Three Months and You're Mine (In Too Deep) (13 page)

Me: "
I like it."

Meredith: "That's all that matters. See you soon?"

Me: "Yep."

Chapter 13

Meredith

I went to see Zack the very next day. Yeah so maybe I wasn't
invited
per say, but I knew other people had seen him, and I was a little hurt that he'd been avoiding plans for me to stop by. It wasn't hard to talk my brother into giving me Zack's mom's address. He knew I'd find it if he didn't tell me.

I didn't know if my brother was going to let Zack know I was pla
nning on coming over, but I certainly wasn't going to tell him. He'd just have to be stuck with seeing me face to face with no prior warning. I got off work at 6PM, which was an hour and a half later than usual. I didn't let that stop me though. I went home, ate a peanut butter and honey sandwich, showered, and got ready to go to Zack's.

I loved that he complained about
me kissing that other guy. It made me feel like he was jealous over me, which gave me a warm, satisfied feeling in my chest.

The clock on my car stereo said 7:43 as I pulled into Zack's mom's driveway. I took some Listerine breath spray out of my purse and sq
uirted in my mouth three times, and then I made a final check in the rearview mirror before approaching the house. I knocked on the heavy, wood door with the cast iron knocker that hung in the center. I heard at least one small dog cross the house and stand at the door, barking like crazy to announce my arrival.

I was shaking like a leaf, and came really close to turning and running off, but I made myself stay.
Zack's stepdad answered the door about three seconds after I had that thought, so I was glad I didn't have my back turned.

"Well, hello sweetie," he said with a broad smile.

"Hi Mr. Moseley."

"Come on in." He stepped
back and gestured for me to step inside.

"Does Zack know you're coming?"

"No sir."

"
I'll take you back there. Linda's in the shower, she'll want you to come say hi before you leave."

"Definitely."

I followed him through the house and down a hallway. He stopped when he came to a closed door. He knocked on it three times softly, and we both stood there quiet as a couple of mice, waiting for a response.

"Yeah?"
we heard from inside.

"You decent?"

"Yeah."

Zack's stepdad reached out and turned the doorknob. I was almost breathless with anticipation as the light from the room spilled into the hallway. I squinted to focus on Zack as I stepped past the threshold. I could tell by the stunned expression on
Zack's face that my brother had not filled him in on me coming over.

He was looking at me
all sideways because he was trying to hide the left side of his face. He was trying to be discrete about it, but I could tell, even at that distance, he was shielding it from me. With no hesitation whatsoever, I started walking across the room towards the far side of the bed—the side he was uncomfortable with me seeing. He squirmed a little as if he was actually going to go somewhere. When he realized there was nothing he could do to stop the inevitable, he leaned his head against the headboard with a sigh and put his hands over his face.

"I had no idea you were coming over here," he said, face still covered.

I sat on the chair that had obviously been put there for whoever wanted to sit at his bedside. "Well duh. That's because I didn't tell you I was coming." I reached up to pry his hand from his face, but stopped before I made contact with him. Instead, I let him keep his face covered. I sat next to him on the bed, being careful not to come too close to his hurt leg. I snuggled up to him with my back to his side.

He could tell by the way I was sitting that I wasn't looking at him, so he took his hands from his face and put them down at his side. At least his right arm fell to his side. His left arm landed on me. The contact made a thrill shoot through me—a feeling akin to electric shock. I didn't look up when I spoke.

"I like your room," I said.

"We might as well go ahead and get it over with," he said. 

"Get
what
over with?"

I was already turning to look at him when he drew his hand up and pointed at his fa
ce. I stared at it shamelessly, like it was a freaking science experiment. It was the coolest looking scar I'd ever laid eyes on. The angle of it perfectly complimented his strong jawline, and to be honest, it made him look like even more of a badass than he did already. All this I could see under the row of clear tape that was holding the whole thing together.

I was so busy looking at the beautiful angle of the scar, that it took me a little while to
notice his expression. He was looking away while I inspected the damage. I could see the frustration in the way his jaw was set. "Zack, this is a
really
cool looking scar." I shifted, trying to get him to look at me, but he hesitated to make eye contact. His face told me that he didn't want my pity. "I'm not kidding," I continued. "It looks really good on you. You can see that, right?"

He gave me a half-smile, and used the tip of his finger to trace the skin next to the fresh scar. My finger went up and followed his, gently brushing the tape-covered skin about an inch from the actual scar.

"I'm not as convinced, but I'm glad you like it."

"If you're not convinced, you're blind. Or you're at least not seeing it right." I sat back, studying the
scar once again. "It couldn't have cut at a better angle. Seriously Zack, it's cool looking."

He rubbed his
chin like looking good was all in a day's work, and gave me that easy smile I knew and loved. Thank God I could see some of that Zack swagger.

"How's the knee?" I asked, settling once again, with my back to his chest.

"It's not as bad as it looks," he said. "I try not to even look down at it because it looks more painful than it is."

"That's good.
You been having any visitors?"

"None that climbed up in bed with me."

"I should hope not."

"Why do you say that?
You're
doing it."

"Yeah, but I'm different. Special. I get privileges."

"And you just
assumed
you had these special privileges?"

"Of course, and I was right since you're not exactly kicking me out."

I felt his chest sha
ke with laughter underneath me, and I smiled at the feeling. "How was the birthday party?" he asked.

