Forbidden Love: Fate (Zac and Ivy Trilogy Book 1) (19 page)

Ashley, who can’t seem to contain her
excitement with this news, pounds Zac again with her hypothesis.
“So what you’re saying is you don’t have a girlfriend yet. And you
were looking at us to decide which girl you would like to be your
future girlfriend.”

“Oh my God, Zac’s future girlfriend might be
one of us,” Carina screeches in my ears, dancing around happily in
her seat. She must think I’m invisible, because she doesn’t care at
all when her elbow keeps on jabbing into my side. This makes me
really mad. I glare at her, but all she does is ignore me and turn
to speak to Zac instead.

“Zac, tell us. What type of girl do you
like?”

“Mmmm. Let’s see.” I hear Zac tapping his
steering wheel. “I don’t know. Better ask Ivy. She would know what
type of girl I like.”

I jump. I didn’t expect that. The girls turn
to me, as if finally realizing I actually exist.

All their eyes are focused on me, including
Zac’s via the rearview mirror. I’m not used to getting all this
attention. I’m not sure why they included me in their conversation
anyway. So instead of answering them, I just make my presence
known.

“Yes,” I say to Zac.

“Tell the girls here what kind of girls I’m
into,” he repeats.

“I don’t know.” I tell them the truth.

“Ivy, I think you do know what type of girl
I like. Tell them.”

I gape at him. “I told you I don’t know. Ask
yourself.”

Seriously, he’s asking me what type of girl
he likes? It’s not like we’ve been friends that long. It’s only
been a week.

“Zac, tell me. Otherwise, I can’t sleep. I
can’t eat and I can’t think,” Ashley says.

Wait. That sounds like the lyrics of Zac’s
new song. By now my interest is piqued once again.

“Look, I’m sorry my eyes kept glancing at
you girls, but it’s seriously not any of you. Don’t feel bad. It’s
just a song I practiced. I want to sing it to this girl when she
becomes my girlfriend.”

“Still. I’ll wait to see who this particular
girl is,” Ashley comments. “And then I’ll cry my heart out.”

“I’m sorry.” Zac chuckles, then gazes at me
again. Why is he staring at me so much? Even when he was singing
that song, he was staring in my direction.

“Ivy?”

I glare at him. What now? Why is he so
persistent? It’s none of my concern if he chooses one of them to be
his girlfriend.

“You okay?”

“I’m fine,” I say, turning my face from the
rearview mirror.

Zac only shakes his head and gives another
of his dashing smiles. The rest of the ride goes smoothly, with the
girls changing subjects to what type of coffee they’re going to buy
when they reach Little Café.

When we arrive, I’m thankful I’m reunited
with Mandy. We go to a little booth and sit ourselves down. Not a
minute later, a guy with a red beanie and a Polaroid camera in his
hand walks to our table. I look up at him with a questioning
gaze.

“So you’re Ivy?” He speaks to me in his
Australian twang.

I remember him playing on the electric
guitar when Zac was performing his song. I conclude that he’s one
of Zac’s band mates.

“Yes,” I reply.

“Mmmm. Not bad,” he mutters to himself, then
sits down across the table from us.

I don’t understand what he’s referring to.
Is it my lack of clothing style? Compared to Ashley, Carina, and
Stacy, I’m like a country bumpkin sitting among the city chicks,
what with my purple cardigan and my deep-blue jeans and
sneakers.

I’m about to ask for clarification when Zac
comes and interrupts me.

“Hey, Loki, why are you crowding over my new
friend?”

“Friend?” Loki asks curiously.

“Of course they’re friends.” An Asian guy
comes out of nowhere and hogs Zac on the back, which makes Zac swat
him on the shoulder. The Asian guy whines but then chuckles at
me.

“Hello, Ivy.” He takes out his hand for a
shake and smiles at me. “I’m Kai. I happen to be this guy’s best
bud, so if you want to know any of his secrets, just ask me. And
for the record”—Kai leans closer to me—“he cries like a baby.”

“Get off it,” Zac says shyly, shoving his
friend roughly to the side until he’s now sitting next to me.
“Don’t believe him, Ivy. I don’t have any secrets, and I don’t cry
like a baby.”

I only shake my head at their display. The
way they interact, they look very close.

