Right Girl (7 page)

“Take
it. Take all of me, baby. I’m all yours.”

His
words are my undoing as I give into the undeniable temptation. We come
together, both of us biting, scratching, clawing and grabbing one another.

I
collapse onto the bed beside him, trying to catch my breath. I figure I’ll be
covered in bruises tomorrow from the nature of our afternoon session but no
longer care. I wanted Zack to mark me, needing him to show me just how much I mean
to him before he leaves me to meet up with Rachel.

“You
best get going.” I advise him, glancing at the clock beside our bed.

It’s
been half an hour since we fell asleep in each other’s arms and I’m thankful I
woke up when I did or Zack might have missed out on seeing Amber altogether.

“Shit,
what time is it?” He asks, jumping up out of bed.

“Don’t
worry, you’re not running late.” I assure him, watching him get ready.

“Thank
God.”

“But
you should probably take a shower before you go.” I remind him, raking my
fingers through my tussled hair.

“Why?”

“Because
you smell of me.”

He
grabs his shirt and inhales deeply before he carries on getting dressed.

“Good.
I don’t mind.”

“Zack,
you can’t want Rachel to know what we just did before you meet up with her.”

The
thought of my sister finding out we just had sex is inconceivable. It would
crush her and despite the fact that she hates me, I still love her. I can’t
hurt her again and will do anything in my power to protect her if I can.

“I
really don’t care if she can tell I just made love to you. You and I are
together now… she needs to accept that.”

“It
still seems insensitive.” I murmur, feeling somewhat uncomfortable.

“Just
trust me, ok? I don’t have time to take a shower and she won’t know anything
about what we’ve just done. I promise you.”

“Ok.”
I acquiesce, realising he won’t change his mind about this.

“So
what are your plans for the rest of today?” He enquires, buttoning up his shit
before putting his shoes back on.

“Nothing
much. I might just curl up with a new book this afternoon.”

“How
about I take you out to dinner tonight? Somewhere nice so I can make things up
to you for last night.”

“You
really don’t have to.”

“I
want
to.” He insists, taking a seat on the bed beside me.

“Then
you got yourself a deal.” I say, smiling weakly.

“Do
you want my credit card so you can go shopping while I’m out?”

“But
I went into town yesterday.” I point out, remembering the disastrous afternoon
I had the day before.

“It’s
not like you actually got to enjoy yourself though, is it? You were far too traumatised
after seeing Rachel and…
him
”

His
jaw is clenched and so are his fists from thinking about my uncle. I appreciate
how protective he is but hate to see him get so worked up and angry.

“Is
that your answer for everything?” I joke, eager to change the subject. “For me
to shopping?”

“I
just want to spoil you.” He chuckles, tucking my hair back behind my ear.

“I’m
not interested in your money, Zack.”

“Fair
enough.” He sighs, standing up so he can finish dressing. “I see its pointless
trying to persuade you. However, I’m going to leave my card right here for you in
case you change your mind.”

“Thank
you.”

“No
need to thank me. What’s mine is yours, remember?”

“Good
luck.” I say, standing at the front door with him a few minutes later.

“Thanks.”
He replies, placing a kiss on the centre of my forehead. “I wish you were
coming with me.”

“Me
too.” I lie, hoping he can’t see right through me.

“I’ll
be back soon, ok?”

“Don’t
rush.”

“I
love you.” He says, turning back when he’s half way down the corridor.

“I
love you too.” I reply, closing the front door behind him.

Chapter Eight

I
can’t settle once Zack has left, pacing up and down our apartment while I
figure out what to do in his absence.

I
can’t get the thought of them out of my mind, picturing the three of them
together in the park. It makes my chest hurt and my heart ache when I think
about it and try to distract myself by putting on the TV.

I
always want to watch an old movie when I’m feeling like this, something I’ve
seen before which I know the ending to. Deciding to pick one out, I search
through our collection of DVD’s and choose one I’ve seen a thousand times.

Braveheart.

The
Mel Gibson movie is a favourite of mine. It’s one I used to watch with my
friend Jason and a part of me isn’t sure I should even watch it again now.

It
doesn’t take me long to make my decision. Half an hour later, I’m curled up on
the sofa with a cup of coffee and the TV remote by my side. Memories triggered
by the movie and my old friendship with Jason cause me to reach for the
birthday card I received from him the day before, reading the heartfelt message
he wrote inside it.

