Embracing Trouble (Trouble Series) (10 page)

He pressed Send and then passed my phone back to me as he grabbed his beer bottle from the bar and took another sip.

“I have to see him tomorrow at school,” I muttered as I looked over the photo and his text again.

“Let me know if he says anything more,” he brooded.

I looked down at the phone, trying to figure out what point he was trying to prove. I re-read the text yet again. So I wasn’t Antony’s, but was I his? I was confused and my head hurt. I just knew he would end up making me crazy if we kept this up.

He moved away and began talking to a friend who was leaving. I stood there, not knowing what to do next. He was a walking contradiction. One minute he didn’t want me anywhere near him, and then the next minute he was warning off guys like Antony. I looked around the club to see the majority of people had now left and our group was the only one there.

“Another shot before we head off?” asked Will, coming back over to me and motioning to the bartender.

I shook my head.

“Better not. I’m going to head home in a minute anyway.”

“You need a lift home with us?” asked Noah, flicking his lighter on and off, as he appeared against the bar next to me.

“I’ll be fine, but thanks,” I said with a appreciative smile.

I looked over at Zac and saw that he was still talking to his friend, but now the girl who he had been with earlier stood next to him. I sucked in a deep breath of air. Where had she come from? Why was I still here? I definitely wasn’t going to hang around while he was with her. I headed over to the toilets, putting my hoodie back on. It was time for me to get ready to go.

As I washed my hands and fiddled with my hair in the mirror, my phone vibrated and I hoped it wasn’t Antony. It was Zac.

Zac:
Get a lift home with us

Ava:
No. I’m not going home

Zac:
Where are you going?

I grinned with wickedness as I texted him:
Antony’s

There wasn’t a reply, and I smiled to myself in the mirror as I slid my phone back into my pocket. I took a deep breath and then left the bathroom, coming face to face with him at the door.

I stopped and the heavy door closed behind me, hitting me in the back and making me fall slightly into him.

“Get a lift with me,” he softly demanded.

“No,” I said, trying to look away, but our bodies were pressed up against each other, which made it impossible. “I’m not going to Antony’s. It was a joke.”

“Why not get a lift then?” he asked, not caring in the slightest that we were outside the toilets.

At least it was in a separate hallway and the others couldn’t see us from here.

I rolled my eyes, and whispered, “You didn’t even want me here to begin with, and now you’re expecting me to go home with you?”

“I’m not expecting anything. It was an offer to give you a lift. Take it or leave it,” he returned with a scowl, stepping back clear from me.

“Well, maybe I don’t like squeezing into an already full car.”

“The last time I checked, Noah’s car fit four quite comfortably.”

I sighed in exasperation and folded my arms, trying to decide what to do. The girl was obviously no longer with him and she wasn’t going home with him.

“So, do you always send threatening texts on behalf of girls that you don’t want to be around?” I blurted.

He snapped back, “No, I usually don’t care enough.”

“So you care for me, then?”

He lowered his eyes, and quietly admitted, “For some reason, yes.”

“For some reason? Thanks a lot,” I said, hurt, while I crossed my arms in total disgust at his remark.

He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, and the motion pulled his T-shirt up slightly. I caught a glimpse of a very toned stomach.

“For a lot of reasons,” he muttered, like he didn’t want to admit it.

I stayed quiet, not knowing where to go from here.

“Jesus, Ava,” he said frustrated. “You drive me to the point of madness.”

“The feeling is mutual,” I whispered back. “Especially when you tell me to stay away.”

He grabbed my hand and pulled me over to him.

“You still need to stay away. You’ll only end up hurt.”

I let out a frustrated sigh and demanded, “So, where’s your girl?”

“Don’t know. Does it matter?”

“So, you just got what you wanted from her and that’s it? You’ll never see her again?”

“That’s the general idea,” he returned.

I looked down at his hand holding mine.

“And is there a part of you that wants to do that with me?”

He huffed and spun me around so I was up against the wall.

