Chapter 13 Nora
NORA
BOTH ANYA AND CAMI have returned from their trips, making the past week feel like a weird fever dream – the cyclone, staying with Zayden, all the things we got up to …
I haven’t seen Zayden all day and nerves are accumulating in my gut at the thought of his return.
What happened in the last few days seems like an alternate reality and now that regular life has resumed, things are going to go back to how they were: Zayden being my friend’s older brother who I occasionally see when I’m over here.
Agreement disregarded, no feelings attached, all done and dusted.
A part of me knows it’s not going to be like that. Zayden asked me to stay, but it feels different now that everyone is back. Like we won’t be protected by our little bubble anymore, now that it’s burst.
‘I’m going to kill that bitch,’ Cami gripes, lips turned down into a scowl as she shakes her head. We’re sitting in Anya’s lounge room, and I can feel Cami’s fury from across the coffee table. ‘I’m going to lose it when I see her.’
‘It’s done, honestly, don’t worry about it.’ I exhale, shrugging. ‘I’ve barely been back there, I’m hoping they’re going to leave me alone.’
‘It’s done when I say it’s done,’ Cami states, tossing her glossy black hair over her shoulders and running her tongue across her teeth. ‘She will feel my wrath.’
Warmth radiates through me. I’ve never had two friends so fiercely protective and loyal to me before. It’s so damn refreshing. These are my true best friends. I’ve had good friends before, but this feels different. These girls feel like family.
Anya giggles. ‘Have mercy on their souls.’
‘Anyway,’ I say, directing the topic to something else. ‘How was your trip, Anya?’
‘It was great! The weather was perfect …’ she trails off, wincing. ‘Sorry to rub that in. Didn’t need to mention it.’
‘I don’t care.’ I laugh. ‘We were lucky, it wasn’t so bad.’
‘It was such a fun trip. I feel like the more time I spend with Mason, the more in love with him I fall. He just makes everything so much better. Even the simple things.’
‘That’s so sweet,’ Cami says. ‘Sort of makes me want to barf.’
I snicker. ‘Cami.’
‘What?’ She shrugs. ‘I’m single and alone, I’m allowed to be bitter.’
‘Alone by choice,’ I point out. ‘You have loads of people begging for your attention.’
‘No one I want.’
‘Oh, the luxury of being so choosy,’ I tease.
‘There’s plenty of good-looking, nice guys on the team,’ Anya supplies.
‘There’s only one player who has caught my attention and he is literally a ghost. I can’t find him on any social media, never see him around campus … but he is so hot. Like in a mysterious, bad boy kind of way. Sometimes I notice him looking over at me when we practise outside.’
‘Who?’ Anya gasps, eyes widening.
‘Parker Evans.’
‘Oh!’ she replies, nodding as if she understands. ‘You’re totally right. Very good looking, but super mysterious. I don’t know a thing about him.’
‘No one does, that’s the weird thing.’ Cami throws her hands up in frustration, as if this very thing has been on her mind far longer than she cares to admit. ‘Anyway, I don’t care for boys. They’re losers.’
Anya snorts.
‘And you have no leg to stand on, missy.’ She pointedly looks at me. ‘You and Zayden, shacked up here, all alone …’ She wriggles her eyebrows and makes a growling sound that makes me snort with laughter.
I stay silent, reaching for my lemonade.
‘Oh come on,’ Anya groans. ‘Zayden wouldn’t tell me anything. Don’t let me down here.’
My eyes snap up. Zayden didn’t admit to anything?
Is that because he’s embarrassed of me? Is it because of the agreement, and since none of this is real, it doesn’t mean anything to him, so there’s no point in telling anyone?
My mind spins out with a bunch of different thoughts.
I spiral easily. A trait of mine I wish I could erase.
I don’t have to say a word, my reddening cheeks betray me.
‘I knew it.’ Cami smirks. ‘C’mon. Give us the goss.’
Sitting here, with the girls expectantly staring at me, I can’t admit to them that we entered an agreement to help each other out.
It just sounds so … pathetic. I feel the same pressure that I felt when my parents were grilling me.
The words climb up my throat and spill through my lips before I can stop them.
‘Yes … something happened.’
Cami squeals and Anya grins at me. ‘It’s okay, you can tell us anything you’re comfortable to share. I don’t care that it’s about my brother. I’m just so happy he’s met a nice girl. He deserves that.’
‘It’s fine,’ I say. ‘We shared a few kisses and maybe some other things.’
‘Some other things,’ Cami repeats, flashing her straight, white teeth in my direction.
‘Yes …’ I trail off.
‘Did you bang?’ she asks, voice blunt.
Anya screws her nose up, making all of us laugh.
‘No, thank you very much.’
