Chapter Twelve
W hen I returned to the main area, several of Zack’s friends had arrived and made themselves comfortable in front of the TV. I stood somewhat awkwardly off to the side of the couch, trying to determine how to proceed. I knew all of their names, but I didn’t really know them.
“Does anyone want anything? I can bring down some of the food.”
“Yes please,” Zack answered, smiling that wide dimpled grin I’d been hoping for.
He turned his attention back to the game, and I started confidently for the kitchen.
It felt weird to go through the kitchen cabinets, though I admired the upgraded soft-close doors.
I needed to find plates. Feeling like I was snooping, I gasped when I turned around to find Zack leaning against the island.
“I thought you might need help.” He smirked, clearly enjoying my surprise.
“Just looking for plates. Preferably not the ones from Sur La Table,” I stated in my best French accent.
“From huh?”
“It’s a store…where your dishes are from? I didn’t think you’d want to risk breaking them.”
“We’re not five, I’m sure we can hold plates.”
“Okay. Your house.” I would never in a million years serve college guys anything on dishware that nice, but whatever.
“Alright, maybe paper is better,” he admitted, moving towards a bottom cabinet and taking out a stack of Dixie plates.
“That’s more the speed I was thinkin’.”
We were in the process of gathering up the chips and cookies when the front door opened. Jenna strolled in a little too comfortably with whom I assumed to be Josh following behind her.
I bit my tongue to keep my face neutral.
Everyone in the United States knew a girl like Jenna in high school.
The girl everyone envied but no one really liked.
Her black hair tumbled down to the middle of her back, and while I wished I could comment on the poor quality of her spray tan, I suspected it was real.
The girl looked good in a pair of skinny jeans and flats, topped by a purple t-shirt with a printed sparkly cupcake, the collar cut off so it hung low on her shoulders.
I would have hated her more if I didn’t desperately want to know where she got that shirt.
Zack seemed to be taking in the same scene when I finally glanced over at him. His jaw was tense, but the rest of him seemed confident.
“Hey Josh, Jenna. Everybody’s downstairs,” he said tersely. Instead of heading that way, Jenna glided over to the kitchen and surveyed the snacks. Well, she pretended to anyway, but her eyes really never left me.
“Who’s this?” she asked, raising a perfectly waxed eyebrow.
“Not that it’s your business, but this is Vanessa. V, this is Jenna.” We took to more staring rather than shaking hands or doing anything remotely adult-like.
“Did you hire her?”
“Hire her to what?”
“I don’t know. She looks like a hooker, so I thought I’d ask.
” Jenna yawned as if the whole situation bored her to tears, but I was ready to rush the bitch with a pair of kitchen scissors.
I paused for a single breath, waiting for Zack to intervene before I had to seriously consider murder, but when I shot daggers at him, he was chuckling to himself.
He continued smiling despite my shift in energy, and Jenna continued to appear quite blasé about the whole encounter.
“I love the way you look, babe,” he grinned and slid across the tiled floor to wrap his arms around me, his hands finding a place they liked on my ass. Jenna finally reacted and rolled her eyes before heaving herself off of the counter.
“I’d rather look like one than act like one,” I spouted off while Jenna was still well within earshot. Jenna’s midnight hair whipped around so fast it probably could have harmed someone, but Zack was already in her space before she could open her mouth.
“Walk it off Jenna, you started it.”
He physically turned her around and ushered her out of the kitchen. He turned back towards me and mouthed, “I’ll be right back,” before disappearing.
Well, the rest of the evening should be interesting , I mused.
The sound of clicking shoes in the entryway made my heart stutter, preparing for further confrontation, so I almost leapt into Liv’s arms when she flew into the room—she really didn’t have any other speed setting.
“So, I see you’re getting all Dorothy up in here this evening,” Liv spit out quickly and cryptically as usual. She appeared to still be drying her nails while attempting to fluff up her mermaid hair without using them. It was almost comical.
“My Liv translator is out on vacation.”
“Oh! Sorry. I just mean the wicked witch I passed on my way in. Flying monkeys and shit were following her around. Damn it. Why do I try to do eleven things at once?” she complained, holding up her now smudged bright green nails. “I wonder if your man-person has nail polish remover.”
She started looking around as if it would materialize in front of her. Thankfully, she got side-tracked from her nail polish mission by the food and the potential gossip
“What went down?” she pressed, her mouth now full of Cheetos.
“That crazy bitch called me a hooker!”
“Eck-oo meh?!” Liv responded with garbled indignation, her eyes wide and mouth still stuffed with orange puffs.
Zack took this moment to re-enter the kitchen. He appraised Livy’s tight black pants and sheer green top ensemble with an approving glance.
“Good evening, Liv, help yourself to some snacks,” he teased her. She swallowed with difficulty and checked her face for cheese dust.
“Thanks. You’re so gracious,” she gave back in a similar tone. He smirked and turned his attention back toward me.
“Do you think you’ll be able to keep the claws in for the rest of the evening?”
“Me?! What about her?” I asked, seething at feeling scolded, and hating the pitch my voice reached when I was irritated. He chuckled again which did nothing to tame my anger.
“Did I say you weren’t in the right? No. I just want my friends to get to know you without any hair getting pulled,” he explained, and then added quietly, “You can save all that pent-up energy for me later.”
My eyes jerked up to meet his and my stomach flipped. I was still not over the last encounter. I hadn’t even thought about what would happen when everyone left.
Shit .
I swallowed hard, my throat still feeling raw. He smiled widely at my reaction and turned back to Livy.
“Liv, glad you could make it. Are you ladies going to grace us with your presence down there?”
“Do you have nail polish remover?” she asked, finally coming back to her original purpose.
