Perfect Little People

Chapter 9

We kissed for a little bit and finally I just snuggled up on him. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder as I tucked my knees to my chest and leaned up against him. After a little bit of silence, I heard Zach take a deep, shaky breath. "Elizabeth?" He mumbled. I didn't move but I answered. "Zach." He chuckled a little bit and I knew he did that when he was nervous. "What is it?" I asked and turned my head and looked up to him. He stared down at me for a few minutes and then kissed my temple and shook his head. "Never mind. Just forget it." And then smiled and looked back out the window. I turned all the way around and sat on his lap, taking my hands and framing his face. "Zachary Marcus Dudley, if you don't think I know you by now, you are dead wrong." He smiled at me, shaking his head within my hands grasp. "Oh, really?" He asked, almost as in challenge. "Entertain me." I laughed and, still holding my grasp tight, began. "I know that you laugh when you're nervous, you hate to hurt anyone but you know it happens anyway. You love the band Paramore and your favorite food is diced cheese. Not just any type of cheese, diced cheese." He laughs and shrugs his shoulders. "What fun comes out of sliced, regular cheese?" I laugh at his comment but continue. "I know that your Dad almost convinced your Mom to call you by your middle name but she refused to because she said that the name Zachary was, in her words, 'Manly but still adorable.' You hate the color pink because it reminds you of your aunt that passed away of breast cancer a couple years ago, but you love the color green because of the summer grass." He continues to smile as I go on, stating the small details I know about him and have caught on to as we spend more time together. "I know that you absolutely despise girls who wear a lot of makeup, especially if they wear a ton of lipstick."
"I wouldn't if you did, though." He said smugly, leaning forward to kiss my cheek. But I kept going. "You think stoplights are stupid and same with speed limits. You always say if there is a speedometer that goes up to 100 mph then you should be able to drive just as fast." He laughs under his breath and shakes his head slightly. "I know that you love me, and I mean you really do love me." His face turns a little pink but he nods and wraps his arms around my waist. "And, Zach." I take a deep breath, releasing my hands and resting them on his shoulders. "Zach, I know that you have something to ask me but you're afraid to say it." He looks down a little, his ears turning a shade of red. "Zach," I take my hand and run it down the side of his face, stopping at the corner of his mouth. "Tell me."
He takes a deep breath and looks up to me. After a few moments, he smiles and tucks a few strands of hair behind my ear. "Oh, Elizabeth." He sighed out and pulled me closer from my waist.
He rested his forehead against mine, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. I did the same as he did and wrapped my arms around his neck. "Ask me." I whispered, my eyes still closed. I could feel his heart beating, fast and loud. I could hear his breath stagger as he took one last deep breath, but still went ahead. "Elizabeth, will you be mine?" He asked, quietly. But before I could answer, he continued. "I mean, if you don't, I understand. We can take it at your pace, you don't have to listen to stupid 'ole me. We could wait, we could. We could wait as long as you wanted. We could wait a couple weeks, months, heck! I'll wait a couple years for you. I just want you to be happy is all, and if you don't want to be with me, I understand. You probably don't want to get involved with my whole scenario with Cory anyway and, I completely understand. I mean, I love you, I do. So I just-" I open my eyes and place a finger over his mouth. He opens his eyes and looks at me, without removing his head away from mine. I smile at his worried, fearful face. He seriously thought I would say no. I giggled and he raised an eyebrow at me. "What?" He asked, he heart still beating extremely fast. I shook my head slightly. "I just think it's cute how you ramble when you're nervous too. I'll add it to the list." I joked and he forced out a small laugh, his face growing red. I then smile and lean forward just enough to give him a small peck on the lips. "Zach, I love you. Why in the world do you think I would've said no?" He began to look down and shrug his shoulders but then jerked back up and pulled away from me after he realized what I said. "Wait, wait, wait." He said fast and over excitedly. "You said 'would've', as in 'would have', as in 'past tense'." I start nodding slowly as he starts catching on. "So, does that mean?" He takes a sharp breath in. "Does that mean you're saying yes?" He says and I nod, not afraid to smile as wide as I wanted to. He then smiles just as wide and pulls me in for a kiss. I slowly but gently chew on his bottom lip and he grabs me tight at the waist and whispers "I love you." So, I instinctively recited it back, because, I do. I am in love with Zachary Dudley. And did I care what other people thought of it? No. So screw all of them.
