Absolute Zero (6 page)

Her eyes went wide, and she spun on her heel back into the kitchen.

“Having a little move-in party, huh?” Zach moved past me toward the door, like he was leaving.

“Whoa. Wait. Hold on.” I reached out and snagged his elbow.

He shrugged out from my grasp and yanked the door open, then stomped out into the hallway. I thought I saw some steam shoot from his ears. I followed him out and found him standing to the side, hands shoved in his pockets. At least he hadn’t bolted out to his car.

I let the door click shut behind me, then I stepped toward him. “You’re misunderstanding, Zach.”

He stared at the floor.

“Look. He came up on me while I was picking up that chair. I had to let him help me bring it up, he saw how heavy it was.”

Zach grunted.

“I know. It wasn’t heavy to me, but I had to cover. Jeez.” I raked my fingers through my hair. My mind was wasted. Nate’s helpfulness caught me off guard as well. I was kind of used to guys ignoring me, so his attention took me by surprise.

Along with the way he made me feel.

“He calls you Mandy.”

Well, and then there was that.
Crap.
“I know. He slipped that in the other night at the party. I didn’t get a chance to correct him. Then—”

“You didn’t tell me you met him that night.” His stare burned a hole through my head.

I tugged at my hair until my scalp stung. “Look. Zach. A lot happened that night. Remember the freaking car smashing into me? My flying into the air and a quick heal?” I let my hands fall to my side. “I forgot. Okay?”

I felt like a schmuck. Did I really forget? Or was I trying to hide it because I felt bad about the tingles Nate tripped in me?

“And what’s with your disappearing act these past few days? No calls since the whole parking lot scene. It’s been like that for a while. Hot then cold. Hot then cold. I can’t keep up with you, Zach. What’s going on?”

“I should just go. Let you get settled.” He pulled out his keys from his pocket.

“No way, buddy. Running away is my gig. You don’t get to do that. What’s going on with you? It’s barely nine o’clock and you’re wanting to leave? I haven’t seen you in a few days, or really heard from you much and you want to leave three hours before curfew?”

His shoulders slumped.

“Did I suddenly grow warts on my nose or something?” I shrugged. “I’m new to how this whole boyfriend-girlfriend thing works, you know? But seriously, what’s going on?”

“It’s just not cool to find another guy all comfortable in your apartment, hands on you, and calling you Mandy. Then to find out you met him before and didn’t tell me? I mean, what’s up with that?”

My gut soured. “I already told you—”

“I heard what you said.” He fingered his keys, then rocked heel to toe.

I remembered when he did that before our first kiss. I wasn’t so sure I’d be kissing Zach tonight. He seemed really ticked. “But—”

“Look. I’m sorry. I’m just pissed at stuff right now. Dad’s raggin’ on me. I never get to see you. Classes start soon. Then all this crap with Georgia’s mom…”

We were both just wigging out and needed to chill. “You’re right. Hey, come on. Just come in, eat some pizza, and help me unpack my meager four boxes.”

“You only have four boxes?” He slid his hand, the one holding his keys, into his pocket.

I stepped toward him and nodded. “Lots of moving around, remember?”

A smile curved the corner of his sweet mouth. It triggered his adorable dimple and my heart melted. God he was so cute. How could I have been distracted by Nate?

Chapter 8

“W
hat’s this?” Zach held up a shredded-looking blanket that he’d pulled out of my box marked Mom.

“One of my baby blankets. I think Mom made it if I remember correctly.” I knelt beside Zach and reached for the old thing. I brought it to my nose and inhaled. No scent of my mom’s perfume or anything. Just old box and stale air. I hadn’t unpacked it in years.

Did I dare to now?

“She liked to sew?” Zach said, as he sifted through the box again.

“Yeah. A little.” The pink and red squared piece of cloth barely covered my entire lap. Funny to think this tiny thing once covered my entire body when I was a little baby.

Mom’s face flashed behind my closed eyelids. Big, blue eyes, sandy-blond hair, and smooth, fair skin. Wonder what she’d think of my dating Zach or what she’d tell me about my wanting to sleep with him? Would she tell me to wait, save it for marriage?

“Hey. What are you thinking over there?”

