All I've Never Wanted (48 page)

“No, thank you,” I swiftly interrupted. “Sorry, but you’re not my type.”

“Are you a lesbian?”

I almost coughed up my water. “
Excuse
me?”

He shrugged. “I’m every girl’s type.”

Oh my god. I think I found someone who’s even cockier than Roman. “No! Not that I have anything against them, but I’m—I have a boyfriend!”

“So? That doesn’t mean anything.” Rico brought a piece of fresh yellowtail to his mouth. “You know what’s weird? None of my brother’s friends ever dated seriously in the past, and then, you come into their lives and everyone’s paired off. You and Roman. Parker and Adri. And, if things go according to plan, Zack and—“

“Venice!”

I whipped around just as a loud splash interrupted the quiet atmosphere. My jaw dropped when I saw Zack standing at the only part of the patio that wasn’t guarded by a railing. At least, he was standing for about two seconds, before he whipped his shirt over his head and dove into the pond.

Rico and I exchanged baffled glances.

That was definitely not part of the plan.

*              *              *

“I can’t believe we’re stalking her. Again.” Venice hid her face with the side of her menu as she glared at Zack. 

“We’re not stalking,” he insisted. “We’re…acting as bodyguards.”

“Against who? James is in jail.”

“Well, you never know. Rico did use to be a gang,” he mumbled, trying to make out what Maya and Rico were saying. Why were they on a date on the first place? Wasn’t she dating Roman? Was she so mad at him about the hospital prank that she’d broken up with him? Or was she cheating on him?

Zack felt a bit dizzy from all the possible reasons running through his mind. He also felt more than a little terrified at the thought of Roman’s reaction if any of those reasons turned out to be true.

“You’re always dragging me into this,” Venice complained. “I was supposed to go to the movies tonight!”

He returned his gaze to her direction. “With who?” The question came out a bit sharper than he’d intended.

“With Grant.” Venice’s eyes lit up. “You know, I got an A on my calculus test because of him? He’s so smart. It’s amazing.”

Zack frowned. Grant. That stupid skinny kid with the stupid skinny name and the stupid skinny glasses and the stupid—

“Zack?” Venice gave him an odd look. “Why do you keep saying ‘skinny’?”

He blushed. “No reason. What’s so amazing about that kid anyway?” He sniffed. “I could’ve helped you get an A on that test too.”

“But you don’t even take calculus.”

“How do you know that?” he challenged.

Venice’s cheeks turned pink. “I don’t know,” she mumbled. Then her face brightened again. “Puppy!” she cried.

He groaned. Not
this
again! “Venice, no!”

But it was too late. The tiny redhead jumped up to follow the tiny dog who had jumped out from an elegant older woman’s handbag. The woman didn’t seem to notice.

Zack couldn’t believe it. Did she have a
disease
or something? Because that type of fascination and blind following of puppies could
not
be normal.

Suddenly, he realized with horror that Venice was racing straight towards the section of the deck that had no railing.

Zack jumped up, forgetting about spying on Maya and Rico for the moment. Hadn’t Venice said something about not being able to swim? Crap.

“Venice!” he shouted.

Too late. He watched in horror as she tipped over the edge and…onto the dock. But his sigh of relief was cut short when Venice stood up, only to slip and fall into the pond with a splash, just as he reached the dock.

Without even thinking, Zack pulled his shirt off his head, jumped onto the dock, then dived into the water.

Within five minutes, he’d pulled Venice out of the water and back onto the deck, where the other diners had gathered, gaping at the scene in front of them—including Maya and Rico, who had concerned looks on their faces.

“Zack! What happened?” Maya exclaimed. 

“She fell!”
Obviously,
his mind whispered, unusually sarcastic.

“Oh my god, she’s not conscious.” Maya’s eyes were wide. “Does anyone know CPR?”

“I got it.” With those three words, Zack leaned down and covered Venice’s mouth with his.

*              *              *

I had hoped Zack and Venice would end up kissing after tonight, but this was not what I had in mind. Plus, I’m not sure CPR qualified as kissing.

I instinctively gripped Rico’s hand, my heart thudding nervously. I knew Venice couldn’t swim, and though I doubted she was in mortal danger, considering the short amount of time she’d been submerged, I was still worried.

Therefore, when her eyes blinked open and she began to cough up water, I breathed a sigh of relief.

“Wh-what happened?” She struggled to sit up, water dripping down her face.

“You were chasing a puppy and fell in the water,” Zack explained.

Beside me, Rico snorted at the ridiculousness of that statement. 

“Are you ok?” I asked, concerned.

Venice nodded, brushing a limp red curl from her face. “Uh, I think so.” She looked around, her face turning the color of her hair when she saw everyone staring at her. “Oh my god, this is so embarrassing,” she squeaked.

“It’s ok.” I turned to the onlookers. “There’s nothing to see here anymore. Go back to your dinners.” Everyone actually did what I said. I guess hanging out with Scions gave me a bit more confidence than I used to have. “And have a good night,” I added. I couldn’t be
quite
as imperious as Roman and the others were. Not that I wanted to be.