He leaned into me, and with gritted teeth, said, “You have no idea.”

I took in a short breath.

“So, why don’t you do it, then?”

His eyes burned with desire as he looked at me. I was sure he had to swallow hard.

“Because you’re innocent. You deserve more, and I’m not offering anything more. I only take, when I want it. I don’t do commitment, Ava. I’d never be your boyfriend. I’d just use you for my own pleasure.”

“And if I let you?”

He shook his head, and said softly, “You don’t know what you’re saying. You’ll get hurt, Ava. You need to be the good girl you are and save your energy for someone worthy.”

“Maybe I want to be a bad girl for a while.”

“Bad girls are bad for a reason,” he said, frowning. “You have no reason.”

“How would you know? Every time I get close, you push me away. You know nothing about me!”

“I know enough,” he said. “I’m wrong for you, Ava. I fuck when I want. I smoke. Drink. Do drugs. I’m the worst type of guy for you.”

“Maybe I don’t care about any of that. Maybe I want to use you and get my rebellion out now while I can.”

My words floated between us in the silence.

His hand moved up to my cheek and gently cupped it. His sincere and genuine caring eyes roamed over my face, like he was trying to memorize it or come to a decision.

His thumb brushed my cheek and grazed my lips as my heart stopped. I looked into his compelling eyes, and then he was leaning down and kissing my lips.

I instantly melted into him. His left arm pulled me into his hug, our bodies pulsating with heat as he pulled me closer. His right hand continued to caress my cheek. My hands moved their way up his chest and I loved touching him. My fingers twisted in his T-shirt as his kiss deepened.

He slanted his mouth for better access and I felt his tongue meet mine. His hand moved from my cheek and caressed the back of my neck as he pulled me in even closer. I slid my hands up to his neck, feeling his powerful kiss from my lips to my toes.

This is what I had been waiting for my whole life. I had yearned for a kiss that would render me boneless, ruining me for future kisses. He hungrily kissed me and his other hand stroked my back and then cupped my bottom.

Sensations of pleasure shot through me, and I forgot where I was. His tongue clashed against mine as his hands moved back up and caressed the skin between my hoodie and jeans.

I felt a vibration between us and then I heard music. Breaking the splendor of the moment, I felt him pause. His lips moved from mine and he swore under his breath.

I looked at him and saw all the anger mixed with lust in his eyes. As his phone kept ringing between us, the anger won.

He pulled back and growled, “I have to take this”

He turned from me and answered his phone, as I leaned against the wall in a daze. He gave short, one-word answers. Then he swore again as he ended the call.

He turned back around and cupped my cheek again, saying, “I have to go.”

“Oh,” I said, unable to hide my disappointment.

Who had called him? Why did he have to go right now? Was it a girl?

He kissed me again, only going for one light kiss until our tongues were meeting again. He pulled back like he was trying to control himself and gave me a brief, but amazing smile.

I watched him with dazed eyes before his smile disappeared and was replaced with his guarded watchfulness.

“Go home with Noah,” he demanded softly.

I swallowed and nodded.

“Promise me,” he demanded again.

“Promise,” I whispered.

And then he was gone.

Zac

I looked at a crying Janey in the seat beside me, and I let out a highly frustrated sigh. The taxi driver kept driving and was headed to our home address. His loud music drowned out any noise coming from us.

“Tonight of all nights,” I muttered darkly.

“I’m sorry, Zac,” she cried. “I just didn’t mean for it to go that far.”

“You never do,” he said, looking out the window.

“Well, excuse me, Mr. Fucking Perfect,” she spat, her mascara running down her cheeks.

I was nowhere near perfect, but tonight, I had discovered perfection, and it scared the living shit out of me.

Ava

I yawned during class the next day and tried to focus. Sophie kept looking at me, puzzled as to why I couldn’t wipe a satisfied smile off my face. He had kissed me and had utterly rocked my world. It had been amazing, and it was everything that I had ever imagined and more.