‘Oh, you should,’ Cami says. ‘He’s hot as fuck.’
Anya shakes her head, but she has a small smile on her face. It’s good to know that the thought of us together doesn’t make her upset. She’d already told me this before anything of the sort happened, but it’s nice to have the reassurance.
My stomach tightens when the front door opens.
I peek over the lounge and see Mason stroll inside.
He’s dressed in casual clothes, meaning he changed at the fields.
I’m guessing the grounds are quite muddy, since we’ve had so much rain over a short period of time.
Mason greets us, coming over and planting a kiss on the top of Anya’s head.
He stays for a bit, making idle chit chat, and I keep peeking at the door, waiting for Zayden to appear, but he doesn’t show.
I glance down at the time and then open up our message thread.
He saw the message I sent and liked it over an hour ago.
Doubt fills me. I hope leaving him the presents wasn’t a dumb idea.
I just wanted to thank him for his hospitality and also show him how proud I am of how hard he’s worked.
He’s proving that he’s trying to better himself.
‘Are you sure you guys don’t mind me staying here for a bit?’ I ask, looking between Anya and Mason, assessing their reactions. ‘I don’t want to crowd your space.’
‘Of course not!’ Anya exclaims. ‘Stay as long as you need to. You definitely need to try and get out of that apartment. Those girls are awful.’
‘I wish we could get one for just the two of us,’ Cami sighs. ‘That would solve all our problems!’
‘I’m on the waitlist for the dual rooms, but people reserve them years before they’re even due to study. It’s a joke.’
‘They’re more expensive, too,’ Cami says.
‘Like Zayden said, there’s a room for you to rent if you’d rather come here,’ Anya says.
‘You’re sure?’ I ask, studying their faces, just in case they’re lying to be polite. ‘Like super, one hundred percent positive?’ I check again, chewing my lip.
‘Extremely sure,’ Mason confirms, giving me a genuine, warm smile.
‘Thank you. I appreciate it.’
‘Any time,’ he says.
Cami leaves shortly after, needing to get to work, and Mason and Anya head out to stock up on groceries for the week.
I’m in Zayden’s shower when the door to the room opens and he enters.
I quickly turn, meeting his emerald eyes through the steam.
Slowly, he pulls his shirt over his head and kicks off his shorts.
I inhale sharply, hardly daring to move as he opens the shower door and steps inside.
‘Hi,’ he murmurs, eyes drinking in my naked body.
‘Hi,’ I return, doing the same thing.
Sliding his hands over my hips, he pulls me closer. Our bodies slip against each other and the feel of him sends tingles through me.
‘Thanks for the presents,’ he says. ‘Very cute.’
‘You haven’t even opened it yet.’
‘I meant the snacks. What’s in the box?’
‘You’ll have to wait and see.’
‘Well, I got you something too. That’s why I was home late.’
‘Oh?’ I ask, beaming up at him. ‘What did you get me?’
He shrugs. ‘You’ll have to wait and see.’
Rolling my eyes, I step closer, splaying my fingers across his chest. His skin is warm as the water runs down it.
‘Didn’t you just shower at practice?’ I ask.
He nods. ‘Yeah, but I wanted to shower again. With you.’
More tingles. Butterflies, in fact. Erupting everywhere.
I’m really starting to like Zayden. It’s scaring the shit out of me.
Placing a hand to my cheek, he tilts my head back and kisses me so hard, I feel dizzy. He presses me back against the tiles, kissing down my neck and under my ear. I sigh at the feel of it. I’m becoming addicted to how his lips feel on my skin.
Winding his hand around the back of my neck, he pulls me closer, the kiss becoming somehow even more passionate.
His tongue darts inside my mouth, sliding against mine, making me groan and press my hips into his.
I feel his hard length against me and I tense, thinking about how it would feel to have him inside me.
I’m not sure if sleeping together is crossing the line … but if it is, I suddenly want nothing more than to cross it.
His hands slide down the sides of my body, gripping my ass tightly.
‘You’re driving me wild, Nora. I want you. All of you. All the time. Everywhere, every moment.’
‘Really?’ I whisper, my voice almost getting lost in the sound of the water and the steam steadily filling the shower.
‘Really.’
He steps back, water dousing his hair, dripping down that gorgeous face and those washboard abs that look so rock hard, I’d injure my finger if I poked them.
Those beautiful green eyes stare deeply into mine and I feel myself falling into them, getting swept away and lost in them.
Giving me one more kiss, he steps out of the shower. Cutting off the water, I follow him out and we both towel off. I move to the bed and swipe for the box. He sits on the edge of the mattress. He takes it from me, slowly removing the lid. A small, silver key chain sits there.
‘Aw, I love this,’ he says, chuckling, twisting the small metal cyclone in his fingers.