with Rachel ran its course when she started talking about moving in together and taking our relationship to the next level. Screw that, I thought the day she mentioned it to me.
She’s a great screw, but all she cares about is her name in lights and on the front page of covers and I’m over that crap.
“I know,” I say and run my hands through my hair, frustrated. Girls like Rachel are all I’ve had – all I’ve wanted – for years. But Nicole…hell, she had no idea who I was and even before Mia showed up I could tell she wanted me. She’s the first girl I’ve met in a decade that hasn’t flirted with me. She just blushed and rambled on about shoes, or something. I wasn’t exactly listening because all I could think about was how she would taste and how her hair would look splayed out all over my bed.
I’m a mess.
I punch Chase, only half-joking, in the shoulder and push my way past him to head to the bus. I’ll see her one more time and maybe that will get her out of my mind.
I doubt it. I want her – for more than just a night. I want to understand all the scripted answers she’s given me and why she zones out with a look of sadness all over her face. I want to peel back the layers she’s put up, protecting herself from whatever it is that’s hurt her.
And then maybe peel back that skirt she wore tonight….
“You’re screwed, man!” Chase yells again when I hit the bus door. I flip him off without looking back and head to the kitchen for a drink.
He’s right.
I totally am.
Chapter Five
Nicole
Bzzzz.......bzzzzzz......bzzzzzz.....
I throw another armful of clothes from the week that has yet to make it back into my closet, as I search frantically for the source of the buzzing before I miss the call. It’s probably my mom calling for her weekly check-in. But this time I actually have something good to share with her. My mom was a lifesaver after Mark and Andrew's death. She stayed with me for weeks, practically force feeding me when I was too depressed to eat. She handled all the financial issues of their deaths, helped plan their memorial services, dealt with insurance companies, while I lay in my room practically catatonic with grief. After six weeks, I finally kicked her out and sent her home to my dad. And I know she still constantly worries about me...I suppose that's what moms will always do.
There it is! I reach for the phone when it buzzes one more time, and slam my foot into my bed frame when I snap the phone open.
"Hello?" It comes out sounding more like a moan since my teeth are clenched while I bite back the scream I want to yell. That freaking hurt. "Mom....?"
"Uh....no...." says a deep masculine voice. I vaguely recognize it, but between the pain in my foot and the shock that a man is on the other end of my phone instead of my mom, I can’t place it. "Nicole? It's Zack."
How did he get my number, is the first thought that flies through my mind. The second is wondering if I am ever going to stop making a complete fool out of myself around him. "Uh....yeah.... hi Zack."
"Are you okay?"
"Um...yeah...I'm fine. Just hit my foot. How did you get my number?" I sit down on my bed and rub my foot trying to make the pain go away, and wonder if I sound as stupid to him as I think I do. However, I am met with light laughter coming from the other end of the phone. "Are you laughing at me?"
"Yeah, Nicole. I am. Mia gave it to me."
“Mia gave you what?”
His laughter increases. I like the way it sounds, I’m just tired of it being directed at me all the time. “Your number.”
I mentally smack my forehead into the palm of my hand.
“We're actually leaving town tonight to head for Chicago. But…” His voice trails off like he forgot what he was going to say. I notice that I have stopped breathing, completely, waiting to hear why he is calling, and my stomach is fluttering nervously out of control. “I was hoping I could see you again before we left town."
What in the hell for?
"I'm actually downstairs in your lobby. And I'm holding what Mia said is your favorite meal from the Thai restaurant down the street. Can I