I hadn’t noticed, but I’d drifted to my bed and leaned against it, clutching the blanket to my chest. My heart felt like a lead plate pressed against my stomach.

“Just remembering her.”

Zach plopped the book he held back into the box and crawled on all fours to me.

“What do you have there?” I asked.

“Bible. Looks a little worn, though.” He leaned against the bed next to me, his shoulder touching mine.

I leaned the side of my head onto his shoulder. “It was my mom’s. She’d gotten it from her mom and gave it to me on my thirteenth birthday.”

Zach’s woodsy cologne wafted over me as I closed my eyes again. I slouched against the bed frame, enjoying the silence. Occasionally something thudded on the other side of the apartment. Probably Georgia situating her room.

Not sure how long I sat there next to Zach in complete silence, but he finally spoke. “Whatchya thinking?”

“Lots of things. You?”

“Same.” His voice was quiet. “You tell me one first.”

“I miss Mom,” I said. “Your turn.”

“What do you miss about her most?”

“Her smile. And our late night talks.” I hugged the blanket closer. “I actually liked her. I know thirteen year olds aren’t supposed to like their parents, but she was cool. I mean, as cool as a mom could be.”

His shoulder jiggled as he laughed.

“Your turn.”

“What’d you guys talk about?”

“Boys. Clothes. Crap like that. I used to love all that stuff. But then it was just me and Scott—and on the run a lot. Couldn’t keep much around so I kinda got out of that whole primping thing.” I pulled my head from the warmth of his shoulder and straightened my legs in front of me. “Plus, he’s a guy,
and
my bro. Not talking about stuff like that with him.” I draped the frayed blanket across my lap and smoothed it over me.

“Yeah. Us guys, we just grunt and scratch, right?”

I looked up and went to elbow him, but he caught it before it ground against his ribs. I’d said that to him on our hike to the meadow that day I was fishing to see if he could help us decode Mom’s disc. That was the day I realized just how much I liked him.

“Okay, so I was wrong. You don’t just grunt and scratch.” I snickered. “At least the grunting part.” My lips tugged into a smile.

I scooted toward the Mom box and set the blanket back in there. Enough time spent down memory lane for a while. I folded the cardboard lids down and glanced around. Only four boxes and three were empty already. I really didn’t have much stuff, and my bare, tan-colored walls were proof.

Didn’t trust I’d be here permanently.

“You didn’t tell me one of the things you were thinking.”

He looked up. Locks of brown hair splayed over his smooth forehead. “Wondering what you wanted for your birthday. It’s coming up next weekend, you know.”

“Georgia’s, too. Well, her
real
birthday. She got screwed on her
fake
one, though, didn’t she?”

“I’d say.”

“Were you really thinking about my birthday?”

He nodded, but didn’t hold my gaze.

“You lie.”

That earned me an arched eyebrow. “I do, do I?”

“Yep, and I told you one thing, so it’s you’re turn.” I crawled toward him. “Because you know, I could just lift you up and spin you around until you tell me.”

“Yikes.” His eyes flickered. “Sounds a little scary.”

“Then start talking.” I crawled closer. My room wasn’t that big, I’d be to him in a couple more steps. “Quick.”

His dimple puckered as a smile split his face. “You’re not that scary, Mandy. You actually look pretty cute crawling toward me like that.”

“I might look cute, but I’m still strong enough to toss you around.”

“True.” He sat up straight and put his hands up for me to stop. “Okay. I’ll tell you. On one condition.”

Again with the conditions. We got our first date on a condition—or a bribe as I called it—so I wondered what this one was. “I’m listening.”

He crossed his legs and used his hands to push toward me. His wide, steel-gray eyes bore right through me. “I get you all to myself on your birthday.”

“Oh yeah?” A shiver slid through me that shocked the breath from my lungs.

“Just me and you, hidden, where no one can find us.” He smiled. “Just me and you.”

“What’d you have in mind?”

“It’s a surprise.”

I glanced around the room, then back to him. He leaned forward onto his hands and crawled the last foot to me. His face stopped so close to mine I felt the warmth of his skin, and he wasn’t even touching me.

“There was one more thing I was thinking.”

“Mmm…” I couldn’t form full words with him so close to me.

My brain went to mush, and my heart was in my throat. It would sound like I’d sucked helium if I talked right then. This was the Zach I knew. The one I liked. Playful, sexy, carefree.

