Free The Promise by Kate Benson

be productive with my time.
    Around six in the morning, I was able to do ze off for a couple hours and wake feeling a little better than I had when I’d been jolted awake by the nightmare. I stumble out of bed and make my way to the bathroom where I took one look in the mirror before walking back out. Who cares? Just me and Ana home anyway.
    As I ma ke my way to the kitchen, I hear muffled voices but don’t think much of it. Ana has a habit of leaving the TV on in her room so I’ve grown used to hearing the background noise. The coffee pot is empty but I’m not at all surprised. It’s a little past eight thirty and Ana was probably up half the night, same as me. I walk over to the cupboard to grab the coffee grounds to start a new pot only to find that we’re out.
    “Crap,” I mumble to myself as I shut the cupboard door.
    “Good morning, Sunshine!” Behind the door I see Chase’s cheesy boyish grin.
    “Wha … wait. What are you doing in here?” I ask confused by why this man is standing in my kitchen.
    “We ran into Ana this morning when she was buying some stuff for the house and we offered to help her set some of it up for y’all. Some of the furniture looked pretty heavy so we thought y’all could use a hand,” he explain s with a genuine smile as he takes in my appearance.
    “Oh. Well, that was nic e of you. Is she here?” I ask.
    “Yeah, she’s out there talking to Drake on the balcony,” he says, looking at my hair amused. He reaches out and gently tugs on the end of my disheveled braid with a playful smirk. “This is cute.”
    Oh no! I forgot how bad I look ! Not that I care what Chase thinks or anything but still. I feel the heat flame across my cheeks as I turn away, using Ana as an excuse to leave.
    “Thanks, I’m gonna go find Ana,” I sa y in my hasty retreat. Maybe she got some coffee while she was out.
    “Ana?” I call walking out to the balcony to find her laughing with Drake. Good Lord, they haven’t wasted any time at all, they’re all over each other. She turns to greet me, still laughing at whatever joke he’s just told her.
    “Oh hey Soph, I hope we didn’t wake you. I got some furniture for the balcony a nd ran into Drake and Chase. They were nice enough to offer to help us set it up. What do you think?” She asks pointing at the new furniture set she’s just purchased. It was dark wood with green cushions that had a white palm tree design all over them. I’ve never really given much thought to outdoor furniture but these look nice enough.
    “I like it. It looks comfy. Listen, I need coffee. Did you happen to pick any up while you were out?” I ask, desperately hoping she had. I am not a morning person. I hear Chase chuckle quietly from behind me.
    “Oh, crap! No, Soph I’m sorry I didn’t. I picked up some at Starbucks when I left this morning. I meant to grab some for the house while I was out but I forgot. You want us t o go grab you some?” she offers. I know she feels bad but there’s no way I’m going to have her go get me coffee.
    “No, don’t be silly. I’ll go get it I just wanted to check before I left,” I say turning to walk back in when I slam directly into Chase’s chest. Good Lord, he has muscles everywhere! I didn’t know he was standing so close behind me. The white t-shirt he’s wearing did little to hide them but touching them? Wow.
    “If you’re going into town, do you mind if I ride with you? I need to stop at the hardware store. Apparently, the table was missing a few bolts from the packaging and Drake’s got me blocked in. The hardware place is right next to Starbucks. You don’t mind, do you?” Chase asks, breaking me away from my gawking. I don’t love the idea of him riding in Jack’s truck but I can’t exactly tell him no either. He seems like a nice enough guy, not to mention he’s helping Ana put our stuff together.
    “Sure,” I say with a shy smile. I’m surprised to find it isn’t my normal fake smile, but a