The Envy of Idols (Rich Boys of Burberry Prep #3) - C.M. Stunich Page 0,101

I’m ready for the rest of it.

Zack and I stand in silence in the elevator in Tower Three, him with his arms crossed over his broad chest, his pants, um, bulging in a certain special spot. He looks up at the ceiling and exhales, and I can’t stop a giggle from escaping.

“What?” he asks, lifting a brow at me. He looks almost as nervous as I do.

“Just … us.” I lift my head up and chew on my lip for a moment, glancing sideways at my reflection I the mirrored wall. I hardly recognize myself, with that short rose-gold hair. The only damage from the Harpies’ attack was that it’s a bit shorter on the sides than it was before. Miranda cleaned it all up, so there wouldn’t be any patchy spots, and I have to say, it honestly looks better than it did before. “Me and you. We’re so nervous.”

He laughs then, and swipes a big hand down his face.

“That’s true,” he admits as the door opens and we step into the hall. I wait anxiously as Zack unlocks the door to his dorm and steps aside, so I can go in. He doesn’t bother to turn the lights on, instead moving over to the living room window and tosses aside the curtains. The sun is sinking behind the horizon, but there’s still plenty of orange-gold light to see by.

“You … you’re not a virgin, are you?” I ask in a whisper, wondering with a small twinge of jealousy what might’ve happened if he hadn’t walked away from me in middle school, if he’d stuck around and our relationship had bloomed from the seed of that first kiss. Then again, maybe he wasn’t ready? Maybe I wasn’t?

“N-no.” Zack pauses and turns to look at me, exhaling sharply. “But I’m clean. I …” He scowls briefly and moves over to the kitchenette area, taking a manila folder off the stone countertop and handing it over to me. “Zayd and Tristan heard me talking about having tests done, and they fucking copied me.”

“Oh, so you thought of it first?” I tease as I flip open the folder and scan the pages inside. My cheeks heat up as I close it and hand it back. This is all so very adult. What happened between me and Creed was a little … messier.

“Pretty much,” Zack teases, tossing the folder aside, and stepping forward. He puts his hands on either side of my hips and pins me against the counter with his body. His sporty smell is all around me, an aphrodisiac that lures me into boldness. “Is there anything else you want to know about … any past girlfriends? Because I only want to say it once, and then I want to move on. Fuck them all. They’re nothing compared to you.”

“Don’t demean other women like that,” I whisper, swallowing hard. “Saying things like you’re not like other girls is a tool of the patriarchy. Actually, did you know that in the 1920s—”

“Oh, fuck yeah, keep talking history and politics,” Zack murmurs, undulating his hips against me, so I can feel his hard-on through his jeans. “It’s hot as hell.”

“Liar,” I whisper, but then he reaches down and takes my hand, putting it on his crotch. His eyes are molten when I look up and into them.

“Does that feel like a lie?” he asks, and I almost excuse myself to the bathroom to squeal. Several times this year, I’ve woken up, looked around, and wondered whose life this is. It’s surreal.

“How many girls have you slept with?” I ask, and Zack pauses, like he has to think for a moment.

“Five.”

I cringe, and he shrugs his broad shoulders.

“Before this is all over, you might have five guys under your belt, Marnye.” He cups the side of my face and rubs a thumb up the side of my jaw. He’s right though. What morality dais do I have to stand on and judge him? What even is morality anyway? And is that really a debate I want to have with myself while my hand is cupping Zack Brooks’ crotch? No. Nope. Definitely not. “Anything else? Names? Circumstances?”

“No.” I shake my head vehemently. “No, that’s enough. Thank you.”

“Can I focus on making love to you now?” he asks, and my face flushes.

“Making love?” I squeak as Zack sweeps me up into his muscular arms and carries me into his bedroom. He opens his curtains, so we can see the sunset, and then chucks his shirt. His