Falling for the Ghost of You (22 page)

"Okay, Jenna," I interrupt quickly.  "Wherever you're going, get there faster."

She hunches her shoulders sheepishly.  “Right.  What I’m trying to say is, I’ve never heard Zane talk about
any
girl before, not the way he does about you.  He really cares about you, so…just remember that, no matter what happens, okay?”

I want to be excited about what I think Jenna is telling me, but that huge cloud of doubt hovering over me refuses go away.  I can’t forget what I overheard in the kitchen.

She’s going to find out eventually
.

I smile uncertainly at Jenna, unsure how to take her.  “Thanks,” I mutter.  “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Keep what in mind?”

Zane appears suddenly besides Jenna.  He slings a playful arm around her neck.  “Spilling state secrets, Jen?”

“I would never!” she huffs, opening her eyes wide.  “You know me
. 
I’m like a bank vault.”

Zane sends me an amused glance, eyebrows raised.  “Yeah, the open kind, where there’s a tiny little Jenna standing just inside, handing out codes and keys.  Violet, don’t listen to her—she has a very vivid imagination.”

I don’t know what to say to that, so I just stand there, flustered.  It’s awkward for a minute.  Then, Zane turns to Jenna again.

“Hey, do me a favor,” he says, sticking a hand into his front jeans pocket.  He comes up with what looks li
ke a fancy little remote thingy and tosses it
to her.  “Drive my car home tonight.  I
want to stick around for a bit and talk to Violet.”

She catches it clumsily.  “You’re letting me drive the Aston Martin?  Are you serious?!”

Zane locks eyes with me as he answers her.  “Yeah, just don’t go nuts, okay?”

"What!"  she screams excitedly, jumping up and down.  "Oh, but how will you get home?"

"I'll take one of my dad's bikes."  Zane shrugs.   "We'll walk you out "

I
trail after them, following them
outside to Zane's car.  Jenna is way too giddy, and if I were him, I would be nervous about letting her behind the wheel of such a crazy expensive car.  But Zane doesn't seem worried, simply telling her to not drive too fast.  Jenna hugs him tightly before she gets in, and I have to squash the jealous witch in me that starts shouting obscenities.

I really need to get this possessive thing under control.

With squealing tires, the car rockets out the driveway.  Jenna toots the horn before she reaches the end of the road.

Zane watches her go.  "I'm gonna regret this, aren't I?"

"Oh, yeah," I reply swiftly.  Distantly, I hear a scream followed by the sound of screeching breaks.

Shaking his head, he turns back to me.  I can barely make out his suddenly serious expression by the pale light of the moon and the winking stars.

"So, you wanna get out of here?"

"Um."  I stare down at the ground.  "Let's go back to the house.  We can hang out in my room."

"I don't think your mom would approve."

I roll my eyes.  "I'll sneak you in."

"Oh, really?"  Zane's tone is half-amused, half-surprised.  "Are you sure you want to risk your good girl rep?"

"Well," I say matter-of-factly.  "She hasn't caught onto all the wild drinking whips and chains orgies I host in their yet."

"Damn, those are the best kind.  Now I'm 
really
excited to see your room."

I gesture toward the house, and Zane starts walking, hands stuffed down his jeans pockets. 

When he's a little bit ahead of me, he turns around, walking backwards.

"Did anyone ever tell you you're a real smartass?"

I nod.  "It's really starting to make me wonder."

It's ridiculously easy to sneak Zane upstairs.  Mom and her friends are chatting over cake and
coffee, reminiscing about the good ol' days from the sound of it.

Zane's never seen my bedroom before.  I wonder what he'll think of it.  I haven't added any personal touches to it yet, so it's still showroom perfect.

Except for all my underwear, lying in a heap on the top of my dresser.

Ugh, it was laundry day today.  How could I have forgotten to put them away?!

I rush forward, opening up the top drawer and shoving all the lacy scraps in there in one big arm swoop.

Okay, I know it's not like he hasn't seen my underwear before.  But, still, I don't want him thinking I'm a huge slob.

Zane is looking around. He picks up my quartz paperweight and examines it.  "Nice room, but it doesn't feel like you at all."

"I know," I acknowledge.  "I should put some posters up, or something, huh?"

"Yea
h.  And
where's all the empty energy drinks, and the dirty underwear tossed on lamps and d
ressers, like a normal teenager?
" 

"What kind of messy ass teenagers do you know?"

He laughs.  "I guess that's more of a guy thing, anyway."

"Oh.  Ew."  Now that I think of it, he could have been talking about Matt's room.

There is an uncomfortable silence.  Then Zane moves to stand right in front of me.

"So," he says, looking down at me.

"I...uh..."

I am totally distracted by his clean sexy scent!

"I like
Jenna," I blurt out.  "She seems...nice."

"Yeah.  Sorry about springing her on you like that.  She showed up a couple of days ago, unannounced."

"Oh," I say, striving for a casual tone.  "So, you two are really close, huh?"

Zane reaches over and tugs on a stray lock of my hair.  "Are you asking if we slept together?"

"What?" I huff indignantly.  "That's not what I...did you?"

"No. Never."  He looks me directl
y in the eye.  "We're friends—t
hat's it."

"Well, she's pretty," I say almost defensively, like he can't be friends with a pretty girl.  "She has great eyes."

"Yeah, they're beautiful."

"Yeah!  They're so big!"

I make an inappropriate gesture with my hands, much the same way an immature boy would to pantomime grabbing boob.  Zane starts laughing.

I close my eyes briefly.  "Um, is there anything I can say right now to convince you that I don't actually have latent lesbian tendencies?"

