Dylan
This time when I open my eyes and Zoe’s still in my arms, I breathe a sigh of relief. Last night I took a chance when I messaged her on that pathetic dating app.
When Trevor put it on my phone, going on and on about how I needed to find a girl, it pissed me off. As far as I’m concerned, I have a girl.
But the damn thing actually came in handy, because I messaged Zoe and got her to open her bedroom door. She came to me, though annoyed with my joking. None of that matters though. Because when I asked her to get in bed with me, she did.
All this time, she’s cared about me. She hesitated because she’s convinced we’ll fail, not because she hasn’t noticed my feelings for her. That revelation only makes me want to love her harder. To prove that we can overcome age and time.
“Dylan,” she says as she rubs the sleep from her eyes. “I’m in your bed again.”
“I like you in my bed.” I press on the piece of tape that’s about to poke her in the eye.
“I forgot to change the tape last night. I didn’t even take my makeup off.” She swipes underneath her eyes and I laugh when she gets leftover black stuff on her finger and makes a face.
Her hair’s a bit of a mess, too, but even first thing in the morning, she looks better than half the girls on campus. “You’re beautiful, Zo. Stop worrying.”
“I can’t help it. I’ve never woken up with you. You’ve never experienced my morning breath and eye boogers.”
Smiling, I lean forward and press a kiss to her forehead. “Like I said, you’re perfect. None of that bothers me.”
“I wish you’d stop saying that,” she whispers. “I’m so not perfect.”
“I don’t expect you to be. You just are. Even if you thrash around in your sleep and talk about me. I’m surprised you’re not exhausted this morning.”
“What? I don’t talk in my sleep.”
“I heard all about your plans to poison my drink.”
She groans, pulling the blanket over her head. “I hate you, Dylan.”
“No you don’t,” I remind her as I pull the blanket away from her face. “You love me.”
Her eyes soften and she bites her lip. I tug it out from underneath her teeth and she sighs into my hand. That one little sound assures me her feelings are as deep as mine.
“I shouldn’t have told you about Chaz. I still can’t believe I had the guts to make him sick. I don’t go after people.”
“I’d like to think you were still riding a sex high.”
She rolls on her side and props her head up on her hand. “Other than those pills, I’ve never been high before. I’ve never smoked weed. Never even smoked a cigarette. Lame, huh?”
“Responsible, not lame. There’s nothing wrong with being a good girl. It’s attractive.”
The longer she stares at me, her smile fades. It’s not the first time she’s zoned out during a conversation. I’d love to know where she goes and what she’s thinking. But I know better than to pressure her for answers.
“Hey.”
She blinks out of the trance and smiles. It’s a dirty smile. One that’s doused in some serious sexual tension. “I need to get out of your bed.”
Before she can run, I grab her hand, keeping her where I want her. “No way. Not until you tell me what that smirk was about.”
A faint blush creeps up her neck and lands on the apples of her cheeks. “Is the second time like the first?”
Before I answer, I tuck a piece of hair behind her ear. Closing her eyes, she absorbs my touch, and it feels like Tyson is going ten rounds with Holyfield in my stomach.
“I think every time with you will be better than the last, Zo. That’ll never change. Every kiss. Every touch. Every heartbeat. You’ll feel it all the way from your pretty eyes to your pink painted toes.”
“That does sound intense,” she says.
“Because it’s me and you.”
She’s biting her lip again and when I lean forward and kiss her lips, she releases it. “I have to leave,” she mumbles against my mouth.
“No, you don’t.”
“Yes, I do. Before I . . . I want this, Dylan. I want us. Don’t think for a second I don’t.”
“But?”
“But it doesn’t change any of my concerns. I need more time to think about it before I let go.”
“Stay. Please.” I realize I’ve resorted to begging.
“I need time, Dylan. I’m sorry. Being with you is so many things. And I don’t know what to do with any of them. For the first time in my life, I’m nervous around you. I’m anxious all the time.”
“I’d worry if you weren’t. I’m always worrying about messing something up.”
She looks at me like I’m crazy, and I can’t help but smile at her puzzled expression. “You’re the one who’s always full of confidence. You’re the one who knows how to date.”
“I’ve never dated someone who matters. And that’s not a dig toward your sister. But I think we already covered why that happened.”
“We did,” she says. “Thank you for last night. I want us to talk more. I think that’ll help.”
“Okay.”
“You’re not mad?”
“Not even a little.”
As much as I don’t want to, I let her go. We’re on good terms and closer than we’ve ever been to getting it right. I have faith we’ll get there eventually.
When I pull my ass out of bed, Zoe’s in the kitchen arguing with someone on the phone. She’s probably talking to her sister.
“What’s wrong?” I ask her, not caring if I’m interrupting.
She covers the receiver with her hand and says, “Keely wants me to go to some class this morning.”
“Since when don’t you jump at the opportunity to go to class?”
“It’s not that kind of class. She’s trying to become an instructor for this exercise class. You’ve seen my attempts at coordination. I can’t keep up with that stuff. Plus, it might not be the best idea as far as my nose is concerned. I just stopped wearing the splint.”
Her eyes linger on my bare chest before she realizes I caught her checking me out again.
“I don’t mind if you look,” I whisper in her ear as I grab a mug out of the cabinet.
“I wasn’t looking,” she fires back.
“Zo, don’t lie to me. I saw you.”
“Okay, I was looking. Just help get Keely off my back. You always know what to say. What should I tell her?”
“If you don’t want to go, don’t. But you might like the class. You should try it.”
She huffs before returning the phone back to her ear. “Dylan thinks I’m fat, so I’ll go.”
As soon as she hangs up, I stand behind her, putting my hands on either side of the countertop to box her in. She tries to turn around, but I move closer until my hips are pressed against her ass.
“Dylan, what are you doing?”
Temptation is too close to deny myself. I flick away the hair covering her collarbone and I have to kiss her shoulder. She shivers but relaxes. “I’m not moving until you tell me how I called you fat.”
“You usually laugh when I put words in your mouth. It’s called teasing.”
Moving my hands to her hips, I show her what kind of teasing I have in mind. “Two can play, Zoe,” I tell her as I inch my fingers under her shirt until they dance around the waistband of the tight boy shorts she’s wearing.
She exhales a shaky breath. “P-point made.”
“I can’t hear you, Zo.”
“You didn’t call me fat. Happy now?”
I turn her around, making sure she listens when I tell her, “You can tease me about anything, but don’t put yourself down while doing it. I happen to really like this body. Okay?”
She nods. Knowing Zoe, her mind’s racing as fast as her pulse. “Okay, sorry.”
By the time I pour the coffee and hand her a mug, she’s still standing in the same spot. She can’t figure out if she should stay or go. I move to the recliner in the living room, smiling like a lunatic.
About twenty minutes later, Zoe strolls by me dressed in a tight pair of black stretchy pants. They make it impossible not to stare at her ass. “You decided to go to the class?”
“I couldn’t come up with an excuse because you had my thoughts all jumbled up. What about you? What are you doing today?”
“Trevor mentioned doing something tonight. Until then, I don’t plan on leaving this chair.”
“I guess I’ll see you when I get back then.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
She hesitates a second, staring at me, before clutching her bag and hurrying out the door.
Those fucking pants. It better be a class full of chicks.