Ignite (13 page)

“I don’t know,” she shrugs, giving me a small smile as she diverts her eyes for a second before finding mine again. “Will you tell me about the other girls you were with?”

“Someday,” I promise, brushing the hair away from her face and hooking it behind her ear. “Not today, though.”

“How come?” she asks, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

“Because Addie,” I say in a soft voice. “After you, they just don’t matter anymore.”

Watching her eyes soften in understanding, she blinks away the moisture there she doesn’t want me to see and so I won’t mention it. Quietly, she leans over and rests her hand against my jaw as she holds my eyes.

“I love you,” she says in a soft voice before kissing me softly on the lips, letting out a soft hum when I cradle the back of her head and hold her in place.

“I love you, too.”

Zeke

Over the course of the next two days we share alone, we do little besides devour each other. It’s as if we’d waited so long to explore this side of things, we were making up for lost time. By the time Thursday morning rolls around, I’m feeling a bittersweet combination of love drunk and dread.

“What time is it?” I ask, breaking the silence for the first time since she climbs off of me, lying beside me on her bed.

“Almost ten,” she says quietly, letting out a soft sigh as she leans her head on my shoulder.

“You okay?” I ask, glancing down to find her fiddling with her nail polish.

“Yeah,” she says, flashing me a small smile.

“Liar,” I whisper, twisting to face her. “Why so glum, chum?”

She doesn’t answer me for a moment as I watch the wheels churning in her mind. When she finally speaks, her voice is soft and unsure, a combination I’m not used to hearing from her.

“How is this supposed to work, Zeke?” she starts, clearing her throat in a failed attempt to disguise the slight break. “When we go to school, I mean.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Well, you’ve said you didn’t see this as a random summer fling, right?”

“Yeah?”

“So what are we supposed to do?” she asks. “I mean, we’re attending colleges that are hours apart. How is it logical that we’ll ever see each other? Last year, I saw you… what, twice during the school year?”

“Yeah,” I nod, my voice low.

“Well, so how is this supposed to be anything more than a fling if we never see each other?”

“It’s different now,” I tell her.

“No, it’s not,” she argues, prompting me to give her crazy eyes. “Okay, well it is, but you know what I mean. I still don’t have a car, you’re still going to A&M and I’m still going to Tarleton. In fact, it’s gonna be harder because we’re going to be even further away than we were before, Zeke.”

Studying her features in silence for a moment, I watch them shift into the same thing I’ve been feeling all week. This thing between us, whatever you wanna call it, it’s amazing. However, everything Addie’s saying is spot on. It
will
be hard. Put bluntly, it’s going to suck being so far away from her with all the emotions and feelings I’m having toward her now. I’ve been rolling the same questions around in my mind for days and the answer, I’ve discovered, isn’t nearly as complex as I’d thought.

Convincing Addie of that might not be as easy as it was for me to convince myself, though.

“Can I ask you something?” I ask, finally breaking the silence and watching her nod her answer. “I’ve said a few times what this is for me, but you haven’t really. What’s that about? Do you not feel the same as I do?”

“That’s not it, Zeke,” she whispers, shaking her head immediately.

“Then what is it? Does this feel like a fling to you, Add?”

“I think I want it to be sometimes,” she admits, her eyes watering as she searches mine and rests her hand on my jaw. “But no, Zeke. It’s not a fling.”

“Why do you want it to be?”

“Because,” she shrugs, giving me a teary smile as she swipes her cheeks clean. “Then it wouldn’t hurt so much every time I think about it having to end.”

Addie

“I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to punch you as badly as I want to punch you right now,” I grit out, tossing my compact back into my makeup bag and shutting the bathroom light off.

Making my way back into my bedroom, I find him sprawled out across my bed, looking up from his cell phone.

“Still no luck?” he smirks as he drops it onto the mattress beside him.

“No,” I grumble. “If anything, I think I made it more noticeable.”

Leaning my head back, I give him a full shot of the still very dark mark he left on my neck. When I hear him trying to stifle a laugh, I lower my eyes to his and shoot him a death glare.

“You can barely see it,” he lies, still biting down on his lip.

“You laugh now, but my dad’s gonna totally flip when he sees this, Zeke,” I warn him, shaking my head.

“Put a different shirt on, babe,” he offers, prompting me to roll my eyes.

“It’s the middle of July,” I argue. “I can’t exactly throw on a turtleneck and act casual.”

“I’m sure he won’t even notice,” he tries, laughing at the look of sheer disbelief that crosses my features. “Okay, he probably will notice, but it’ll be okay,” he smiles warmly, reaching for me and pulling me to lie beside him on the bed. “Don’t worry, babe. I’ll defend your honor.”

“Gee thanks,” I say drily as he kisses me on the tip of my nose, making me smile.

“So what do you want to do today?” he asks, bending his arm and leaning against it.

“I don’t know,” I shrug, resting my cheek against his chest. “I’m kinda tired.”

“I’m sure you are, you little sex fiend,” he chuckles, his words making me blush. “I don’t know how the hell you’re even walking today as many times as you attacked me last night.”

“Sorry,” I say softly, my cheeks burning more by the minute.