Noah had driven me home by himself, because Will had gone somewhere with Zac. Noah wouldn’t elaborate on where they had gone, but I was so high on lust and happy thoughts that at the time, I didn’t care.

He thought I was beautiful. It was something I was still coming to terms with, because I didn’t feel beautiful. I did for a moment as he looked at me last night, and I wanted to feel that again. I wanted to see that look in his eyes again, like he wanted to devour me.

As the teacher spoke at the front of the class, I glanced over to Antony who had been doing his best to avoid eye contact with me all day. It was surreal that he had sent those messages to me in the first place, because he had never shown any interest before.

I looked down at my phone in my lap and flicked to the photo that Zac had sent to him of us last night. He was gorgeous, and I was completely smitten.

* * *

On Tuesday morning, I was running late and was one of the last ones left in the locker hall as classes had already started. I quickly got my things ready and slammed the locker closed. That’s when I saw Antony leaning on the locker beside me.

“Oh, hi,” I said, holding my notebook tightly against my chest.

“You think Sunday was funny?” he asked quietly.

I shook my head.

“It’s forgotten, Antony.”

“I haven’t forgotten,” he returned. “And you better watch yourself. I don’t think you know who you’re dealing with.”

“Just forget about it,” I said, stepping past him.

He grabbed my arm and pushed me against the lockers. I became rigid with shock.

“Don’t mess with me, Ava,” he warned, leaning close into my face.

Another student ran in and he let go, walking away casually to class like nothing had happened.

I rubbed my arm and tried to catch my breath as I tried to comprehend what had just happened. Total shock made me go to class and not say a word to anyone, least of all, Sophie.

I didn’t hear from Zac. Everything that had looked so bright on Monday was now dull. I caught Antony watching me throughout the week, and he would always give me a smug smile when my gaze met his eyes. He started to get closer to Sophie again, which made him closer to me, and I hated it.

He started sitting with us at lunchtime, silently daring me to say something. I don’t know why he was continuing to toy with me, because I had made it clear it was all forgotten. Sophie lapped the attention up, clearly forgetting how he had used her.

I went back to studying and working through assignments at the library during lunch hours. I tried not to think of Zac, but I just couldn’t stop. I wanted to hear from him. I needed to see him. What were the rules after kissing someone? If I texted him, did I look desperate or clingy? What if the kiss wasn’t that special to him? Had he even thought of me?

I wanted to tell him I was being threatened by Antony, but didn’t want to sound “high school” with my problems. Would he even believe me? Apart from being pushed against the locker, he had done nothing physically. How did I tell someone that Antony was silently bullying me? Maybe I was overreacting, but I knew that every time he looked at me, I cringed and felt uncomfortable.

The week passed by slowly and painfully.

I contemplated the idea of Zac deliberately keeping his distance. Maybe this was his way of showing me that he refused to do any sort of commitment. I wanted to send him a friendly text, especially since he had given me the most amazing kiss I had ever had. Then I reminded myself that he was probably continuing on with life and spending his time with other girls, as always. I forced myself not to contact him, even though I thought about it every passing second.

Zac

“Are you going to cheer the fuck up at some stage?” asked Will with his beer bottle to his lips.

I scowled and leaned against the bar, saying quietly, “I’m fine.”

“It’s quite simple,” Noah said. “Take her out and have some fun.”

I shook my head and sipped my own beer, turning away to look at the band playing. I wasn’t in the mood to even discuss it.

She had settled under my skin, and I never allowed that to happen. I couldn’t stop thinking about her. I wanted her, her lips, her sensual mouth and delectable body. There was something about her that spoke to me on a different level than the other girls, and that’s what made her dangerous. There was nothing more that I wanted right now than her, but I had to stay away, for my own sanity. She went against every rule I had set up in my life. She had the power to make me feel, and I couldn’t let that change.

I looked around the club, eyeing up the talent around us. It was time to clear Ava from my mind. I would replace her with another girl for tonight that I could use for my own pleasure and not have to care about.