Zack just looked at her quizzically and sauntered back out of the room.
“I take it that’s a ‘no’ then.” She turned her focus to me, perhaps really for the first time since she arrived.
“You do kind of look like a hooker.” She laughed genuinely.
“Like in the best possible way, though. You look fierce.”
“I kind of hate you right now. There is no best possible way to look like a hooker.” I couldn’t help but start to smile though.
Liv could get away with saying the most outrageous things, and no one could get mad at her. Her delivery was too endearing.
“Of course there is. Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman ? Come on,” she argued as we gathered up as many bags of food as possible.
“Yeah, yeah. Just consider yourself on thin ice. You know Vader’s down there already, right?”
“I figured. I sort of tried to forget though. Should I be nervous? I shouldn’t be. It’ll be fine. Do you think? I mean, these pants are pretty jaw-dropping. It’ll be fine. Right?”
“You don’t even need me to have a conversation. You’re good all on your own.”
It was apparent that a snarky reply was imminent, but we entered the basement before she could get it out.
There were only eight or ten people gathered there, but it was sort of an intimidating crowd.
Complaints started to rise up when we stepped in front of the TV to place food on the table, but whether it was the snacks or the addition of Liv to the mix that quelled them, I couldn’t be sure.
“Since when do you have actual food when we come over?” Rich asked Zack, possessively grabbing a plate and digging in.
“Don’t look at me. This is V’s doing. She takes very, very good care of me.” He held my gaze for several beats and licked his lips.
I knew that my cheeks were on fire, and I could have murdered him. All of the adrenaline from earlier came rushing back, and I realized I’d forgotten to breathe.
“I love you Vanessa,” Rich stated, even as he huffed out a laugh at Zack’s innuendo. I shook my head, trying to clear it. Apparently, Rich had forgotten our previous altercation. “And I might love you, mysterious red-headed friend. I’m Rich,” he said to Liv.
“I’m aware,” she returned with a look that added that you were mean to my friend.
I could have kissed her for her solidarity.
We moved out of the way so the boys could continue playing, and I struggled with where to sit.
There was an empty beanbag chair in the corner, and I thought about pulling it over until I realized it would be impossible to get in or out of that thing without flashing everyone.
Who has a beanbag chair anymore? I wondered, trying to distract myself from my stupid racing heart .
No one knew what he was talking about. It was just a stupid remark.
But it was a stupid remark that made me feel slimy. Instead of sitting, I let myself out of the basement onto the patio, deciding fresh air and a moment would help immensely.
The patio furniture was comfy, and I looked out at the remnants of a backyard built for childhood—a swing set, trampoline, and a basketball hoop. The sun was setting, and I was wishing for a hoodie when I heard the door open behind me.
“Hey there. Are you hiding?” Zack asked, his tone flat.
“Not hiding. Just…needed a second.”
He came to sit beside me, his hand resting on the back of my neck and tugging me nearer to him. “What’s up?” His tone was softer now.
“Earlier was just…a lot.” I let my gaze go back out toward the yard, not entirely sure what I was trying to say to him.
“What, with Jenna? She’s a bitch, but I really don’t think it was—”
“No, not Jenna. Though she’s a gem. I mean earlier . I just didn’t get a chance to really recover. Or, I don’t know. It’s fine.”
“Recover…from giving me head?” He laughed lightly. “I thought you handled it just fine,” he added, pressing his lips to my jaw.
“I…” My sentence died because I didn’t even know how to explain that it was just unexpected. Maybe that was dumb because I should have expected it.
“V, honestly, it was just a blow job. A really good blow job, I might add. No one saw anything. You’re being dramatic.” His hand squeezed a little tighter at the base of my skull, and I couldn’t decide if that was comforting or not.
“Sure, until your little ‘Vanessa takes very good care of me comment.’ Jesus, Zack. I don’t even know your friends.”
He let out an exasperated sigh. “Because you brought snacks , Vanessa. You are reading way too much into everything. I had fun earlier. Sorry you didn’t. I’ll never make you touch me again.” He brought his hands to his thighs and dropped his head back.
“Wait, what? That’s your takeaway?” I asked, taken aback by his sudden change in personality.
“What should my takeaway be? You’re clearly out here pouting for some reason instead of getting to know my friends. But, I should probably get back since it’s my house and all.”
I dropped my gaze to the ground, willing myself not to cry. Was I really just blowing everything out of proportion?
“God damn it. I’m sorry, I’m not trying to be an asshole. I am just surprised at your reaction because I had an awesome time with you earlier. I wanted to tell everyone to forget the party and leave us the fuck alone. But it seems like you aren’t on the same page. What can I do to change that?”
He kneeled in front of me and put a finger under my chin until I met his eyes.
“I don’t know. I’ll go home. I’m not trying to ruin your thing with your friends.”
“Vanessa…what can I do?” he asked, his eyes searching mine, his voice gentler now.
I bit my lip. I wasn’t lying when I said I didn’t know.
“Okay, tell me if I’m getting close. You want more bringing-you-flowers, cuddling, hand holding, overall wooing?” he asked, a grin tugging at his lips.
“Mbe” I mumbled.
“Speak up, baby.”
“Maybe,” I confirmed, and he chuckled softly.
“Okay. Message received. Now, do you want me to build a fire out here or do you want to come back inside?”
“Ohhh, can we make s’mores?” I requested, my confidence returning. He almost snorted but he nodded his head and went to retrieve the supplies.
I breathed out a long sigh, trying to ground myself in the space.
Everything is fine. See? You talked, he listened. You compromised. No big deal .
The weight on my chest was just leftover anxiety from the whole ordeal, and I forced myself to breathe in deeply and exhale.