“Don’t be sorry, baby,” he says, twisting to face me. “I think it’s awesome.”

Resting his head on the pillow beside me, his blue eyes hold mine as his hand brushes over my thigh. The combination of the breeze coming in through my window, the soft music leaving the speakers and his soothing touch, my eyes begin to grow heavy in no time.

“You want to take a nap?” he asks in a low voice.

“No,” I tell him, stifling a yawn as my eyes continue to draw closed. “I want to stay up and hang out.”

“Those eyes of yours are saying different.”

When my next words are jumbled up garble, he begins to chuckle quietly, pulling me to his chest and kissing my hair. The feel of his lips against me have me releasing a sigh of contentment as he begins singing along quietly with the radio.

In no time at all, I drift off, happy to find he’s still with me as I begin to dream we’re on the roof together, gazing at the stars.

***

“Addison Savannah!”

The sound of my dad’s voice, stained with a mix of shock and anger pull me from my perfect slumber. As I begin to blink my eyes open, I move just enough to feel Zeke’s hand planted between my thighs, causing me to let out a string of profanity in my head.

My father’s about to murder me. I never thought it would end this way.

“Get up,” he grumbles, his voice holding more agitation than it did a few seconds ago. “Right now.”

“Come on, babe,” Zeke whispers in a voice low enough that only I can hear him, frozen in place.

Why the hell isn’t he moving his hand?

“Addie,” he continues, his voice louder.

“Move your freaking hand!” I hiss, my voice coming out in a groan.

“Yes,” my dad interjects. “Please do, son.”

As we slowly untangle from each other, I keep my eyes from my dad’s in complete mortification.

Oh my God, this is going to be horrendous.

“The two of you have exactly ten seconds to get your asses downstairs and on the couch.”

“Yes s-”

“Don’t speak, Addison,” he cuts me off. “Just get your ass downstairs.
Now
.”

As he leaves, we slowly stand, unable to take my eyes from his large frame as he makes his way down the stairs in a huff. When I let out a low groan, Zeke places his hands on my shoulders, squeezing gently in an attempt to comfort me. Before I know what I’m doing, I smack him sharply in the chest.

“Why the hell didn’t you move your hand?” I ask in a panic.

“I don’t know,” he admits in a sharp whisper, shaking his head. “I fucking panicked!”

“So you just left it there?” I balk at him in disbelief.

“I’m sorry,” he says, raking his hands over his face.

He’s about to continue when he’s cut off by my father’s voice, counting in a shout from downstairs.

“I don’t hear any feet on those stairs!” he calls.

“Oh my God… He’s gonna kill us when we get downstairs,” I start, facing him. “You know that, right? This is the end of the freakin’ line for both of us, Zeke.”

“Yeah,” he sighs, pushing the hair away from my face as he finds my eyes, giving me a small smile. “Totally worth it,” he whispers, kissing me gently and taking my hand. “Come on.”

Zeke

After sitting on the couch opposite him for a solid two minutes with no words, the nerves set in. Addie’s dad has never been a big talker, but he’s always been a fan of blinking. I can’t be sure, but I don’t think he’s done that since we sat down.

“One thing,” he starts, his voice loud enough to make Addie jump beside me. “I asked one thing of you and you went and did it anyway,” he says, shaking his head. “I mean, you could have drank, smoked, stolen a car, shot a guy… You sat right here and gave me your word and the
one thing
I asked you to not do, you did it.”

“I’m sor-”

“Hush,” he cuts her off before facing me. “And you. Zeke, you told me twice, son... Were you at least safe?” he asks, both of us unsure if we’re allowed to answer until he breaks the silence again. “Answer me!”

“Yes,” we both answer in unison, making him shake his head.

“What are you going to do if you get pregnant, Addison?” he starts. “You’re about to start college, you worked your ass off to get there and you might be throwing it all away now.”

“Dad…”

“You can’t possibly imagine how hard it would be to go to school and raise a child,” he cuts her off. “And you’d be by yourself, you know that, don’t you?”

“Daddy…”

“No, you need to wake up, kitten. He’s leaving,” he continues, his voice lower to show the concern in his voice but stern enough to have her looking pitiful. “I know you love him, but you need to act smarter than what you are right now.”

“She wouldn’t be alone,” I cut him off, unable to take the look in her eyes. “Listen, I know you’re pissed, but don’t attack her. Blame me if you’re going to blame anyone.”

“Oh your time’s comin’,” he promises me, raising his eyebrow. “But I’m talking to my daughter right now, son. You need to just sit your ass there and keep quiet.”

He’s about to continue when his cell phone begins to sound off on the coffee table. He looks down at the number and lets out a nervous sigh before setting it back down.

“You might want to answer that,” I tell him, holding his eyes. “I’m sure you don’t want anyone else stopping by unannounced.”

“What?” he asks, studying my face carefully. I say nothing, silently holding his eyes until his face begins to shift into understanding. “Stay right here,” he manages, flipping the phone open and walking to the door.

When I hear the door click shut, I glance over to meet her eyes. Her normally upbeat demeanor is anything but and it’s killing me.

“What was that about?” she starts and I shake my head, diverting her attention.