Fifteen minutes later, there ws a knock on my bedroom door. "Nora, can I come in? It's me, Zach."
I quickly dried the tears from my eyes and checked for mascara streaks. "Yeah, come in."
Zach walked into the room and gingerly sat beside me on the bed, as if I or the bed would break any minute. "What's goin on?"
"James saw Jess and Jesse at the mall together, kissing," I said in a shaky voice.
"You're joking with me, right?" Zach said, his face breaking out into a huge grin.
I shook my head. "*No,* I'm not."
"You're telling me this cuz you want me. Of course, that's it. You want me, don't you?"
"Zach! That's not it! James really did see them at the mall. I know he wouldn't lie about something like this."
"You sure?" His grin faded.
"Ask him yourself." I called James' name.
A few seconds later, James came in. "Yeah?"
"Tell us *exactly* what you saw at the mall," I said.
"Okay, I was walking throught the food court with Stacy and Chris and Tony when I saw this blond chick who looked a lot like Jessica and this guy who looked a lot like Jesse-"
"So they just looked a lot like Jess and Jesse?" Zach asked.
"No. They *were* Jesse and Jess. Jesse was wearing that freakish shirt that no one can find anywhere else with all those leaves on it. And Jess was wearing that weird pink hat she likes so much," James said.
"That hat was from me!" Zach exclaimed. "It was one of a kind."
"Yeah, well, she had it on. Anyway, then I saw them kiss for a really long time and then Jessica did that weirdo girly giggle thing you see only in the movies. And then I told Stacy and Chris and Tony I had to go," James concluded.
"Thanks James. You can go now," I said.
"Hey, don't I get to hear what your revenge is?" James asked.
"We'll keep you posted, bud. See ya," Zach said and shut the door behind James. "What *are* we gonna do?"
"Wait it out maybe. Or dump 'em rightnow, " I suggested.
"Actually, I've been thinking about breaking it off with Jess for awhile now. She's been so weird lately and I don't think I feel the same about her anymore," Zach said.
"Weird how?" I asked.
"She's been giving me some strange excuses. Like she has to stay home to help milk her cow. Now I know she doesn't have a cow." Zach smiled bitterly.
"Wow. And I thought Jesse's excuses were weird."
"How?"
"Well, he broke our date tonight because he has relatives over," I said.
"So?"
"So, his relatives have been over five times in the past three weeks and they live in Maine. That doesn't fit."
"I guess not," Zach agreed. "Tell me about the other stuff that's been goin on. Over the phone you told me everything's going wrong."
"Yeah. Well, my parents have been fighting over everything everyday. This morning, just before I called you, they were fighting over who had left the tub of margarine on the counter." I shook my head.
"A phase?" Zach offered.
"I hope so," I replied, fiddling with the tassles on my bedspread.
"I'm gonna break up with Jessinca tomorrow at school," Zach said.
"Good luck." I smiled wanly at him. "I think I'll just confront Jesse about it-see what he says."
"Do you want me to be there?" Zach offered.
"No, that's okay. But keep an eye on me for moral support," I said.
"Will do."
"Zach, you don't have to go yet, do you?" I asked.
"No, why?"
"I'm feeling kinda deserted right now," I replied. "The more I think about it, the more I feel like bursting into tears like I did on the phone."
I was so close to tears. My eyes were watering-okay, they were brimming with tears-and my voice was shaking. Zach's comforting arm came to rest on my shoulders.
"Go ahead and cry, Nora. You need to let it out," Zach said.
One last thought of Jesse and tears began to flow. Then both of Zach's arms were around me and my face was buried in his shoulder and I was crying my eyes out. We stayed like that for a long time with Zach's strong, comforting arms around me long after I had finished crying and my tears had dried.
"Did you mean what you said about me wanting you?" I asked.
"Kinda, yeah. *Do* you want me?"
I nodded. "Yeah. I do kinda want you. Do you want me?"
Zach nodded. "Definitely. I've wanted you for awhile, Nora."
"Seriously?"
He nodded. "I think I've wanted you since that party at my house at the beginning of summer."
"This isn't some pick up line you use on every girl is it?" I asked.
"Never," Zach vowed. Suddenly he was kissing me tenderly, making everything go away. Thoughts of Bo and Melanie fighting all the time, Jesse and Jessica were slowly going away and thoughts of Zach replaced them.
"This isn't wrong is it?" I asked. "You and me?"
"I hope not, cuz *this* is where I wanna be-with you," Zach said and kissed me softly, making Jesse wash away in my mind.
And then something happened. Something clicked and it made me want Zach even more. It made me want him to do things to me that no one had ever done before.
Zach pulled away. "Maybe we should stop."
"But I don't *want* you to stop," I blurted out.
"I don't wanna stop either, but I'm afraid that if we *don't* stop, we might end up doing something we'll both regret later," Zach said.
I nodded. "Okay."
Chapter 6 |
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