Chapter Eleven
I spent most of the next day attempting to appease my parents in the hopes that my mother would at least pretend like she understood I was in college and not high school anymore and not give me a ridiculously early curfew.
The dishes were clean, my homework was completed, and the floor of my room was visible.
My phone buzzed as I was hanging up the last of my laundry.
ZACK : Hey, sorry I was MIA last night, I just needed to blow off some steam. Everything cool for later?
V: That’s okay, I get it. Yeah, what time do you want me to come over?
ZACK: Right now.
V: I believe there are three hours before your friends will be arriving. Do you really need that much help setting up? ;)
ZACK: Nope :).
V: I will be there early, I promise. I just gotta get ready.
ZACK: See you soon. In something better than the purple dress ;).
His liberal use of the winky face was making me a little dizzy. Part of me wanted to race over there and continue what we’d started outside of Rich’s house.
The other part of me tensed at the thought of where things would go with that much uninterrupted time. Zack did not have a reputation for being innocent or shy, but I supposed it was the opposite that attracted me in the first place. I forced a deep breath and implored my brain to think rationally.
It didn’t work.
As a general rule, I wasn’t a rational person, but I knew someone who was .
V: Should I go over to Zack’s house really early before his party thing? Or does that make it look like I’m easy? Am I over thinking it?
COURTNEY: How early?
This was why I texted Courtney. Logical questions.
V: Three hours.
COURTNEY: That’s a lot of hours.
V: Yeah.
COURTNEY: Are you guys like together, or what exactly is the situation?
V: We’ve only been out a couple of times. We’re going to homecoming. I like him. A lot. But it’s still new, so, I don’t know.
COURTNEY: I say go a little early. I haven’t dated in a while, but it seems like you’re still getting to know him. So do that.
V: You’re right. I just needed someone else to say it.
COURTNEY: Lemme know how it goes!
V: I will :). Have a good night.
The tension had already lifted from my chest, so I knew the advice was sound. A three-hour span of alone time with someone who touched me like Zack did seemed like it might be more than I was ready to dive into today .
Instead, I took my time getting dressed in a little spaghetti strap dress with a chevron pattern that landed just this side of too short.
I’d bought it on a whim and never had the audacity to wear it out, but I had promised better-than-the-purple-dress.
I even took the time to curl my hair so that long blond waves fell down my back.
My parents had already left for a movie or something, but they’d agreed to let me take the Durango and to extend my “curfew” until midnight.
It was a baby step, but it was still a step in the right direction.
I couldn’t have been happier if I’d won the lottery.
Stopping by the store, I grabbed what I thought were reasonable snacks: chips, dip, fruit, cookies, brownies, and some other pastry concoction, struggling to reach the higher shelves without giving anyone a free show.
You should’ve worn a duster over this damn dress, not a jean jacket.
With effort, I managed a calm facade until I was pulling onto Zack’s parents’ street. I hadn’t even been to his apartment yet, so I didn’t really know what to expect of his house or have anything to compare it to.
That thought niggled in the back of my brain, that he hadn’t invited me over, but it was going to have to wait until later for me to obsess about.
His parents lived in a newer build that sat at the back of a subdivision called Clearwater Estates.
Mine was the first car there, and I breathed in and out slowly as I took the food out of the trunk.
My very tall peep-toes wobbled as I carefully trekked up the rounded gravel drive to the front door.
Containers were balanced precariously in my arms when Zack appeared in front of me. Well, at least the top of his head did.
“Whoa there, you’re kind of serious about your snacks,” he said, taking several items from the top so I could see.
“I know, I know. I went overboard with the sugar.”
I felt both over and under-dressed, but that thought became buried beneath the pounding in my chest upon crossing the threshold. I took in the sight of him in dark jeans and a black t-shirt that was stretched just slightly too tight across his shoulders.
Following him into the kitchen to relieve myself of the food, I conducted my compulsory home-inspection.
His parents’ tastes were more mid-century modern than I normally saw in Fox Falls.
The structure of the house was typical—an open floor plan from the front door into a foyer and a great room, but I appreciated the clean lines of the sofas and the mix of neutral colors that made it feel less stark.
