Chapter 5

Zach planted a soft kiss at the base of my neck, sending shivers down my spine.

“I’m starting to believe in fate more and more,” he said.

“Maybe it’s high time you should.” I turned to the stage and continued watching the band that was playing.

Suddenly, I felt queasy. Sweat started to form on my forehead. I could feel a shiver running down my spine. I knew this feeling, and I’d lost count of how many times I felt like this before.

Zach pulled away from me and looked at my feverish expression. Quickly, he pulled something out of his pocket. It was a piece of candy. “Take this,” he said. I took it from him without another word. Then he said, “Let’s grab something to eat.”

I could only smile at him. Somehow, he realized what was happening. I was going hypoglycemic because I hadn’t had anything decent to eat for hours.

He took my hand and intertwined our fingers.

“You’re diabetic?” he asked.

I nodded.

“Okay, we better eat. They have burgers, sushi, pasta, and salad. Japanese, Chinese, Italian, or Mexican?”

I looked around the grounds where food trucks were stationed. I couldn’t seem to decide what I want. When I looked up at Zach, he was staring down at me, waiting for my response.

“I’ll have pasta in a box,” I replied.

He pulled me to the cart that sold Italian food and placed our orders to go.

“Soda? Juice? Water?”

“Watermelon juice,” I replied.

When our orders were given to us, Zach pulled out his wallet. I took out some cash from my pocket.

“I got this,” he said.

I shook my head. “No, how much is mine?”

“Oh no, I never let a girl pay in a date.”

“Date? This isn’t a date! I just met you.”

He leaned down and silenced me with a kiss. “It is too. Since you insist on not giving me your number, it could be our first and last date. So shut up and let me do my damnedest best to make you wish there was a second date.”

I laughed. “All right. Fire away, stud.”

He leaned forward and kissed me gently on the lips again before pulling me toward one of the tables in the far end of the grounds.

“I wonder where my friends are,” I said, checking my phone again.

“Don’t worry, Kenzo’s a pretty responsible guy,” he said with confidence. He handed me my pasta, watermelon juice, and a bottle of Voss water.

Over dinner, he talked a little more about himself. He had graduated double majors, one in business and another in computer programming. And now he was doing masters in cyber security at the university.

“You love to matriculate?” I asked. It was a surprise. Most of the guys I met were in school because of sports. They barely care about the courses they take up, and they couldn’t wait to graduate.

Zach nodded. “I was really good at it, too. I actually graduated high school early because I skipped a year. But then… I had to work for two years just so I could afford to go to college.”

“What did you do?”

“I worked at a friend’s IT company in the morning. I bartended at nights.”

“You could make good money out of those,” I said. “Good thing you found the willpower to give all that up and go back to school.”

When I looked up at him, I found that he was studying me, like he was gauging my reactions to the stories of his life, particularly, if I would care that he wasn’t well-off enough to afford to go to college. I didn’t care. I’d dated guys who drove Porches, and they didn’t come out half as interesting as Zach was. I preferred a guy with a good head on his shoulders over one with just muscles and a nice engine.

“So you’re going to hack into the Pentagon and then later sell them software that will make their systems invulnerable to threats? Brilliant, not necessarily ethical, but purely good business.”

He stared back at me for a moment and then grinned. “Now that you know my plans, I’m gonna have to kill you.”

I laughed. “Well, why else would you study all three courses?”

“Because I can.” He winked at me. “And you said it’s good business someday.”

“I wonder how you could fit all that in your schedule.”

“If you’re serious enough about your dreams, you’ll find a way to make it work.”

I smiled at him. “Always good to see a guy with ambition.”

When we finished dinner, we walked hand in hand around the concert grounds.

“So how about that one-on-one, huh?” he asked, his voice full of challenge.

“All right. I mean, if your ego isn’t bruised enough already,” I said, giving him a smug look.

He pulled me toward the games area. “Two players. Points system,” he told the guy at the booth. The guy gave both of us guns. I understood how this worked. We both shoot and whoever got the highest points would win. We would be shooting at the same targets, which meant that we would not only have to be accurate, but we would also have to be fast.

“What are we betting on?” I asked.

He looked at me sideways and gave me a sexy, crooked smile. “Your phone number.”

“Wait, wha—?” Before I could finish that sentence, the lights turned green, and Zach immediately started shooting. “No shit!” I cursed and started shooting too.

Zach was on fire. I realized that when he first played, he was trying to suck at this, because he knew none of his friends would beat him and he didn’t think any of us girls would be able to play at all. But now, there was something at stake, he was a far better shooter than I was. And I thought only my brother was better than me at this game.

In the end, he won, sixty-forty.

He looked at me smugly. “See? I told you I’ll get your phone number eventually.”

“I didn’t agree to that!” I protested.

