17. Zack
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
zack
“Hey, Mom,” I say as I walk through the front door of my childhood home, setting our bags down in the entryway.
It’s a small cottage-style house that was just the right size for my mom and I when I was growing up.
She hasn’t changed a thing. Ever since I signed my first contract, I’ve been trying to convince her to let me make some upgrades or redecorate it however she wants, but she always refuses.
She says she likes it exactly how it is.
There were a lot of good memories made in this place, so I kind of get it.
“Evvy!” My mom yells as she comes running into the living room.
She’s absolutely beaming as she pulls Evvy into a hug.
We only spent a couple of weeks here while we were dating, but she loved Evvy and always asked to talk to her during my weekly calls home.
She was so disappointed when we broke up, but she never pushed me to share about what happened.
“Love you too, Mom!” I joke. “Since I’m not needed here, I’m going to grab the apples from the truck.”
My mom lets go of Evvy and gives me a quick kiss on the cheek. “I see you every week. I haven’t seen Evvy in what? Thirteen years?” Great, she’s counting too. “How are things with your cabin coming along, honey?”
“Oh, they’re not.” Evvy lets out a nervous laugh as my mom continues to hover. “It’s not salvageable, so I need to wait for something else to become available.”
“You’ll need to tell me all about your job at the state park. And you became a geologist like you had always planned! I was just so happy when Zack told me.”
Evvy’s being polite, but I can tell my mom is crowding her. She just can’t contain her excitement. “Mom, let her breathe.” I laugh as she takes a small step back. “She’ll be here all night.”
“Sorry, I’m just so happy to have you both here.” My mom smiles as she looks between Evvy and me. “Dinner’s almost ready. Want to come chat while I finish up?” She looks at Evvy with a hopeful smile.
“Sounds great Ms.—”
“Call me Pam,” my mom interrupts, cutting Evvy off mid-sentence. “Or you could call me—”
“Mom!” I warn. “Pam it is. I’m gonna grab the apples from the truck. At this rate, it’ll be midnight by the time the pie is done.”
“Oooo! I know you’re kidding, but that would actually be perfect.
I didn’t know how to tell you, but I got called in for a quick shift tonight.
It’s just with Mrs. Murphy next door for a few hours after dinner.
I couldn’t say no. The poor woman has no one else to help her.
” She sighs as she gestures toward the neighbor’s house.
My mom retired from her nursing job at the hospital a few years ago, and she started taking on some private home health clients. She claims she’d be bored without work, but I know she missed helping people.
“Don’t worry about it, Mom. Evvy and I will return the kitchen to you in one piece.”
“I trust her.” My mom points at Evvy. “But you, not so much,” she says with a laugh. “Come on, honey. Come watch me finish dinner. Do you still like chicken, broccoli, and ziti Alfredo?”
“It’s still my favorite.” Evvy has the biggest grin as she glances back at me over her shoulder while my mom tugs her by the hand toward the kitchen.
* * *
“Thank you so much…Pam.” I stifle my laugh as Evvy struggles to call my mom by her first name. “This was delicious.”
“You’re welcome, dear. I’m sorry to chew and screw.”
Evvy nearly spits out her drink, and I can no longer hold back my laughter. “Mom!”
“What? It’s true.” She shakes her head, and Evvy breaks into a fit of laughter too. “Now I don’t feel bad about leaving you two on kitchen cleaning duty.” She scrunches her face, wagging her finger at us. “See you in a few hours.”
My mom leaves as Evvy and I continue laughing. “Sorry if this is a lot.”
Evvy claps her hands to her cheeks and shakes her head. “No, I love your mom. She’s hilarious.”
“She’s not usually this over-the-top. She's just excited to have you here.” I clear the table, and Evvy helps me load the dishwasher and put away the leftovers.
“Pie time?” she asks with a smile. “We can’t let an entire apple orchard’s worth of apples go to waste.” She gestures at the big box that’s practically overflowing.
“Pie time. But we’re gonna cheat.” Opening the fridge, I pull out the bowl of dough. “My mom knew the plan, so she made the dough. I think she wanted to make sure dessert would be edible.”
“That’s probably for the best.” Evvy grabs a handful of apples and begins peeling. “Are you going to help, or is Mr. Celebrity Hockey Player too good to dice apples?” She puts one hand on her hip as she waves the cutting board in my direction with her other hand.
“Of course I’m going to help!” I give her a playful hip bump. “But first, we need music.”
My mom has an old record player and a decent collection of records in the living room. I throw on a random eighties album and turn it up high enough for us to hear it in the kitchen.
I return to stand beside Evvy and start dicing. We finish quickly and dump everything into the bowl. “I’m not sure how much of this stuff we’re supposed to add.” I hold up the cinnamon and sugar.
“Zack Shayle, kitchen extraordinaire, doesn't know how to make apple pie?” She shakes her head, feigning shock. “Just when you think you know someone!”
“Cooking. Cooking extraordinaire, not baking. There’s a huge difference.” I dump the spices into the bowl with a heavy hand.
“Whoa, isn’t that a lot?” Evvy peers into the bowl.
“I dunno. Didn’t we just establish that I’m not a baker?”
Evvy drops her head into her hands with a laugh. “I guess the more flavor the better?” She asks, clearly unsure of my baking ability.
“You read my mind.” I dump the filling into the pie crust. “But maybe we should do a taste test. Just to be safe, y’know?” I pop a little chunk of apple into my mouth with a moan. “Mmm, we did good. Here, try one.”
I offer a piece to Evvy but she’s holding the empty bowl.
She looks down at the apple then back at me before I hold it up to her mouth.
She slowly opens and I drop a little bite onto her tongue.
The temptation is too much to resist, and my fingers give into the magnetic pull, wiping a bit of sugar from her lip.
