“UGH,” I GROAN and peel my tongue from the roof of my mouth. “Who the hell let me drink all that tequila?” And why does my lady J feel like I dry-humped a piece of sandpaper?
A deep chuckle comes from behind me. “Because you were bouncing up and down on my dick like a goddamn pogo stick all night,” Zach answers in that sleepy voice that makes him sound even sexier. God, I’ve missed him.
I feel the flush creeping up my neck and across my cheeks when I realize I said that out loud.
“I did not.” I totally did.
He shifts behind me, pressing against my back. Curling his arm around my waist, he says in that deep, sleepy voice close to my ear, “I had no idea you were such a little freak when you’re drunk.” He rolls me onto my back and moves to straddle my hips. “You were all like…” He thrusts his hips and in a breathy voice, no doubt, imitating me, sings about “fucking like an animal” and I realize he’s singing the lyrics to “Closer” by Nine Inch Nails.
I throw my head back and laugh. “You’re so full of shit.” I grab the pillow beside me and smack him in the head.
He falls beside me on the mattress, props his head on his hand and continues to sing.
I laugh so hard my bladder nearly bursts, making me scramble out of bed and run to the bathroom.
“Where are you going?”
“To pee,” I tell him. I barely make it to the bathroom in time, sitting down on the toilet and crossing my eyes in relief.
Finishing up, I walk back into my bedroom to find Zach lying on my bed with his hands clasped behind his head. “Shame on you for taking advantage of me last night.” I push out my bottom lip, pretending to pout as I straddle his lap.
“That was all you.” He smiles, resting his hand on my hip. “You’re a horny little thing when you’re drunk.”
I grin. “More than usual?”
He nods slowly before rolling on top of me, settling between my thighs, and bracing his arms on either side of my head. I push my fingers through his hair and stare into his blue eyes. “As much as I enjoyed the angry, make-up sex, I never want to fight like that again. It shredded me to be apart from you these last few days.” He presses a gentle kiss to my lips. “I love you. Tell me you love me and that we’re okay.”
“I love you, Z, but you need to ask yourself that question. You wanted me to love you and I do. With everything I have. You have to decide if you can handle this. I’m still mad at you for shoving your relationship with Reagan in my face.”
“I’m sorry. Reagan was the stupidest thing I’ve ever done. Shoving it in your face is a close second to hooking up with Chelsea. Can we move past it?”
“Fine. But if you ever pull that shit again, I’m done. I was content with pretending it’s only been me.”
“When it comes to my heart, it’s only ever been you. None of that other stuff matters. Will you tell me what you were doing with Tyge Reynolds?”
“I wasn’t with him. His father is my lawyer and his office is in that building. Tyge was there to see his… flavor of the week. I’ve known Tyge for a long time, but we’re not close and we weren’t having lunch. We were leaving at the same time.”
“I’m sorry for acting like a jealous asshole. I do trust you, Jay. Just give me some time to adjust to all of this, okay?”
“You don’t really have a choice, Z. Not if you want this relationship to work. Now move, I need coffee and food.”
A teasing smile tugs at his lips as he circles his hips, grinding against me. “You worked up quite an appetite last night, freaky girl.”
THE WHOLE GANG is here and seated around the table stuffing their faces. Grace is standing at the counter making a pot of coffee. “Good morning, Miss Jayla and Mister Z.” She smiles over her shoulder.
“Good morning, Grace,” I say, hugging her from behind and kissing her on the cheek. “Thank you for feeding my friends.”
I move to the island where the food is set up buffet-style. Zach kisses Grace on the cheek and follows my lead. We both pile our plates with pancakes, bacon and eggs and make our way over to the table, where everyone immediately goes silent. I look around to see them smiling.
“How are you feeling?” Evan snickers.
“I feel fine.” I reach for my coffee and bring it to my lips.
Brad coughs. “So, Jay, I really liked your version of that Nine Inch Nails song. Cherry and I decided to add it to our playlist.” He wiggles his eyebrows.
I pull the cup away from my lips and turn my head to laugh.
“Seriously.” Cherry snickers before taking a sip of her orange juice. “After that performance, I’m pretty sure every cat in the neighborhood is pregnant.”
Zach laughs and leans over to kiss my shoulder.
“What are you laughing at, Zach?” Evan slumps down in his chair and throws his head back. “Oh, shit, Jay. Just like that. Oh. Yeah. Oh, fuuuuck!”
“Come on, man.” Cole groans and covers his ears. “I don’t need to hear that shit.”
I snort. “Hey, don’t talk like that in front of Grace.” I look over my shoulder to see her busying herself in the kitchen, but I know she can hear every word. Poor Grace.
“Jay.” Lexi laughs. “You had me laughing so hard last night.”