“Your house is decorated impeccably. Is that an actual Eames chair?” I asked him, now less distracted by his biceps and very interested in where his mother shopped. “Can I sit in it? ”
His facial expression showed confusion. “It is a chair, so yes, you can sit in it. I don’t know what an Eames is. You sound like my mother though. You’ll have to come over when she’s home. She’ll love you.” His tone was mildly disapproving, which brought my attention back to him.
“Sorry, what can I do to help?” I questioned cheerfully, finding my way back to him at the massive kitchen island.
“You can come over here and let me appreciate this dress.”
A smile spread across my face as I slid in-between him and the counter. I couldn’t help but admire the dark stained butcher block that made up the island’s countertop and ran my fingers along it lightly.
“If you are going to put your hands on something in this room, I’d rather it be me,” he murmured, removing my hands from the counter and folding his fingers into mine.
All attention was refocused on him and the way his chest felt pressed against me.
He kissed me slowly while his thumbs traced circles on the backs of my hands, and I tried to control my breathing.
Kissing someone new was like reading a map in an unfamiliar city, and I tried to let him navigate.
He did so by making a trail down my neck with his lips and up my dress with his hands.
Heat rose in my cheeks, and my pulse could be heard for miles, I was certain.
Attempting to gain a moment to collect myself, I asked breathlessly, “So, you approve then?”
“Of?”
“The dress. Better than the purple one?”
He broke out in the wide grin that showed his dimples. “Much better than the purple dress. You look amazing. I didn’t say that before.”
“Well thank you,” I answered, trying not to sound too pleased. “Do you want me to put some of this food out on actual plates?”
“My friends really aren’t that picky.” He sighed, stepping back and chewing on his perfectly shaped bottom lip. All of the intensity and playfulness was instantly gone from the room .
“Show me the rest of the house, then,” I offered, taking his hand back in mine and pulling him towards the stairs.
“Whatever you say, babe.” He followed me with some reluctance down to the basement. It was fully finished with a massive projector screen on one wall and a pool table on the other, sandwiching in a sitting area with an oversized couch.
“It’s kind of awesome down here.”
“Yeah, it was nice to have it to myself when both my brothers moved out. And now I just escape my roommates and come hang out here to play video games sometimes.”
“Who all do you live with?”
“Mike and Josh. I’m sure you saw them at the bonfire, but Josh will be here today. I’ll introduce you.”
“Yeah, I—”
His phone buzzed during this portion of the conversation, and he read the incoming text. I felt the energy shift. His muscles tensed and his anger was palpable.
“What’s up?”
“Nothing.”
“Okay? You seem sort of—”
“I seem nothing. I’m fine.” His tone knocked me down a bit, considering how affectionate he’d been not ten minutes earlier. “I’ll be right back, I gotta make a phone call.”
He quickly stepped outside through the basement’s walk-out feature, and I took a deep breath before sinking into the soft suede of the sofa.
Zack was gone long enough for me to count all of the squares in the abstract painting hanging on the wall.
Multiple times. I was more than a little concerned when he walked back inside with an agitated expression worn on his normally confident face.
“Hi…” I tried, standing up uncertainly.
“Hi,” he responded curtly. I wasn’t sure where to go from there, but thankfully he kept talking.
“I’m sorry, about before. Josh, the roommate, just texted me to say he was bringing Jenna tonight.
That since he knew you’d be here with me, he didn’t think it would be a big deal.
I didn’t mean to…I don’t know, be an ass.
I just….I called him to tell him to fuck himself.
I have no idea if he’ll show up with her or not. So, that’s that, I guess.”
My stomach dropped with his explanation. I was worried enough about how the night would play out without adding Jenna into the equation.
“Oh, wow. Okay. That seems…like a really shitty thing for someone to do to his friend. I get that I’m not a guy, but if one of my friends did that to me, I would put Nair in her shampoo.”
Zack actually cracked a smile, running his tongue along the back of his teeth in a way that made me want to kiss him.
“That’s not a horrible idea. Josh is kind of particular about his hair.”
“Then I say do it.”
“I kind of like you, you know?”