Free Empty Promises (The Promises Series Book 3) by Elle Brooks Page A

I’ve seen this person before. He’s the hot-as-hell guy from Dr. Zahn’s office. I lick my lips, hoping to add moisture to them; my mouth has suddenly turned into a desert. He’s wearing a snug black T-shirt and tight black jeans, and… Shit, I’m staring.
    Blair’s shoulder nudges into mine subtly as she whispers under her breath, “I’d let him!”
    I burst out laughing, like a moron, and feel my cheeks heat as the guy—Lucas, if I remember correctly, stands unmoving and staring right back at me. I’m greedily letting my eyes wander over him, comparing his physique and looks to Ethan before I register that he’s holding his own IV stand. It’s like a cold bucket of water over my head.
    He’s sick too.
    “This is gonna sound weird, but I saw you come in, and I figured that life’s too short right? I need to tell you that you’re the hottest girl I’ve ever seen.”
    I look at Blair for confirmation that he did just say that, and her slack jaw endorses that it wasn’t just in my head. “Wow, he’s smooth.” She laughs as he shoots me a brilliant white smile. Blair stands and announces that she needs coffee before smirking at me, and mouthing, “You're welcome,” as she bails.
    Leaving me here … alone … with Lucas… Hot, sexy, pierced, Lucas, who’s smiling at me. And it’s not one of those half-hearted smiles. It reaches his dark chocolate eyes and lights up his whole face.
    Damn.
    “I know you, right? You’re the girl from my therapist's office,” he states as he moves around to the front of me so I’m no longer twisting, and takes a seat.
    “Yeah, I thought I recognized you. I’m Emily.” I offer out my hand to shake. God only knows why. Who shakes hands these days? Ugh.
    “Emily,” he repeats as if he’s trying the sound out to see if he likes it. He captures his lip ring between his teeth, and if he looked at my stats displayed on the monitor attached to my IV stand, he’d be able to see my heart rate increase because holy hell, was that hot.
    “I’m Lucas,” he says, stretching and taking my hand, giving it a little squeeze rather than a shake.
    “I know.” His eyes narrow in confusion. “Oh, I overheard your brother call you Lucas in Dr. Zahn’s office,” I clarify.
    “And you remembered. Should I take that as a good sign?” His smile is still fixed in place and his eyes are boring into mine. I’m not sure how to respond to that, or even if I can get my brain and mouth to work together to organize a coherent thought and correctly-structured sentence. So I don’t. Instead, I flash him a smile back.
    I think it was the right answer.
     

     
    “Okay, Blair, I didn’t just dream that up, right? Lucas was real, wasn't he?” I ask as Blair walks back into the common room thirty minutes later. My parents are hot on her heels.
    “If by Lucas you mean that emo hottie with the piercing, then nope. He was very real.” She smiles.
    “Hmmm, would we call him emo? I’m not convinced. There was a distinct lack of guy-liner. Anyway, this shitty night just got a whole lot better because it means I didn’t just imagine that kiss or his number in my cell,” I say a little more enthusiastically than intended.
    “You did not just kiss him!” she whisper-shouts as Mom and Dad rush up beside us to greet me, concern painted firmly across their faces. I answer her with a wiggled of my eyebrows, not wanting to say too much.
    “Oh my god, you did!”
    “Did what, honey?” Mom asks worriedly.
    “Nothing,” I reply softly, attempting to put her at ease.
    “I’m so sorry, honey. This must have been a horrible night for you,” Mom sighs.
    “Actually, no.” I smile genuinely. “It’s been pretty awesome.”

 

     
    THE FUNNY THING about kisses, especially a first kiss, is that they possess the power to render you stupid. One minute you’re a perfectly normal girl, and the next minute your thoughts are scattered, breathing suddenly doesn’t come so naturally anymore, and