“Oh, God.” I roll my eyes. “What did I do?”
“You don’t remember?” Zach asks.
I frown, furrowing my brows. I don’t remember doing anything out of the ordinary. Shots, dancing, and sex. Apparently, I rode Zach like Seabiscuit last night and then passed out.
“The blonde,” Evan presses.
“Oh, my God, yes! The girl with the giant boobs?” I shake my head. “Snarky little bitch. She’s lucky I was in a good mood.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard in my life,” Lexi continues.
“She was disgusting,” Cherry adds. “I could see her slit through her panties.”
“She wasn’t that bad,” Cole insists, jerking his eyebrows up and down as he sips his coffee. A poor attempt at a bad joke.
I drop my fork. “You did not just say that.”
“What?” He grins and looks over at Harper. “I’m kidding.”
Harper pushes away from the table abruptly and storms off, but not before slapping the back of Cole’s head on her way out.
“Ow! What the fuck, Harper? It was joke.”
“Well, it wasn’t funny,” I say. “Have you not been listening to her? Are you being a dick on purpose so she’ll dump you for good?”
Cole struggles to rein in his temper, his nostrils flaring as he stands from the table. He rocks his head side to side, stretching his arms over his head, bouncing on the balls of his feet, and throwing a couple of jabs in the air before trailing after Harper.
“What are you doing?”
“Preparing for a fight,” he calls over his shoulder as he rounds the banister and jogs up the stairs.
A moment later, my mom and Cam walk into the kitchen from the garage. Guess they’re not keeping their relationship a secret anymore. My mom slides her phone across the table. “Well, that didn’t take long.”
I pick up her phone to see the headline: Jaybird’s Mystery Guy and below it is a picture of Zach and me slow dancing at Justin’s party last night. His head is buried in my neck and my face is partially covered by his bicep. It’s a sweet picture. I shrug and pass her phone back to her. “There’s nothing wrong with this picture.”
“No, but I heard you were drinking. You know the rules, Jayla.”
“I know. I’m sorry.” I flick my gaze to Cam. “And I’m sorry for throwing my phone at your head.”
Cam chuckles. “I’ve had worse thrown at me.”
“What happens now?” Zach asks.
“It means no scratching your balls in public,” Cam replies with a chuckle.
“When you’re out in public, act as if there’s always a camera on you,” Mom adds. “Because most likely there will be.”
Our conversation is interrupted by the sound of Cole shouting, drawing everyone’s attention to the stairs. A few seconds later he jogs down the stairs and right out the front door, slamming it behind him.
Zach pushes back from the table and follows after Cole.
“What the hell is going on?” My mom asks.
I shrug. I have no clue.
AFTER EVERYONE LEAVES, Zach and I head back up to my room. I poke my head inside Harper’s doorway and see her sitting on the edge of the bed with her face buried in her hands, crying. “Harper? Are you okay?”
She shakes her head.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“No,” she says into her hands. “I just need to be alone right now. I’m sorry, Jay.”
“It’s okay. If you need me, I’ll be on my balcony.”
“Thank you,” she says as I reach for the door and pull it closed.
“I should probably call him,” Zach says as we go into my bedroom.
I grab a couple of blankets while Zach tries to reach Cole. Of course, he doesn’t answer. I didn’t expect he would. He needs time to calm down.
Zach follows me out to the balcony and we curl up on the daybed facing each other.
“Did you know about my mom and Cam?”
Zach’s eyes widen in surprise and he smiles sheepishly. “I was wondering what that was about earlier. Yes, I knew, but I wish I didn’t. I hated keeping it from you, but Cam made me promise to keep my mouth shut and leave it up to your mom to tell you. She finally told you?”
I snort. “No. I caught them in the shower together while we were in California.”
“Damn. And you threw your phone at Cam?” He laughs. “I’m sorry, babe. Are you okay?”
I shake my head. “I don’t know. Maybe I’m acting like a spoiled brat, but don’t you think it’s too soon?”
Zach shrugs. “I think your feelings are valid. I’m sure it’s hard to see your mom with another man. But I think the only person who gets to decide when it’s time for your mom to move on is your mom. Do you want her to be alone for the rest of her life? I don’t think your dad would want that. He’d want her to be happy. If being with Cam makes her happy, who are you to tell her she can’t be?”
“She should’ve talked to me about it. That’s not an image I can easily erase from my brain.”
“You’re right. But maybe she was afraid you wouldn’t approve or would think less of her.”
“I don’t think less of her. She’s still my mom. It’s her life and of course, I want her to be happy. Clearly, Cam makes her happy.”
“What’s gonna happen now with that picture of us floating around?”
“I don’t know. That’s Emerson’s department. Trust me. She’ll handle it.”