Never mind we bickered earlier. Never mind that he’d been hot and cold with me the last few weeks. He was definitely on the hot side again.

And so was I.

His gaze shifted up, then slowly, he scanned my face. “You’re really beautiful. I’m sorry I freaked earlier. I better get used to guys hovering around you now that we’re in college.”

I shook my head, but he brought his hands to my face, cupping each side.

“Yes.” His thumbs caressed my cheek. “You are beautiful. Everyone else knows it, but you.”

He
made me feel so pretty.
He
made me feel so confident.
He
made me tingle all over. His soft lips brushed against my cheek, then over my eyelids, then my other cheek. I sucked in a sharp breath.

He pulled me up to my knees as he covered my mouth with his. I wove my arms around his neck and tangled my hands in his hair. He leaned into me until I began to fall back, but he planted his hand on the floor and eased me down. He was actually pretty strong. I forgot that sometimes, because I was the one always doing the heavy lifting.

Zach could actually take really good care of me. And he did. So strong, yet gentle. He tented himself over me, holding his body weight off me, like in a one-armed push-up. His mouth grazed along the side of my neck.

“Come here,” I whispered and gently pulled him onto me.

A quick blast of air rushed from his mouth. Did I feel as good to him as he did to me? His elbows dented the soft carpet on each side of me, but his hands stayed near my face, and his mouth firmly planted against mine.

I curled my leg around one of his, and my hands slid into his back pockets. One of my favorite places. I hugged him tight, feeling his body against mine. He scooted down, shifting his weight off me slightly, much to my dismay, but his lips trailed along my throat to my collarbone and to the tip of my tank top.

For a minute there, I thought I’d switched powers with Georgia and I was fire. He shifted to his right side, resting on his elbow, while his left hand tugged at the hem of my shirt. It was different in here than a parked car. More room to move, explore.

I rested the back of my head against the soft carpet and tried to calm my breathing. Would tonight be the night? My body burned for him, but I wasn’t sure. What if I did something wrong, or I froze the room?

His soft, warm hands slid the bottom of my shirt up, exposing my stomach. The cool air chilled my flaming skin. He curled his fingers around my waist as he eased down more, and his tongue went to work on my belly button. I couldn’t hold back a flinch. It really did tickle. What a weird sensation.

His hands pushed my shirt up even further, and he looked up the length of my body. I saw my chest heaving. How embarrassing. It looked like I’d just sprinted up the stairs or something.

He kissed his way back to my lips and stayed there a while as his fingers curled around my neck again. He guided me to a sitting position, then pulled away. Red flooded his cheeks as he stared at me. With his free hand, he slid my tank top up over my head and tossed it to the side.

His intense gaze swept down from my face over my exposed flesh, then back to my face. “Beautiful,” he said with a ragged breath. “You okay?”

I nodded and leaned toward him again. He met me half way, crushing his lips to mine. His tongue flicked against my teeth, sending a zinger of a chill through me. He leaned his full weight against me and moaned into my mouth.

But then he pulled away, slightly, and stared me straight in the eyes. “Getting chilly in here.”

“Sorry,” I whispered with a hoarse voice. “You kind of trip something in me, you know?”

“I know the feeling.” He rolled to the side and a cool breeze replaced his warmth. He drew in a deep breath. “I guess I don’t have to worry about getting
hot
and heavy with you, huh?” He rested his hand on my bare stomach.

“Very funny.” I reached up and cupped the side of his face. “You make me feel so amazing.”

He smiled. “Okay. Your turn. One more thing you were thinking earlier.” He kissed my cheek, then nibbled my earlobe.

I cringed it tickled so much. “Like I can remember anything right now.”

What I really wanted to ask him was if he’d ever had sex with anyone before. Could he tell I didn’t know what I was doing? But instead, I said, “Are you sorry you turned down your cross country scholarship?”

Heavy question for such a moment.

“No, but I
am
sorry that my folks are so pissed and treating you so bad.”

“No family dinners at your house for awhile then, huh?” I joked, but it sucked. His folks hated me, yet he defied them to be with me. Gave up a running scholarship for me. Gave up his close friendship with Dan by staying. Hardly seemed fair.