Delicate Promises

by Kelly Elliott

  With a nod like I remembered that was where he was from, I replied, “Ah yes, that’s right. The town of Bishop, home of the best fishing in Texas.”

  “In Bishop?” Miles asked, laughing. He handed me a beer and wrapped his arm around my waist.

  I gave him a look that said please don’t go there, but Miles chose to ignore it.

  “Bishop hardly has some of the best fishing,” Miles said, and I wanted to punch him because I knew he was doing it on purpose. Miles was looking to have a cock fight.

  Lucas faced Miles and gave him a once over. As a matter of fact, both men were looking each other over.

  Commence cock fight.

  “You from around here, bud?” Lucas asked.

  Miles nodded. “Born and raised in Hunt, Texas…bud.”

  “Then you should know that Bishop Lake has some of the best fishin’ in the state, if not the best fishin’.”

  Miles narrowed his eyes. “In that little ass lake of yours? Dude, I don’t think so. Y’all piss in that lake and then fish in it.”

  Lucas stood a bit taller. Honestly, he had nothing on Miles as far as his body or looks for that matter. Miles had serious muscles where Lucas was slightly built. But that didn’t stop the two of them giving each other another once over, as if they were assessing which one could beat the other’s ass.

  In my mind I wondered if they were each thinking who had the bigger truck, who spoke with a deeper southern drawl, who had an old Stetson they broke out for special occasions like weddings and Christmas dinner. Pretty soon they would bust out the cell phone photos of their mounted bass hanging on their walls.

  “I don’t think I know who you are,” Lucas said.

  Holding his hand out, Miles said, “Miles Warner.”

  “Never heard of you. You said you’re from Hunt? Funny, no one has ever mentioned you before.”

  Miles took a drink of his beer before he answered. “That’s probably because I joined the Marines out of high school and fought for our country so little pricks like you could brag about your podunk town.”

  “So, it’s a beautiful evening, isn’t it?” I said, attempting to break the tension.

  “How do you know Kynslee?” Miles asked.

  Oh no, I was not prepared for Miles to meet someone I had gone out with. Okay, so it was only one date, and nothing happened. But if he could punch his best friend from high school for making out with me over ten years ago, what would he do to the guy I had gone out with and let kiss me goodnight on the cheek not that long ago?

  “We went out,” Lucas answered.

  “Once,” I quickly added. “Heather went out with your friend Brad, and Lucas and I had to do the obligatory best friend blind date thing.”

  My voice sounded fake. I was clearly attempting to play it off like it was nothing. It had been nothing. And it happened before Miles came back to town. Months ago, for crying out loud. So why was I so worried?

  “Really?” Miles said, his voice sounding too calm.

  “Then I saw her tonight and decided I would come over and say hi. Possibly ask her out to dinner.”

  My eyes widened in horror. Did this guy have a death wish? Even I could feel the possessive nature of Miles. It practically oozed out of his pores. And why in the world would Lucas think I would ever want to go out again? We hardly said two words to each other. We had nothing in common. Nothing.

  “Is that so?” Miles said, taking another drink. I casually stepped between the two of them.

  “Lucas, how nice of you, but I’m actually with Miles.”

  Lucas bounced his eyes from me to Miles, then back to me. “You’re dating this guy? Why?”

  I closed my eyes. He did have a death wish. “We’ve known each other a number of years.”

  “I took her…”

  “Okay, Miles, let’s mingle, shall we?” I said.

  “Mingle? It’s a field party. Not a cocktail party,” Miles bit back.

  Reaching for his hand, I tugged him away from Lucas before he hit another person this evening.

  Miles laughed.

  “I’m glad you think it’s funny. Stupid idiot was begging you to hit him.”

  “Yeah, he was. It was sort of amusing. You must have made a good impression on him, Kyns.”

  “Hardly. I think we both were counting down until the end of the date. You threatened his manhood, and he was trying to salvage it.”

  “Please, I saw him make a beeline straight to you. The guy wants you.”

  I stopped walking and turned to face him. “What?”

