Vanessa muttered as she glanced up at the sky, amusing me with her worried expression.

  “It’s probably going to be just a little rain,” I remarked as I looked towards the same clouds she was peering at. I was probably wrong as they seemed to become darker with every step we took towards home.

  “Yeah, but I’m never caught without my umbrella,” she told me with a slightly embarrassed grin as I gave her a soft laugh knowing she probably would do that. “No really, I usually am pretty good about checking the forecast before I leave the apartment,” she insisted.

  I smiled at her and realized she probably plans for everything. “You’re not spontaneous, are you?” I asked knowing the answer already.

  She laughed and threw me an incredulous look. “I’m sorry, have you met me?” she teased sarcastically, still smiling. Her eyes were so beautiful and seemed to match the evening sky. It was just twilight so the moon was out already and mixed with the street lights and light from the remnants of the sun made her eyes really stand out, especially with her gorgeous smile.

  I tried to look away from her eyes. “You need to loosen up a little. Not everything has to be planned,” I told her. I was pretty sure if she just let go of a little control sometimes she would really enjoy life a little more.

  “I don’t plan everything, I just like to know what’s coming next, that’s all,” she said with a slightly defensive shrug. “I’m not so great with surprises.” She laughed as she said that, making me wonder if there were some story behind that.