Bet my Life (EDITING!!) #BOOK1

6. Closer

A/n: I was going through a brief writer's block and deleted 2 drafts. I don't know how I got my inspiration back, but I managed to complete this chapter.

Happy reading.

Lots of Hugs,

Illusionist

The rest of the morning went by uneventfully, not that I'm complaining. Izz and I went for a late brunch, to a cafe just outside our campus dorms. It was a small and homely cafe, known as "The Vinyl". As you might have guessed, the whole place was covered in Vinyl and I knew that I had found my safe haven. Just as I was about to find us a table, she grabbed my hand and pointed me towards a corner booth, to find six figures sitting there. My eyebrows shot up as I saw two familiar faces that I was currently trying to avoid.

"What are they doing here?" I dug my nails into Izz's arms, trying to control my anxiety. I was okay with socializing with people when I was drunk. Patricia (the drunk me) could handle this, but sober Zoey couldn't.

Izz shot me a warning look. "Zach invited us here. And before you accuse me of manipulating you, you know how much you need this." She gripped my shoulder and looked into my eyes. Her hard gaze softened a little. "Zo, you know that I love you the most in this world. Which I why I'm doing this. You need to give yourself a chance. Stop closing yourself off from the world. It's time to rise above what happened. Give them a chance, they might actually surprise you. Now let's go before they start wondering what's wrong. And remember, I'm right here." She gave me a sad smile and walked towards them.

I used to be like her. I used to be outspoken, and friendly, capable of talking to new people without hesitation. One of the few qualities that attracted Mason to me, in the first place.

No Zoey, don't go there. Blinking away the few tears that threatened to arise, I followed Izzie to the table.

As soon as I reached the booth, I could feel 7 pairs of eyes on me. Izz was sitting next to Zach, who had 2 guys sitting on his right. On the opposite side, Nate was sitting across from Zach, and a blonde-haired girl was sandwiched between him and a shaggy-haired guy. I felt awkward standing in front of these gorgeous people. All of them looked like they were straight out of the runway. No wonder Izz fit right in.

My eyes darted back to Nate, who was staring at me with his hypnotizing blue eyes. Just like last night. Feeling embarrassed, I shifted my gaze, in a feeble attempt not to make my blushing cheeks more evident.

"Guys, this is Zoey, my best friend," said Izz, introducing me to the whole group. I received a chorus of hi's as I waved shyly to the group. Nate chuckled quietly and scooted to the side to make space for me. I looked up to find almost everyone giving me a warm smile. Zach caught my eye and gave me an amused smirk. I took the available seat, shooting him a glare.

"Zoey, these are the twins - Oliver and Elliot. They are both idiots, and terrible flirts." Zach introduced the two boys on his left, with a smug expression.

"That's not what your mom said last night," shot back Oliver, with a snicker.

"Oooh, shots fired", Elliot fist-bumped him and Zach rolled his eyes, while the rest of the gang just laughed.

"Hey Zoey, if you ever need a boyfriend, you know where to look", Oliver looked at me with a suggestive smile and gave an overexaggerated wink.

"Back off, man. I saw her first. I have dibs" retorted Elliot.

I could feel Nate tense up next to me. I looked up to find him glaring at the twins.

"Calm down dude, we were just messing around," Elliot told Nate. "Besides, it's you who I really want, Natey-poo" he puckered his lips, leaning forward to give him a kiss.

"Fuck off, I'm out of your league", Nate answered back cockily.

"Okay, if you boys are done, I would like to introduce myself to our new friend," blondie spoke, with her voice slightly raised. I noticed how all the boys reacted to it almost instantly, and shut up. I laughed at their reaction, seeing as how they reminded me of little kids.

"Thank you. I am Lillian, but you can call me Lily. I'm so excited to finally have more girls in the group. I have been handling these fuckers since we were 4, and trust me, it's not an easy job. The level of testosterone was killing me," she rambled, bouncing up and down. Despite her bossy attitude, she seemed like an extremely bubble person. "And this, is the love of my life, Chace. And from what I concur, you already know Nathan", she said, giving me a teasing smile. Chace gave me a polite smile, which I gladly returned, refusing to look at Nate.

"Ya, you're right, she's fun to tease," Oliver told Izzie, while I was trying to control my blush, and miserably failing at it.

"It's cute," Nate spoke from beside me. His hand was stretched out behind my head. I glanced at him, fighting the urge to lean into his arms. I took the time to study his features. He looked much better than he did yesterday if that was even possible. He looked so effortlessly handsome, while I looked like I had just woken up. "That blush that you keep trying to hide, and the way you're trying to avoid me is super cute," he grinned, showing off his perfect teeth. I diverted my eyes and tried to focus on the conversation happening in front of me.

Lily was telling Izzie how the guys, except Chace and Oliver, were are in the football team, with Zach as their captain, and Nate as the quarterback. The remaining two were on the baseball team. That detail was very much necessary, seeing as how Izz and I were shocked at how much the guys ate. There was food on the entire table, leaving no space at all.

As the afternoon progressed, I felt more and more comfortable with everyone. I felt as though I fit right in with these people. I learned that Oli, as he persisted I call him, had the same classes as me. And Eli, because these guys loved competing, shared classes with Nate, Zach, and Chace. Lily was majoring in designing and had a few common classes as Izz, whose major was architecture.

I could see Izzie looking at me with a proud look on her face, and I immediately understood the meaning behind it. She was happy that I was making an effort, because, she, of all people, knew how difficult it was for me.

"How long are you planning on avoiding me, Zoey Hart? You know I won't make it easy for you, right?" Nate spoke in a barely audible whisper. His voice sent chills down my spine. His voice was the sexiest thing I had ever heard. I gulped and looked at him, to find him staring at me with the same expression as yesterday. I felt an invisible force pull me to him. Those intent eyes made my legs weak. I felt his hand on my thigh, and I swear I forgot that there were people around.

"For someone who was all over me yesterday, you sure are shy as hell now. My my, drunk you is really wild, isn't she? I've got to say though, I really enjoyed the time we spent together last night" he said, in a husky tone.

I almost moaned at his words. His gaze was fixated on my lips, and I unconsciously licked them. We leaned in towards each other, his eyes never leaving mine. Our lips were so close, I could feel his minty breath, wanting him more and mo-

A cough broke us up, and we both jumped back in embarrassment.

"There was something in her eye", Nate protested unconvincingly, completely out of breath. I was shocked to see that I had similar effects on him, as he did, on me.

"I have to go pee," I blurted out and ran towards the restroom. Holding a hand on my heaving heart, I tried to calm my breathing. I looked at my reflection and grimaced at how my face was completely flushed. Just as I splashed water on my face, I heard the door open and looked up to find Izz and Lily. They both looked at me with a similar expression on their face, which meant strictly business.

"Hey guys," I nervously chuckled, trying to escape from their questioning.

"Zoey Penelope Hart! We need to talk. Now!"

My best friend just used my middle name. It's safe to say that I am completely fucked.