CHAPTER 19
Zane
“Zane,” Alicia whispered softly.
My eyes flickered open to find her standing in front of me, fully clothed. I frowned and sat up quickly. “What happened?” I asked with a yawn.
“We fell asleep. It’s almost morning. You should go.”
“I don’t want to,” I complained, reaching out to her. She stepped backward and folded her arms across her chest.
“Seriously,” she said. “Come on. No one can know you’re here. You need to leave before anyone wakes up.”
“Okay, okay.” I raised my hands, surrendering. I stood slowly and got dressed even slower. I could tell Alicia was annoyed with my pace, but I literally couldn’t move any faster. My legs still felt like jelly.
“Alicia,” I began, but she cut me off with a look.
“Now isn’t the time to talk about it,” she said sharply.
“Talk about what?”
“What just happened.”
“I didn’t know there was anything to talk about,” I said truthfully. “I’m just really glad it happened. I thought you were too.”
Her expression softened and she walked over to me, kissing me lightly. “Of course, I’m happy. How could you ever doubt that?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because you’re kicking me out like a bad one-night stand.”
“I’m not…” she began, clearly frustrated. “I’m not kicking you out. I just don’t want to have to explain things to my parents. You can understand that, can’t you?”
“I can, but that doesn’t mean I want to leave you.”
“And I don’t want you to,” she said. “Trust me, I wish we could stay in here forever. That would be amazing. To just hide out here with you all day.”
“Then let’s do it.” I grinned and pulled her to me, kissing her cheek playfully. “I’m serious. Let’s do it. Let’s lock the door and just hide out. No one will ever know we’re here. You can call your parents and tell them you’re out for the day. They’ll think you’re wandering around town or something. They’ll be none the wiser.”
“You know that won’t work.”
“Then what about my place? Come on. Let’s just sneak out of here and go to my place. There’s no one there to interrogate us. It would give us some blissful alone time. All day, all night.”
Alicia groaned and buried her face in my chest. I stroked her hair gently and waited for her answer. I knew she wouldn’t agree to it, but I hoped anyway.
“I can’t,” she finally said and pulled away. “I have to be here today. My family hasn’t seen me in a long time and—”
“Neither have I,” I pointed out.
“Don’t do that,” she warned. “I can’t. You know I can’t.”
I sighed. “I’m sorry. I’ll drop it.”
“Thank you.”
“But what about tonight?” I asked.
She raised her eyebrows. “What?”
“Can we go out again?”
“I should really have dinner with my family,” she said evasively.
“Then what about drinks afterwards?”
She smirked. “Okay, drinks at Kellan’s. Ten o’clock?”
“I’ll be there.”
I grabbed her hand and we quietly left the guest house. The sun was just beginning to rise as we snuck down the steps and across the backyard. When we reached the end of the driveway, I pulled her in for one last kiss before she disappeared inside. When she pushed the door closed behind her, I stayed on the driveway for a few minutes, staring at the front door.
A smile stayed plastered on my face for the rest of the day.
Alicia Joppa was mine once again. Mission accomplished.