  Miles looked me up and down. I had gone for a sundress that hugged my curves in all the right ways, my favorite cowboy boots and my hair up in a ponytail to finish it all off. I was hardly dressed like a sex kitten, but the way this man was looking at me had my body filling with excitement.

  “You’re the most beautiful woman here, Kyns. And I’m a lucky son of a bitch who will fight off every single one of these assholes if I have to.”

  My cheeks heated. “Miles, you…”

  He moved quickly, pressing his lips to mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck and let him kiss me until I was nearly breathless.

  Miles pulled his mouth away, then leaned his forehead against mine. Softly he whispered, “You’re mine, and I’m yours.”

  I swallowed hard. “Yes.”

  “Do you want to stay or head on out?”

  Laughing, I looked up at him. “Well, considering this is your welcome home party on your farm, we might want to stay longer than ten minutes.”

  He groaned. “Fine, but if I take you in the back seat of my truck, it’s your fault for making me stay.”

  His delicious threat only made me want to make him do exactly that.

  With a half shrug, I said, “I’ve always wondered what backseat truck sex would be like.”

  A sexy smirk moved over his face. “You are a naughty girl, aren’t you?”

  Winking, I said, “I try.”

  Two hours later, I sat around the giant fire with Heather to my right and some girl named Annie to my left. Annie was crushing on Trey and had met him in Austin a few years back. When he came to town it sounded like they hooked up for casual sex. She clearly wanted more, whereas Trey clearly wanted a casual hook-up with someone who didn’t live in Hunt, but close enough to still have fun. I sort of felt sorry for her. Trey was currently dancing with some bleached blonde and had his mouth all over hers.

  “Did you come with anyone?” I asked Annie.

  She shook her head. “Trey invited me, and I thought I’d be spending time with him. I don’t get to see him often with him being in the Army and all.”

  I searched for Miles. He was two sheets to the wind, enjoying his welcome home party. Most of the guys were pretty much drunk.

  “Where are you staying this evening? You’re not driving back to Austin, are you?”

  She shrugged. “It doesn’t look like I’ll be staying with him.” She jerked her chin toward Trey who was now grabbing the blonde’s ass, pulling her against him. I snarled.

  “What an asshole,” I mumbled.

  “My thoughts, too,” Annie agreed.

  “We can have a girls’ slumber party!” Heather said.

  “Like the old days!” Turning to Annie, I explained, “Usually after these field parties we would all spend the night at someone’s house. Sneak our folks’ booze into our rooms and talk about how stupid the guys acted at the party.”

  The three of us all turned back to the men.

  “I guess some things never change,” Heather said.

  It was then that I spotted Miles. Some redhead was running her finger over his chest, giving him fuck-me eyes. He took a drink of his beer and looked past her. Anger pulsed through my veins. Why was he even letting her touch him?

  “Oh shit,” Heather and Annie said at the same time. They must have been looking at the same thing I was.

  “Why is she touching him?” I asked.

  “More importantly, why is he
letting her?” Heather added.

  “Playing devil’s advocate here, y’all. He does look like he wants her to go away,” Annie said.

  The girl took Miles’s hand and attempted to get him to dance with her. He shook his head, taking a step away from her, breaking their contact.

  “This would be a good time for him to tell her he is here with someone,” I said.

  “I can hold your earrings if you want to kick her ass,” Annie said.

  Heather leaned over and looked at Annie. “Okay, I like you. I mean, I sort of feel like we hit it off anyway, but now I really feel like you’re my people.”

  Annie knocked her fist against her chest and pointed to Heather. “I’m right there with you.” Then they fist bumped.

  “I vote you kick her ass,” Heather said.

  Shaking my head, I took a deep breath. Miles had pulled away from the redhead, but he was still talking to her. Maybe he was telling her to fuck off, or maybe he was simply being polite. Whichever it was, I wasn’t going to sit on the sidelines any longer and watch.

  “I’m ready to leave. Miles can figure out how he’s getting home. What do you say, ladies? My house for that slumber party?”

  Annie grinned, probably thankful she didn’t have that long drive back to Austin.

  Heather stood. “I’m in!”

