Zack just yawns and then turns to Ben, opening his arms. “Hey, buddy…what are you doing up so early?”
“Hungry,” Ben says as he steps into his father’s embrace.
“Me too,” Zack says as he stands from the couch and picks Ben up, hauling him over his shoulder. Ben squeals with laughter. “Let’s go get some cereal.”
My heart still racing, I sit down on the couch numbly. I’m completely horrified Ben caught us lying next to each other. Granted, we were fully clothed in what we had worn to dinner last night, and were not in a compromising position, but the fact of the matter is we were in a perplexing situation for Ben.
Watching his dad embracing another woman.
The kid has to be so thoroughly confused.
I know I am.
Last night resulted in somewhat of a shift in whatever this is going on between Zack and me. So many weird things happened.
First he got jealous of that man Gregory buying me a drink.
Then he divulged something very personal to me that had been weighing on him heavily.
And the coup de grâce was when we returned to his house. Alex and Sutton made quick goodbyes, assuring us that Ben went to sleep easily and all was well. As soon as they left, I assumed Zack would make a move on me. No matter where we are or what we are doing, there’s always an underlying vibration of tangible attraction between us. I can feel it all the time. But it’s usually those nighttime hours after Ben is asleep that Zack and I come together and give in to that attraction.
I expected no less when Zack locked the door behind Alex and Sutton.
Instead he merely took my hand and led me into the living room. He set me on the couch and said, “I have one more birthday gift for you.”
I was pleasantly surprised and warmed throughout. No matter what the surprise was, the fact that Zack had planned something had me feeling mushy all over and my heart started the process of becoming enslaved to him.
Grabbing the remote, Zack turned the TV on and then turned the source over to the DVD player. “I had Sutton pick this up on the way over with the cake,” he explains.
I watched the TV curiously, then gave a surprised yelp of excitement when I saw the opening credits of the movie Grease start to roll.
“It’s your favorite movie,” Zack said with a grin as he dropped the remote control on the coffee table. “Figured it would be a nice way to cap your birthday off.”
I stared at him in stunned disbelief as he walked toward me. “You know what my favorite movie is?”
Zack just gave me an admonishing look. “Remember that whole thing we discussed in the car about you being a babbler? Well, you happened to mention your favorite movie. Oh, and you sing those stupid songs quite a bit around the house.”
I laughed in delight and then my breath froze as Zack walked to the edge of the couch and raised a knee up to it. He then proceeded to crawl onto the cushions, and lay down right behind me. One arm came out to rest on my waist and he murmured, “Come on…lie down with me and I’ll watch this stupid movie with you.”
My heart nearly exploded with overwhelming feelings for Zack. It was the first act of affection he’d shown me. Yes, we’ve kissed and fondled and fucked, but he had never shown just warm and nonsexual tenderness to me before.
The blood in my veins thundered and I felt slightly dizzy as I laid my body down in front of his, pulling my booted feet up on the couch and gently resting my head on his bicep that was tucked under me. Zack’s arm tightened around my waist and he pulled me in to his body.
I held my breath for I don’t know how long, just examining everything about the moment. The way I could feel the heat of his body against mine, the security of his arm around me, his breath on the top of my head as he rested his chin there.
I tried to focus on the TV and my favorite movie—yes, he listened to me and knew my favorite movie—yet I couldn’t concentrate on anything other than the emotions that threatened to drown me at that moment.
Zack Grantham was cuddling with me.
Best. Birthday. Present. Ever.
And now we’ve been busted by Ben.
Resting my elbows on my knees, I bend over and rub my temples with my fingers. Yes, something changed, but I don’t know what. What I do know is that Ben saw us together in an intimate situation and I am feeling absolutely horrible about it. I don’t even remember falling asleep, and apparently Zack conked out hard too. We were in the same exact position we had originally lain down in.
Oh, God…Ben. How are we going to explain this to him?
“Hey,” Zack says as he walks back into the living room.
I lift my head and look at him apologetically. “I’m sorry. I was so stupid to have fallen asleep like that.”
Shaking his head, Zack holds up a hand. “I fell asleep too. Quit beating yourself up about it.”
“What are we going to tell him?” I ask in a panic.
“I’m going to take him upstairs and get him ready. I think I’m just going to reiterate that you and I are friends and that we just fell asleep while watching TV.”
I nod vigorously, but say vaguely, “That sounds good.”
“It’s fine, Kate,” Zack says as he looks at me. He can tell I’m pretty wigged-out about this.
“Okay,” I say as I let out a huge breath.
Standing from the couch, I walk up to him and lay a hand lightly on his chest. I can feel his heart racing and the pulse at the bottom of his neck jumps radically. “Thank you for my birthday…dinner, the talk…the movie. It was one of the best birthdays I’ve ever had.”