While Zac, Kai, and the one named Loki
converse with each other across the table, I notice another of
their band mates isn’t joining them. He somehow appeared to sit at
the head of our booth without me noticing.

I look at him. He doesn’t talk. He only
drinks his coffee. Then in a flash, his eyes catch mine, and I
flick mine to stare at the empty table in front of me.

When I look up again, he’s still staring at
me. His face is serious and stoic like. It’s as if he’s
contemplating why Zac has chosen me to be his friend.

I get quite nervous when people stare at me
like that, so I look down again. Mandy comes to my rescue and asks
him what his deal is.

Zac just chuckles. “Don’t mind Trey. He’s
the observant one.”

The three girls following Zac like little
cocky hens after a handsome roster come and sit at our table too.
They all gather around him, pushing me even farther into the
corner.

I watch Ashley, Carina, and Stacy as they
pluck some cream and give it to Zac to eat. He looks at me and only
opens his mouth wide.

Disgusting. What is wrong with him? Why is
he acting so intimate with them if he doesn’t like them?

I turn my eyes from them, and they land on
Loki.

“Smile,” Loki says, and before I can even
prepare myself, a flash blinds my vision. As I blink away the
spots, he hands me the picture.

“Let’s see.” Zac takes the picture from my
hand and looks at it before I even have a chance. That Zac, why is
he being like this? He even smirks at me and says, “You look funny,
Ivy.”

I want to take a look at my own picture, but
Zac pockets it. I make a scolding face. I want to ask him why he
took my photo, but I can’t get his attention now that he’s gone
back to talk to the hens.

After some time, the mood of the café takes
on a playful tone. Right now, I’m surrounded by my own clan. I find
myself sitting next to Kai, who’s talking to me a mile per minute.
My friend Mandy, who was sitting to my right before, is now sitting
on the other side, busy gobbling at her carrot cake. Loki sits next
to Kai, playing with his camera. Zac and his hens are on the other
side of the table, facing me. At the end of the table is Trey, who
still continues to stare at me in his own weird way once in a
while.

“Aren’t you eating anything, Ivy?” Zac asks
out of the blue.

I shake my head. It’s not that I’m not
hungry, but I’m trying to save money for more important things,
like going to university or buying Zac that shirt I owe him.

Zac, as if noticing my dilemma, shouts to
everyone that whatever we want is his treat today. The hens screech
like parrots now, including Mandy. I shake my head, content enough
to just wait for them to finish their snacks before Zac can take me
home.

When Zac looks at me again, he shakes his
head and clicks his tongue while looking at my space on the table,
which lacks any food or drinks like the others. Zac gets up
abruptly, leaving the hens dumbfounded for a bit, disappearing off
to somewhere. I don’t pay him any attention. All I’m thinking is
how long it will be before I can go home.

A few minutes pass by as I continue to
listen to everyone’s conversation. Then all of a sudden, a glass of
ice chocolate is placed in my view, accompanied by little éclairs
and bacon and egg pie. Zac also leaves a fork and a knife on either
side of the plate. I stare at the food in front of me, mouth
watering.

“Eat it,” he says. I turn my eyes to him,
and he catches them. We both stare at each other. I try to tell him
with my eyes that it’s not necessary to buy them for me. But he
doesn’t seem to understand my body language.

I’m about to speak out loud when he invades
my personal space, pushing past Mandy. He leans in close—very, very
close to me, right in front of everyone. He only stops when his
nose is almost touching my cheek, then whispers into my ear, “It’s
not polite to refuse your friend’s offering. So eat it.” With that
said, he goes back to his seat, staring at me from across the
table.

I turn my eyes to look at him again, unsure
of whether I should take his offer. My stomach tells me to go for
it, but my mind is resistant. Now I owe him for this glass of ice
chocolate, éclairs, and the bacon and egg pie. I haven’t even paid
him for the shirt I destroyed at the hospital last week.

Zac only nods at me, his eyes indicating to
eat the food. Without further prompting, my body takes charge and I
find myself gobbling down the food in an instant.

After some time, I become quite conscious of
the many pairs of eyes staring in my direction. I pull back and
look at what is left on my plate.

Was I really that hungry? I can’t believe I
almost finished everything on my plate.

