Ugh!
"No one—I mean, nothing! Nothing at all, is what I meant. How are you? Shouldn't you be on a plane right now?"
"Actually..." Mom laughs. "That's why I'm calling—"
"Delayed, huh?" I interrupt, distracted by my efforts in trying to get completely dressed. I cannot talk to her half-naked like this. I feel so dirty.
"No, no! Actually, the opposite. Bill got called in early for the Starpoint project. I thought I'd surprise you—we're on our way to Jane's right now!"
"Holy shit!" I shriek. "That's...awesome."
"I know," Mom says excitedly. "I can't wait to see you! We'll be there in ten minutes."
Crap! "Uh, wait! I'm not really...there at Jane's. Physically, I mean." I think furiously. "What I mean is, I'm at Lauren's."
"Oh, okay," she says, and I can hear the puzzlement in her voice at my weirdness. "Bill, go to my old apartments instead," I hear her call.
"No, wait!" I blurt. "I'm actually spending the night. Lauren is—she's really upset. She, uh, she just found out she has a secret half-brother."
What?
There is a long pause at my mom's end. "Really? Wow, that's...unexpected."
Right now I'm smacking myself in my fool head. "Yeah, crazy, right? Um, I better go—she's throwing stuff right now. So I'll call you tomorrow, okay? Bye, now!"
"Oh, my God! Oh, my God!"
Zane ambles back into the kitchen, and watches as I run around in panicked circles. "What's going on?" he asks, amused.
I shoot him a frantic look. "Our parents are back! My mom thinks I'm at Lauren's, so—I've got to get over there, like, right now!"
"Shit," he mutters, rubbing his hands over his face. "That's awesome timing."
"I know!"
I dash into my bedroom and grab a shirt from my bag. I somehow manage to get stuck in the shirt—oh, that's an armhole I'm trying to poke my head through! I finally manage to right myself, only to turn and find Zane in the doorway, eating an apple, and watching me with what better not be enjoyment.
“Would it be so bad if your mom found out about us?” he asks, leaning an elbow against the door jamb.
“Yup,” I reply swiftly. “My mom’s cool, but not that cool. Besides, she’s already warned me about you.”
“Really? What did she say?”
I unplug my phone charger from the outlet next to my bed and stuff it into my purse. “She said not to fall for you, because you would only break my heart,” I finally answer.
“Huh.” He takes another bite of his apple.
I grab my bags and my purse and push past him. I make it a couple of steps when he grabs me from behind and swings me around to face him.
“Wha—?” I start to say.
Zane pulls me to him, and our lips meet with a violence that sends my senses spinning out of control. I drop my things and wrap my arms around him, meeting his intensity with a fire of my own.
He’s the first to draw away. I’m ridiculously pleased to see that his eyes are slightly unfocused and he’s breathing hard.
“Your mom is right,” he says, almost under his breath. He grabs my bags like they weigh nothing and walks toward the front door.
Dazed, I pick up my purse and trail after him.
I am so afraid that I’m going to run into Mom and Bill as I leave the house that I almost drive off the side of the road—twice! On the way, I quickly text Lauren to let her know what’s going on. Like a true best friend, she promises to have snacks waiting when I get there.
Luckily, she answers the door when I knock. She looks me up and down and bursts out laughing.
“I know!” I say, handing her my purse. She takes it and gestures me into the apartment.
“You look like the aftermath of a hurricane,” she says, still snickering as she leads the way to her bedroom.
I look around cautiously. The twins’ side of the room is a disaster area. They could both be hiding under the mounds of clothes tossed everywhere, and I would never know until they popped their little red heads out and shouted, “Boo!”
Lauren sees my look, and smiles. “Don’t worry,” she says, placing my purse on top of her ruthlessly organized desk. “They’re at a sleepover tonight.”
“Fantastic.” I sigh and plop down onto her bed. I give in to another compulsion to check my phone for any text messages from Zane that I might have missed on the drive here.
There’s nothing. I left him fifteen minutes ago. Why would he text me? I’m dumb.
“So, why are you wearing a Sponge Bob shirt?” Lauren wants to know. “What happened to the new one you had on earlier?”