Distancing isn't helping at all. Over the past month, the heated dreams have become worse. Every morning I'm jerking my frustrations out in the shower. I've started focusing more on getting Becca back to help 'cleanse' my mind, but it's not helping. Even as Becca rambles on about how Creed's not paying attention to her and she feels like she's talking to a wall when she's with him, I find my thoughts drifting to Ollie.
I should make up for not taking her on the Ferris wheel. I could take her down to Blair Port to the pier. They have one, plus games and other rides she'll love.
"I'm thinking of breaking up with him." Becca slams her locker closed, pulling me from my thoughts.
"What?" I push off the pea-green locker I'm leaning against.
Becca sighs and shoulders her backpack. "I know, it's a crazy thought."
I'm not exactly sure what the thought is. I was more focused on the thought of Ollie's smile when I finally get her the Ferris wheel ride she was hoping for a month and a half ago, but I nod in agreement.
"I'm just sick of it, you know. I think it's time to call it quits with Creed." Becca's grey eyes turn up to me. She watches me for a moment waiting for my reaction, but I'm not even sure how to process the information. It's been something I've been waiting to hear for a year now, yet I'm not getting the same thrill or relief that I thought I would. "Nothing to say?"
I shrug. "I'm not sure what you want me to say, Becca. You're telling me that you're thinking of breaking it off with the guy you left me for." My attention drifts down the hall toward our first class and narrows on a certain blonde punk leaning closer to a curly-headed Goldilocks trapped between him and the wall.
That little shit.
I storm up to Dameon and grab his shoulder before jerking him back. His sneakers screech against the laminate flooring as his light-green eyes flare wide in shock? When his gaze turns up to me, his look quickly shifts to a devilish grin. "Cuz! Fancy meeting you here."
"This is my first period," I point out. "Which you know. What the hell are you doing here?" My attention quickly shifts to Ollie, who's watching us with an entertained smile on her face.
"I was being chivlerous and walking this fair maiden to class." Dameon gestures to Ollie.
"Was he bugging you?" I flatly ask, knowing it's a good possibility. He's already bugging me, and we aren't even through the first part of the day.
"No," Ollie giggles, pushing off the wall. Her gaze shifts behind me, and her smile slightly falls. When I follow her gaze, I see Becca stepping up behind me. "Dameon was just being nice and making sure I didn't get lost."
I frown and glance between the two of them. "You know the school better than he does."
"Well." Ollie shrugs and heads into class. "It's the thought that counts."
Dameon's green eyes light up as a broad smile spreads across his dumb thin face. "See, Ollie gets me." His attention turns to her as he gives her a doe-eyed loving look that makes me want to punch him. "I think I found my soulmate." Dameon bites his fist and acts like he's getting choked up.
His antic pull a sweet giggle from Ollie while behind me; Becca pushes past us all to get to class. On her way, she shakes her head. "God, you're such an idiot."
I don't think I could agree more. I shove Dameon down the hall. "Get to class."
Dameon gets swept up on the steady stream of kids heading to class, but it doesn't stop him from shouting over the top of everyone's heads, "You'll never keep our love apart, Zane! Ollie and I are meant to be!"
The attentive eyes of our peers look between the three of us, just making the urge to kill him even stronger.
"I love you Olivia! Remember me!" He shouts as she's pushed around the corner and out of view.
"I hate him." I grumble as I shake my head and turn my attention to Ollie.
Her fit of giggles turns her cheeks a cute shade of pink. "I think he's great."
"You just like him because he annoys the shit out of me." I cast her a knowing look before placing my hand on her back and guiding her into the classroom.
"That is a fact." Ollie walks back to our shared table and drops her backpack next to her chair before taking a seat. "But he's also actually fun."
I stop mid-air as I'm taking a seat and scowl at her before slipping into the putrid light teal chair that clashed with the deep hunter green of the table. "What the hell does that mean? I'm fun."
Ollie's nose wrinkles as she gives me this doubtful look. "Are you though?" The hint of a smirk shows me she's teasing.
"Yes." I playfully pinch her ribs, making her laugh. "And speaking of fun. I want to take you down to Blair Port to the pier."
That makes Ollie perk up even more. She turns her whole body toward me. Her deep ocean-blue eyes swirl with hope as she asks, "Just you and me?"
