4. Zander
CHAPTER 4
ZANDER
She fell asleep against my chest, her open mouth leaving a fine coat of drool against my left pec. Awesome.
Considering how many bodily fluids this girl has left on me tonight, I’m a little surprised that I’m still sitting here cradling her against me… but I just can’t help it.
There’s something about her. It could be the drunk confessions, which were plain adorable. It could have been the hungry way she looked at me, although that was kind of disconcerting. Or maybe it’s the fact that there’s something sweet about her smile. There’s something playful and intoxicating about the curl of her lips.
I need to get to know this girl.
“Has she stopped puking?” Olivia eases the door open like she’s approaching an armed bomb.
“Yeah, she fell asleep.”
The door punches open, the muffled music rolling into the room with a loud wave of clarity. I wince at the thick beat as Olivia rushes toward us, crouching down to check on her friend. “Shit, she doesn’t have alcohol poisoning or anything, does she? Like, she’s legit breathing, right?” She holds her fingers near Sienna’s mouth and sags with relief when she feels her friend breathing. “Thank God,” she murmurs. “I had no idea she was such a lightweight. She just wanted something to take the edge off, and I didn’t realize she’d been downing so much.”
I give Olivia a dry look, not sure if I believe her or not. The girl is known to party.
“What! It’s the truth!” She slaps my arm, then stands with a huff. “Can you help me get her upstairs, please?” Her tone is terse, her pointed glare leaving no room for argument.
Moving carefully, I adjust Sienna in my arms, then stand with her against me.
“I’ll get you a clean shirt too.” Olivia’s nose wrinkles as she looks into the bathroom sink. “I’m gonna burn that one.”
I roll my eyes. “It’s only puke. I can just wash it.”
“Gross, no. I’m getting you a clean one.” She leads me upstairs, and I lay Sienna down on Olivia’s bed. “Wait, she doesn’t have puke on her, does she?”
I look Sienna over, trying not to appreciate how hot her curves are while I look for spots of vomit, but… “I’m pretty sure I was the only one who got hit.”
“Oh good. I don’t want her ruining my comforter.”
Again, I roll my eyes as Olivia walks out of the room to find me a clean shirt.
Taking a careful seat on the edge of the bed, I gaze down at Sienna’s pretty face. Not to sound like a sap, but she’s got an angelic quality about her, and I need to get to know this girl. I can feel it in my very core. She’s something special.
Which is probably why I spend my weekend thinking about her… wishing I had her number so I could check on her when I woke up on Sunday morning. I nearly popped over to Olivia’s house to offer Sienna a ride home, but Dad swung by Mom’s place and made me help him with yard work. My parents have been divorced since my older sister left for college, but Dad still comes over every few weeks to help maintain the house. I’m not sure why. Maybe he does it out of guilt for leaving in the first place. Or maybe he still has a thing for Mom. Whatever the reason, it’s always painful, because he turns me into his personal lackey, and I sweat up a storm being bossed around on my one day off while also getting interrogated about football and what I’m going to do with my future.
I go to bed in a shitty mood on Sunday night, and the only thing to ease my temper is the thought that the next morning, I’ll get to talk to a blue-eyed blonde with a smile that could knock a guy off his feet.
The second I get to school, I start scanning for her and spot her near the junior lockers, sorting her books and looking fine in a pair of fitted jeans and an oversized sweater that’s hanging off her shoulder.
Noah’s in the middle of telling me about his epic Final Fantasy gaming session, and I walk away from him as if drawn by some invisible power I have no control over.
“Dude, I’m in the middle of a story here!” he calls to my back, but I keep walking, ignoring how rude I’m being because…
She’s right in front of me.
“Hey.” I smile down at her, enjoying the hint of vanilla I’m catching and the way her blonde hair falls over her shoulders. The light from the upper windows is turning it a sparkling gold, and her eyes are so damn…
Well, actually they’re kind of staring at me like she’s terrified and has no idea why I’m talking to her.
“Um… hi?” She licks her lips before glancing over her shoulder as if searching for backup.
I take a small step back and shove my hands into my pockets, hating the idea that I’m making her uneasy. I thought we were vibing at the party, but maybe I was reading the signals wrong. She was drunk off her ass. Was everything she said in the bathroom total bullshit?
Clearing my throat, I try for a casual, light tone while scrambling for a way to bail without looking like a total douche. “So, how’s it going? Any first day jitters, or are you holding up okay?”
“Uh…” Her blue eyes dart around my face before dropping down to the book bag clutched in her hand. “I’m… I’m good?” Her eyebrows wrinkle, and she glances up at me like she’s confused by the fact that I’m standing here asking about her.
Scratching the back of my head, I let out a soft, awkward laugh and just come out with it. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
She’s obviously completely mystified and slightly terrified by the question.
I start to worry that I did something wrong. Why is she so freaked out right now? What the fuck did Olivia tell her I did at the party?
Anger starts to simmer, but it morphs to confusion when Sienna quietly asks, “Why are you talking to me?”
“Why—” An awkward laugh punches out of me. “Well… we met at Olivia’s party, and I thought I’d come over and see?—”
Her eyes bulge. “We met at her party?”
