I'm unable to look away, despite my subconscious's warnings. I can't believe he would do this again, after promising he wouldn't.
Get out of there before he sees you!
This time, I don't argue with my subconscious.
"Um, guys. I think I'm gonna go find my date." I tell my friends.
They nod, obviously knowing better than to stop me. They probably feel sorry for me- the pathetic girl who was stupid enough to fall for her best friend knowing that he's way out of her league- that's what I think of myself right now.
"Hey, I was looking for you." Alex appears in front of me, two cups in his hands. I take a cup from him.
"Weird. I was looking for you too." I shrug.
Alex looks at me for a moment, then sighs deeply. "Wanna tell me what's bothering you?"
What? "What're you..."
"I'm good at reading people, Aubrey. Really good."
I cross my arms over my chest. "Have you alw
Today is Sunday and all I've really done is eat a pint of ice cream in my pajamas, in the hopes of forgetting everything that happened last night.But the truth is, last night is all that has been on my mind ever since I walked away from Zack. And the guilt has been eating me up.It's one thing to sleep with your best friend's enemy, but to throw it in the person's face, in Zack's face makes me feel like the most horrible person alive.I know I can't justify what I did, and I'm not even pissed that he lied to me about staying in a motel, but he pushed me too far. I blink back tears as I remember the way she looked at him, and the way he looked at her.He wanted her.And it still hurt that when the going got tough, he ran to her.She was his first choice. He ran to her to get away from me."Oh, come on, Aubrey. You need to get out." Erika says for the tenth time, pulling on my hand.
The tension between us in the car is so thick you'd be able to cut through it with a knife.Zack hasn't said anything to me since I got in. I don't even have the guts to say anything. Not even ask him where he's taking me.Why am I so nervous? I've known him all my life!Do you really know him though? My subconscious bites back.I heave a sigh, turning in my seat to face him.He's Zack. Not some random stranger. Just Zack.I don't even realise when I start studying his features for the hundredth time.His dark brown hair is disheveled. More disheveled than usual anyway, but it's still fucking hot. His eyes are still my favourite colour. His jaw outline is sharp as ever, and oh, hell, it just ticked."Stop it." He snaps, tightening his grip on the steering wheel.And it's then I see it.The bruise
"Bye, mom!" I yell behind me as I exit the house, hurrying towards Zack's car."Sorry I'm late, babe, but someone didn't want to let me wake up and kept on saying 'ten more minutes.'" I mimick in my best deep voice, fixing him with a glare.Zack just keeps on staring at me with a funny expression on his face."What? Is there spinach in my teeth?"I didn't have spinach this morning, but whatever."Babe?" He says, smirking, and my eyes widen when I realise that I called him "babe"."That's not the point of..." My statement is cut short when Zack leans over the console and pulls me to him, our lips colliding.I moan when his cold, minty tongue traces the seam of my lips.Okay, I might be willing to let it slide."You know we're gonna be late for school, right?" I whisper."Don't care." He mutters between kisses."And that my mom's most pro
I waste no time taking my clothes off, and then I'm running towards the water."Zack!"I'm about to start panicking because I don't know the first thing about swimming, when I hear his voice."You'd make a terrible lifeguard." He says as his head emerges from the water.He was messing with me."Oh, you are so dead!" I mutter dangerously. Why would he do something like that?And who the hell drowns in a stream?!Zack pushes his wet hair backwards, and when his eyes meet mine, his mouth opens slightly.He rakes his eyes over my lace clad body. Slowly.Wait. Lace clad?It's then I realise that I'm in my underwear. A black lace bra and panties to match."Damn, Aubrey." He whispers as his eyes meet mine again.Heat creeps up my neck. "Stop staring at me like that." Zack and I have kissed a lot, and he's tried crossing to second base lots of times, but
I moan as light filters into my vague dream, making it impossible to remain asleep. It's Saturday and I was supposed to be sleeping in.Fucking light.The warmth of the hard surface under my cheek is so comforting, I don't think I ever want to stand up from this bed.I raise my head to look at the masterpiece I'm lying on.I'm pretty sure I slept alone last night, so he must've come this morning or something. He'd gone to check on Audrey Miller. Again. Her parents still aren't back from their work.To be honest, I'm still terrified that something will eventually happen between them. It's not that I don't trust Zack, I trust him with my entire being, I just don't trust her.She's unstable, and she could blackmail Zack into getting what she wants, and let's face it. Zack's a guy.This is the longest he's ever gone without having sex. He's being patient with me, but I have this gut feeling that he's g
