Chapter 10 Zayden
ZAYDEN
MY EYES HAVEN’T LEFT the bathroom door for about ten minutes now.
Light filters through the slim space between the door and floor.
The sound of water running has me feeling restless.
Knowing Nora is just through the door, in my shower, is making me feel all kinds of things.
I already had the hots for her, but now I know what her lips feel like, how she tastes, and what sounds she makes when she …
The water shuts off, and my eyes stay on the door.
I tap my fingers restlessly against the mattress.
I don’t usually feel this way after a situation like this.
After Leasa, I was beginning to think I’d lost the ability to catch feelings, but Nora is doing a good job at proving me wrong.
I’ve already had to remind myself more than once that this isn’t a real relationship.
After a minute or so, she emerges from the bathroom.
Her long hair is damp, hanging down her shoulders.
She’s dressed in a baggy t-shirt and silky sleep shorts.
To finish the look, she has on black socks with a white smiley face.
I crack a smile. I’m somehow not surprised that she would wear something like that.
‘You have amazing water pressure in your shower,’ she muses, collecting her hair and bringing it around to one side as she combs her fingers through the strands, detangling them. I weirdly like watching her do these little things.
‘Mm,’ I mumble distractedly, my eyes travelling down her thighs. ‘Wanna go for a drive?’
She blinks at me. ‘Now?’
‘Yeah. I’ve only had two beers and that was a while ago. If that’s what’s worrying you.’
Her gaze flickers to the digital clock perched on my bedside table. ‘It’s almost ten p.m.’ She gestures to her body. ‘And I’m in my PJs.’
‘We won’t be seeing anyone.’
She raises a brow. ‘Well. Okay then. Why not?’
Pushing out of my bed, I step into my slides and grab my wallet. We head downstairs and I open the car door for her. She grins, sliding into the passenger seat. The clunky sound of the garage door opening fills the small space and I fall into my side before starting the car.
‘Where are we going?’ she asks.
‘Just a place I like to visit.’
‘Where is it?’
‘You’ll see.’
I don’t exactly know what possessed me to go tonight, at this moment, and take her with me.
This is a special place that I haven’t taken anyone to before.
It’s the spot I come to when I need a moment to clear my head.
When I need everything to be quiet. It’s not often that I crave the solidity of this place, but lately it’s been somewhere I’ve frequently visited.
The road is dead quiet as we make our way up to the cliff. She eyes me.
‘If I didn’t know you, I’d say this is the perfect place to take someone to—’ she pauses, dramatically slashing her thumb across her throat.
I chuckle. ‘I’m not planning to—’ I repeat her barbaric gesture.
She grins. ‘Good to know.’
It doesn’t take us long to get there, and as usual, there isn’t anyone else here. Cutting the engine, I jump out, and she does the same. Moving to the front of the car, I lean back onto the hood. Nora follows suit. The night air is cool, washing over us.
‘Wow,’ she breathes, peering out at the glittering buildings. ‘You can see the city from here.’
‘Yeah. It looks amazing in daylight, but there’s something about being here at night, when everything is so quiet, that does it for me.’ I gesture towards the trees off to our right. ‘There’s a few good walking tracks down that way, if you’re ever up for some exploring.’
‘Sure!’ She beams. ‘Sounds good. It’s beautiful.’
‘It is.’
When she glances at me, I’m staring at her. I can’t get her off my mind. I keep repeating what happened earlier in the pool. I want to mentally shake myself. I’m not supposed to have any distractions. I’m not supposed to fall for my sister’s best friend.
Everything about her, and the timing of this, is off limits.
It only makes me want her more.
‘Do you bring all your fake girlfriends here?’ she teases, nudging me with her elbow.
‘I’ve never brought anyone here.’
Her head whips towards me and she raises a brow. ‘Really?’
‘Yeah. So if suddenly everyone knows about it, I’ll know who snitched.’
She snickers. ‘Noted. How did you find this place?’
‘I ride and run a lot. I’ve found lots of good trails and tracks around this area.’
‘Ride?’ she questions.
‘Yeah. I have a mountain bike. I do a lot of long rides. It’s just a hobby.’
‘You seem to have a lot of hobbies.’
‘ADHD,’ I say, pointing at my head. ‘I have a new hobby every five minutes. It becomes my whole personality for a week and then I’m onto the next. Hence the random things all through my house.’
‘Oh yeah? What are some of your hobbies?’
‘Footy, mountain biking, running, golfing, fishing, hiking, motorbikes, skating, surfing. I also went through a musical stage. Taught myself to play the guitar. Then the drums. Convinced myself I could be in a band. Then I got into swimming and diving, but that didn’t last too long.
Then I was into photography and drones. Got myself a drone and a GoPro, and was obsessed with that for a good three months.
I still use them, but not as much now. Last month I got into rock climbing. Don’t know where that one came from.’
She releases a snort. ‘Wow. That is a lot of hobbies.’
‘I get bored easily.’ Her face falls a little, and I furrow my brow, wondering what caused that. ‘Of hobbies, I mean,’ I quickly amend, hoping she doesn’t interpret that as me getting bored of people. Of relationships. Of her. ‘Not of people.’
