Heavy Heart

Chapter 13

I cracked the eggs into the pan and flipped them over-easy. I had no idea how Zack liked his eggs but I liked mine over-easy so I just made him the same thing. The bacon was crispy, I nibbled on a piece as I finished off our breakfasts. Zack shuffled out of my bathroom towel drying his hair. He was only in his boxer shorts which made me chuckle, "Come on and eat before it gets cold. Do you want coffee?"

He nodded and came up next to me at the table. I ushered him to a seat and put two eggs on the plate in front of him. Zack smiled up at me, "Wow, this is awesome. Thanks Layla." I smiled softly at him as I took two mugs from the cupboard and filled them with coffee. I set one down in front of Zack while I crossed the table to take my seat. We ate in quiet contemplation, stealing glances at each other now and then. Mr. Fuzz demanded bacon from us, which was hilarious.

When we finished our breakfast Zack's eyes met mine, "What are you doing today?" I glanced at the clock; it read 9:33am. I sighed, "Well, I should probably get some groceries today for the week. Then I will do some laundry and clean the litter box. Mr. Fuzz will not be happy with me if I don't clean it out."

He chuckled as he wiped his plate with the last bits of toast. I always found it interesting when men did that, as a way to clean the plate before washing it. My father had done that as well, the simple gesture tugged at my heartstring a little. As I sipped my coffee I asked, "So how come you got so tanked last night?"

Zack looked down at the table, avoiding my eyes. He cleared his throat awkwardly and ran his hands through his hair, "I don't know. I hadn't planned on it. I just started drinking with Brock, he kept buying shots and... I don't know... I guess I just lost track of how much I had." I nodded and finished my cup of coffee. As I stood up to get another cup I mumbled, "You know, if you drank too much because you were sad about yesterday morning we can talk about it."

He sighed, "What's there to talk about? You kicked me out, you don't want anything more. It's fine." I shook my head, "If it was fine, you wouldn't have mentioned it so many times last night when you were drunk."

"You don't owe me an explanation, Layla. I know you don't want anything serious from me." he told me. Zack's voice came out unsteady, almost shy. I cleared my throat as I filled up my mug, "I didn't want to hurt you. It's not personal, you know. I just don't date seriously, I never really have. Relationships make me uneasy."

Zack looked up to meet my eyes as I sat down across from him, "Have you ever been in a relationship?" I shook my head, blushing slightly. I was twenty-six and I'd never been in a serious relationship. He smiled at me, "I haven't really either. The longest I've dated anyone was a year and that was not a very good experience. It was only really good for the first six months."

I chuckled, "I know it seems weird that I haven't had any serious relationships but it's not because I haven't been asked. It's more because I just didn't have time for someone in a serious way." He rolled his eyes, "I get it. I really do. We can be friends, Layla."

As I tucked my hair behind my ears and felt a small tingle in my stomach, "I do like spending time with you, Zack." His eyes shot to mine, a smile crept across his lips, "I like you, Layla."

"Maybe we could hang out sometimes. No labels, no rules, no commitments. Nothing serious, but just two adults having some fun." I suggested. Zack sat back in his chair and smirked, "I'm suddenly very aware that I am in my underwear right now."

I looked away and laughed. He crossed his arms over his chest and grinned at me, "So you want to have a friends with benefits thing? Is that what you are suggesting?" I met Zack's eyes with a smirk, "We could if you are interested. We could work something out."

Zack stood up to refill his mug. He added sugar and stirred his coffee. He leaned back against my countertop and sipped his coffee, "Do you have arrangements with anyone else?" I shook my head. He smiled, "Ok. If we are doing this we need some ground rules."

"Well, for starters we don't advertise it. We keep things quiet between us." I told him. Zack frowned for a moment, "So we deny that we spend time together?"

I shook my head, "No, we can hang out in public together, we just don't advertise that we are together." He shrugged, "Alright. That's fine. I want to spend time with you regularly, two or three nights a week." I nodded, "That's reasonable."

"No labels. That's not optional." I said sternly. Zack chuckled and rolled his eyes, "Yes you have been very clear about that. No labels. However, I want to be exclusive. Just the two of us." I shook my head, "No, Zack, I'm not willing to offer that. Sorry."

He groaned and rubbed the back of his neck, annoyed, "Fine, but if either of us is seeing someone else we have to talk about it. Deal?" I smiled softly and nodded.

I stood up and crossed the kitchen to stand in front of him, I pulled his hands from behind his neck and wrapped them around my waist. Zack smiled at me as I wrapped my arms around his shoulders. He asked with a cocky grin, "What about sex?"

I bit my lower lip and whispered, "I'm technically a virgin, but I'm not opposed to changing that if the time is right. However, I would prefer to start out slow and work our way there." He nodded, "I agree. I don't want to rush anything either."

Zack leaned forward and kissed my lips softly, he squeezed my hips slightly. I returned his kiss and ran my hand through his soft dark hair. I savored his flavor as we explored each other's mouths. I moaned slightly which seemed to spear him on. He pulled away for a moment to whisper in my ear, "God you are so sexy, Layla." I pulled his face back into another kiss.

When we finally broke apart we were both panting. I smiled at Zack, "You are a really good kisser, you know." He nodded and smiled, "One more request, I want to call you baby." I scrunched up my nose at him, which caused Zack to chuckle, "Come on, Layla. It's a cute endearment. Just give me that."

"Fine. You can call me baby. I'll try to come up with something to call you." I teased. He nodded, "Good, you can call me pretty much anything, baby." I kissed his cheek and nodded. I wasn't sure what we had just started, but it felt like something interesting.