Next to Me (6 page)

“Zany, let me make you feel good. I want to thank you for rescuing me, my knight in shining armor. You are always there for me no matter what. I want to show you I appreciate you.”

He wanted her, of course, he always wanted her, but he knew better than to give into her when she was like this. Kissing her a few nights earlier and being rejected was all he needed to put his guard up when it came to Whitney. She was not pleased with his rebuff and tried to run her foot over his package, thankfully misjudging where it was. He grabbed her foot and threw it back at her. Standing from the couch, he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, taking her into the bedroom and throwing her onto the bed.

“That’s what I’m talking about, Z, take me.”

He left the room then, hoping she would get the hint. “Go to sleep, Whitney, you are drunk and I’m not in the mood for your shit.”

He went back to his spot on the couch and contemplated calling the taxi to come back out and get him. Not long after Whitney started calling for him again.

“Z, come here, please. I’m sorry.” He walked in to see her with her arms out to him. “Just hold me, and I promise I won’t try anything.” Not sure if he believed her, he crawled under the covers and let her put her head on his chest.

“Okay, Whitney, go to sleep.” He tried to settle his nerves and closed his eyes.

“I still want you, Zane. You’re the only person I want to be with right now.” The right now stung a bit, but he ignored it.

“Listen, Whitney, if you still want me in the morning, and you really are serious, then we’ll talk about it. I just think you are letting the alcohol talk, deal?”
“Deal, Zane, but it’s the truth. I want you.” He wanted her to be serious, but he knew Whitney, and he knew her better than anyone in the world. She didn’t mean it. Even if he wanted her too, he wouldn’t fall for it until he heard it from sober lips.

When the sun was shining in his eyes he opened them to see Whitney purposely holding the blinds open to wake him up. The night before came rushing back to him, and even though he knew he shouldn’t, he held his breath.

“I couldn’t wait to tell you a second longer.” His heart skipped a beat and he felt it as he sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“What is it, Whit?” He focused his brown eyes on her green ones and waited. She looked beautiful in the sunlight by the window. She had changed into one of her many pink matching shorts and tank top combos and was bouncing with excitement.

“He texted me back finally! Walter, this morning, he had to go to his uncle’s house and help him with his car. He didn’t have any service, and he feels awful that he stood me up. Isn’t that awesome!”

Zane’s heart sank along with his patience. He shoved the covers off and stood up to go get his shoes from the living room.

“Just fantastic, Whit, glad you are excited.” She was beaming.

“I need a line.” She rushed off to her room to poison her body more and he let himself out, calling Cole to come pick him up from his nightmare. He knew he would catch hell for it, but Cole was a good friend. He would come and get him. Going home and sleeping it off would be good, maybe he would call Lila for a Saturday night date.

“You guys ready to see it?” Dustin was excited, and Zane was surprised since it was his birthday. His dad always got really excited on birthdays and wanted to do something special. Zane was turning twelve. He was almost a preteen now. He’d figured at this point he would have grown some chest hair or shot up a few feet, but he hadn’t even hit puberty yet. His dad told him that wouldn’t happen until he was at least fourteen, but for some reason he was ready.

“What is it, Mr. Grier?” Whitney was just as excited to see what he’d gotten for them as he was. Zane always shared his gifts with her and she lived vicariously through him even though his dad always got her something great for her birthday too.

“Come on, kids, it’s out back.”

They went outside to see a large handmade tree house. It was pretty high in the tree with two levels and a ladder that went up the side. There was a bucket that hung down so he could pull things up to him and a large tarp over it so it was enclosed. It looked like it had two separate compartments, and he was completely blown away.

“Oh wow, Dad, it’s amazing! I can’t believe you built this today.”

“I had a little help from some buddies, but we made sure it was sturdy and that the two of you could play anytime you wanted.”

Zane ran up to it and started climbing the ladder. Whitney didn’t follow, so he turned around and yelled at her. “Come on, Whitney, get your butt up here and see how cool it is.”

He could see all the way across the neighborhood. She came over slowly and climbed the ladder with the least amount of enthusiasm possible. When she got to the top she kind of just sat and looked out over the grass quietly.

“What’s your deal?”