He kept kissing me and when I needed some air, he slowly traveled down and started gently kissing my neck. I couldn't help the small moan that escaped from my lips but once it did, he took his hands and slid them under my shirt and let them rest on my lower back.
I threw my head back and took one hand to play with his hair. As I turned my head to the side, I looked over to his car clock that read 5 o'clock. I removed my hand and tapped his shoulder, even though it killed me inside to end the moment. He lifted his head slowly and kissed me on the cheek. "Yeah, baby." Oh, and the flips my stomach did when he called me baby. I smiled at him but pointed to the clock. "Don't you have to be at your dads birthday dinner by 5:30?" He ran his fingers through his hair and cursed quietly under his breath. "Uh, yeah. I'm so sorry, baby. I don't want to end this moment." I sighed and felt the butterflies increase at the second use of my new favorite word. I then shook my head and kissed his cheek. "Me neither. But, it's your Dads day, not yours. Come on, be a big boy and get driving." He laughs and shakes his head. "Yes ma'am." I then force myself off of his lap and feel the immediate loss of his touch. He buckles his seatbelt, puts the car in reverse and is about to back out, but stops. "Zach, what are you doing?" I asked and ran my fingers through his hair. He shook his head and looked at me. "This may sound stupid but, I want you to come with me." He says and I hesitate with my answer. "No. No, Zach. This is your Fathers birthday dinner and he probably wants to open his gifts with his family. I'll just go home." He laughs and shakes his head. "What more of a gift is there then to meet his sons amazing girlfriend?" The word 'girlfriend' replays in my mind. Im his. And best of all, he's mine. I smile and laugh. "Zach, thats very funny but I don't know. I've never even met your parents before. The one time I went to your house they weren't there." I state, and then another thought hits me and I say it before I even think because I knew it was true. "And what about Alice? Her best friend is dating her brother and she wouldn't be upset about it?" He laughs and rests a hand on my cheek. "Liz, calm. Down." He smiles and my insides melt. It never gets old. "And my parents will love you! I may or may not have brought you up to them a couple times already..." He says, laughing as my face grows red. "Also, who cares what Alice thinks! We can share you! I'll just get you 99.9% of the time and she can have the rest!" He winks at me and laugh and punch him in the arm. He winces and glares at me before breaking into another smile. "Do you not remember you punching me in the exact same spot just like, last week?" I laugh again and nod. "Yeah, well, you gave me a bruise there and that sure didn't help." He continued to rub his arm but I removed his hand and lifted his sleeve to see the bruise. It was huge, and it made me feel terrible.
He must have noticed because he shook his head. "Baby, it's fine. Its just a bruise." I sigh and then look up into his smiling face. "But I still feel bad." He laughs and tilts his head at me. "Then kiss it and make it feel all better." And I laugh but do it anyways.
I lift his sleeve a little more and leave a little peck where his bruise was. He raises an eyebrow as me and smiles. "Uh, excuse me ma'am. I have a little bruise on my lips too..." I begin to laugh again and so does he but I still kiss him anyway. This was the Zach I fell for. Sweet and funny. Playful and honest. I loved him, and there wasn't anything anyone could do about it, not even Alice. So, I finally gave in and nodded. "I'll go. But, only if you call your parents and make sure its okay first." He smiles and gives me a 'no problem' nod while taking out his phone and hitting a few numbers. A couple rings later, a man with a deep voice answers. "Dad! Hey, so I have a question..."
I zone out of the conversation and start to think of the story that Zach told me about that girl, Cory. She was crazy, no doubt about that. But, what would she do once she found out that Zach and I were officially together? Would she go on a rampage, or just go sulk? The possibilities were endless.
"Ok, sounds good to me! So, when do we meet you there? 7 o'clock? Sounds perfect! See yah there." And then the line ended. He turned to me and smiled. "Ready to meet my parents?"