Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 76696 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76696 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
My eyes darted toward the counter. “Popcorn sounds great.” We joined the long line waiting for their turn. A group of high school boys got in line behind us, tall and loud. One of them bumped into me and panic surged through me. I pressed against Zach, seeking his protection.
He shoved the guy back. “Watch it,” he snarled. The boy’s eyes widened, then he exchanged a look with his friends that made it obvious he thought Zach was overreacting, but they all backed a few steps away, giving me more room. Zach was impressive really.
He gazed down at me and whispered, “Are you okay? We can leave if you want.”
“No,” I said. “I’m fine.”
He wrapped an arm around my shoulder protectively. “Too much?”
I smiled. “No.”
In Zach’s arms, the people and the noise weren’t half as scary. His scent and warmth enveloped me in a cocoon of safety. We got our popcorn and then we headed for our seats. The seats beside ours were both occupied, and both with men. Swallowing my rising panic, I sank down. I scooted as close to Zach as possible and he slung his arm around me. His expression was worried as he scanned my face. I forced a smile and eased my head down on his shoulder. The lights went down and the commercials started. Zach rested the popcorn on his lap and our hands kept brushing and every time a small shiver ran through me. Even though I was snuggled up against him and his arm was around my shoulder, those occasional touches felt intimate and thrilling. They stirred something in my belly, made me wonder how his touch would feel in other places, but I had a long way to go before that was an option.
***
After the movie, Zach and I returned to our car and drove home. “I didn’t even think how crowded the movie theater would be,” he said after a while. “Sorry.”
“No. I really enjoyed it.”
“You did?” He threw me a doubtful look.
“I enjoyed having your arm around me,” I admitted.
Zach grinned. “Good, because I like putting my arm around you.”
A message flashed on my mobile when we got out of the car behind our building. It was from Brian and said: Where are you???
“Brian?” Zach guessed as we walked up to the front door of our apartment building.
“He wants to know where I am.”
“He’ll know soon enough,” Zach said. We stepped into the elevator and I smiled worriedly. “Maybe we should pretend we met in the hallway.”
Zach laughed. “You want to lie to Brian about us?”
“It’s just one date.”
Zach frowned. “I don’t want this to be our last date.”
“Neither do I.”
“So if we decide to give this dating thing a chance, we need to tell your brother.”
I sighed and slumped against the elevator wall. “You’re right. So are we dating now?” The question made me oddly nervous.
Zach twisted closer. Was he going to kiss me? I bit my lip. He towered a head over me and we were in a narrow space and this time I wasn’t the one in control, could I handle that? Zach stopped and only took my hand. Had he seen the doubt on my face? “We’re dating,” he said. A huge weight lifted off my chest. I stood on my tiptoes, curled my hand around Zach’s neck and pulled his face toward me, then brushed his lips with mine. The contact sent a thrill through my body. I wondered how it would be to deepen the kiss, but the elevator wasn’t the place for that. I was already surprised that I had kissed him at all. The elevator doors slid open and we stepped out. When we entered the apartment, Brian was sitting on the sofa. His eyes darted to our linked hands, then from Zach to me. He jerked up. This was going to end badly.
Zach
Brian looked as if he wanted to kill me. I squeezed Amber’s hand. “Maybe you should go into your room.”
Brian came around the sofa, straight for me. I never took my eyes off him. I’d done nothing wrong, no matter how much he wanted me to feel that way. “Brian,” Amber said in a warning tone. “This is what I want. Don’t give Zach trouble.”
“You don’t even know what this is. You’ve got no clue what you’re getting yourself into,” Brian muttered. He treated her as if she was a stupid kid.
Amber narrowed her eyes. “How can you say that? I want a normal life. I want a boyfriend. I want experience, closeness and love.” She snapped her mouth shut, looking embarrassed.
Love, huh? I forced my face to remain passive. I couldn’t let Amber see how the mere mentioning of love had shocked me, but Brian must have seen something in my expression. I knew she hadn’t meant that she loved me, but still I couldn’t help but be worried. The word love referred to a sort of commitment I’d never taken into consideration. Love had ruined my mother.
“I only want to talk to Zach,” Brian said.
“Talk?” Amber looked doubtful, so probably did I. Brian wanted to kick my fucking ass. “I don’t think that’s a good—” The ringing of her phone interrupted her. She stared down at the screen, then replied. “It’s Reagan. She’s at Kevin’s and wants to talk.” A knock sounded.
Amber let go of my hand and opened the door. “Where you waiting in front of the door or how did you get here so fast?”
Reagan smiled, but her eyes darted between Brian and me. It was probably obvious that we were about to start arguing. She took Amber’s arm and pulled her away. “Let the boys deal with their testosterone.” Both girls disappeared in the kitchen.
Brian waited for the door to close before he spoke, “What’s going on here?” I could tell how much it cost him to talk calmly.
“Amber and I went on a date.”
“A date?” Brian clenched his jaw.
“We want to give it a try.”
“What a try?”
“A relationship?”
Brian snorted. “You’ve got to be kidding.” He kept his voice low. “Amber isn’t ready for a relationship. You can’t just use her as your guinea pig to see if you’re capable of not sleeping around.”