Chapter 6 ZAYDEN #3
‘Yeah,’ she mumbles.
I type it into the search bar and her account pops up straight away.
‘Verified?’ I say, eyebrows raising in genuine surprise, feeling a little blown away by just how famous Nora is. I can’t believe nobody has a clue. Or that I’m the one who she’s chosen to tell. ‘Impressive.’
She shrugs. ‘It’s just a blue tick. It doesn’t do anything.’
The modesty of this girl has me floored. I wouldn’t be able to not brag about myself if I was in her position. The fact that she almost seems embarrassed confuses the hell out of me. What she’s achieved is incredible.
Her profile picture is a girl with long brunette hair looking away from the camera. It looks like her, but it’s a bit hard to tell whether it really is or not. I look to her follower count and I blink in shock.
‘Holy shit, you have one million followers!’ I gape at the screen and even refresh it, to confirm my eyes are not playing tricks on me. ‘That’s wild, Nora. You are famous.’
She doesn’t reply, and her modesty makes her even cuter. I scroll through her posts. They’re all aesthetic graphics promoting the books. Each post has thousands of likes and/or views.
‘I didn’t realise I was out with a celebrity,’ I continue, still a little bewildered. ‘Should I be on the lookout for paparazzi?’
‘Stop it,’ she laughs, but there’s a shine in her eyes that makes me think she’s enjoying this. I wonder if it’s refreshing for her to talk about it with someone.
‘Wait, do the girls know?’ I question.
‘I ended up telling them a few weeks ago, after I got the film news. They had no idea,’ she looks amused as she retells how they reacted. Similarly to me, by the sounds of it. ‘They’ve been sworn to secrecy.’
‘I shall do the same,’ I say. ‘Although you should be very proud of yourself. What a cool achievement.’
‘Thank you.’
I look back at the screen and bring up a graphic that is teasing news to come, which I’m assuming is referencing the film deal that she will share once allowed. I wave it under her nose.
‘This calls for a celebration!’
Spinning, I turn towards the bar we just passed and slide my hand into hers. It feels weirdly natural to do that. I pull her after me and we enter through the front door. Weaving through the people, I take her straight to the bar.
I order us both a drink, and for some reason, I don’t let go of her hand.
I notice her glance down at it. I keep my fingers locked between hers until the bartender slides the drinks over to us and I grab them both.
Inclining my head towards an empty booth, I guide her towards it and drop down beside her.
‘Cheers to an amazing achievement,’ I say to her, holding up my beer.
Grinning, she clinks her glass to mine, and we both take a hearty sip. I try not to grimace at the taste. Turns out, alcohol doesn’t go that well with ice cream after all.
Nora leans back into the leather seat, crossing one leg over the other.
Her skirt inches up her thigh, and I can’t stop my eyes from roaming over the exposed skin it’s revealed.
My neck heats up at the thought of no one else ever exploring her beautiful body.
Or at least that’s what I assume she meant.
An electric zing rockets down my spine. A weird feeling that makes me lean forward, grazing my fingertips against her arm, like I’m struggling with the urge to not touch her.
My mind spins back to her half-naked in front of my shower, and my skin burns at the thought. I seriously can’t get it off my mind.
Nora takes a sharp breath at the feel of it, lifting her eyes to mine.
‘I’m happy for you, Nora. That’s great,’ I say, grateful that my thoughts are not exposed right now. The more I learn about her, the cooler she gets – but I’m also so into her that it’s distracting me.
‘Thank you,’ she replies, earnestly. ‘It’s nice to talk about it.
I bottle everything up and never share good news with anyone.
’ Her face falls and I search her eyes, wondering what she’s thinking about.
‘I guess, since James …’ Her eyes dart to mine.
‘The online relationship I had,’ she explains.
‘I’ve lost trust in people. I shared a lot with him and when things fell through, I decided to keep all of that information exclusive to me only. ’
I grip her hand in mine. ‘I promise you, no matter what, your secret is safe with me.’
‘Thank you, Zayden.’
I like how she says my name. Everybody always calls me Zay, but hearing my full name from her lips just sounds different. I don’t know why, but I like it.
Reluctantly, I withdraw my hand and lean back, offering her space.
The beer is making me bold and confident.
I’m not sure she even wants anything of the sort with me, and I need to be cautious when it comes to her.