Dear,
Sam…

I
know this birthday card will come as a bit of a shock to you. To be honest, I’m
surprised at myself for sending it. I know it’s been months since we last spoke
and I know you have a new life now with Zack. A life you are no doubt happy
with. I also know it’s not fair of me to send this now and the reason behind it
is purely selfish. You see, the truth is… I miss you. I miss you so much that
it hurts. You were my best friend. I still think of you as my best friend even
though we’ve been apart for months. I long to speak to you and for us to
reconcile what went wrong between us. I take full responsibility for what
happened and all I can say is… I’m sorry. I apologise for everything I ever did
that hurt you and I’m sorry for the lies I told you about Zack and Rachel. I
thought you would turn to me for support if you thought they were back together
and even though the reasons behind my lie are beyond pathetic, I hope you can
find it in your heart to forgive me. I love you and I miss you, Sam. I don’t
want to lose my best friend forever and this is why I’ve chosen to reach out to
you now. I hope you have a wonderful birthday and get everything you want. I’m
always here for you, Sam. Please call me. I’ll meet you anytime, anywhere. I
mean it. I want this to be a fresh start for us.

Love
always, Jason. X

Zack
was furious when he read the note, wondering why hell he would contact me again
after several months of silence. I guess I’m curious as well and can’t stop myself
when I reach for my phone, dialling the number which Jason provided in my
birthday card.

“Hello?”
He says, answering my call straight away.

“Jason,
it’s me.”

There’s
a prolonged silence before he responds, his voice trembling slightly.

“Samantha?”
He asks, sounding incredulous. “I can’t believe it’s really you.”

“You
did
send me a birthday card.”

“I
know but I didn’t think I’d actually hear back from you.”

“We
were friends a long time before… before everything that happened.”  I point
out, thinking about our friendship. “I just want you to know that I don’t hold
grudges. I don’t want to stay bitter and think we should move forward.”

“Wow…
I’m so pleased you feel that way, I really am.” He exhales deeply, obviously
relieved that I chose to get in touch.

“So…
how’s things?”

We
end up talking on the phone for a couple of hours, catching up on the past few
months we’ve spent apart as well as the usual chit chat.

I
can’t believe I was actually nervous when it came to picking up the phone.
Jason used to be the one person I could confide in and now he’s a complete
stranger. I regret taking a step back from him and hope we can rebuild our
friendship one step at a time.

It
would be so easy for me to hold onto the resentment I once felt towards Jason.
He
was the one who lied to me several months ago, convincing me that Zack and my
sister had rekindled their relationship once I left town. He lied and said they
had moved back to London so they could raise their baby together and I was
naïve enough to fall for it.

It
wasn’t until Zack tracked me down five months ago that I found out the truth.
He hadn’t even tried to sort things out with Rachel and still believed my
sister had ended her pregnancy. He had no idea she decided to go through with
it and that’s the only reason he let her move back down to London.

What
Jason did was wrong but who am I to judge him? It’s not as though I’m perfect,
making so many mistakes these past few months. I understand that Rachel will
never forgive me for what I did with Zack but the least I can do is forgive
Jason. In his own screwed up way, he thought he was doing what was best for me
and I can’t blame him for doing that.

I
must have fallen asleep on the sofa because it’s gone nine o’clock when I next
check the time. My first thought is
where the hell is Zack?
He left six
hours before and I haven’t heard from him since.

Reaching
for my phone, I begin to dial his number. However, I change my mind and hang up
the phone before it starts to ring.

He’s
with his daughter and I should respect that. I’m sure Zack doesn’t want me to
intrude on his time with her and the last thing I want to do is cause problems
with him and Rachel.

I
decide to check my messages and find several which are waiting for me from him.
He must have sent them when I was asleep and they’re all pretty much the same.
He’s been checking up on me since he left, asking if I’m ok and if I decided to
go shopping after all. He’s sent a couple during the last hour, letting me know
he’s ok and apologising for being so late.

I’m
just about to respond to his latest message when the front door opens and Zack
walks in, startled to find me sprawled out on the sofa.

“Are
you ok?” He asks, kneeling down in front of me. “I’ve been texting you all
afternoon.”

