Hooked on Him - Zach Herron

Chapter 33

Chloe's POV: I wake up with one of my arms hanging off of the couch and sleepily sit up as I rub my eyes. Yawning, I reach over to grab my phone to check the time and realize that it's nowhere to be found. And neither is Kendyl. I drape the blanket around my shoulders and stand up slowly before I hear Kendyl laughing and talking in another room. 

"Yep, I'll let her know.... no she doesn't hate me you weirdo.....she's fine, I promise..... I DIDN'T kidnap her.... no I didn't!" she giggles. "No.... no.... no Jack stop attacking me!" 

I laugh quietly to myself and sit back down on the couch as I continue to hear her chatter away with him. After a few minutes, she comes back in and tosses me my phone. 

"Morning, sleepyhead." 

"Hey, Kendyl." I catch my phone. "Why did you have this?" I wave it at her. 

"Jack wouldn't stop calling. It woke me up so I decided to answer so he'd leave us be." Scrolling through my recent calls, I see that she's right. He did call a lot. 

"He was worried about you. And he's coming to pick you up for breakfast in about 10 minutes." Kendyl sits down next to me on the couch. 

"I feel bad," my voice cracks. "I just ditched him last night. And Zach. God, I always think of both of them. I can't think of one without immediately thinking of the other. It's never just Jack, my boyfriend and best friend. And it's never just Zach, my-" I don't really know what to call him. 

"-lover," Kendyl finishes, half-joking. 

"Pfftt, I wish," I laugh.

"He's crazy about you." 

"And I'm crazy about him," I admit to myself. 

"So what's the problem?" she asks seriously. 

"......Jack," I squeeze my eyes shut for a second before opening them. "I don't want to break his heart." 

"Chloe. He'll get over it. He'll move on. What's important, first and foremost, is that you're happy." 

I take a deep breath and turn to look at her. "I think I'm going to talk to him. Honestly. At breakfast." I can't keep living in this lie. 

"That's good. I know he'll understand," Kendyl comforts me. 

I'm about to answer when I hear the doorbell ring. She shoots me an encouraging smile as we trudge over to the door. Swinging it open, I see Jack standing on the porch. 

"Babe!" he wraps his arms around me and I rest my head on his shoulder. 

"I'm sorry," I mutter into him. Pulling away, I glance over at Kendyl. "Thanks. For everything." 

"That's what friends are for." And I guess we really are friends now. 

"Since when did you two get along so well?" Jack laughs as he shakes his head in disbelief. Kendyl and I smile at each other in reply, and I give her a quick hug before walking out to the car with Jack. 

The car ride to breakfast is quiet as I fiddle with my bracelet as a distraction. There's so much energy between us, but neither one of us knows what to say. I glance over at him and our eyes meet briefly as he smiles shyly at me before looking back at the road. It's a comfortable silence, but we both know that we need to talk. 

A few minutes later, we pull up to the Goldrush Cafe and walk in, causing the bell above the door to ring. I slide into a booth and Jack sits across from me as we order coffee and scan the menu. 

I feel Jack's eyes on me as I pretended to be engrossed with the menu. 

"Chloe?" he says hesitantly. Neither one of us has said anything significant at this point, only occasional chatter before lapsing back into silence. And we both know that we need to discuss what happened last night. 

I look up at him. "Yea?" 

He looks like he wants to say something else but then changes his mind. "What- um- what are you ordering?" 

"Chocolate chip pancakes," I laugh. 

"You are such a child," he chuckles as his eyes light up and I hit him lightly with my menu in response. The mood brightens a bit. 

We order our food and then I take a sip of my coffee nervously, peering down at the swirls of cream before setting it down. 

"So," Jack says, resting his hands on the table. 

"We need to talk," I say seriously, and he seems to crumple a bit. 

"I figured," he sighs in defeat. 

"I'm sorry for ditching you last night. Especially since you were showing me the song you wrote for me- that wasn't cool of me. I just got overwhelmed and I needed to step away from it all," I say honestly. 

"I was worried." 

"I know. And I'm sorry. I just needed time to think." 

"Is this about the song? Did you not like it?" he says curiously. 

I shake my head. "No, no, no that's not it at all. But listening to Hard made me realize something." I take Jack's hand from across the table and squeeze it. "Jack, you're my best friend. Nothing's ever going to change that. But-" I hesitate before spitting it out. "- I think that's all we are," I say simply as his face falls. "I'm sorry," I whisper. 

He's silent for a minute as I see different emotions pass across his face. "I- I don't know what to say." 

I look helplessly at him as he struggles to find the right words. "I mean- I could tell this was coming. And I didn't want it to come to this. Chloe- I was starting to fall in love with you," Jack says quietly and I feel my cheeks grow rosy at his words. 

"But the more I think, really think, the more I realize that you're right. Something was just starting to feel off about our entire relationship. It felt one-sided, and- don't even try to deny this anymore- you still have feelings for Zach. It's so obvious." 

I try to speak but he cuts me off. "I saw you dancing with him at the party. And I saw the way you looked at him, and the love in his eyes as he held you," he says a bit sadly. "And I wasn't going to question you on it, but well, here we are." 

"I'm really sorry, Jack." 

"Don't be. I agree with you. We're just friends, and I can see that now." 

I take a deep breath. "You're right. I still have major feelings for Zach. Jack, I'm hooked on him. I can't get away. It's him, and it's always going to be him," I say honestly. 

"I know," he chuckles a little as he picks at his food that arrived a few minutes before. "I get it. So tell him." 

"I will," I say, my stomach filling with butterflies at the thought. I want Zach. And now, I'm free to have him. "Are we okay?"

"We're great," Jack smiles warmly at me. "Nothing could ever ruin our friendship." 

"Friends," I say thoughtfully, testing it out. 

"Friends," he agrees. 

I feel relieved. Jack isn't angry or upset, he gets it. He feels the same way. It's like a huge burden has been lifted off of me. We finish eating and get up to pay. 

"Jack?" I say, as I walk over to him and throw my arms around him. He pulls me into him and rests his head on mine as I hug him fiercely. "I love you," I say. And I do love him. It's not the same type of love I have for Zach, but I do love Jack Avery. 

"I love you too, Chloe Madison," he says as he smiles down at me. And before I know what I'm doing, I stand up on my tippy toes and press my lips quickly against his for the last time as he kisses me back for a brief second before pulling away. I'm never going to kiss Jack again. And I'm okay with that. He holds me against him before I break his embrace to pay at the register and head out to the car with him, joking and laughing. And all is well again.