18. Chapter Eighteen #2
She raised a brow, but then lifted her shoulders in a slight shrug. “Wings, fries, and mozzarella sticks? And then you pick two things?”
“I love their burgers, so maybe an order of the sliders?” I took a second to think what else I wanted before adding, “Oh, and their jalapeno poppers are pretty good too.”
“Perfect.”
Zack reentered the kitchen with a case of beer cradled in his arm.
He didn’t need to ask Savannah what she wanted, it was obvious he already knew.
They had history. Lots of it. The two of them probably belonged together, almost making me feel like I was the third wheel.
Which was ridiculous for so many reasons.
Including the fact we were all just friends.
And I didn’t want anything more than that.
“Alright, ladies. What are we getting for dinner?”
I told him what we came up with and his smile widened, an air of troublemaker written all over it.
“And here we go,” Savannah mumbled under her breath.
What the hell was I missing? He told us to decide, and we did. Please tell me he wasn’t about to argue or tease us. I might have to smack him.
“I get to come up with a new one?”
“For the love of God,” Savannah sighed.
“New one?” I asked, not quite sure I was following.
I looked over at Savannah who just shook her head. “He likes to come up with his own names for the food. Mozzarella sticks are fried dairy logs and french fries are spud sticks.”
I smiled as it finally made sense, and also was not the least bit surprising.
“Don’t forget about the mini bison legs,” Zack reminded with another teasing grin.
“Bison legs?” I repeated, trying to connect the dots.
“Instead of buffalo wings?” Savannah offered.
I chuckled. Oh right.
“I think I’ll order the mini moo moo patties first.” Now Zack’s grin had mischief written all over it. “And what did I come up with for the poppers? We haven’t ordered them in a while. Hot lava balls?”
“These places are going to stop taking our orders,” Savannah warned with a smirk that matched Zack’s.
“I doubt that. Between the amount I spend personally and on shift, I probably single-handedly keep them all in business.”
“That is true, and a bit concerning.”
Savannah might have a point. How much carryout did he eat in a week?
“Wait, he does this with other places?” How had I never noticed before?
“Yeah.” She shrugged. “At least he does when I’m around.”
“It depends on who I’m with, honestly.” Zack stared at me, almost like there was a deeper meaning behind his words. “Typically only when I’m with my friends. People I’m comfortable with who appreciate my humor.”
Did that mean that until recently I didn’t appreciate his humor? That he trusted me enough now to be himself?
That made me dangerously happy.
He called in the order, and I totally struggled to not bust out laughing as I listened to him. He must have originally gotten a teenager who was new or something, because after the first two items, Zack paused with a mischievous grin and then seemed to be talking to someone else.
After he hung up, he opened the case of beer and handed us each one before opening one for himself. “That was fun.”
“That poor kid,” I said with a chuckle and a shake of my head.
“He was pretty confused.” The tiny meows from the kittens seemed louder than before, pulling Zack’s attention that way. He checked the time on his watch and then placed his beer down on the counter. “Need to feed the rascals.”
Savannah and I followed him to a large box that sat on his kitchen table.
I looked around, taking in the butcher block countertops, light teal cabinets, and a gorgeous chandelier.
Everything was clean and neat, making the entire space absolutely lovely.
A wall of windows that lined the back wall made the space light and airy.
Zack pulled two large cans of wet cat food and six small bowls from the box.
I picked up one of the spoons and, after opening one of the cans, Zack slid it in front of me.
I divided the food between three of the bowls, handing them to Savannah to carry over to the kittens’ pen.
Zack placed his three bowls down in the pen and we all watched the little fluffballs beeline for their dinner. They really were cute.
Zack made sure each kitten had its own bowl, and then, satisfied they were taken care of, he walked back to the counter and picked up his beer. Crossing one foot over the other, he leaned back against the counter. “How’s things going with your mom?”
I sighed. That was a complicated question, so I took a sip of my drink while I thought about what to say. “She has her car back, but she’s saying she doesn’t want to press charges.”
Savannah raised a brow, and I filled her in on what happened earlier in the week.
“Ouch. That sucks.” Savannah’s words summed up exactly how I felt.
“Yeah. And nothing I say gets through to her.”
A loud chime rang through the space and Zack placed his beer back down. “Food’s here.”
As if on cue, my stomach grumbled obnoxiously. I started opening cabinets looking for plates, and sensed Savannah come up next to me.
“This one.” She opened the cabinet next to the sink.
My back stiffened and my shoulders crawled up to my ears. It wasn’t only that Zack knew what Savannah liked to drink, but she was also comfortable and familiar in his home. I went to take the plates from Savannah and noticed the sly grin she now wore.
“Girl, you might be trying to convince yourself you don’t have feelings for Zack, but I’m calling bullshit.”
“It doesn’t matter how I feel. I can’t give him what he wants.”
She didn’t let go of the plates. “He just wants you.”
Zack appeared with the bags of food, taking us in with a concerned expression. I forced a smile as Savannah let me take the plates from her. Zack hesitated, but after a moment set the bags down and started taking the items out.
“Want to watch a movie while we eat?” he asked, looking at me.
“Sure. If it’s okay with Savannah.” I prayed she was planning to hang out. I didn’t trust myself if Zack and I were alone. Hell, I wasn’t even sure I trusted myself with someone here.
“Yeah. I’m always up for chilling in the theater room.”
“Theater?” I repeated.
“I built a mini movie theater in the basement.”
“Really?”
“Yup.” He began opening up containers and putting items on his plate. “Make your plate, grab your drink, and I’ll show you.”
Fully loaded plate in one hand and my beer in the other, I followed behind Zack and Savannah as they led us downstairs.
The moment we stepped inside, I froze, completely amazed at what I was seeing.
Two rows of leather recliners lined the top section of the room, and a curved sectional sofa sat in the very front with a large round table in the middle.
Savannah brushed past Zack and headed straight for the couch, taking one of the spots on the end. So unless I took one of the recliners, no matter where on the sofa I sat, I would be next to Zack.
He leaned down, his warm breath teasing along my ear. “Don’t worry. I don’t bite.”
I tilted my head, shooting him a flirty smile. “That’s a shame. I would probably like that.”
“Oh. I’m sure you would.”
I made my feet move, his presence so close, he was already wreaking havoc on my body.
He sat down next to me and picked up the remote, turning on the massive screen that covered the entire wall. Again, it was overwhelmingly amazing.
“Since this is your first time here, you get to choose,” Zack said, glancing over at me as he scrolled through the choices.
“That one.” I pointed at the screen, choosing a recent horror movie I’d been wanting to see. “I’ve been dying to watch it, but no one I know likes horror movies.” But maybe they didn’t either. “Unless you guys don’t either, and then I can pick something else.”
“You kidding?” Zack grinned.
“We love horror movies,” they both said in unison, and Zack clicked on the selection I chose.
The lights turned down low and the movie began to play as we started eating our dinner.
One by one, we finished our meals and left our plates on the table, relaxing back into the couch.
Zack’s large body and long arms stretched out across the back, tempting me as I shifted to stretch out next to him.
He grabbed one of the large throw pillows, positioning it up against him, and patted it. He didn’t need words, and after a second of hesitation, I gave in and laid my head on the pillow.
I couldn’t remember the last time I felt this chill.
This relaxed. And when his fingers teased through my hair, I thought I had died and gone to heaven.
When was the last time a guy played with my hair like that?
Man, I’d been missing out. It felt so good.
The perfect blend of relaxing and intimate.
And the longer I sat there, the more that feeling grew. Something in my subconscious was screaming at me that it was a dangerous feeling. A feeling that made me want to be selfish and say screw the consequences.