AFTER THERE'S YOU // ZESSA

Chapter 10: Hallway Confession

I think I've seen that girl over here before, but I can't remember her name.

"Tessa, come get a drink!" I hear Steph yell from the kitchen. I jolt out of my stare and make my way to the kitchen. Why does it matter who Zed's with anyway? We're just friends after all, and I need to stay focused on my course work and future career.

"Here," Steph says, as I walk into the familiar kitchen, handing me a red solo cup filled with matching red liquid. There's empty cups and crushed beer cans littering every surface, but I'm no longer alarmed by the messiness and general disarray that is the frat house.

"It's jungle juice," she says, thinking I'd know what that is, "just drink it, it's sweet you'll like it."

I give her a doubtful nod and take a sip. Wow, it's actually, not that bad.

"You're right, I like it," I say, taking another sip.

"That's the spirit! Now let's go have some fun!" She grabs me by the hand, dragging me to the living room. There are several folding tables set up with groups of people on each end, all playing beer pong. Well, most are playing, some are just watching. All are very drunk, however.

"Hey," I hear behind me. I know that voice and can't help the smile on my face as I turn around.

"Zed," I say, as he leans in for a hug. I reciprocate and let him wrap his arms around me. He smells so good, that familiar scent of cedar and downy filling my head. I can also smell the beer on his breath and it's somewhat... alluring?

"Can't believe you're here, but I'm glad you came," he whispers in my ear before letting me go.

I can't help the giggle that escapes my throat and instantly feel my face heat up, clearly embarrassed. What am I a giddy schoolgirl?

"Yeah, I thought I'd give having a fun, drama-free night a try," I say, trying to regain my composure.

Just then, a tall, thin girl with straight brown hair appears at his side. She's very pretty, in that classic kind of way.

"Hey, I got you another beer," she says, wrapping her arm around his waist, handing him the bottle.

"Hey Rachel, this is my friend Tessa. Tessa, this is Rachel," he says, gesturing between us.

She gives me a polite smile and I stare at her. I wait almost a moment too long before realizing I need to say something.

"Hi!" I blurt. "I'm umm, Zed's... friend." Great. That didn't sound weird at all. "Umm, do you go here?"

"Not yet," she says coolly, "I'm still in high school but plan on coming here in the fall."

A high school girl? Really Zed? But then again, I was dating Noah when I came here, so I clearly have no room to judge.

"Awesome... high school is great." Wow, am I awkward.

"Yeah," she says, looking away from me uninterested.

Turning to Zed, she says, "Hey, me and Em' are going to smoke out back and chill for a bit. She's having issues with boyfriend again, so..." She gives him an uneasy grin.

"Yeah, go ahead, I'll be here," Zed says. Rachel leans in and gives Zed a quick peck on the cheek before leaving towards the backyard.

I'm not exactly sure why, but the mood between me and Zed has shifted, and I feel slightly uncomfortable.

"Yeah, that's Rachel," he says, "we've just been hanging out for a few weeks."

I nod, making a hard line with my lips and looking away. I'm not so convinced.

"Really Tessa, me and her are just seeing where things go. Nothing serious. I can't jump into anything serious right now," he says, running his hand through his long, black brown hair. Now Zed is the one looking away awkwardly.

"It's fine, Zed. She seems great. Anyways, want to play beer pong against Steph and Tristan?" I say, trying to lighten the mood.

"I'd love to. From what I recall, we make a pretty good team," he says, winking at me and nudging my arm with his elbow.

I spot Steph and Tristan leaning up against the living room wall, each holding two red solo cups and giggling who knows what into each other's ear.

"Hey Steph!" I yell across the room over the loud music. She looks up and gives me a smile. I point to the table in front of me and Zed and she nods her head.

Her and Tristan make their way through the crowd, stopping at the opposite end of the beer pong table.

"So, I see you want to challenge the dream team!" Steph yells, setting up the cups on her end of the table into a triangle.

Zed begins setting up the solo cups while I grab the two ping pong balls in the cup of water next to me.

Once he finishes, he turns to me, full solo cup of jungle juice in his hand, and says, "cheers," shooting me that smile I can't seem to resist.

We take our turns, both missing, and wait for Steph and Tristan to begin theirs. While Zed taunts Tristan, I can't help but stare at him. The gray t-shirt he's wearing hugs his body in a way that can't help but make my eyes wander. His arms are quite strong, the muscle of his bicep peeking out the bottom of his short sleeve. And the way he runs his fingers through his long hair and out of his eyes is...

"Tessa," he says looking back at me, "They both made it into the cups, so we have to drink."

"Right," I say, smiling back, and take a large gulp from my cup.

The rest of the game continues in much of the same fashion, with me and Zed missing and drinking, while Tristan and Steph annihilate us. Even though we're losing, I love playing this game with my friends. Zed's been so sweet about how bad I am and even offered to take some of the drinks I was supposed to finish.

But even with his help, by my third cup of jungle juice, I'm definitely feeling a buzz.

"I'm going to run to the bathroom," I say, placing my hand on Zed's chest.

Smiling back, he says, "Alright, I'll be right here okay?"

But when I go to take a step, I nearly knock over our entire table of cups, running into it clumsily.

"Oopsies," I giggle, slurring my words a bit. Okay, so maybe I'm more than buzzed.

"Woah, Tessa," Zed says, placing his hands on my hips to steady me. "Here, let me help you to the bathroom," he laughs.

"Well, if you say so," I reply, quickly stumbling towards the exit, nearly bumping into another a table on my way out.

"Here," Zed says, taking my hand and leading me to the staircase. I must be smiling like an idiot, but I love the way it feels when Zed holds my hand. He's always so kind and amazing and just smells so fucking good.

"Zed," I say, clomping up the staircase, careful to avoid the passed-out boy sprawled midway up the stairs, "You smell like the best guy man in the world."

I hear him laugh, now grabbing both my hands and practically dragging me up the stairs.

"Oh, I smell like the best guy man in the world, huh?"

Guy man? Oh crap, did I say that? How drunk am I? Whatever, I'm drunk enough to finally be enjoying myself at a party.

"Yes. You do smell like the best guy man. And you were right about Hardin. He was bad bad for me. Bad bad," I say, nodding my head, hair all over face.

"Yeah, I know" he says, reaching the top and letting go of my hands. He looks away from me and let's out a frustrated breath of air.

Ugh, I said the wrong thing.

"No, I just mean you always knew that he was. Bad. You're smart," I say, stumbling forward on the last step once I've reached the top. Zed practically catches me into his chest, and I laugh, steadying my hands on his shoulders.

"And I like you so much" I say, looking dreamily into his eyes.

I see his eyes go wide, and so do mine when I realize I said that out loud. Oh, shit.