Sure enough, when I go outside, he's standing beside his car, dressed in a t-shirt, jeans, and his favorite cap. My favorite cap, actually."Dad!" I run into his outstretched arms, and he catches me, spinning me around like a little girl. His little girl."I've missed you so much." He breathes into my hair and the tears almost begin to fall."I've missed you too, Dad." I choke out. "I can't believe you're here.""Yeah? Well, I am. I'm here for you."I hug him even tighter as he lets me down, burying my head in his chest."How did you... I mean...does mom know?" I ask when I pull away.Dad nods. "I called her a few days ago before I flew in last night. She didn't want me to tell you because..." He looks away. "Well...you know."Yeah, I know. Incase I got my hopes up and he eventually didn't come."I'm glad you came." I say.Dad smiles at me, reaching out to tuck st
I ignore yet another call from my dad, switching my phone off and flinging it behind me on the bed."You okay?" Zack asks me. I turn in the chair to face him. He's lying on his bed in only black sweatpants, arms folded behind his head.Yes. His bed.Zack is my math tutor, has been since we started highschool and he figured out how horrible I was at math.I'm currently seated at his study corner, well, he'd brought the study corner to me, so I'm seated in a chair directly beside the bed, books in front of me on the table.He'd given me a problem to solve, and to be honest, I have no idea what I'm doing."Yeah." I reply, smiling at him.He rolls his eyes. "Will you stop with the fake smiles already? It's starting to annoy me." He sits up so he's sitting right in front of me, looking at me intensely."It's better than not smiling at all." I shrug.Zack reaches out to tuck my hai
I knew I was going to have to deal with this. I knew I was going to have to face Eric sooner or later, I just didn't expect it to be this soon."What're you...um..." I avoid making eye contact with him, whatever makes me do that would be sentencing me to death because I'm not ready to look at him."Doing here? Come on, Aubrey, you know what I'm doing here. It's why you can't look at me, isn't it?"A sigh escapes my mouth. "Eric, I..." He walks past me into the house, shutting the door behind him."You look pretty, Aubrey. You always do." His voice becomes husky. I wait for the tingles to come, the shiver, the butterflies that always flutter at the bottom of my stomach whenever he speaks to me.I wait for something. Anything. I get nothing.I finally decide to just suck it up and look at him, and when I do, I wish I hadn't done it, because all I feel now is guilt.&n
Sometime during the night, my eyes flutter open. I'm on my bed, so it was certainly not a dream that I had about Zack.Though right now, he's not on the bed with me, and I know that because I can hear his voice."Yeah. She's okay." He says. He's on a phone call, but with who?The person says something and he sighs. "I'm not so sure about that. She's upset with me."Is it Audrey?I turn so I'm lying on my other side, facing the window. That's where he's standing, but his back is to me."I was going to tell her everything tonight, but I guess I chickened out."What?"Why?" He repeats the person's question. "Fuck, she's so disappointed in me. I hurt her too much this time. She thinks I was with someone else."Okay, so not Audrey."No. I know Aubrey. We've been best friends since we were 10, man. I already kno
This is all too much to process, and so fucking impossible. There's no way... Zack confessed to me last week when things got heated with Eric and everything, but I just thought he fell in love with me in highschool. I had no idea he's loved me since we were kids. I sit up. "Why didn't you tell me?" Zack scoffs. "Didn't know I was supposed to ask you out at ten years old." I glare at him. "That's not what I'm talking about. The years passed, Zack, and you didn't...you let me date all those people." "I wasn't sure you felt the same way. And let's face it, you would've rejected me because you wouldn't have wanted to ruin our friendship. And nothing hurts men more than rejection." His hands are linked casually behind his head. He's relaxed. He's right though. That's exactly what I would've done. "Wait." Zack sits up to look at me. "Are you crying?" H
"So, you're seriously not gonna tell me about your Thanksgiving?" I ask.Zack doesn't stop playing with my hair, which is splayed across his chest."Nope. And that's because I already told you there's nothing to tell."I lift my head off his chest and lean up on my elbow so my face is over his."You've been in a sour mood since you got back yesterday and you really expect me to believe that? How dumb do you think I am?"Zack stares at me deadpan for a few seconds before he replies. "On a scale of 1-10, I'd say eleven."He laughs as I slap hard at his chest. "Hey! Take that back.""I'd rather not."He's good at changing the subject. Really good.Feigning annoyance, I try to push away from his chest but he tightens an arm around me."Hey, where are you going?""Away from you." I mutter. "You're so annoying.""You could