"Say?  No.  Show, maybe.  And you have to be very convinc
ing."  He offers me a sexy half-
grin.

"Ha," I say weakly.  Then I take a deep breath.  "Actually, I wa
nted to apologize to you about—
for...going all cracked out on you about that little tramp, Marissa.  Even though I think you were unnecessarily nice and e
ncouraging to her flirty ways—w
ell, that's your right, and I shouldn't have acted like a jealous girlfriend."  I pause, then my eyes widen in horror.  "Oh, god, I didn't mean
girlfriend
! I meant to say bitch!  Because obviously I am not...we're not...you know...like,
dating
, or...penis?"

Zane crosses his arms over his chest, full out laughing now. 

"Oh, come on!" I plead.  "Put me out of my misery."

"I really should," he agrees, shaking his head.  "But I kind of don't want to.  It's like watching a train wreck."

"Thanks.  I'm going to go now.  Maybe I'll go find a convent.  They like virgins there, right?"

I start to turn away, but Zane pulls me against him.  He is so solid, warm, sexy...I melt into him.

"I don't think they'd take someone who looks like you into the convent.  Too distracting.  Think of all the hot nun jokes you would inspire."  His big ha
nds settle over my hips, settling
me more firmly against him.  "Besides, I have plans for you."

My hands snake up behind his neck, fingers brushing into his soft dark hair.  "Really?  What kind of plans?"

Zane teases a soft kiss on my mouth.  "The kind that involve nudity.  And lots of sex."

A heady recklessness falls over me as my body responds helplessly to his.  "Yeah, you're all talk, and no action."

"Really?" He smirks.  "Okay, little girl, you asked for it."

Zane picks me up with thrilling speed and ease.  He carries me onto the bed, and throws me down on it, then moves over me.

"How's that for action?" he murmurs, smiling down at me.

I reach up to touch his beautiful face.  "You're still talking."

Now there are no spoken words bet
ween us—
just an intense conversation with our hands and
mouths, a small gasp or a moan frequently puncturing the silence.

"Violet."  Zane looks intently into my eyes.  "I don't wa
nt Jenna, or the receptionist—o
r anyone else.  Just you, like this."

Does that mean...?

He slides a hand down my quivering stomach to the button on my pants.  It's only when he's sliding down my zipper that I suddenly remember.

"Wait."  I grab his han
d to stop him.  "We can't.  I—i
t's that time of the month."

Zane pulls his head back a little, and squints at me.  "So?"

I make a face.  "So...no!"

He groans into my neck.  "You're killing me, here, Violet."

"You?"  I glare up at him indignantly.  "What about me?  At this rate, I'm going to die a virgin."

Zane chuckles, and kisses the tip of my nose.  "Trust me, I'm
not
gonna let that happen."

He rolls off of me onto the bed.  We both lie on our backs and stare up at the canopy.

"Wow," Zane says after a moment.  "This bed is really soft."

"Right?"  I sigh comfortably, stretching my arms in the air.  "It's like sleeping on heaven."

"You'd like my bed.  It's huge."

I roll onto my side to face him.  "And will I ever get to see your bed?"

"Well, that depends."  Zane tucks his hands behind his head.  "Will you bring me breakfast in bed, and perform other girlfriend type duties?"

I raise my eyebrows at him.  "Girlfriend...or maid?  And...are you saying what I think you're saying?  Zane, you're going to have to spell it out for me."

"Really?  You're going to make me do it, aren't you?"

"Yes, please."

"Okay, then."  Zane turns his head to look at me.  "Violet Mercer, will you be my girlfriend?"

I can't stop the giant smile that spreads across my entire face.  "Okay! Yay."

He laughs.  "Awesome."

I lean over to give him a big kiss.  "Now what?"

"Now you put on your shirt, and I'm going to go home and take a really cold shower."  He glances over at me again.  "
Really
cold."

He starts to get up, but I grab his hand.  "Stay with me tonight," I say impulsively.

I can see him think about it.  He runs a hand through his tousled hair and sighs.

"Are you sure you want to run the risk of getting caught?"

"It's worth it," I say promptly.  "I want you to stay."

"Then I'll stay."

While Zane takes a shower, I text Mom that I've got terrible cramps so I'm going to bed early.   She texts me back with offers of tea and a back rub.  Feeling crazy guilty, I tell her I'll be fine, I'm just going to sleep.

I've never really lied to her
before these past few months—h
onest.  I've never really had a reason to.  But now, well, the guilt and anxiety I feel is worth it.  Zane is worth it. 

We watch weird crap on the internet,
and it's just like old times—e
xcept that I'm sitting on Zane's lap, wearing just his shirt.  I still think it's strange how he's never seen any of these viral videos, considering he works with computers for a living.  Aren't all those techie guys usually always plugged into the internet?

Or maybe they wouldn't be if they looked like Zane.

Around midnight, Zane convinces me to go skinny dipping in the pool.  We end up kissing more than swimming—then it's cold showers for both of us.

This is...incredibly
frustrating, yet...exciting.  There’s this anticipation,
building up to a pain
ful level, but I’m certain that when it’s time, it will me even more amazing because of the tension
.  Zane seems to feel the same way, constantly testing the limits of his control by driving both of us to the edge of crazy, then pulling back just in time.

We talk, too.  Sometimes, it seems like he's on the verge of telling me something, but then he changes his mind.   It makes me obsess over his conversation with Jenna.  Why can't I ask him about it?  I think I don't want to know.  Not yet, not in this moment that is one of the best experiences of my life.

I would've thought I wouldn't be able to fall asleep with Zane in my bed, but it's so peaceful.   We
lie
next to each other, me on my stomach as he rubs my back with his magic hands.  I fall asleep, smiling.