“This is the lamest present I’ve ever seen. I can’t believe you’re excited over a stupid tree house.” She crossed her arms and sat still, looking over the grass.

“This is an awesome present. My dad went to a lot of trouble to put it together for me. You’re being mean.”

“At least your dad built you something, even if it is really stupid. I will not play in this with you ever.” With those words she went down the ladder and huffed past Dustin into the house. He knew she’d gone home. Her parents were going to separate; she’d been telling him for months now that they’d been threatening divorce with every horrible fight. If she was upset about it, that was fine, but she wasn’t going to rain on his parade.

“This is great, Dad, thank you so much!” Dustin beamed at him from the porch, and he played the rest of the afternoon.

The weekend passed without incident. Zane didn’t hear from Whitney, and he didn’t really want to. He rested, played video games, mowed the lawn, and helped his dad rearrange his closet. When Wednesday rolled around she texted him as usual with her movie picks for the day, and as usual they were all horrible. He vetoed all but one and told her he would pick out the movies and meet at her house around three.

He was looking forward to some normal time with his best friend. Everything had been off-kilter and she didn’t get high on movie day or drink. It was their one rule, and it was his favorite day. As far as he knew, she had never broken their rule, and he really loved sober Whitney. She was funny, considerate, and even though she was a little on edge, it was like having his best friend back for the day.

When he showed up a little before three she looked nervous. He couldn’t figure out what was going on with her, and thought he smelled vodka on her breath. He hoped it was just mouthwash and decided to let it go. They were only fifteen minutes into the first movie when he heard the sound of a motorcycle pull into the driveway and cut off right outside the door. He looked at Whitney in complete shock.

“I invited him, Zane. I want you two to meet again and start over. Please do this for me.” Zane was not happy, but he was stuck, and she knew it. No wonder she had been drinking, she was about to pull one over on him.

“You didn’t really give me a choice, did you?” She gave him a nervous smile and jumped up to let Walter in. They kissed for entirely too long and then she brought him in by the hand.

“Walter, this is my best friend in the whole world, Zane.” Whitney expected Zane to get up and shake his hand, but he didn’t budge.

“What’s up?” That was Walter’s contribution to the conversation before he sat down in the chair and focused on the TV. It was beyond an awkward situation. Whitney started the movie again, and they settled in to watch a classic horror movie, and one of Zane’s favorites.

“That doesn’t even look like real blood. That person is breathing. That is the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen. Like that would really happen.” Walter had something to say about everything, and he was ruining the only good thing about the day for Zane.

“Not a fan of horror, are you?” Zane said, looking over at Walter as he played with a knife and bounced his leg up and down.

“I’m not a fan of poorly written, acted, and filmed horror, Zane.” The way he said his name rubbed Zane the wrong way. It dripped with sarcasm and disrespect.

“This is a classic.” Zane would defend his movies.

“Whatever, man.” Walter stood up from his chair and put the knife back in his pocket. “Babe, sorry, but this isn’t my scene. I’m gonna jet.” Zane was pleased that he was leaving until Whitney stood up too.

“I’ll go with you, just give me a sec to grab some stuff.” Walter nodded and went outside to wait for her. “Look, I know I’m ditching you, Zane, but I never like anyone, and I really like him, so we can take a rain check right?”

Zane didn’t say anything and as usual she didn’t care. She took his silence as annoyed agreement and left him sitting in her apartment by himself.

It was then and there that Zane made a decision. She didn’t care about him, and it was time for him to stop caring about her. He took his phone out and called Lila. The time for pining for a girl who didn’t respect his feelings was over. It was time to let her go.

She picked up on the third ring and he walked out the door to his truck.

“Zane, I was beginning to think you were never going to call me,” Lila said, sounding happier to hear from him than Whitney ever did. “How’s your friend?”

“She’s ungrateful, thank you for asking. What are you doing tonight for dinner?”

“Letting you take me out.” Lila was quick, and he liked her.

“Text me your address and I’ll pick you up at six.” He hung up feeling excited about his plans. This was what he needed to start moving toward the life he wanted. He headed home with a new purpose.

Dustin was more excited about Zane’s date than he was. He was running around trying to tidy up before she met him.

“Dad, I’m picking her up, she isn’t coming here.” Dustin stopped fluffing the pillow and stared for a minute as he registered that information.