I don’t want to fuck anything up. If we hooked up, I don’t believe it would be meaningless to me, but unless we’re both on the same page about things, I don’t want to cross the line with her.
‘Do you have any victories you want to bring to the table?’ she questions, half-facing me, causing her thigh to rest against mine.
My eyes snap down to it and back up to hers.
I don’t miss the heat in her gaze. I’m sure mine is mirroring the same intensity.
We can both feel what’s happening here. ‘What’s something good that’s happened to you lately? ’
‘Not to be a downer, but I’ve had a pretty shit time recently, if I’m honest.’
‘Oh?’ The smile drops from her face, and instantly I am flooded with guilt at being the cause of that.
I’m a little too honest for my own good sometimes.
A little white lie of ‘yes, everything is fantastic’ would not have been unreasonable in this context, but Nora’s someone I feel I can be open with.
‘Some past stuff surfacing with my family threw me through a bit of a loop, and the stuff with Anya and Mason. That’s all squared now but it was a rocky few days of feeling like my whole life had been turned upside down.
I’m also failing all my classes and might lose my scholarship, which also means losing my place on the team. So yeah. That’s pretty fucked.’
Her mouth drops into an ‘O’. ‘Shit, Zayden, I’m sorry. That’s awful.’
‘I haven’t told anyone about that by the way, so if that can stay between us, I’d appreciate it.’
‘Of course.’ She nods. ‘I won’t tell anyone.’
‘Thank you.’
‘You know, I’m a tutor,’ she says. ‘I’ve done volunteer tutoring for my portfolio and work for the uni.
If I wasn’t writing, I would have gone into teaching.
I have a real passion for it. One day, I’m hoping to combine the two and teach creative writing.
But that’s down the track – I already have a lot on my plate right now.
’ She offers me that smile of hers, the one that feels like she’s reached inside my chest and is tugging at my heartstrings.
‘What I’m saying is, if you need some support, I’d be happy to help you. ’
‘Wait, really?’ I ask.
‘Really.’
‘I mean, I would love that, if you have the time. It sounds like you already have a pretty packed schedule.’
She shrugs. ‘I thrive under the chaos. I’d be happy to pencil you in.’
‘Wow, that’s kind of you. Thank you.’
‘No problem.’
‘What can I do to return the favour? Obviously I’ll pay you, but I mean for your time.’
‘You don’t need to pay me.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous
‘I’m serious. You don’t need to. This is just a friend helping another friend, no strings attached. I’d rather you keep your money, I honestly don’t need it.’
‘I cannot agree to that.’
‘It’s seriously so fine, Zayden.’
Suddenly, an idea strikes me, and I slap my hand on the table so loud several people around us turn to look.
‘I have a solution to all our problems.’
‘Okay …’ she says slowly, peering up at me curiously. ‘What’s that?’
‘Since you’re helping me with my issue, I’m going to do something for you.’
‘Which is?’
‘I’ll be the guy.’
‘Huh?’
‘You know, the mystery guy,’ I say. ‘The wedding date, the dude you’re seeing, the name and face you can direct your family’s attention to.’
Her brows shoot up. ‘Wait, what?’
‘Yeah! Why not?’
‘That would be … great,’ she says, looking relieved and a little excited at the same time. ‘That’s perfect.’ She grins, eyes dropping to my arms. ‘Oh, they’re going to freak when they see your tattoos.’
‘Oh?’ I furrow my brows. ‘They don’t like tattoos?’
‘Loathe them.’
‘Long sleeves it is.’
She shrugs. ‘It doesn’t matter. They don’t change who you are as a person, but they might make comments about them.’
‘Oh, that’s fine then. Nothing I haven’t heard before.’
‘So, wait, what are the rules surrounding this then?’
‘Rules?’ I question.
‘As in, how does this work exactly? Is it my family only that we’re playing the part for?’
‘Well …’ I trail off, considering her words.
‘I need to knuckle down and focus. I need to stop going out as much, and having a girlfriend would solve my Leasa issue as well. It would give you more dating experience, too, to solve your editor’s problem.
I’m happy to explore whatever experiences you want to. I’m game to go all in, if you are?’
She studies me for a moment, as if carefully reading my expression, trying to figure something out. After a moment, she is seemingly satisfied with what she sees.
She holds her hand out towards me.
‘Let’s do it.’
Clapping my hand to hers, I interlock our fingers.
‘Game on.’