“Hey, I didn’t hear you disagree either. A bet’s a bet,” he said, fishing his phone from his pocket and handing it to me. I took the phone from him. “Your phone has to ring, okay?”

I rolled my eyes and dialed my own number on his phone. After a couple of seconds, my phone rang. I showed it to him.

“Satisfied?” I asked.

He grinned at me widely. “Yes. Come, let’s get something to drink.”

I wasn’t much of a drinker. I had very poor alcohol tolerance. That’s why I never drank in front of strangers. I didn’t trust anyone. But here with Zach, I was slowly getting intoxicated, not caring that I’d known him less than a day. I didn’t even know his full name. He was easy to trust, easy to be drawn to. And doubtless, if we saw each other beyond tonight, he’d be easy to fall for.

He was beautiful, and he smelled nice, like fresh soap and mint aftershave. He was smart and funny. He flirted, but he didn’t grope. He felt like a nice-smelling, warm blanket tailored just for me.

It must be the liquor, it could be that this was my last day to do whatever I wanted, or it could just be Zach and his irresistible sex appeal. But I knew I was slowly losing myself to him.

At ten, the concert turned into a full-swing party. People were getting drunker, and couples were getting cozier. Zach and I were no exception. We even forgot about our friends or the rest of the world. It felt like there was just the two of us.

“I’ll go to the ladies’ room,” I said to him. He took my hand in his and started walking. “You don’t have to go with me.”

“Of course I do,” he said. “You know how many drunk morons you’ll run into on your way there and back? I’m not taking my chances.”

I smiled. That was actually the sweet and gentlemanly thing to do. A smile was pasted on my face, and when I looked up, I found him staring down at me.

“What?”

He grinned and shook his head. “Chivalry is not dead, you know.”

“And I revel in the discovery.”

“What kind of douchebags did you date in the past?”

I shrugged. “All sorts.” But it wasn’t true. The truth was, I never really gave anybody a chance before. Maybe I was looking for a certain character. It’s like I had painted an image of the ideal guy in my head, and no one came close to that image—until now.

We walked inside the building where the restrooms were. Luckily it wasn’t crowded. I checked myself in the mirror to make sure that I didn’t look like a mess. My smoky-eye look was still intact, thanks to the waterproof makeup Marie lent me. But the kiss-proof lipstick didn’t stand the intensity of Zach’s kisses. I didn’t bother to retouch it. I had a feeling we haven’t had our last kiss yet.

I dialed Jessie’s number. She didn’t pick up. I tried Marie. After two calls, she finally answered.

“I’m back at the hotel,” she said.

“You left without me? What about Jessie?”

“Yes, yes—oh god!”

Fuck! Is she having sex while talking to me?

I was getting pissed. “Marie!”

“Yes!” she replied.

“Whose bed is this?” I heard a guy’s voice ask. It sounded like Michael.

“Don’t you dare have sex on my bed!” I almost screamed at her. I heard laughter on the other line and then an unmistakable moan.

I hung up. I tried Jessie’s number. She answered after five rings.

“I’m sorry, Bee. We thought you and Z were really hitting it off, so we left without you.”

“Marie is having sex in our hotel room!” I said in a frustrated tone.

“I know.”

“What? Where are you?”

“Kenzo… rented a separate room for us.”

Shit!

“And where am I going to sleep?”

“I don’t know. Why don’t you ask Z?”

“Jessie!” I groaned.

“Have fun, Bee. Don’t worry, Kenzo told me everything about Z. He’s clean. Smart and pretty responsible. You’re very lucky.” Then she hung up.

I was frustrated. My face was indescribable when I came out of the ladies’ room. Zach was looking at me curiously.

“Who turned your lights off in there?”

“No one. I’m okay.” I tried to smile.

We walked in silence for a couple of minutes. Zach was measuring my mood. I was busy calculating how much money I had in my pocket. I couldn’t go back to our hotel room. Michael and Marie could be at it all night. I needed to rent my own room.

“You know I could tell when I’m being lied to,” Zach said. I raised a brow at him. “You are not okay.”

I shook my head. “I’ll be fine.”

“Who are you pissed at?”

“Not you,” I replied. I couldn’t really tell him I was disappointed in my friends for being such sluts, could I?

“Okay, as long as that one is clear,” he said, trying to smile at me. Then he took my hand in his and gave it a squeeze before intertwining our fingers. “You want to get something to drink?”

Perfect!

A strong bottle of vodka was probably what I needed to calm my senses and keep me from strangling my friends the minute I see them again.

Another of my favorite bands came up on stage. With the Breezer in my hand, Zach’s arms around my waist, I lost myself in the music and started dancing and singing.

The party was going well, until suddenly, the skies were charged with lightning, followed by a roll of booming thunder.

No shit!

I was having a great time with a boy I just met. This was not the time for him to find out that I sweat, shake, and tremble abnormally at the sound of thunder.

Another loud roll and I froze in place.