One languid stroke and she lets out a soft gasp.
She was always so responsive, and that hasn’t changed.
I pop my finger into my mouth, cleaning off the sugar and hoping for a little essence of Evvy along with it.
She instinctively wets her lips, her eyes still locked on mine.
I cough. “Yeah…so it might not be pretty, but it should taste good.” I shrug before flopping the remainder of the rolled-out dough onto the pie, quickly pinching the edges before placing it in the oven. My mom should be gone for another hour, so this should be done just in time.
The music stops after it reaches the end of the record. “Come help me choose the next album?” I gesture toward the living room and Evvy follows me.
She runs her fingers over the record sleeves. “Too many choices. I don’t even know where to start.”
“What’re you in the mood for?” I watch her browsing the options.
“Uh, something relaxing, I guess.” She looks up at me, shrugging her shoulders.
I choose an album of eighties rock ballads and drop it onto the record player. Music fills the air, and Evvy smiles. “Dance with me?”
A flush sweeps across her cheeks as her eyes meet mine. “Umm…okay.”
It’s almost easy to miss, but for a brief moment, she looks down between us and angles her arm toward me. My fingers wrap gently around her wrist as my thumb traces her little tattoo. Evvy doesn’t pull away. Instead, she leans into my touch.
“You mentioned that Bax is your favorite because he danced with you, so I’m just trying to level the playing field here.
” I release her wrist and wrap my hands around her back.
She hesitates for a moment then drapes her arms over my shoulders.
The contact sends a surge through my veins, like she’s a live wire giving me a charge.
The urge to pull her closer is so fucking strong, but I’m afraid of ruining the moment.
My body is drawn to hers. It always has been and always will be. I’m growing harder by the second.
“But he made me nachos too. So, I’m sorry to say you have some catching up to do.” She laughs again. It’s the sweetest fucking sound, and I wish I could hear it all day, every day.
“Really? Even after the apple orchard?”
“Yeah, sorry. I don’t make the rules, Zack.” She grins up at me before dropping her gaze back to my chest.
We sway to the music, not speaking, just enjoying the moment.
I’m nervous. I’m actually fucking nervous.
Things feel so natural with Evvy, and I think she feels it too, but I’m terrified of scaring her away if I’m reading her wrong.
The music switches to a new song, and Evvy’s head falls to my chest. My heartbeat picks up, thrumming below her cheek.
Eventually, I work up the nerve to speak.
“Evvy?”
“Yeah, Zack?” she whispers.
“Do you remember anything that happened after the party last week?” My fingers gently tap her back, needing an outlet for this nervous energy.
“No.” She bites her lip.
“You didn’t just dance with Bax that night. You asked me to dance too.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.” I smile at the memory.
“Oh. What else happened?”
“You asked me to kiss you.” I whisper, my lips just barely grazing her ear.
“I did?” she whispers back, glancing up at me with a shy smile.
“Yeah, you did.” I remove one arm from her back, using my free hand to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear.
“Did we…you know?” I shake my head and her face falls. “Oh.”
She looks down, and I hook my finger under her chin, tilting her head up until our eyes meet again. “I told you to ask me again when you were ready. When you could decide if that’s what you really wanted.”
“Are you going to?”
“Am I going to what, Evvy?” My hand moves to the nape of her neck, fingers threading through her hair just below her messy bun.
“Are you going to kiss me? Her head drops, not waiting for an answer. “Fuck it.” She blows out a warm breath against my chest before looking up at me again. “Kiss me, Zack.”
Three words that will forever be burned into my brain.
Three words I worried I’d never hear.
Three words that stoke a fire that’s been simmering in me for thirteen years.
Evvy’s eyes fall to my lips as she tugs hers between her teeth. I cup her cheek, soaking in the warmth as she lets out a quiet gasp. My thumb caresses her silky skin, following the outline of the red flush on her cheek that I love so much. She wears her feelings, and it’s fucking beautiful.
I drag my thumb over her lip and across her jaw.
Her tongue darts out, trailing over the emptiness I left behind.
She falls forward, pressing into me when my fingertips dance down her throat, gripping my shirt to steady herself.
We stare at each other, breaths in sync as the rest of the world falls away.
It doesn’t exist at this moment. It’s only us. It’s only ever been us.
Evvy raises up onto her toes, trying to close the distance.
The anticipation is killing me, but reality hits that things are about to change forever.
There’s no going back after this. I’ve been starving for so long, and I’m about to have a taste of the one thing I couldn’t have.
The thing I lost. I can’t wait for another second.
I lean in, claiming her lips with mine. They’re so fucking soft and beautiful, and I’m kicking myself for waiting this long.
Sex with Evvy was always fantastic, but kissing her? Damn, I could do this forever.
Evvy whimpers as my other hand dances down her spine, pulling her closer.
It’s a sweet, familiar sound that I’ve missed so much, and I want to hear it over and over again.
She opens for me, with our tongues tangling, urgently exploring, and reuniting after being apart for far too long.
My fingers thread through her hair again, angling her head to deepen the kiss.
Evvy’s lips vibrate against my own as I swallow her moans.
She grips my waist with her other hand, sending a surge of heat flooding through me.
Neither one of us wants to be the first to pull apart.
My mind needs to record every single detail of Evvy so I can commit this to memory.
Everything about her feels so familiar. Her warm tongue dancing with mine, and the smell of the vanilla bath products I bought her mixed with something that’s unmistakably Evvy.
And her taste? She tastes like fall—like apples with a hint of cinnamon—and home.
Nothing beats this taste because Evvy tastes like home.
Evvy presses her palms to my chest and we’re moving. She tugs my lip between her teeth causing a groan to roar out of me. My calves hit the back of the couch and suddenly, I’m falling.