Truth or Deal.

Before I knew it Saturday had already arrived. I spent part of the day dreading my date tonight with Zack and another part of it being nervous about it. He was going to be here around eight o’clock so when six o’clock came I got in the shower. I wondered where he was going to take me. A part of me knew he was trying to weasel his way into the vacant “boyfriend” position in my life so I was sure he was going to try to impress me tonight. I finished my shower and towel dried my hair and body. I wrapped the towel around my chest and began to comb my long, brown hair so I could pull it back and allow it to lay as a braid down my back. I didn’t know if Zack was the type that liked girls who wore a lot of makeup or more of the natural look so I decided on just playing up my eyes and some dark red lipstick before exiting the bathroom and heading for my closet. Truth is, if this was any other guy I would have already had my outfit picked out for tonight, but Zack and I had different tastes and honestly, I had no clue on what to wear.

After what seemed like hours of standing in front of my closet in only my towel, I glanced at the clock and noticed that I only had thirty minutes until Zack was supposed to be here. I groaned and finally decided on a strapless, striped maxi dress, being only five feet and four inches tall, the maxi dress was pretty long on me but not long enough to trip over. I pulled out some strappy sandals from my closet as well and slipped those on. I decided to keep the accessories simple, and as I was glancing at my final reflection I heard the doorbell ring. I opened my bedroom door and heard Zack and Ryan talking. I took one final breath before exiting my room and walking down the stairs.

Ryan noticed me walking down the stairs and shook his head, “Alright dude, well, er, have fun I guess.”

“Thanks, man,” Zack said and Ryan walked off. “Wow, you look stunning.” Zack complimented and I blushed. I didn’t understand why but compliments from Zack always seemed so much more sincere than anyone else that had given me a compliment.

“Thank you,” I smiled. Zack pulled his arm from behind his back and surprised me with a bouquet of wildflowers and sunflowers. My heart leaped, who would have thought that someone like Zack would have been the first guy to ever bring me flowers. “Oh, Zack, you didn’t have to do that.”

“I wanted to.” He chewed on the piercing on the side of his lip, “A beautiful woman like you deserves some beautiful flowers on a first date.”

He sure did know all the right things to say, I’d give him that. I took the flowers from him and ushered him inside, “Let me put these in water and then we can go.” He nodded and I walked into the kitchen. I grabbed my favourite vase of my mothers and filled it with water. I smiled to myself thinking about how sweet this was of Zack to do, but once I realized the smile plastered on my face I shook those thoughts out of my head and told myself this was just a business deal between me and Matt, and Zack was nothing but a pawn. Still, I smiled again when I put the flowers in the vase and even snuck a picture of them on my camera before I walked out of the kitchen and into the living room where Zack was waiting for me. Only now was I taking in what he was wearing which was a pair of dark wash jeans and a white V-neck. Even now, I couldn’t lie and say that Zack wasn’t attractive, because in all secrecy, he was and it wasn’t just because of his gorgeous green eyes.

“You ready?” I asked him as I walked up to him. He smiled at me and nodded, I grabbed my keys and purse and Zack opened the front door, allowing myself to exit first and then he closed the door behind him. “Hey, I don’t really know where we’re going, do you want to drive?” I offered.

“Are you serious? You’d let me drive your car?” Zack asked.

“We’ll, just don’t wreck it and we won’t have any problems,” I laughed and walked over to the passenger side of the car. Again, Zack opened the door for me and I got in, handing the keys to him before he shut the door and walked over to the driver’s side and got in as well.

We drove into what seemed like he middle of nowhere. Suddenly, there was an opening and I realized we were driving to the beach. I knew there were some restaurants on the beach here in Huntington but I had never been to one and as far as I could see there wasn’t one around.

“Is this where you plan to kill me and dispose of my body?” I asked jokingly.

He laughed and parked the car, “nah, we do have to walk a little ways to get to where we're going, is that okay? If not, we can go to some restaurant.”

I shook my head, “no this is fine. Restaurants are a little overrated anyways.”

He smiled and got out of the car, I followed him and he started walking through a path that was covered in trees. I felt like we were walking further and further from the beach but I could see the ocean through the trees if I looked hard enough. After a few minutes of walking an opening cleared and Zack walked through it. When I walked through a slight gasp escaped my lips, it was like a scene from a movie. We were up on a sand covered cliff; tiki torches were lit up all around a table set up for two, the ocean was several feet below us but hearing the waves crash against the cliff left chills down my spine. It was a beautiful sight.

“Zack, this is beautiful.” I said in awe.

“I won’t take all the credit for it,” Zack laughed, “I had some help.” He walked over to the table and pulled out a chair. I sat down and he walked to the other side of the table and sat down as well. “Red or white?” He pulled a wine chiller toward him and pulled out a bottle of each out.

“You drink wine?” I laughed in disbelief.

“Just don’t go around telling everybody, okay?” He laughed and I grinned, “They wouldn’t believe you anyways.”

I laughed again and nodded, he was right. He poured me my preference of wine and then poured some in his glass before lifting the lid off the pot in front of us, steam rolled out of the pot and into my nose. Spaghetti - one of my favourites. “How did you know spaghetti was my favourite?” I asked.

