Love, Zed

18. Butterscotch

Zed's pov:

I hate that I'm still hoping.

I hate that I'm doing what I'm doing.

I don't deserve this angelic presence in my arms. I stare at her face as she sleeps like a baby, her brown hair sprawled like a halo over the white pillow. I caress the side of her face with my knuckles.

I don't know why I feel so transfixed by Aria Young. Yes, she's beautiful, hot, perky and those beautiful eyes... She is your perfect glam girl with a pretty badass attitude. Every single person is bound to turn to stare at her.

But is that all my eyes see in her? Is she merely a beautiful woman? Is it her naughty smiles? Her lustful stares, her eye-rolls that attract me?

Maybe.

And what does she see in me? I'm not oblivious of my effect on her. I've seen the way she looks at me. I've read her body-language whenever I'm around. I know she feels the pull too.

It's never going to end well.

I slowly pull my body away from her warm feel. She's fast asleep, I listen to the rhythm of her breathing for a while. Then I pull up the blanket, covering and step down of my bed.
I tread across the room and a with a last glance at her face, walk out the door.

I go straight to the kitchen and put the lights on. Picking up a wet cloth, I start cleaning the mess I made and the milk I wasted. Last thing I like is food getting wasted.

I pick out an orange juice out of the fridge after I'm done. Suddenly my phone buzzes in my pocket. Annoyed out of my mind, I glare at the caller ID.

"Sir." I say trying to soothe my tone.

"Are you drunk again, boy? Do I have to clean up your mess again?" My father snaps from the other side. I clench my teeth but remain silent.

"Whatsoever, I just called to tell you that you're to expect Mikael tomorrow evening." He said roughly. "Be there, this time!"

"You don't need to... Okay, sir." I barely control my fury.

"And behave, son. I've no time for your trifles and those fucked up wrecks you call friends there. Keep your cellphone on."

And the line goes dead. I drop my phone back in my pocket and walk to my balcony.

Night air and honeyed aroma of my flowers kiss my skin. I brace my arms on the railing and close my eyes sighing deeply.

Aria will hate me if I did this to Tessa. Hell, she would even kill me for it. Why do I care if a girl I barely know hates me? I don't know. But I do. I feel anxious even when I think of parting ways with her.

She makes me feel... things. Things I'm scared to feel. She's irrestible, her face today when I... Goddamn I've never seen a woman like her before. And she tastes like butterscotch... Wait. Is she a virgin? Hell no.

Aria's sister's face appears in my mind.

I push my hair back in exasperation. What am I even doing!? What kind of twisted, fucked up animal would rob a girl of her virginity just for a bet? A freaking bet? What the hell is wrong with me?

I fish out my phone and dial Scott. The rings goes for a second but I hold up feeling like a dick. I can't back away now. Backing away would only mean accepting defeat. Hardin's sniggering face appears in my head and I clench my teeth.

I can't let that son of a bitch win. Because I don't know how to loose. I haven't forgotten what he did to me. And I never forgive people. That motherfucker is going down.

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Aria's pov:

"Aria?"

"Arianna!"

"Stop it, mom! Go away!" I mutter groggily pulling the blanket up to cover my head.

I hear a male chuckling. I turn opening my eyes a little. Zed's hovering over me.

"Boy bye, I hate mornings." I mutter. I feel him touching my lips slightly. I pout them and he chuckles and leans down giving me a peck.

"You need to get up, princess. Our class is in like, twenty minutes and..."

"Shit, what?" I force myself to sit up in his comfortable bed. "I need to go my dorm." I say and roll off the bed. Suddenly I'm aware of the smell of pancakes.

"Did you make pancakes?" I smile looking at Zed. "Um... let's go eat. Then I'll take you to the dorms." He says and we walk out.

The apartment is brimming of sunlight and makes me feel so warm. I can only wish for such an aesthetic and cozy place.

"Go, sit. Relax." Zed smiles putting his hand on my waist. "I'm gonna bring you pancakes."

"I'm not a guest or something." I laugh and walk up to the kitchen.

"No, wait-"

I almost cry out when I find a shirtless guy shaking his booty and making pancakes in the kitchen. Zed marches up to him hastily. "Max. Put on something." He mutters forcefully.

Max turns and eyes meet mine. He turns red and looks away. Cute.

"Hey, shirtless guy." I grin. "I'm Aria."

"Hey, I'm Max." He says flushed and walks out of the kitchen. Zed has his back to me and is putting pancakes on three plates.

"He's kinda cute." I say walking up to help him. "No, he's not." He declares. Males. I roll my eyes. We set up three plates on the table in the drawing area. Everything looks so pretty, I decide to snap some pictures with the pancakes.

"I won't eat, man. I'm late." Max says appearing in the room putting on a jacket. "Sorry, Aria. It's really nice to meet you. Bye!" He grins widely at me.

"No worries. See ya." I wave and he walks out. I see Zed smiling slightly at me.

"What?"

"Everyone who meets you takes a liking to you instantly." He says. "Oh, I know." I giggle. "What's nothing to like?"

I gobble my pancakes like a madwoman. "Man, they're amazing. Aah." I moan. "Is this butterscotch syrup?" I ask.

Zed suddenly started coughing. "Bu-butterscotch?" He strutted.

"You okay?" I ask frowning.

"Ahm," Zed shakes his head. "Just give me a minute and then we can leave." He says and taking up the plates disappears inside.

I scan my phone for texts and see three from Tessa and one from Nate. I text them back quickly and ignore the five missed calls from mom.

Zed walks back into the room in a round neck, half sleeved, body fit black tee. Damn, it makes all of his muscles visible through its material. He's wearing loose blue denims which makes him look taller than usual. I smack my lips looking at his belted waist. God why is it so hot?

"You're gonna bruise it." He says in a husky tone.

"Uh, what?" I'm snapped out of my dirty thoughts. Is he talking of his waist or...

"Your lips." He says darkly. "Biting them so hard, you're gonna bruise it."
He walks up to me, bends to come up to my eye level and tugs my bottom lip. He smells of cologne and something citrus. Maybe it's his toothpaste.

Toothpaste? Damn I haven't brushed. This
your-daughter-calls-me-daddy-too hot man is leaning in to kiss me and I haven't even brushed!? I jump off the sofa and skid away from him.

"Hey! Come here!" He smiles amused  reaching up to me. "No." I shake my head backing away from him. He cocks his right brow and smiles mischievously. I giggle and run to his room and he runs after me.

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sorry guys for late update. btw how do you like #zaria? 😏