He’s mad. That means he’s mad, right?
“I don’t know. I mean the whole situation with the kiss and then mom walking in and…”
“What did you tell him?” Zach interrupts me and I have this urge to ask him if he’s mad. So much so that I start to feel a tear form in my eye.
The last thing I want to do is upset him but before I get a chance to come up with an answer, he leans in, cupping my face with both of his hands and pulls me in.
Our lips connect in an instant and all of the worry I had just moments ago seems to fade.
He holds me, caressing my face as he kisses me with a fierceness that travels down my spine. He moves one of his hands from my face and pulls me in by my hip and I take that as my cue to step closer. The second there is no more space between us, he reaches down to my thighs and lifts me up. I gasp as he flips us around and presses my back into the bookcase.
I wrap my legs around his torso and link my arms around his shoulders. He leans back in to kiss me and it truly takes my breath away. He’s soft, and sweet. And it’s everything I ever imagined. I press myself into him, eager for him to never let mego, but I feel him pulling away and I pant as I feel a burst of cool air feather against the warmth where his mouth was.
“No,” he says to me in a low, guttural tone. I have to blink several times and force myself to breath before I can respond to him.
“What?” I ask, still heavy breathing.
“You tell him,no, Cadence.” I look up at him, our bodies still so close together. I let my fingers play with the hair at the nape of his neck and he looks from my eyes to my lips and then back up.
I smirk. “I told him no last night,” I say to Zach and something akin to pride swells behind his eyes.
“I know that this is complicated,” he starts as he leans in closer to me. “I know that. But just to make myself perfectly clear Cadence. You are mine, okay?”
My heart thuds violently. I feel something warm swirl between my legs, something I can’t say I’ve ever felt before and I shift. I think Zach notices, because then I feel it. The evidence of what I do to him pressing into me. I squirm a little, not really knowing I do it and Zach groans my name.
My breath hitches, but then I silently unwrap my arms from around him and he lowers me back down to the ground. He pushes his hands through his hair while I pull my shirt down, having ridden up from the position we were in.
Everything feels overwhelming and I reel, touching my lips and smiling hard to myself. I can't believe that just happened.
A beat of silence plays between us before I finally look back up to him, and say, “I think we should tell Brayden.”
“I think so too.” he doesn’t even hesitate. “I can’t believe that Drake went against his-
I stop him. “What? No.”
Zach tilts his head at me. “Isn’t that what you meant?” he asks and confusion pulls on my features.
“No, what I meant was that I want to be with you, Zach. We should tell Bray aboutus.” He stares at me for a second before I continue. “What are you talking about?”
Zach sighs and something flips in me. I can tell that what he’s about to say to me might just ruin the mood and I prepare myself for whatever it is he’s about to unveil.
“Don’t get mad,” he starts and then Zach reluctantly proceeds to tell me how Brayden has been speaking to the football team, warning them all that I am off limits. Telling them that I am not to be bothered, asked out, flirted with, or even spoken to.
I feel my blood boil when I hear Zach talk, thinking of all the years I’ve gone without a date to anything. And I always wondered why. I always thought it was me. That I wasn’t likeable. Not that I would have been interested given my very single-focused interest. But still, hearing that Bray has been daring to be this controlling over the boys that I can or can’t talk to kind of infuriates me.
Zach stops talking. His eyes search mine for a reaction. But I don’t know how to react. I don’t really know how to feel at all. I know it hurts a little, and I'm trying to find a reason why Bray would assume that his actions were necessary. But at the same time, I'm not sure if it truly bothers me much. All I know is that I have to talk to him.
"I've got to go," I tell Zach. I recognize that I come off a little short, and possibly even annoyed, but I turn around and start to walk away.
“Shit,” I hear Zach hiss before the sound of his footsteps follows after me. “Cadence," he calls out my name but there's no use. I'm determined to give my brother a piece of my mind.
17
Cadence
Ispot Brayden. He’s sitting in the same spot he usually is at lunch. I start to make my way toward him, not really sure how I'm going to approach him or what I want to say. but then I spot Drake sitting next to him and I stop.Dang it.
I watch as everyone starts to stack their trays and gets ready leave and that’s when I realize that lunch is almost over. Maybe it’s for the best. I don’t really confront him in front of the whole school anyway, but I know I do want to confront him, at least while I still have the adrenaline rushing through me.
