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“Well, I learned to be self-sufficient,” she giggled lightly, and I reached for her hand, squeezing it tightly.
“You’re an incredible girl, Zoey Lane.”
“You’re an incredible boy, David Walker.”
We rode the rest of the way to my place in silence. If Zoey was surprised that I took her to my house instead of hers, she didn’t say anything. Instead, we walked inside, she scooped up Percy, and the three of us went into the bedroom. We climbed into the bed and snuggled. Percy was between us. We pet him until he was purring loudly, and then we kept petting him. Soon Zoey’s eyes fluttered closed, and she drifted off to sleep, as well.
I stayed awake for a long time, thinking about everything that happened. I thought about everything the two of us had been through and I considered just how chaotic everything had been. Our lives had been wild and unpredictable and crazy, and perhaps the craziest thing of all was that I had Zoey in my bed, and even though we hadn’t slept together, I still felt like I was the luckiest bastard on the damn planet.
14
Zoey
The clock read 3:00AM when I opened my eyes. It was still nighttime, and the moon was shining into the room. I didn’t really know why David never seemed to close his blinds. Apparently, the bushes outside offered protection from prying eyes, and besides, the moonlight was beautiful. I slipped out of bed and went to the window. I stood there for a moment just looking at the moon and the stars.
When was the last time I felt this calm? When was the last time I’d felt this peaceful? I glanced over at the bed to see David curled up on one side of the bed. Percy was gone. He’d left at some point, probably because David and I were taking up too much space. Still, I couldn’t brush aside the fact that I felt so wildly comfortable with him.
Before my mom died, she used to tell me stories about true love. She always said that my dad had been “the one” for her. She’d told me that one day, I’d find a guy I felt the same way about. Was that David? I didn’t know. I’d always kind of assumed that my mom was just lucky. I mean, let’s get real: who believed in true love? Nobody did. Only grandmothers and romance writers believed in true love.
That sort of happy ending didn’t happen for people like me.
Only, I kind of wanted a happy ending.
And I kind of wanted one with David.
I watched him sleeping there. It was totally weird. I was normal enough to know that watching someone sleep was insane. It was just that when I looked at him, I felt so many things I didn’t even know I could possibly feel. Most of all, I felt this deep sense of safety. David wasn’t a safe man. He was ruthless and heartless. I’d heard all about his courtroom battles and I knew perfectly well what kind of person he was.
I also knew that he was kind and protective and gentle. I knew that he was the type of person who looked after others. That’s what he had done for me, after all. He’d looked after me, and he’d protected me. He didn’t have to keep me safe. He didn’t. He could have left me to fend for myself at the club. He could have decided that it was too much trouble and that I wasn’t worth the effort.
He’d stayed, though. He’d fought for me. He’d stood up to Eric and Anna both, and he’d made this grand gesture of bitch-slapping Eric. I choked back a laugh as I thought about the look on Eric’s face when David had done that. He’d been shocked. At least back in high school, David had given Eric the dignity of being punched. That totally sucked. Being slapped in the face, though...Well, that was just humiliating.
Carefully, I sneaked into the living room of the house. I’d dropped my phone in the living room when we’d come back from the club, so I grabbed it and flipped it over. It still held a charge. There was a text from Lauren asking if I was okay. I figured she was asleep, but I sent her a text back.
ZOEY: I’m fine. I went home with David.
To my surprise, Lauren texted me back right away. Apparently, she couldn’t sleep. I didn’t really blame her. It was the night before her wedding, after all.
LAUREN: What? Tell me everything!
Even though it was late, I decided to call her instead of typing everything out. Felix could sleep through the apocalypse, so I wasn’t concerned about waking up my dear big bro. Lauren, however, was ready for my call.
“Hello?” Lauren hissed the word, and I got this mental image of her creeping out of the bedroom she shared with my brother.
“Hey, sorry,” I whispered. “I just figured this would be easier.”
“For sure. What are you doing? Are you having sex right now?”
“No,” I laughed. I shook my head even though she couldn’t see. “We didn’t have sex at all, actually.”
“Wait, really?”
“Cross my heart.”
“And hope to die?”
“No, Lauren, I do not hope to die.” I did, however, roll my eyes. Was she being for real right now?
“Okay, just checking,” she said. “I couldn’t sleep. I’m glad you called.”