“I
fell asleep, I’m sorry.”

“
I’m
the one who’s sorry.” He apologises, kissing my lips gently. “I’m sorry for
being so late back.”

“Don’t
worry about it. I told you not to rush back.”

“That
doesn’t mean I didn’t miss you.” He tells me, smiling warmly.

“Oh,
really?”

“Really.”
He says, eyes sparkling with mischief.

“So
how was she?” I enquire, realising we have to talk about it sooner or later.

“God,
Samantha… she’s perfect. She’s absolutely perfect.” He gushes, taking a seat
beside me. “I made sure I got a picture of her too, do you want to see?”

“Sure.”

I
try to sound enthusiastic, hoping it’s enough to convince him. The last thing I
want to look at is a photo of the baby he shares with my sister. However, it’s
not as though I can just blurt that out and refuse to see a picture of her.

“She
really is gorgeous.” I congratulate him, gazing down at the sleeping baby on
his phone.

“So
are you.” He adds, putting his phone down. “Gorgeous, I mean.”

“I’m
not sure about that.” I joke, feeling my cheeks turning crimson.

“You’re
perfect.” He whispers, watching me intently.

“I’m
officially blushing.” I laugh, covering my face with my hands.

I’ve
never been great at taking compliments and don’t think I’ll ever get used to
Zack giving me so many of them.

“Ok,
I’ll stop.” He concedes, making his way into the kitchen so he can grab a beer
from the fridge. “What have you been up to since I went out?”

I
hesitate, wondering if I should say anything to him. I know he won’t be happy
when I tell him I’ve been in touch with Jason but I can’t lie to him either.

“Zack,
I don’t want to keep this a secret or anything so that’s why I’m going to be
honest with you.”

“What
is it?” He prompts me, sitting back down on the sofa.

“I
called Jason this afternoon.”

“You
did
what
?”

“Please
don’t get mad at me, ok? It was my decision to make and all I did was reach out
to my friend.”

“After
everything that son of a bitch did to us?” He challenges me, leaping up onto
his feet. “He kept us apart for months!”

“Zack,
he didn’t force me to run away from you and he knows that lying about you and
Rachel being together was wrong.”

“I
don’t give a shit if he’s sorry. I don’t want you speaking to him again.”

“You
can’t tell me what to do! Not when you’ve just spent the last six hours with
the mother of your child.”

“Damn
it, I
knew
this would happen! I knew it was a load of bull shit when you
told me that you were ok about this.”

“I’m
just saying that you have no right to be mad at me when you’re this late home
and spending time with the woman you used to be engaged to.” I argue, storming
into the kitchen so I can make a start on the washing up.

Doing
the dishes is the only household chore which helps me calm down. Whenever I’m
anxious or upset, angry and frustrated, the dishes always get cleaned. Zack
used to tease me about it but neither of us finds my silly ritual humorous
right now.

“The
only reason I’ll have anything to do with her is because of Amber. You already
know this, Sam.”

He
comes up behind me, taking me by surprise when his arms circle my waist.

“I
know you don’t have feelings for her.” I tell him, allowing my body to melt
against his touch. “Just like you know I don’t have those type of feelings for
Jason.”

He
sighs deeply, forcing me to turn around and face him.

“That
doesn’t mean I have to like you talking to him behind my back.”

“You
weren’t here but I didn’t go behind your back. I was up front and honest with
you the second you came through the front door. The only reason we’re having
this discussion right now is because I was honest with you.”

He
nods his head slowly, stroking the length of my jawline with his thumb.

“You’re
right.” He murmurs, lowering his mouth towards mine. “Forgive me?”

“There’s
nothing to forgive.” I whisper, pressing my lips against his.

I’m
lifted up and placed on the kitchen counter behind me, my legs spread wide so
Zack can fit between them.

“I
can make this up to you.” “I can make all of this go away.”

“Zack…”

“Don’t
say anything.” He begs me. “Please just let me do this.”

I
close my eyes and exhale slowly, surrendering myself to the exquisite
sensations building up inside of me.

I
realise this moment between us won’t last. We can shut the door on the outside
world by pretending that everything is fine but we can’t close the door on our
problems forever. The truth is… our troubles will still be waiting for us, no matter
how hard we try and avoid them.

We
can’t outrun them.

They
will always catch up with us in the end.