"It was good. Emily was the last of our friends besides me to be under twenty-one. Now I'm the only one. Anyway, sh
e had to order a drink, just for fun, but we didn't stay out late, and I'm glad because I had to stay late at work today. I would have been exhausted. Why didn't
you
go?" she asked. "I heard you were getting around on crutches."

"It's still a pretty big contraption to
lug around to a birthday party. I think I'm just gonna wait out the worst of these injuries at home."

"I understand that completely. I'd probably feel the same way," I said, "but
I'd think you'd at least be okay with entertaining a few guests."

"I
have
been entertaining guests," I defended. "I've had one or two a day since the accident."

"Well, what I really meant by that was you can certain
ly stand to have specifically me over here some more."

"Right now I'm not prone to disagree."

"Oh, you like your visitors getting cozy?"

"Damn straight. It was getting cold in here."

I nestled further into his embrace. "I'm sorry I kissed your friend." I felt him flinch, and I took joy in the fact that my mention of the kiss spurred a reaction from him.

"I almost cussed him out for it when he told me, but I figured it wasn't really his fault since, you know, who wouldn't…"

I sat up and batted my eyes at him. "Was there a compliment in there somewhere, Mr. Larson? I reached up and traced the line of his scar again. "Will it hurt this if I kiss you? Because I'd love to compare you with your friend Gabe."

I didn’t want to compare him to Gabe. Heck, I didn't even remember how Gabe kissed. I just
desperately wanted to kiss him, and I was looking for any excuse in the book.

Zack narrowed his eyes at me. "I think we shouldn't mention that little indiscretion with Gabe ever again."

I sat up and then leaned in for a kiss, stopping when my mouth was only inches from his. "You didn't answer me," I whispered. "Will it hurt you?"

"No," he whispered back.

We both moved forward, closing the space between us. Our mouths met in a gentle touch that had me instantly aching for it to deepen. I'd kissed my share of guys, and
none
of them made me feel like Zack. Even though I didn't know exactly what made him different from other guys I'd been with, I wanted him with an intensity that scared me. I thought it had to be a result of the pending arrangement we had—the one where I lose my virginity to him.

I kept my touch really light, not wanting to hurt him, but he
readjusted his sitting position and took my face in both of his hands, pulling me in, deepening the kiss.

I accidently let out a little whimper at how difficult it was to restrain from climbing on top of him. The sound made him break the kiss.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah I'm okay. I'v
e wanted this to happen. I've been waiting for you to get back with me on the favor I asked of you."

He hesitated
and then smiled. "I just don't know if that's going to work out now that I'm injured."

I rolled my eyes at him. "I don't know if you can afford to do that," I said. "
Your options might be limited now that you've got all this going on." I was totally bluffing. With the way that scar looked, if anything he'd have an
easier
time getting laid.

"Quit playing. You know you like it."

God was he right. I did like it. I shrugged casually. "So maybe I do. It's no secret that I want you. I'm not trying to be shy about it." I leaned in and ever so gently put my mouth to his again.

"You think I can score chicks with this thing?" He flashed
me the left side of his face as if to show it off. I could imagine what it'd look like with the last of the tape gone, and I was honestly attracted to the looks of it.

"I wouldn't go that far. I think I'm the only chick in history who likes scars."

"That's too bad for me because you're only in it for the things I can teach you. Who am I supposed to run to when we're done? It'll be kind of hard to find someone if you're the only girl who likes scars."

"Oh come on, we don't have to skip ahead
to the aftermath, do we? Not when the lessons haven't even started. I'm sure there are other girls who like scars, but I'm not too keen on imagining you with any of them."

"Oh yeah? Why's that?" he asked.

I leaned in again, stopping when my mouth was only an inch away from his. "Because I don't want to share you."

His hand came around my head and he pulled me into a kiss. We explored each other's mouths for a few long seconds before he broke the kiss by releasing the grip he had around my head.

"You're beautiful."

"You don't have to tell me that."

"I'm not just saying it for fun. I fucking love the way you look."

"I fuck
ing love the way you look too—especially with the new biker scar. Hey, that's a good nickname. Scar."

"
There's no way I'm letting you call me scar. That just makes me think of the mean lion from Lion King."

I laughed. "Yeah you're right. I guess
we can just call you Zack." We sat there in comfortable silence for a few long seconds before I said, "So, uh, Zack, I was, uh thinking… I mean, I was wondering if everything was in working order down there, or if you got hurt in the accident."

"I'm all good. Don't worry, I'll be ready to go when we maybe sleep together in three months."

"First of all, some time has elapsed, in case you haven’t noticed. It's more like two months instead of three. Second, I was asking if you're okay
now
, not how you'll be in two months."

"I don't know, you tell me." He grabbed my hand and placed it on his lap.
He was wearing grey Nike sweatpants, and I could easily feel how hard he was underneath. I moved my hand a little, stroking him gently through the layers of fabric. I felt a surge of need and anticipation as I felt the evidence of his attraction to me. His hand was resting on his thigh as he watched me rub the length of his shaft through his pants. We heard a noise in the living room and he put his hand over mine, trapping it where it was, causing it to hold still. He looked toward the hallway, intent on listening for possible interruption. I didn't care who was in the living room or hall or anywhere else. Right then, I was only focused on the fact that my hand was gloriously trapped between his big hand and his even bigger erection.