“Yeah.”
“On Saturday?”
“Yeah.”
“And I spoke to you?” Her voice has gone all soft and wispy, the color draining from her face.
Oh shit. She doesn’t remember a thing.
“Did Olivia not tell you?”
“No.” Her eyes dart to the right, and I turn to see Olivia hovering nearby.
Olivia winces and mumbles, “I thought you’d die of humiliation, so I kinda didn’t say anything.”
Sienna’s breath catches before she stumbles over her words, “Why would I… why… why would I die of humiliation?”
It’s impossible to keep my laughter in check, but I do my best when she looks at me with bulging eyes, her cheeks turning from white to bright red.
I cringe and admit, “You kind of threw up on me.”
“No.” Her expression bunches with horror. “No, no, no, no.” Covering her face, she groans into her hands. “Kill me now.”
My laughter is light as I softly reassure her, “Seriously, it’s fine. I’m just glad you’re okay.”
“Uh-huh.” She nods, but she still has her face covered.
Lightly taking her wrists, I try to pull her hands away, but she resists me, and I have to let go and just admire the shape of her fingers instead. I like the ring on her middle finger. It’s a blue opal and matches the color of her eyes. “You obviously don’t remember much, huh?”
“No.” Her words are muffled. “I mean, I woke up in Olivia’s bed, no idea how I got there.” Her hands fall away, but she keeps her eyes on the floor. “I had this monster headache, and my brain was, like, blank. Olivia just said the party went well, I got completely shit-faced, but she assured me that I didn’t embarrass myself.” She glances up to throw a hot glare at her friend.
Olivia, never one to apologize, actually has the decency to mutter, “Sorry. I was just trying to protect you”
Sienna’s delicate nostrils flare, her jaw clenching as she looks back down at the floor again.
Leaning my shoulder against the locker beside hers, I lower my voice and move into her space so she’s the only one who can hear me. “You didn’t embarrass yourself.”
“I totally did. I threw up on you.” Then she gasps and those big blue eyes are staring at me, once again wide with horror. “Did I say anything to you? Before I puked?”
I shrug. “Not really.”
“Oh.” Her expression wrinkles, and then she nods. “Okay. Well…” Her head bobs some more. “Good. That’s good.”
“You spoke to me after you threw up, though.”
She goes pale again, and my lips pull into a grin. I probably shouldn’t be enjoying this so much, but…
“What’d I, um…?” She licks her lips again, obviously steeling herself. “What’d I say?”
I flick my fingers through the air, taking pity on her and going for a casual brush-off. “Don’t worry about it. Not a big deal.”
“No.” She snatches my wrist, her grip surprisingly strong considering how skinny her wrists and fingers are. “What’d I say? And you have to tell me the truth.”
Her voice is so strong and adamant.
Something stirs in my chest, an unfamiliar sensation that… I kinda like.
Looking her in the eye, I study her expression and softly ask, “You sure you wanna know?”
“Yes, please. I hate it when people lie to me, even if they’re trying to protect me, so please, just say it.” She swallows. “How badly did I humiliate myself?”
“You didn’t.” I tip my head, still hyperaware of the fact that she’s holding my wrist. I like the feel of her fingers on my skin.
“Zander.” She closes her eyes, then grits out the rest. “What did I say?”
Letting out a soft sigh, I finally give in. “Okay, you…” I sigh again, then just blurt it out as gently as I can. “You told me you liked me and that you’ve liked me ever since you saw me. You keep finding excuses to watch me and?—”
“I swear I’m not a stalker.” She whimpers and covers her face again.
I grin, lightly nudging her hand away so I can look into those sparkly blue eyes again. “You told me the party was put together so that you and I could meet, and that your friend dared you to speak to me and that’s why you got drunk. Because you were nervous.”
A little whine pops out of her throat, her face crumpling into a cringe that’s just plain adorable. I love how red her cheeks go.
“You know you don’t have to be nervous to talk to me.” I can’t resist brushing my finger over her ear like I did the night of the party.
She doesn’t flinch away from my touch. Instead, her lips pull into a self-deprecating smile. “I’m surprised you’re not running away screaming.”
“Why would I do that? A pretty girl likes me.” I wink and she goes still, like she can’t believe I just said that… and the first bell trills. “I’ll see you around, Sienna. Have a good first day.”
She lets out a soft breath that could also be a giggle, maybe, and then I try to play it cool, sauntering down the hallway toward Noah and Kyle.
For a second, I wonder if I should have offered to walk her to class. Maybe she needs help finding her homeroom. I spin back to see what she’s doing, and my chest spasms when I notice her leaning against the locker. Her eyes are closed, and there’s this dreamy smile on her face.
She’s swooning. She’s actually swooning !
Talk about an ego boost.
I stop in my tracks, spinning to face her properly and drinking in the view.
That’s when her eyes pop open. Her gaze hits mine, and I can’t help a smile as she flushes and jerks tall, quickly turning to face her locker and sorting out her books.
Olivia and a few of the other girls move in, no doubt to analyze every syllable of our conversation, and I wander off to class already knowing that my senior year of high school has taken a life-changing turn.