Zack shrugged, “like I said, I had some help.” He winked at me, “It’s made with my secret sauce though, so I hope you like it.”

“You cook?” I said, again in disbelief.

He laughed at me again and scooped some out of the pot and onto the plate in front of me, “always the tone of surprise.”

I laughed, “Sorry! I just never thought of you as the type that, I don’t know - did this?” He scooped himself some pasta onto his plate and sat down across from me. “This is great, Zack.”

He smiled, “Well, taste the sauce before you admit to that.”

I picked up my fork and twirled some pasta onto it and then took a bite. My taste buds exploded, it was the best sauce I had tasted. I swallowed and wiped my face with a napkin, “I stand corrected,” I said, putting my fork down. I glanced up at Zack and he looked disappointed. “This is way better than great! Where did you learn how to cook like this?”

He laughed and picked up his own fork, taking his own first bite while I took my second. “My mother taught me a lot of it, other things I picked up on my own.”

“Well, it’s very good. If the band doesn’t work out for you, you can just become a chef or something.” I laugh.

He laughed too, “Well, thank you.”

Zack and I talked throughout our entire dinner and I was beginning to feel sad that the night was beginning to come to a close. Zack was in the middle of telling me a story about when he and his friends played the first live show when it thundered, and then without another warning rain began to pour down.

“Shit!” Zack cursed, he got up from the table and grabbed my hand. We took off running to the wooded area we came through to get here and once inside, Zack pulled me against a large three which leaves and branches was shielding us from most of the rain. “I’m so sorry, Evelyn, I forgot to check the weath…”

He stopped when he realized I was laughing and then he began laughing too. My hair was sticking to my face, neck and back and his, too short to stick to anything but his forehead, was dripping. My dress felt like it weighed twenty pounds, and suddenly I was happy I decided to wear flats instead of heels. Zack had his hand resting on the tree right above my head and he was leaning over me attempting to shield me from the sprinkles that found their way through all the trees. I looked down and noticed his V-neck was sopping wet, and clinging to his body. I could faintly see the outline of his few tattoos on his chest. I looked up at him, and opened my mouth to say some sarcastic comment about how he should buy a car instead of tattoos but when my eyes met his green ones, my mind went blank. Suddenly, all I could think about was the water droplets on his face, and his hand above my head, and how close his lips were. Suddenly, I wanted to know how the ring in his lip would feel against my lips and before I knew what I was doing, I was bringing my lips to his, and he grabbed me around the waist and pulled me closer to him.

His lips touched mine and I felt a fire ignite inside me. My right arm went around his neck and my left hand grabbed his shirt and pulled him closer to me. I felt Zack smile against my lips before deepening it. We kissed for what seemed like hours, and finally we had to break away for air. Zack smiled and brushed a piece of wet hair behind my ear. I just stared at him for a few moments and then looked away; Zack looked away too and backed away from me.

“I think it’s stopped raining, we should probably go.” He whispered and I wondered if he just regretted kissing me. More importantly, how did I feel about kissing him? There was mixed emotions swirling around in the deep pit of my stomach.

“Yeah,” was all I could muster, and I followed him out of the wooded area and back towards my car.

The drive home was silent but comfortable. I don’t think either once of us anticipated the night ending with a kiss. I absentmindedly touched my lips; trying to remember the fire I felt when he kissed me. Zack, sneaking a look at me through the corner of his eyes, smiled and grabbed my hand and brought it to his lips. The butterflies in my stomach stirred and I laced my fingers with his when he brought my hand down and smiled up at him.

Zack pulled into my driveway and it began to sprinkle.

“Let me drive you home,” I offered.

Zack smiled but shook his head, “nah, I got to make sure you get home and inside safe, it’s the gentleman thing to do. I can walk, it’s not that far.”

I cocked my head to the side, “Oh, Zack, come on please, you’ve done enough for tonight. Don’t walk home in the rain.”

Zack got out of the car and walked to my side of the vehicle and opened the door. I got out and he took my hand and led me to the porch. “Thank you for allowing me to take you out tonight. I had a great time, even though we did get drenched in the rain.”

I smiled, “I had a great time too. You’re nothing like I thought you’d be.”

“Well, I’ll take that as a compliment.” He laughed and kissed me on my forehead.

I looked up at him when he pulled away. I had to know if that fire I felt within me was a one-time thing or if it was something more. Zack must have read my mind because he softly brought his lips to mine and kissed me again. My body burst into flame, and screamed for more. Either he was a really good kisser or…
My mind stopped and I deepened the kiss like he had earlier. Before my mind could make out the words that my lips were forming they were already out. “Go out with me?” I whispered against his lips.

Zack pulled away, his face inches from mine. “What did you just say?”

I gulped. What had I just said? Did I just say that? What was wrong with me? I bit my lip, there was no turning back now and it had to be done anyways unless all this was going to be for nothing. “Go…out with…me?” I stammered. Why was I so nervous?

Zack smiled and kissed me swiftly, “You’re not supposed to ask that, I am.” I laughed. My mind was racing and I thought my heart was going to beat its way out of my chest. “But yes, I will.” He replied.

Notes

So, another chapter because last nights was so short. I really. really hope you guys liked it! Please keep the feedback coming!

Title Credit: Of Mice & Men "Identity Disorder"