"Yeah." I smirk and tuck a rogue curl that's fallen into her face behind her ear. "Who else would I bring?"
"I wasn't sure if you'd be able to pry yourself away from my new self proclaimed lover." The corner of her lip slips up into a slight grin as she bites back a laugh.
Like I'd let that little shit come along. "I'd tie him to Nan's front proch before I let him follow. So what do you say? You me and the pier next Saturday?"
"Zane!" Becca's voice startles both Ollie and me as her hands slap down on our desk. With a jolt, I look up at her. An overly sweet smile is plastered on her face, one that she used to have when something was irritating her but didn't want to show it. Becca's cool-grey eyes shift between Ollie and me. "Amber, Grace, and I were going to have a study session tonight to get ready for the semester finals coming up. I was wondering, if you wanted to come too?"
I raise a brow in shock. I haven't been to Becca's house since we broke up, and it seems out of the blue, but I say, "Sure. What time?"
"Say, six? After dinner?" She playfully bites her blood-red bottom lip and twirls her satin black hair around her finger.
"Sounds great."
At the head of the class, I can see Miss Newman shift on her stool. "Take a seat everyone."
My low groans of dissatisfaction accompany the shuffling of bags and feet that our school day is officially starting. Becca gives me a wink before heading back to her chair. The behavior is odd, but then again, she did say she was thinking about breaking up with Creed. Maybe she's finally thinking of getting back together?
For some reason, the thought isn't as thrilling as it was a month and a half ago.
"You're playing with fire," Ollie warns next to me, drawing my attention back to her. She's not looking at me, though. Her long blonde hair blocks the view of her face as she doodles black flowers onto the front of her light-teal notebook.
Playing with fire is going to the pier with you alone since I can't keep you out of my head like I used to be able to. It was easier to ignore the attraction, not knowing what's under those clothes or how your body moves underneath me. I just can't tell you that.
"You heard her, Amber, Grace, and you'll be there to keep me in line."
Ollie's head snaps up to look at me. "She most definitely didn't say I would be there. I'm not invited, Zane. That was an invite for one."
"You and Becca used to be friends, until the break up," I point out. "Besides, I'm inviting you."
Ollie takes a deep breath in and glances across the room. I follow her gaze and see a look on Becca's face quickly shift to a smile before he gives me a small flirty wave. I swear she was glaring, but the switch was too quick to see.
I give Becca a quick nod before turning my attention back to Ollie. "So? Are you coming?"
A ghost of a smile plays at the corner of Ollie's lips. "If you want me there, then yeah, I'll go."
The rolling turd pulls up behind me in front of Becca's house. To my dismay, behind it is the demon's deep blue bike pulling up behind Ollie's car.
I jerk my helmet off and storm toward them both as Ollie's getting out of her car. "What the hell are you doing here?!"
Ollie frowns. "You invited."
"No, not you." I point behind her. "That."
Ollie follows my gesture to the teeth-baring demon behind her. His beaming grin grinds my gears. I know he's only tagging along to see what trouble he can stir up. With a house full of girls, for him, it'll be a lot.
"My soulmate left the school with another man. I was forced to follow." A fake hurt look falls to Ollie as he grips his chest. "How could you do this to me? How could you leave me for another man."
Ollie closes the door to her car. "I'm just trying to butter up your family, lover."
"Ah." Dameon gives an understanding nod as he gets off his bike. "Makes sense. Starting with the biggest jerk first and working toward the nicer ones, smart girl."
"Don't encourage him." I put my hand on the small of Ollie's back and guide her to the back of her car to cut the demon off before he can head up to the light blue Victorian-style home.
"You know he's only trying to get under your skin, right?" Ollie points out. "If you don't let it bother you he'll get bored and find something else to do."
I know it, but it doesn't make him any less annoying or easier to ignore. Ollie is right about one thing. He's here to get under my skin, and if I tell him to go away, it'll only make him cause a scene in this nice neighborhood. Which will mean some housewife on this street will call the cops. Ollie, Dameon, and I aren't from a rougher part of Mer Harbor. Even though Ollie and I are fairly good kids, it won't matter.