"You okay, babe?" Zack asks me.I wedge the phone between my ear and my shoulder so I can lace up my sneakers."Honestly," I sigh, "I don't know how I feel about this dinner."It's Thanksgiving tonight and my mom and I are going over to Alex's for dinner.I still haven't spoken to her, and if at all I do, we just end up fighting again.It's tiring, and I hate it, but I'm still upset with her. And I don't want to listen to her explanation. There's nothing to explain because I already understand it all."It'll be okay. I'm sure you look hot."I laugh. "I don't need to dress hot for Thanksgiving, you pervert. And it's not even that."Zack heaves a sigh. "Still not speaking?""No." I mutter."You can't keep this up forever, you know that, right? She's not just your mum, Aubrey, she's your best friend." His tone drops. "She's been there for you.""Only beca
I knew I was going to have to deal with this. I knew I was going to have to face Eric sooner or later, I just didn't expect it to be this soon."What're you...um..." I avoid making eye contact with him, whatever makes me do that would be sentencing me to death because I'm not ready to look at him."Doing here? Come on, Aubrey, you know what I'm doing here. It's why you can't look at me, isn't it?"A sigh escapes my mouth. "Eric, I..." He walks past me into the house, shutting the door behind him."You look pretty, Aubrey. You always do." His voice becomes husky. I wait for the tingles to come, the shiver, the butterflies that always flutter at the bottom of my stomach whenever he speaks to me.I wait for something. Anything. I get nothing.I finally decide to just suck it up and look at him, and when I do, I wish I hadn't done it, because all I feel now is guilt.&n
I ignore yet another call from my dad, switching my phone off and flinging it behind me on the bed."You okay?" Zack asks me. I turn in the chair to face him. He's lying on his bed in only black sweatpants, arms folded behind his head.Yes. His bed.Zack is my math tutor, has been since we started highschool and he figured out how horrible I was at math.I'm currently seated at his study corner, well, he'd brought the study corner to me, so I'm seated in a chair directly beside the bed, books in front of me on the table.He'd given me a problem to solve, and to be honest, I have no idea what I'm doing."Yeah." I reply, smiling at him.He rolls his eyes. "Will you stop with the fake smiles already? It's starting to annoy me." He sits up so he's sitting right in front of me, looking at me intensely."It's better than not smiling at all." I shrug.Zack reaches out to tuck my hai
Sure enough, when I go outside, he's standing beside his car, dressed in a t-shirt, jeans, and his favorite cap. My favorite cap, actually."Dad!" I run into his outstretched arms, and he catches me, spinning me around like a little girl. His little girl."I've missed you so much." He breathes into my hair and the tears almost begin to fall."I've missed you too, Dad." I choke out. "I can't believe you're here.""Yeah? Well, I am. I'm here for you."I hug him even tighter as he lets me down, burying my head in his chest."How did you... I mean...does mom know?" I ask when I pull away.Dad nods. "I called her a few days ago before I flew in last night. She didn't want me to tell you because..." He looks away. "Well...you know."Yeah, I know. Incase I got my hopes up and he eventually didn't come."I'm glad you came." I say.Dad smiles at me, reaching out to tuck st
I moan as light filters into my vague dream, making it impossible to remain asleep. It's Saturday and I was supposed to be sleeping in.Fucking light.The warmth of the hard surface under my cheek is so comforting, I don't think I ever want to stand up from this bed.I raise my head to look at the masterpiece I'm lying on.I'm pretty sure I slept alone last night, so he must've come this morning or something. He'd gone to check on Audrey Miller. Again. Her parents still aren't back from their work.To be honest, I'm still terrified that something will eventually happen between them. It's not that I don't trust Zack, I trust him with my entire being, I just don't trust her.She's unstable, and she could blackmail Zack into getting what she wants, and let's face it. Zack's a guy.This is the longest he's ever gone without having sex. He's being patient with me, but I have this gut feeling that he's g
I waste no time taking my clothes off, and then I'm running towards the water."Zack!"I'm about to start panicking because I don't know the first thing about swimming, when I hear his voice."You'd make a terrible lifeguard." He says as his head emerges from the water.He was messing with me."Oh, you are so dead!" I mutter dangerously. Why would he do something like that?And who the hell drowns in a stream?!Zack pushes his wet hair backwards, and when his eyes meet mine, his mouth opens slightly.He rakes his eyes over my lace clad body. Slowly.Wait. Lace clad?It's then I realise that I'm in my underwear. A black lace bra and panties to match."Damn, Aubrey." He whispers as his eyes meet mine again.Heat creeps up my neck. "Stop staring at me like that." Zack and I have kissed a lot, and he's tried crossing to second base lots of times, but