  Patty hadn’t made it to the party, but I had quickly sent her a text.

  Me: Slumber party at my house.

  Patty: OMG old traditions die hard! Miles drunk?

  Me: Yep.

  Patty: Count me in. I’ll meet y’all there and bring a couple of pizzas.

  “Patty is in and bringing pizza.”

  Heather and Annie both moaned in delight. Then Heather added, “Pizza sounds so much better than sex right now.”

  Annie and I looked at her, brows raised.

  “What happened to Kenny?” I asked.

  “Who’s Kenny?” Annie asked.

  “A really hot cop who has a thing for Heather,” I said. “They had hot sex a few days ago.”

  Annie waggled her brows. “Lucky girl.”

  Heather smiled. “Yeah, but he’s working. He’s always working.”

  “Ugh,” Annie and I said at once.

  “Looks like you’re driving Annie, since I came with Miles and Heather came with…who did you come with?” I asked.

  She rolled her eyes. “Doug.”

  “Doug! Doug Whitman?’

  “Don’t say it like it’s a bad thing. We’re friends, and he offered to drive. That’s it. I like Kenny, remember?”

  “I saw Doug sneaking off into the woods with some girl about an hour ago!” I said.

  Heather’s eyes grew wide. “Has it been an hour since he told me he was going to find a place to piss? Wow, I’m impressed that Doug has some stamina. I didn’t see that coming.”

  Annie covered her mouth and tried not to laugh.

  “Some psychic you are,” I mumbled as we followed Annie across the field.

  “Tell me that BMW is yours,” Heather said.

  Annie walked backwards, a proud smile on her face. “That BMW is mine.”

  “Too bad I like men. We’d be so good together.”

  Laughing, Annie hit the button and the black BMW came to life.

  “Kynslee! Kynslee!”

  Heather glanced over her shoulder and frowned. “Looks like Miles noticed you leaving.”

  I stopped walking. “Go on ahead. I’ll meet y’all at the car.”

  Annie and Heather both nodded, then kept walking.

  “Where are you going?” Miles asked, coming to a stop in front of me.

  “Home.”

  “Why?” he asked, a befuddled laugh falling from those perfect lips.

  “You’re drunk, and I really am not in the mood to watch women fall all over you, Miles.”

  “Fall all over me?”

  I sighed. “I get you’ve been gone and wanted to hang with your friends. That’s fine. But I’m tired of sitting there watching it all go down. You’ve pretty much left me to fend for myself tonight. I’m not interested in this scene anymore. If you are, then have at it.”

  “It’s just a fucking party, Kyns. So some girl touched me. I didn’t touch her back.”

  I stared at his drunk ass. “And what if that had been me, Miles? A random guy coming up and running his finger down my chest, over my cheek. Would you have sat there and watched while I simply looked away? No, you would have jumped over the fire and punched him. It works both ways, Miles.”

  “I’m sorry I didn’t react differently. I’m not the least bit interested in her, so why are you jealous?”

  There was no sense in arguing, especially with him drinking. I needed to just let it go and trust that he wasn’t going to do something he would regret. With a nod, I smiled. “Right. Whatever. Have fun tonight.”

  I went to walk away when he grabbed me by the arm and spun me to face him. “Don’t go, Kynslee.”

  I jerked my arm out from his. “I’m not staying. Goodnight, Miles.”

  As I walked away I felt his eyes watching me. One quick look over my shoulder proved I was right.

  Miles

  “DUDE, DON’T EVEN try to figure them out,” Trey said, taking a long pull from his beer. The blonde who had been all over him moved on to someone else when she found out Trey wasn’t going to have anything to do with her. Of course, this was after he realized Annie had left. Stupid idiot.

  “I’m pretty sure I can figure Annie out,” I said, giving Trey a hard stare. “You invited her here, probably with the pretense y’all would be together and then you started messing around with another girl who caught your eye.”

  Trey at least looked disappointed in himself.

  “We’re fuck buddies, and yes, when I come to town I usually hook up with her. I sort of forgot she was here.”