‘Right.’ She nods, not meeting my eyes. ‘Well, at least you know how to keep active.’
‘That’s the one thing I’m good at.’
‘It’s kind of amazing that you find the time to fit it all in, with your schedule and all.’
‘See, the problem is, these hobbies overtake my life and you know what always falls short?’
‘Studying? Assessments?’ She guesses.
‘Bingo.’
‘Well. I’m here now. I can help.’
‘I have an idea. If you want to hang out tomorrow, I’ll cook you a mad feed if you’re willing to put in some study time with me.’ I flash a grin. ‘I forgot to mention that one of my hobbies is cooking. I can make you anything you want.’
‘Is there anything you can’t do?’ She smiles. ‘You’re beginning to make me feel inadequate.’
‘I can’t write a book,’ I point out. ‘I’d be flat out reading a chapter, let alone attempting to write one.’
‘Oh?’
‘Yeah. My skills are certainly more physical.’ I offer her an exaggerated wink, and she rolls her eyes.
‘Oh, yeah. I got that.’
I smirk. ‘You think that provided you with some inspiration?’
‘It certainly did.’ She nods.
‘Glad to be of service.’
Nora is easy to talk to. We chat aimlessly about all sorts of things.
I can’t remember the last time I talked to a girl like this.
Not even with Leasa. In the beginning, sure, we talked a lot, and everything was good.
But for the last twelve months, we were like two toxic roommates who ranged from blatantly ignoring each other to screaming at each other, with sex thrown into it from time to time.
Even that wasn’t consistent in the end. Our relationship was all over the place.
It feels easy with Nora. That’s all I wanted.
Something that’s natural and flows. All the random hook-ups, the ones I remember, the ones I don’t …
it all fades into background noise over time, and I’ve lost my ability to care about any of it.
With Nora, it feels like I’ve found a good friend again, which is what I’ve always craved in a relationship.
Fake or not, this is the most real I’ve felt about anyone in a long time, and I hope I don’t fuck it all up.
‘Can I ask you something?’ she asks quietly, moving her hands under her thighs and lightly rocking back and forth. The car sways slightly. Turning, I scan her face, but she’s looking ahead, chewing her lip.
‘Sure.’
‘Are you doing okay, after your break-up with Leasa? I know it was a while ago but the other night … you still seemed quite affected by her.’
‘I’m over it,’ I answer. ‘That I’m sure about. But she seems to be literally everywhere I go.’ A weighty exhale leaves me. ‘I don’t miss her, but I miss having someone.’
‘Yeah,’ Nora agrees, reaching for my hand and placing hers on top of mine. ‘I know what you mean.’
‘It’s weird. I’m so busy. I’m always out doing things. I have such great friends. There are so many good things going on in my life, and yet at the end of the day, I still feel so damn alone.’
Grazing her thumb across my knuckles, she nods. ‘I know. Me too.’
The soft breeze blows her dark strands across her face.
I lightly trace my fingers against her cheekbone as I brush it back.
My eyes dart to her lips, and back up again.
She inches closer to me. I close the distance between us, sweeping my mouth across hers.
Deeply, and unapologetically. She moans softly into my mouth, and I push deeper, my tongue dancing with hers in a delicious clash of softness and a fight for dominance.
Breathlessly, we part, and I smile.
‘You’re one hell of a kisser for someone who claims they’re inexperienced,’ I say.
‘Good to know,’ she murmurs. ‘They do say practice makes perfect.’
Grinning, I pull her towards me and reclaim her mouth.
After spending another hour at the lookout, it becomes too cold to stay any longer.
I still feel wide awake when we get home, despite how late it’s getting. To be fair, I have a pretty terrible sleep schedule. Late nights aren’t uncommon for me. Nora fights off a yawn as we make our way upstairs.
‘You’re probably tired, but I think I’m going to watch a movie, if you want to join,’ I say. I could easily not watch a movie, but I want an excuse to prolong this night even more, simply because I’m enjoying her company so much.
She looks up at me in surprise. ‘You really are a night owl, huh?’
I shrug. ‘Yeah. I’ve always been like this.’
Yawning once again, she offers a one-shouldered shrug. ‘Sure. A movie sounds good. I must warn you though, I have a terrible habit of not making it through movies. And at this time of the night? There’s no chance I’ll see it through.’
‘My choice it is then.’
She goes to turn at the top of the stairs and I clear my throat. Glancing over her shoulder, I jerk a thumb down the hall.
‘My room.’
A blush darkens her cheeks. ‘Oh.’
‘If you’re comfortable with that, of course.’
‘That’s fine, I’ll just likely fall asleep.’
I attempt to look nonchalant. ‘I don’t mind.’
Our gaze is heated as it connects. Slowly, she nods, following me down the hall. After we both use the bathroom and brush our teeth, I crawl into bed. It feels nice having someone join me.
I scroll through Netflix and pick whatever is trending. Settling back into my pillows, I glance over at Nora. After a beat, she wriggles over to me, resting her cheek on my chest.
She doesn’t even make it through the first scene.
I thread my fingers through her hair, enjoying how she nestles into me, warm and soft.
‘Goodnight, Nora,’ I whisper, pressing my lips to her hair. ‘Sweet dreams.’