Chapter Six
“So, this is the living room,” I said, throwing myself onto the comfortable old couch as we came into the dorm room.
Zack looked around and smiled faintly at the pictures Jess and I plastered on the walls. We technically had two other roommates, but they were never around; they practically lived with their boyfriends off campus.
“Did you bring in your own furniture?”
I shook my head. Jess and I agreed in the first week that while the couch was comfortable, it was hideous; we spent the first weekend of classes shopping around for a good cover. Zack threw himself down next to me and put his arm over the back of the couch, dropping his hand on my shoulder casually. I started to move away, but made myself stay; he wasn’t trying anything too aggressive.
We started talking; it felt awkward — I didn’t know what to talk to Zack about that wouldn’t steer us in the direction of the drama surrounding our reunion. He asked about the newspaper, and how I’d managed to get signed on and I told him about Professor Grant and the assignment. He laughed as I rehashed the first meeting I’d been to, mimicking some of the more contentious people on the newspaper staff. I asked him tentatively about the frat — what they did when they weren’t partying, trying to figure out just what kind of person Zack had become as a college student. He seemed the same as I remembered him in high school, but different at the same time, and it was impossible for me to figure out whether or not I actually liked him.
“Hey! Can you guys be quiet out here? Alex has an early class.” Jess’ voice came from the direction of her room and I shook my head. Another guy? I wondered if Jess had some kind of secret pact with herself to sleep with someone in every major the college offered. Zack raised an eyebrow.
“I have no idea who that is,” I whispered. “But I assume he was decent if she’s letting him sleep here.”
Zack grinned. “You ever bring a guy up to your room before?” he whispered back.
I shook my head. “You’re…you’re my first in that, too.” My cheeks burned with a blush and I looked down at my lap as I started picking at imaginary lint on my skirt.
“That’s definitely an honor — though I don’t think I’ll share it with anyone.”
I looked up, confused; why would he share it with anyone, anyway? Zack took advantage of my shock to lean in. He brushed his lips against mine lightly — feather-soft at first. I was too shocked to react, though I shouldn’t have been; I found myself kissing back for a moment, letting Zack press up against me, allowing him to start to guide me onto my back on the couch. It was when his hand started to trail up from my knee that I came to my senses. I pulled back and broke the kiss, sitting up quickly and then standing.
“What’s wrong?” Zack barely kept his voice to a whisper and I looked anxiously in the direction of Jess’ room.
“I didn’t agree to that.”
Zack’s look of concern dissolved into confusion and he stared at me. “What do you mean?”
I shook my head, smoothing my skirt against my legs. My heart was pounding; my body was tingling all over from nothing more than the kiss. I was already starting to get turned on, and my cheeks were burning. I couldn’t let him stay. I couldn’t be in the same room as him for any longer. I’d give in and then it would be the same mess all over again.
“I’m not interested in being your fuck buddy,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest. I swallowed, realizing that I had broken a whisper. “I’m not…that’s not the kind of person I am.” I managed to keep my voice low.
“You agreed. You said I could come back to your place if I won, and I won.” Zack’s confusion was turning into frustration, his brow wrinkling as he looked at me — almost looking hurt. I set my jaw.
“I agreed to let you come back to my place. I never agreed to have sex with you. You’re right here. You’re in my dorm. That’s the letter of the agreement.” Zack frowned and started to stand up, before settling back on the couch.
“That’s kind of mean, Evie,” he said. “You know what it means to go back to someone’s place.”
I shook my head. “No. I said you could come back to my place. I didn’t say anything about kissing or sex or anything else.”
Zack pressed his lips together and I could see he was getting frustrated. If he started yelling at me, it would wake Jess up for sure, and I at least could count on her — and maybe Alex, whoever he was — to get rid of Zack. I almost wanted Zack to act like an asshole; it would make it easier to get over him.
Instead, he took a deep breath and stood. He started toward the door to the room and stopped as he would have passed me. He leaned in and I thought he was going to try and convince me; instead he kissed me on the cheek quickly and then left. I sighed, leaning against the wall and closing my eyes. I wasn’t sure if I was more relieved or frustrated. I took a deep breath and locked the dorm room door, going to my bedroom and throwing myself in bed without even bothering to take off my clothes. I’d figure out what I thought about it in the morning.