“Can you explain to me what you two are doing here?” Rico asked.

I stifled a grin. We knew exactly what they were doing here. We had set it up, telling Adriana to tell Zack she was afraid I might be leaving Roman for Rico and to urge him to “keep tabs on us.” She’d told me about how Zack and Venice had trailed James—I shuddered a bit at the thought of his name—and I at the amusement park, and figured he would bring her along this time too, since he apparently “couldn’t do anything by himself.”

I guess she was right, as always.

“Well, we, uh—“ Venice stammered, looking guilty.

“We’re on a date,” Zack blurted.

She turned so fast I was afraid she might’ve gotten whiplash.

“Really?” I grinned. “Aw. I should have guessed. You know, he’s the one who gave you CPR, V,” I added casually.

Just like that, she flushed red all over again, only this time, she was joined by Zack.

“Yeah, you should give him a thank you kiss,” Rico added, playing along.

But they were no longer paying attention. Instead, they were staring at something over my shoulder with frightened expressions.

A moment later, my hand was ripped out of Rico’s. I’d completely forgotten I was still holding onto it.

My stomach dropped when I turned to see Roman standing there, his face like thunder. “What the hell are you doing?” he demanded, a vein pulsing angrily in his forehead. “Why are you holding his hand?” His voice grew louder and louder with each word.

“Calm down, Rome, I was just nervous,” I said soothingly. “It didn’t mean anything.”

“I can’t believe you left me to go on a date with—with--” The vein was throbbing even harder now as he glared at Rico, who just looked amused. “—with a
criminal!”

“A criminal who helped save me,” I pointed out, crossing my arms over my chest.

“
I
helped save you!” Roman roared. “
I
was the one who got stabbed!”

“Are you really going to use that as your trump card now? Come on, Rome.” Rico rolled his eyes. “Besides, it’s not like you’re traumatized. You definitely recovered enough to joke around with her at the hospital.” He slung an arm over my shoulders. Roman’s eye twitched dangerously. “I hate to break this to you, but Maya told me that she’s beginning to have feelings for me.” He sighed. “It’s been a long time coming, really. Ever since we first saw each other that night at my house…we knew. And her near death experience only confirmed it.” He gazed pityingly at Roman, even though I could tell he was struggling not to laugh. “She didn’t want you to find out like this, since you just got de-hospitalized and all, but…she doesn’t want to be with you anymore.” Rico squeezed my shoulder. “She wants to be with me.”

I couldn’t help but giggle a bit at his horrible acting skills. No wonder he’d been in a gang. He sure as hell wouldn’t have made it in Hollywood.

However, my smile fell away when I saw Roman’s face. His cheeks were drained of color, and his eyes were wide with…hurt?

Wait. He didn’t actually
believe
what Rico said, did he?

“Is that true?” he whispered, staring at me with a pleading look that broke my heart. As insufferable as an angry, possessive Roman was, I would’ve much preferred that version than this one.

“What? No!” I blurted, trying to wriggle out of Rico’s grasp, but he was too strong. I glared at him, and he just gazed back with a mischievous look in his eyes. “Don’t listen to him. He’s just joking.”

“It’s ok, baby, there’s no need to keep acting anymore. Tell him the
real
reason why you haven’t kissed him since he left the hospital.”

If looks could kill, Rico would be six feet under right now. I can
not
believe he just said that. I stomped on his foot, and he let out a sharp yelp. I took the opportunity to escape his grasp and moved over to Roman, who hadn’t moved an inch.

“So that’s why you haven’t kissed me.” He crossed his arms defensively over his chest, which rose and fell heavily, like he couldn’t get enough air into his lungs. “When did this really happen, Maya? When did you decide you didn’t want to be with me anymore?”

My face felt hot and splotchy. Was he serious? How stupid could he be? How could he really think I would leave him, especially since he
knew
I’d said the
L
word to him in the hospital!

“I do want to be with you—“ I began.

“Since the first time she saw me, probably,” Rico cut in blithely. “Honestly, Rome, it’s much better this way—“

“Shut up.” Roman’s voice was tight.

“—and hey, now you’ll be free to go date those models you like so much, while Maya and I get it on—“

The sound of a fist connecting with a face ripped through the air, causing more than a few people to scream, including myself. All I saw was a red-faced Roman throwing Rico onto the ground, but even in my shock, I was stunned to see Rico wasn’t really hitting him back. I flashed back to the carnival in Hawaii. Talk about déjà vu.

“Roman! Stop!” I grasped the back of his shirt and desperately tried to yank him off to no avail. He didn’t even budge. “Zack! Help!” I gazed pleadingly at the blond, who didn’t seem to hear me as he gaped at the scene on the ground.

“Why do you even care so much?” Rico asked tauntingly. “You can find another girl in a second. Just leave Maya to me.” He smirked, even though blood was smeared on his face. I suppose it’d take more than a little bleeding to faze an ex-gang member. “I’ll take good care of her.”