Heavy Heart

Chapter 18

Jackie and I decided to go to Lisa's together. I picked her up at 6:15pm. She was thrilled to be going out with friends. As she climbed into my car with her casserole she said, "I can't remember the last time I saw Lisa and Hannah. It's been so long."

I nodded as I pulled away from the curb, "Zack Trulley and Brock Hansen will be there as well. I'm not sure if anyone texted Sarah or not."

Her face formed a frown instantly at the mention of the men's names, "Why are they coming? Since when is Brock Hansen invited anywhere with us?" I sighed heavily, "He works with all of us at the factory and he's Zack's best friend."

She rolled her eyes, "I remember he used to call me 'chicken neck'. One time I was walking down the hallway with a diagram for my science class and he smacked it from underneath as he passed by. It fell out of my hands and broke; I had to ask for an extension to fix it!" I didn't see Jackie's eyes as she recalled the painful memory.

"Yeah I know, he had a couple nicknames for me as well. He's better than he used to be, Brock wants to repair the damage he's done." I told her. She shrugged, seeming unconvinced. I sighed slightly, happy that Jackie wouldn't be easily chased.

She glanced at me, "So what's up with you and Zack? I hear you two are together." I shrugged, "We are spending time together. He's a good guy, he likes me a lot."

"And do you like him?" Jackie asked. I didn't reply, instead I nodded, "I think he's pretty great. But we aren't rushing into any labels right now. We are just seeing where it goes."

As we pulled up to the house, Jackie said to me, "Layla, I've known you for a long time. I know you like to put a distance between yourself and love. Maybe it's time to rethink that?" I scowled at her, "Not yet." I opened my car door and climbed out, retrieving my potato salad from the backseat. She rolled her eyes at me as we walked toward Lisa's front door, "You can't fool me, I know you too well."

I clamped my hand over Jackie's mouth, "SShhh!" She just laughed out loud at me and slapped my hand away. We let ourselves into her house. Hannah was already there. The two of them were in the kitchen drinking beer.

"Jackie! Oh my God, girl, it's so great to see you!" Lisa shouted a little too loudly as she zipped across the room to wrap Jackie up in an embrace. Hannah chuckled and took the casserole so Jackie could return Lisa's hug. I followed Hannah into the kitchen where she offered me a beer.

"The guys aren't here yet?" I asked, trying to keep my voice casual. Hannah smirked at me, "Not yet." I shot her a small glare which only caused her to chuckle at me.

I sent Zack a text to let him know we were at Lisa's. He responded immediately, letting me know he was just getting into his truck. He arrived a few minutes later with Brock in tow. When he saw me, he crossed the kitchen and wrapped his arms around my shoulder, "Sorry I'm late baby, Brock had to change his shirt like three times."

Brock huffed as he followed Zack into the kitchen, "It wasn't three times!" I rolled my eyes. We heard laughter coming from upstairs, Hannah smiled, "I guess Lisa is showing Jackie the new colour she painted the bedroom."

I saw all the colour flow out of Brock's face as he swallowed hard, "Jackie is here? Really? Do I look ok?" He started to fuss with the front of his shirt, smoothing out invisible wrinkles and running his fingers nervously through his hair.

Hannah smiled at him, "Don't worry, Brock, you look fine." Her words didn't seem to soothe him though. As Lisa entered the kitchen, Jackie followed close behind. Brock's eyes rose to meet hers. Jackie's face immediately fell when she saw his face.

"Jackie right? It's nice to see you." Brock managed to choke out. He smiled wide at her, trying desperately hard to make a good impression. She crossed her arms over her chest as she spoke, "Hello Brock Hansen. I'm surprised you know my name." His face fell when she used his full name.

I nudged Zack, "Come on, let's get those steaks going." He kissed the top of my head, "Sounds good, baby. Will you help me?" I smiled at him and nodded. Lisa moved to the fridge and took out the steaks, "Alright, Zack you better not mess these up. Medium rare, nothing else will do!"

Zack let me go and took the large platter from Lisa's hands, "Yes mam. I will not let you down." Hannah chuckled, "Don't be so mean to the man, Lisa. You are just possessive of your grill." Lisa glared at our friend before turning back to Zack, "This is a test to see if you are actually good enough for our Layla. If you fail, then you will never be good enough for her."

"Excuse me, I believe that is my decision, not yours." I told her. Lisa shook her head, "Nope, it's ours. We need to make sure this guy is good enough for our best friend." Zack smirked, "It's ok baby, I don't mind working for your friend's blessing."

I rolled my eyes but couldn't stop a gentle smile from crossing my lips. I followed Zack outside to the grill. He set the steaks down on the table and fired it up. He whispered to me, "I think I may just win your friends over tonight."

"Good for you. Now you just have to win me over." I teased. He turned to me and pulled my hip so my body was flush with his, "Trust me, Layla, I'm working on it." Zack's face was so close to mine, his warm breath fanned my face. I stared into his eyes, I could tell he wanted to say more but before he could I brushed my lips against his.

Zack's hand came up to cup the side of my face. He deepened our kiss slowly while our lips moved in sync with each other. I ran my tongue along the seam of his mouth, requesting entrance. Zack opened his mouth for me to explore. As my hands tangled in his hair I realized I was slowly losing my resolve to keep things casual with this guy, he was breaking down my defences one passionate kiss at a time.

I pulled away slowly, pecking his lips one last time before I whispered, "You are closer than you think." Zack's eyes twinkled slightly as he whispered back, "I know, baby."