  Willy, another friend from high school and now the high school football coach, said, “How in the hell do you forget you’ve got a hot date here? Hell, if I had known you weren’t going to be with her, I would have tried my luck.”

  Trey stood, and I quickly jumped between them.

  “Settle down, boys. Settle down.” I slapped Trey on the chest. “You messed up, so have you tried calling or texting her?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, she’s at your girlfriend’s house hanging out with her new friends.”

  “With the way she stormed out of here, you think she’s still going to fill that role of girlfriend?” Willy asked.

  Rubbing the back of my neck, I sighed. “I’m not used to dating, and honestly, I was trying to get that redhead to leave me alone. What was I supposed to do, push her away from me? Tell her to fuck off?”

  The four guys all sitting around the fire looked at each other and then me. They all said yes at the same exact time.

  I laughed. “Bastards.”

  This had been my crew at one time. Trey, Willy, Ben, and Gus. The five of us had each other’s backs. Except for tonight, apparently.

  “That’s exactly what you should have done,” Ben said. He was the only one out of the group who was married with kids. “Listen, I haven’t been single in a long time. Y’all moved on after high school, but I stayed here, worked my daddy’s ranch, and married my high school sweetheart. I may not be single and playing the field, but I know women.” He turned to look at Trey. “You think Annie is content with your occasional hook-ups? I promise you she’s not. Her leaving tonight is a clear indication she wasn’t down watching you feel up another woman.”

  Trey groaned.

  “And you, Marine boy,” he said, jerking his chin at me.

  I glared at him. “I’m far from a boy, son.”

  He laughed. “You’re the worst of them all. You are actually getting the girl you’ve always wanted. The girl you’ve been in love with since high school—don’t deny it. We all knew how you felt for Kynslee. If she called, you dropped us like hot potatoes, and dude, we were always okay with it because it was Kynslee. She was
your girl. Any other guy here tonight would have been all over her, if we were in your shoes.”

  “I haven’t been home in years. Is it a crime to want to hang out with my friends and have a good time?”

  Ken shook his head. “Miles, listen to yourself. Dude, be honest. You wanted to let loose tonight, get drunk with the boys, and yes, you didn’t technically do anything wrong.”

  “Thank you!” I said.

  “I said technically. You might not have dry humped anyone like this asshole did with the blonde,” Ken said, pointing to Trey.

  “Hey dick, I’m not the one with a girlfriend.”

  “No, you’re not, but you were here with a date. Anyway, Miles, all I’m saying is if you wanted a night out with the boys, then have one. But you were here with Kynslee, your relationship is new. If that had been me and Missy, I can assure you, I’d have been by her side all night.”

  “Fuck. I screwed up again.”

  They all nodded, even Trey. Bastard.

  Ben stood. “Listen, I’m heading home. I hope you’ve tried calling her, Miles.”

  “I have. She’s not answering.”

  Looking to Trey, Ben shook his head. “Dude, I done think you’ve fucked up your chances with Annie.”

  Trey closed his eyes and groaned.

  Willy stood. “I’m out, too. I’ve got to go over the footage from tonight’s game. Y’all have a good night.”

  I lifted my hand and waved to them. “’Night, y’all. Thanks for coming.”

  Ben reached for my hand and shook it. “I’m glad you’re home, Miles. Thanks for your service.”

  “Yeah, dude, glad you’re home, and thanks!” Willy added.

  I shook both their hands. “Later, boys.”

  As they walked toward their trucks, Trey bumped me in the arm. “I’m drunk as hell, dude.”

  Laughing, I said, “Me, too. You can crash on my sofa. We’ll figure out the situation with the girls tomorrow.”

  He slapped my back as we stood. “Sounds like a plan.”

  As we walked toward my truck, I sent Kynslee a text.

  Me: Princess, I didn’t mean to make you upset. I love you, Kyns. Can we talk about this tomorrow? Please?

  She never replied.

  Later, I laid in bed and stared up at the ceiling. An eerie feeling washed over me, and I felt like something was sitting on my chest. I reached for my phone and pressed Kynslee’s name. It went to voicemail after it seemed to ring forever.