It's probably best to let him get bored and go home on his own, as Ollie said. Begrudgingly, I lead the two crazies up the walk and past the pristine white picket fence. The bright red french doors of Becca's house make my stomach uneasy. I'm not sure how I feel about being here again. It's something I've wanted for a while. I missed dinners with Becca's parents and her little sister, Wednesday. They were accepting of me and made me feel like I belonged even though I'm a roughneck from the wrong side of town, but this feels out of place and wrong today. Maybe it's having Dameon and Ollie with me.
Though the girls were friends before the split, Ollie never seemed to want to tag along. The few times she would come, I had to beg her, and she always ended up hanging out in Wednesday's room after dinner. Not that I blame her. It probably wasn't fun being Becca and I's the third wheel.
"Are knocking or is Becca just supposed to telepathically know we're here?" Ollie sarcastically asks, making me realize I've been staring at the damn door for far too long.
I roll my eyes before knocking on the door. Through the thin door window, I can see movement and the sound of voices on the other side before Becca throws the door open. The smile on her face falters when her gaze lands on Ollie and Dameon.
"Hey, I invited Ollie, and well, that," I nod to Dameon, "tagged along. I hope you don't mind."
"No, of course not." Becca steps to the side to let us all in.
Dameon practically tackles Ollie behind us, pushing her through the threshold and clinging to her like a fucking octopus.
"Aww," Becca coos at the two of them. "You make such a cute couple."
A twinge of irritation courses through me as I follow them in. "They aren't a couple," I state before either of them gets a chance to say anything. At least I'm pretty sure they aren't and that all of Dameon's jesting is just to irritate.
"We are so." Dameon counters, making my stomach turn at the idea. "We're soulmates. Star-crossed lovers being kept apart by life, and family." He shoots me a glare, indicating that it's me keeping them from being together.
"You're such a dumbass." I grumble before prying him off her like velcro.
Becca closes the door behind us and skirts around our small pack while I keep Ollie out of Dameon's reach. "The girls and I set up in the den." Becca gestures to the back of the house as we pass the small sitting room. My hand jerks back when Dameon comes to a sudden stop.
"Friday!" He calls out, drawing my attention to the sitting room. Next to the front window, Becca's little sister Wednesday sits cuddled up in a blue high back chair with her nose buried in a book. Her freckled face slowly rises, making her large round glasses peek over the top of the pages in her hand. She drops the book to her lap as her small full lips part in shock. A look of horror crosses her face as her slate-grey eyes land on Dameon.
Obviously, they've met.
Not that that should be a surprise. Wednesday is about the same age as Dameon. Poor girl.
"Why are you at my house?!" Her gaze flicks from him to me.
Dameon goes to prance into the sitting room, only to be jerked back by my firm grip on his collar. I internally debate saving Wednesday from the demon or letting this convenient distraction play out in my favor.
"Hey." Dameon glares back at me. "You didn't tell me this was Friday's house."
Sorry, Wednesday. The opportunity has knocked, and you are the human sacrifice that I'm unleashing this hellion on.
"You two have fun." I give Wednesday an apologetic smile when her death glare streaks across the room. As I walk down the hall and hear poor Wednesday's aggravated grunts, I feel a slight twinge of guilt.
It's almost enough to make me want to go back and fetch him... almost.
Hello Lovies!
I've been working so hard to get this chapter out for you. I'll be celebrating an American holiday the rest of this week, and I knew it was today or never. Okay, well, not never, but for sure, no update till the first of next week. Hopefully, you enjoy it.
Just a warning, I've made some graphics and will be changing them up, probably today and tomorrow, so if you see a bunch of activity on here, that's why. I wanted to give you something to read first, so hopefully, this makes it worth the hassle, lol.
Now back to story questions, are you looking forward to the date between Ollie and Zane?! What are you hoping will happen? Also, what do you think about Zane's feelings toward ollie? Does it seem out of the blue? I hinted a lot in the beginning that he had strong feelings for her, but I guess I'm worried that it went amiss, lol.
Can't wait to hear your thoughts. As always, thank you for reading. If you enjoyed it, I'd love it if you let me know by hitting that star and or commenting.
See you next time!
P.S.
Happy Thanksgiving to my American Readers that celebrate. And to those that don't, just happy Thursday. Either way, I'm thankful for you all. 🧡🤎❤️