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She turns to me once more with a big smile.
“Dane, you already know I like you. I’ve liked you for years, when you never even noticed me. But now, I have your full attention, right?” she asks playfully.
“One hundred percent,” I say in a rough voice. That only makes her giggle a bit.
“Then what’s the problem? We’re good.”
I nod, the words choked in my throat. I want to say “I love you” but somehow, Zoe doesn’t sense the depths of my feelings just yet. I need to ease into it, instead of popping it onto her at some awkward time. I reach for her, pulling her curvy body close.
“I’m glad I finally get to make you a proper breakfast,” I growl in her ear, imagining what this woman looks like first thing in the morning. I can already see it: her curves lush and nude, her nipples still red from my bites, yawning sleepily as she pulls a robe on. It’s pure indulgence, and my cock stiffens.
But Zoe is blissfully unaware and merely watches the show again.
“I like pancakes,” she murmurs. “Oh my god, this character is so ridiculous! I can’t believe he’s getting away with that!”
I chuckle, and merely pull her even closer. Clearly, I’ve fallen off the deep end because this girl has got me hooked. I take another sip of beer and just relax, enjoying her warmth in my lap. We spend the rest of the evening cuddled up munching on pizza with Zoe watching the movies, and me watching her.
11
Zoe
“Okay babe, I’m on my street. I’m going to hang up before I turn the corner because I don’t want my folks asking who I was talking to.”
Dane’s voice comes over the line.
“You know, one of these days we’re going to have to tell people we’re seeing each other,” he says, his tone low.
“I know, but it doesn’t have to be today.”
“It’s been months, Zoe. I’m beginning to think you’re embarrassed to be seen with me,” my boyfriend jokes.
I make an annoyed sound in my throat.
“Oh stop.”
Dane just sighs.
“Look, I know the age gap may make some people uncomfortable, but it’s not that big of a deal. You’re eighteen. People will understand. It’s not like I’m some dirty old man who picked up a young girl at a bar.”
“I can’t even go to a bar,” I mention lightly.
He sighs with frustration again.
“You know what I mean. We’ve been in each other’s lives for years, Zoe. Our families know each other. It doesn’t have to be today, but we should do a reveal at some point.”
I shudder because Patty would absolutely hate me if she found out I was dating her brother. And I don’t even have to wonder how my parents would react: badly, for certain. They would react oh so very badly, and I wince just thinking about it.
“Okay. We can talk about it,” I say in a calm, yet passive-aggressive tone. I say it in a voice that tells him I am half-joking but still very much against the idea of going public. Dane’s about to say something, but I interrupt him. “Pulling into the drive, gotta go!” I exclaim and hang up before he has the chance to speak. But deep down, I know he’s right.
After all, it’s not like we’re breaking the law. In fact, it’s very normal for a girl to date her best friend’s brother. It’s just that I’m not ready for the reveal: everyone’s always seen me as a goody two-shoes while Dane’s a bad boy with tats. What are they going to say?
I head inside and go straight to the kitchen to grab a snack. To my surprise, my parents are sitting at the kitchen table. Even worse, they look dead-serious, with their hands folded and expressionless faces. Cocoa is the only normal one, lying lazily on the floor at their feet.
“Is everything okay?” I ask in a hesitant tone.
It is odd to see them looking like this. My parents, Conrad and June, are typically beaming with charisma and joy. They are the clichéd image of an oversized, jolly midwestern couple. In their fifties with grey heads of hair, they’re the neighbors everyone wants. Now, seeing them in such a serious state makes my heart thump. Oh shit.
“Sit down Zoe. We need to talk,” my dad says.
I drop my backpack off my shoulder and pull a chair out from under the table.
Here we go.
I begin to gab, trying to make this little talk as quick and painless as possible.
“This is about college applications, right? You’re right, Mom and Dad, we definitely do need to talk. I know you’re probably mad that I haven’t applied to any of the schools you suggested for me. But I just don’t think that I’m a college kind of person. At least, not the type of college that you have in mind.”
