Promise Me Always by Kari March Read Free Book Online Page A

snoring when he came in! I put the Advil in my mouth and downed the Gatorade.
    I reached for my phone next and saw that I already had seven missed calls from Jared. He had left one voicemail and sent a text message. Shit! I had completely forgot about Jared. Closing my eyes, I tried to remember the details from the night before. My mouth twisted into a huge smile as memories of Blake entered my mind. I looked back at my phone, checking the text message first.
    When will u b home? We need 2 talk babe call me
    I rolled my eyes and hit play on the voicemail. “Baby, please, answer your phone! We need to talk. I’m so sorry. Please, just give me a chance to explain. I don’t want to lose you. I love you, baby, call me. Please!”
    Ugh! I was already dreading this day. I swung my legs off the bed to stand up, but I didn’t hit the floor
    “Ouch! Shit, baby girl! What are you doing, trying to kill me?” Blake mumbled sleepily, rolling over beneath my feet.
    “Oh crap! Sorry! I didn’t know you were down there,” I apologized, bringing my legs back up on the bed. “Wait—why are you sleeping on the floor?”
    “I didn’t want to sleep in the living room with the others. They all snore and it keeps me awake.”
    “Well, you didn’t have to sleep on the floor! This is a king bed—you could have just slept next to me,” I said with a giggle.
    “You were already asleep when I came in and I didn’t want to wake you. You looked so peaceful lying there,” he said softly, his amazing smile lighting up his handsome face. He paused for a moment, his features darkening a bit. “I take it Jared already called you?”
    “Yeah, how did you know?”
    “I heard your phone vibrating all morning. I almost answered it to tell him to fuck off, but I didn’t.”
    I started laughing. “That, actually, would have been pretty funny. By the way, thanks so much for the Advil and Gatorade this morning. How did you know I would need it?”
    “I saw how many Patron shots you did last night and I figured it was a safe bet,” Blake stated, winking at me.
    “Thanks, Blake. That was sweet of you,” I said with a genuine smile. “Well, I better get up and get home so I can call Jared’s ass back. This is going to be fun.”

    When I got home, I took a long shower and decided to make something to eat before calling Jared back. I reasoned that I was going to need all of the energy I could muster to get through that conversation. Really—I was just stalling. I didn’t want to call Jared back at all. I didn’t have much to say, except that he was an asshole. I also knew he could be persuasive when he wanted to be and, to be honest, I still loved him. I really wanted to have my head on straight before I returned his call.
    An hour later, I got up the courage to call him back. I knew that if I didn’t, he would show up at my apartment and then I would really be screwed. I picked up the phone, found his name, and hit the green button. I was full of dread. I did not want to do this—now or ever.
    He picked up immediately. “Baby, I am so sorry! Please, can I come up? I am outside. I’ve been sitting here for an hour waiting for you to call.” He sounded so worried. Just hearing his voice pleading like that—he was already breaking through my walls. I needed to stay strong.
    “I don’t know if that is the best idea, Jared. I’m still really hurt and I just don’t think anything good could come from seeing you right now.” I started to cry. I couldn’t fight back the anger that was building up inside me. Images from the night before flashed vividly through my mind and my anger boiled over. “You fucked someone else! AGAIN! You know what—I can’t believe I called you back in the first place.”
    “Babe, please I’m coming up. I have to see you. I need to explain,” he said in a rush. I heard him close his car door.
    “No, Jared! I don’t want you coming up. I’m serious. Go away. We’re done,” I said, trying to sound