"Hey honey, how was school?" Mom says in her cheery voice from the living room.
I look at her. "Uh, fine. What are you doing home so early?"
She smiles lightly. "I wasn't feeling well this morning so I took a day off."
"Oh. You seem fine now," I point out.
"Well I'm not fine, okay? Mind your own business," she snaps.
I look at her oddly. I don't know where that came from. "Ok mom, while you deal with whatever you're going through, I'll be in my room."
I'll pack now, I need her in a better mood when I tell her. I walk to my room and look for a duffel bag. In the corner is the one I had packed from last time. That part was easy.
I text Zay that I have my stuff ready and silently creep to the back door. To my surprise, he's already standing there.
"Have you been here the whole time?" I whisper.
"Yeah. I have nothing else to do," he whispers back.
I push him further from the door so we can talk normally. "My mom is already here. Apparently she doesn't feel well; I think she just didn't want to go to work."
"Oh, so are you gonna tell her now?"
"Yeah. Here take this and wait for me." I hand him my bag. I tiptoe back inside and replay what I'm gonna say to her. By the time I get back to the living room I have it down pact.
But I look at her face and lose it all. Can I really do this? Sleep next door for a couple of weeks?
I shake off my doubts and get it over with. "Hey mom?"
"Yes, Amber?" she says tiredly.
"Me and, uh, Savannah have this homework project we have to do so I'm going to spend the night at her house for a while to get it done faster." I added a part but so what, I hope she buys it.
She stares at me before answering. "Ok. How long will it be?"
I need to think fast. We didn't cover any questions she might ask. "Uh, we don't know how long yet. We're just gonna do it till it's done. The deadline is after prom so it might be some time," I blurt out.
"Prom? That's in over a week. You'll be with her for that long? Me and your father will miss you."
"Just sleeping. And I'll stay here on the weekends," I quickly add.
Ah crap. That wasn't the plan, I hope she stops asking questions.
"Okay. Is she coming to pick you up?"
I pause. She was supposed to pick me up around 3:00, the time my mom usually comes home. But I guess I'll have to change that.
"Uh yeah lemme text her right now."
I run to my room and grab my journal and bear. I run back to her and give her a kiss on the cheek. "She's here. Love you bye."
She looks like she's about to say something but I run outside before she can. Quickly, so as not to be seen, I run around the house next to mine and to the back door.
I try opening it, but it's locked. But I can feel Zay behind the door. And I know he can smell or sense me here too. "Zay, open the door."
"What's the magic word?" comes his muffled voice.
"Zay I swear, if you don't open this door. My mom could step in my backyard and see me any second."
He cracks the door. "The password is 'Zay is so sexy'," he says and shuts the door before I can move.
I groan. "Fine. Zay is so sexy."
He opens the door with a wide smile. "Oh, you think so? I always knew you found me attractive."
I push past him and look around the familiar house. "Where's my stuff?"
"In my room," he says, eyeing my bear. "Is that a-"
"Yes it's a bear. End of discussion."
"You sleep with a bear?"
"What happened to end of discussion?"
"What's it's name?" he asks.
I sigh. "Chip."
I brace myself for his laughing, but it doesn't come. Instead, he's looking adoringly at me.
"I find it cute you still sleep with a bear."
"Oh shut up. Is your dad here?" I ask.
"No, he's at his human job. Why?"
I smile and set my stuff on the table. "So I can do this."
I stand on my tippy toes and kiss him slowly. I hear him moan appreciatively. He wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me closer, causing me to smile against his lips.
We kiss like that until I have to stop for a breath. I run my hands through his hair and stare at him. His eyes are that mesmerizing golden color again and I can't stop myself from asking.
"When we kiss, why do your eyes change color?"
He tilts his head as he thinks. "I think, you excite the wolf part of me. I know you excite the human part," he says intensely.
He looks away from me and stares at the wall for a second. "My dad's coming home soon. He says he's about fifteen minutes away."
I look at him, confused. "Mind link," he adds after seeing my face.
"What does your dad think about me staying here?" I ask.
"He actually is all for it. Your safety is our priority. He knows how much I care for you."
I smile and try not to blush. I walk into his living room. His newly boarded up door brings back bad memories.
"So what do you want to do until he gets here?" Zay asks me.
"How about a game of chess?"
***
Zay's dad came home and after beating Zay at chess twice we had burritos for dinner. We spent the rest of the evening watching movies, talking and eating snacks left over from the last time I came here.
By 11:00, we've watched almost six movies. My eyes begin to get that stinging sensation that I always get whenever I'm tired. I start to wonder if we'll ever sleep as we near the end of Lilo and Stitch 2.
I throw some popcorn at Zay from across his bed. "We have school tomorrow."
He sighs unhappily. "C'mon, one more movie?"
I pretend to pass out on the bed. I hear him shuffle and the next thing I know I'm being lifted up, bridal style, and put underneath his blankets. I open my eyes to see him kiss my forehead.
"I'm gonna go take a shower. Don't fall asleep on me."
I nod and snuggle deeper in his blankets. He's gone no longer than fifteen minutes. He comes back fricken shirtless.
My eyes widen at his toned arms and abs. He looks absolutely gorgeous. I might even be drooling by the look on his face.
"Like what you see?" he asks after I continue staring.
I ignore his question and try to ignore him. To my dismay, he shuts off his light and I can't see him anymore. What a shame.
My eyes adjust to the darkness and I see his figure walk towards me. His side of the bed dips down.
"It's okay that I sleep here with you, right?" he asks awkwardly.
I giggle. "Yeah, I wouldn't want you to sleep on the floor."
He lays down all of the way and faces me. "Amber?"
"Yes?"
"I... hope you sleep well."
I look at him and smile. "I will. Now that you're here."
I scoot closer to him and lay my head on his chest. His heartbeat picks up as I draw circles on him with my finger.
After a while, the rhythm of his breathing turns into a steady rising and falling. I realize he has fallen asleep. I lay quietly, and think about everything and nothing.
Zay shifts in his rest. He puts one arm around me, pulling me closer to his body. I feel his bare chest hum against me.
I freeze for a moment, unsure of what to do. But then I relax on his body, enjoying the closeness. The heat circulating us is soothing, and the electric thrum lulls me into a dreamy state.
***
I wake up, having to pee. I carefully untangle myself from Zay and get out of bed. I bump into things until I finally find a lamp and turn it on. I glance at Zay to make sure he's still asleep. He is, and the lamp is dim enough it won't wake him up.
I carefully tiptoe out of his room and search the hall for his bathroom. I find it quickly and go pee. I return quickly to the room and go to turn off the light.
Just as I'm about to turn it off, something catches my eye. On his desk is a shiny object, half inside of a bag. I walk over to it.
It's the same bag I picked up before, and that he refused to talk about. I take the object out to see it is, in fact, a necklace. It's a diamond necklace, with small jewels circling around its center, giving it an alluring sparkle.
Whoever the girl was that Zay bought this for must have been an idiot not to accept. From its silver chain, to its sparkly jewels, it's perfect.
A floorboard creaks and I all but scream as a voice speaks behind me.
"You just couldn't resist?"