Cut Off

Chapter 8

I wake up and Zach is asleep next to me. I check the time and it is 5:30. Crap. I hope my parents didn't see us. We've been asleep for 2 hours. I try to gently nudge him to wake him up. We've only been dating for 2 weeks and I don't think my parents will be happy if they find out we slept in the same bed.

His eyes flutter open and he smiles.

"WAKE UP" I sign to him. Then I point to the clock. He nods and then leans over to kiss me.

It's still weird that this is a casual action to him. I'm not complaining though. I love the way his lips feel against mine.

He gets the notepad from my bedside table and then starts writing.

How was your nap?

Good. Yours?

Good.

You weren't supposed to fall asleep too.

Sorry. You were so comfy.

I laugh. Then he is writing something else.

Would you like to go to dinner with me tonight?

Of course. Where are we going?

It's a surprise.

Ugh. I hate surprises. I'm never prepared. I know that's the point, but I still hate them.

He obviously notices the look on my face, so he writes again.

It's a good surprise. I promise.

Fine.

His phone flashes and he picks it up. He frowns slightly.

I have to go now. I'll pick you up in an hour.

"BYE" I sign, and he does so back. Then he leaves my room.

Ugh. Now I have to decide what to wear. First things first though, I need to shower.

After my shower, I dry my hair. It is so long and thick that it takes forever to dry on its own. It's curly on its own, but I decide to curl it a little more anyway. Then I get dressed. I don't know where we are going, so I decide on something simple. Just some jeans and a cream sweater. It's June but nights are still a little bit cold.

Just as I finish doing my makeup I hear the doorbell ring and I head downstairs. I'm on my crutches today because I don't really like using the wheelchair anymore.

Once I'm downstairs I see that Tyler had opened the door. I have to admit, Zach looked hot. He had on jeans as well and a black button-down shirt.

"HEY," I sign.

"HELLO" he signs back. "YOU LOOK NICE"

"THANK YOU" I sign.

I'm glad that my signing is better, so I'm not worried about saying the wrong thing. At least not with something as simple as thank you. It's easier to sign than it is to write everything down. I've gotten pretty good at it if I do say so myself.

"You ready?" he mouths, and I nod.

I follow him out the door and into his car.

Are you going to tell me where we are going now? I type out on my phone and show it to him.

Nope he types back.

Ugh. I can't keep the conversation going either because he has to drive.

After a few minutes, he stops the car. We are at the edge of a field.

I get out of the car and follow him. We are walking on the grass and it's kind of annoying with the crutches. The wheelchair would be worse though.

After a minute of walking, I see a picnic set up by the lake. I smile up at him and he smiles back.