Page 40 of Calling a Cease-Fire

“Oops,” I said with a grin.

She turned and headed toward Zack, and I followed right after her, ramming into her from behind and sending her into another car.

Zack passed me with a cocky-ass grin stamped on his face, and the urge to smack it off sent me barreling toward him, smashing into the back of his car.

He turned and quirked a brow. “Thought you were on my team?”

“I’m not really a team player,” I said with a smirk.

Nicole T-boned me, shooting me another dirty look, and I matched it with one of my own. Another minute of back and forth, and the cars stopped moving, the buzzer sounding again to let us know the round was over.

We exited and I turned away from Nicole, ready to head in the opposite direction. I needed to put some space between myself and whatever that was.

Zack halted my steps as he came up behind me—breathing just a touch heavy, like he’d hurried to intercept me—and draped his arm over my shoulder. “That was fun.”

Why was he like this? And what was he talking about? Nothing about that was particularly fun. I wasn’t even sure why I did it to begin with.

Nicole glanced over at us with an unreadable expression on her face. “I’m going to find Izzy.” Her voice sounded a little wobbly and she turned away quickly, and I got the feeling she was trying to hide how she really felt.

Great. The last thing I meant to do was upset her. That’s exactly the opposite of what I wanted to do. Right? I wasn’t even sure what came over me. I’d like to say I was just trying to save my friend from continuing to embarrass herself. But I couldn’t deny the other possible motive for my behavior. Why did everything I do around him lately confuse the fuck out of me?

I shrugged Zack’s arm off me and frowned at him. Because he didn’t help the situation either. It wasn’t hard to see he avoided her touch but sought mine out.

And I was a horrible person, because a large part of me liked that.

I shouldn’t. Couldn’t. But I did. A lot.

A voice came over the loudspeaker announcing the next game for laser tag would be starting soon. Almost like magic, the twins appeared in front of us, bouncing on their feet. “Will you play laser tag with us now?”

Zack shot me a smirk. “Only if Mia joins us too.”

I started to shake my head, but the girls aimed their wide smiles at me, and a resigned sigh left my lips. Zack’s stupid dimples cemented my fate. “Fine.”

We headed over to where all the equipment was, and it didn’t take long for the small group gathered in the room to start to suit up. I stood there for a minute, not quite sure what I was supposed to do. I’d never played laser tag before. And again, I wasn’t even sure why I said yes.

Zack grabbed a vest and turned to me, dropping it over my head. His fingers brushed my sides as he latched the clips and tightened them. A shiver tore through me, and the heat in his gaze that followed told me he felt it. His touch lingered, skating farther down and trailing along the small, exposed strip of skin that separated my shirt and jeans.

He cleared his throat and stepped back, turning quickly to the rack that held the gear and donning his own.

After a brief explanation of rules from the attendant, we were let loose inside the darkened room. Zack went left with Logan, Izzy, the twins, and two other kids I didn’t recognize. I followed Adam and Lyla and the other flashing red vests that signaled my teammates.

Did Zack not realize he’d put us on opposite teams? Or was it intentional? I wasn’t sure which of those options I preferred.

I stayed behind Lyla, mimicking her movements and shooting at blue-lighted vests until we got ambushed. Glancing over my shoulder for an escape, I walked backwards down a dark hallway, stepping into an alcove out of sight.

Just when I thought I was safe, the lights on my vest went out and it made the sound indicating I was hit. But how? I looked around, not seeing anyone.

“Got you,” a familiar husky voice said close to my ear, startling me.

With a gasp, I spun, taking a step back. But Zack quickly closed the space I’d created and reached out, snaking a hand behind my back. He pressed me up against the wall and braced his other hand next to my head.

“Shh. You don’t want to draw attention to us, now, do you?”

I swallowed and shook my head. But it had nothing to do with the stupid game. I wanted to feel his touch. His lips. I sucked in a breath as his fingers traced along my stomach.

“I can’t seem to stay away from you.” He leaned down and brushed his lips along the shell of my ear, eliciting a whimper deep within me. “It was so much easier when you hated me.”

“I still hate you.” I expected the words to come out clipped, derisive, but they dripped with desire instead. Jesus, why did this frustrating man do these things to me?