Best Kept Promise (Best Kept #2)

Chapter 36: I'm Not Sending You Nudes

Thank you wistfulsmile for the cover!!! <3

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"What about this?"

Ella tilts her head to the side, examining the black skater skirt in my hand. Then she snatches it with a smile. "Perfect. Now I have a lot of stuff to try on."

I laugh and follow her to the dressing rooms. Stepping inside, I set the clothes down on the bench and walk backwards so she can shut the door.

"Where'd Tyler go?" She asks.

I shrug, even though she couldn't see. "Probably Game Stop with Mason and Benji. Or he could be lost. Which wouldn't be surprising either."

"Wouldn't be surprising," she agrees. "When he took me to the mall that day, he dragged me into Game Stop. It wasn't bad, but we were in there for a good hour, almost two. But I think that's why he bought me a lot of candy before we went in there to keep me distracted. It didn't work."

I laugh. "Sounds like Tyler."

"Is he leaving soon?" She asks suddenly.

My heart falls along with my smile. "Yeah, in four days for a couple of weeks. It won't be too bad though," I lie. "He'll be back before I know it. He won't have time to miss me."

Ella lets out a really loud laugh that makes me jump a little. "He'll be calling you every five minutes if he gets the chance."

I snort. "We'll see about that."

Ella finishes trying on clothes and decides to get mainly all of it, except for a couple of shirts but that's it. We've done a lot of shopping today so she's ready for school tomorrow. I start classes again tomorrow too and I'm dreading it. But the way I'm taking classes this year won't take up a lot of time. Some will be taken online and I'll go on campus three days a week instead of five.

Ella uses her mom's card to pay for it all because Evie really doesn't care. She couldn't even take her own daughter shopping, but it doesn't matter because I'd rather take her. We have more fun anyway.

My arms are lined with Ella's bags. I glance at her and she has the biggest smile on her face. It makes my heart swell. I'm not sure how often she smiles, but I hope it's a lot.

"There's your boyfriend," Ella exaggerates.

I roll my eyes and look ahead to see Tyler coming towards us. Mason and Benji are directly beside him. It looks like Benji and Mason are bickering over something, but Tyler's completely ignoring them.

When we reach them, Tyler takes Ella's bags first off. "Did you buy the whole store?" He asks before taking the ones from my arms too.

"Stores," Ella corrects. "And I do have enough money to do that, but I probably shouldn't because my mom would throw a fit."

I start laughing. "Then maybe you should."

Ella shrugs a shoulder. "It is funny to see my mom get mad. Her voice is so high pitched it's hilarious. It's hard to take her seriously when I get grounded for no reason."

Tyler chokes on a laugh. "I know the feeling."

"Oh no," I say, "if you got grounded, it was definitely for a reason. Like chasing the neighbors cat or trying to light the house on fire."

He opens his mouth to protest, but snaps it shut.

"She's right," Benji interrupts. "One time, he tried to make s'mores in the apartment and almost burned it down."