I burn bright red. Again, I lost myself to
the world of great food.
But those éclairs and bacon and egg pie
are just too divine.
If I had no audience in front of me right
now, I would even lick my fingers.

Zac only chuckles as he watches my reaction.
“You know, if I had a girlfriend, I would look for someone like
you, Ivy, someone with a healthy appetite, not some skinny one
who’s afraid to eat.”

I’m busy sucking the ice chocolate, but
hearing the word girlfriend and my name in one sentence, I
literally choke midway.

It’s a very messy sight. And I’m embarrassed
that everyone ends up witnessing it. Even Zac, of all people. I
think I’m about to have a heart attack.

Did he really say he wants me as his
girlfriend?
Don’t be silly, Ivy.
Zac said he wants
someone
like
me. I’m only an example.

“Ivy, are you okay?” Mandy rubs my back. I
can only blink at her.

“I’m fine,” I finally manage to say. Then I
give Zac an icy glare. What is he implying, saying things like
that? He’s making me lose my equilibrium.

Zac doesn’t mind my icy ray beaming at him.
He looks content, with one hand supporting his chin, smiling at me
in his own teasing way, like he’s having so much fun seeing my
disheveled state.

Suddenly, I notice the screeching parrots
are gone. And when I look around, all the girls who were
surrounding Zac before are now lining up to buy more food.

Are they for real? Just because Zac points
out they’re too skinny for his taste, they all go to buy more food.
Well, so be it. To show I’m upset by the whole event, I decide to
stop eating too.

All the girls come back with cheesecake and
éclairs and start gorging on their delicacies like there’s no
tomorrow. The guys from Zac’s band, Trey, Loki, and Kai, are all
laughing at the sight of the girls with cream all over their faces.
Mandy and I want to laugh too, but that is just being impolite, so
we refrain ourselves.

After a fun adventure of hanging out with
Zac’s entourage, I’m finally relieved that our outing has finished
and we are now heading home. But in my whole life, I did not
anticipate Zac dragging me into his car, leaving his entourage
behind. I did not anticipate seeing Mandy with her mouth gaping
open or seeing Zac’s band or the hens as they stare at me with wide
eyes.

But that is exactly what happens when Zac
says, “Let’s go, Ivy. You’re coming with me. Everyone else, find
your own way home.”

CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN

ZAC

Friendship Gifts and Subtle Hints

“Don’t you think Ashley is cute?” I tease
Ivy while my eyes are on the road. When I don’t hear a reply, I
flick my gaze to her.

Ivy has her arms folded tightly across her
chest. She looks seriously pissed off. Her face scrunches up like
she’s just eaten something sour. Even with that face, she still
looks so cute.

Is she still mad at me for teasing her? Or…
can she really be jealous?

Maybe. The more I think about it, the more
it’s likely possible. Ashley did never stop hovering around me at
Little Café.

Mmmm. I really want to know for sure. So I
test Ivy again.

“Come on. Tell me, my dear friend. Do you
think Ashley is cute?” I ask in my sweet, teasing voice.

“Why do you want to hear my opinion so
much?” She berates at me.

“Because I want to see what my new friend
thinks. If she were my girlfriend, would you approve? Then again,
Carina is pretty cute too. Who do you like best? Who do you think
suits me more? Carina or Ashley?”

“Stop asking me,” she snaps. “Do you enjoy
seeing me riled up?”

“Riled up?” I ask in my fake innocent voice.
“What do you mean? I don’t understand.”

“I don’t enjoy talking about Carina or
Ashley.”

“Why?” I ask, smirking. Ivy looks like she’s
pouting. When she doesn’t reply, I chuckle again, then ask her the
ultimate question. “Is it because you’re jealous?”

“Jealous?” she scoffs, her voice like a
dragon breathing fire. “Why would I be jealous? You can like
whomever you like. It doesn’t concern me. You should ask yourself
who you like, not me. It’s just… I don’t like talking about them.
That’s all.”

“Really?” I probe again. “Are you sure it’s
not because you’re jealous?”

“Yes.” Then she gives another huff and turns
away.

My heart warms. Ivy is so riled up by this
conversation that I know she must be jealous. And it’s all because
of the subject of my future girlfriend.

My cute little Juliet. She’s so smart when
it comes to everything else, but when it comes to the matter of
love, she just doesn’t have a clue.