“Oh, well, what are you wearing?”

“I don’t know, Donna, what are you wearing?” Zane put on his most feminine voice, and his dad glared at him. He gestured to the T-shirt, jeans, and boots he had on. “I’m wearing this.”

“No, you need a button-up.” His dad went into his room, found a green button-up and a blue plaid one and made him choose.

“The blue one, I guess.” He slid it on over the T-shirt and started to button it.

“Tell her you wore it to match her eyes.” Dustin was pleased with himself. He grinned. Zane knew his dad was thrilled he was forgetting about Whitney.

“I’m pretty sure her eyes are brown, Dad, but thank you for the tip.” Zane thought his dad’s excitement would be a good story to tell her over dinner.

Whitney felt a little guilty leaving Zane, but as the wind hit her and Walter sped up, all her cares vanished. She felt like riding on the motorcycle and completely putting her trust in him was the only time she could feel free. They were going to be alone at his apartment in Stanley County. She had to admit that she was a little nervous. Usually going to bed with a guy was an escape, a drug fueled hazy escape for a few hours. This was going to be completely different. One, because she was sober since it was movie day, and two, because she wanted it to be special. She wanted to be present in mind and spirit.

They pulled into a very small apartment complex, and Walter led her to his door.

“It isn’t much.” She realized as she stepped into his place that she never asked him what he did.

“Hey, where do you work?” The apartment was furnished very sparsely with a couch and a chair. A small TV sat atop a crate and that was all that was in the initial room. It appeared to be a one-bedroom, but there were female clothes lying around that told her he probably had a roommate.

“I’m in between jobs right now.” He sat down on the couch and patted beside him. “Come over here.”

She went to sit beside him on the couch. She knew this was going to be the night they took it to the next level. So far, he had been a perfect gentleman, only kissing her goodnight. They had not spent the night at each other’s houses or taken things any further. It had only been a week, but to her it felt a lot longer.

Leaning over, he pulled her to him, gently putting one hand behind her neck. She took a deep breath before his lips met hers, and he deepened the kiss, immediately causing her stomach to flutter a little. She returned his kiss and moved closer to him. He pulled her into his lap, pushing her long hair off her shoulders and moving his lips over her neck. Her skin tingled and burned everywhere he touched, and she loved it. Without thinking, she grinded herself against his crotch, feeling him start to harden for her. Moaning, she moved his face back up to kiss him again and moved against him.

“You’re beautiful, Whitney.” He held her face in his hands as he looked into her eyes. She was more turned on than she had been in a while, but this little sentiment brought her back down to her emotions. It was nice to hear those words and believe them. She traced over the tattoos on his arm, wondering what each one meant. It helped her slow down and think about what she was doing. He smiled up at her. “If you aren’t ready for this, I understand.”

Whitney grinned at him. “Oh, I’m more than ready.” Walter flipped her over on her back and moved over her to kiss her deeply.

“Be right back.” He disappeared down the hall to grab what she hoped was protection and was back quickly. When he came back he jerked her up off the couch and wrapped her legs around him. He kissed her as they walked into the wall. She had thought he would take her to his bedroom, but he pressed her up against the wall and started undoing his pants. She was wearing a maxi skirt and he made quick work of her underwear. His demeanor had changed somewhat as he grabbed her hair and pulled her head to the side. He bit into her neck, and she groaned, not sure if she was enjoying it or not.

He drove into her swiftly without any foreplay and just started hammering, which was not how she pictured their first time. It was already happening, so she tried to be in the moment and enjoy it. When she thought they were finding a rhythm he moved them back over to the couch, smacking her ass before throwing her down again and leaping on top of her. He drove into her again, grunting as he came minutes later and she simply lay beneath him, shocked. It was a strange sexual experience for her, and he was still there just breathing above her.

She was about to press his chest to get him to move for her, and he started to move again, kissing her slowly.

“One for me, baby, now one for you.” This time wasn’t as quick, and he let her take control, which she liked, but once things heated up he started pulling her hair again, and they were just off somehow. They would just have to work on this part of things and get on the same page. She hoped it wasn’t because she had only had a little to drink that she didn’t enjoy it, but she thought maybe she had just been nervous.