Zoey 101: You Must Of Had A Broken Heart ☑

Chapter 39

“Okay.” He shrugged.

“But you still look great,” he whispered leaning in so that his breath tickled my ear. He lingered for a second. I knew all I had to do was turn my head, and he would be right there. I took an even breath, allowing it to swirl in my head before slowly turning to meet him.

“Does that sound good to you?” Lola turned toward us. I quickly faced her, and Chase sat back against his seat. She shot me an accusing look.

“Sorry, what did you say?” I asked. Chase gave my hand a tight squeeze in frustration.

“For dinner,” she emphasized, “is Italian okay?”

“Sure,” Chase agreed.

We pulled up to the theater and Lola practically pulled me out of the car, putting her arm through mine while forcing us to walk together toward the entrance. The guys followed.

“Zo, you are in so much trouble,” she whispered. I could only grin in recognition of the truth.

When the guys found out Lola was taking care of the tickets, they insisted on paying for dinner – as Lola had predicted. After getting our drinks and popcorn, we made our way into the crowded theatre to see the newly released action movie.

I could tell Lola was angling to sit in-between me and Chase, but I slipped in behind him before she could enter the row – so Lola sat next to me and Eric was next to Chase. Chase easily found my hand again once the lights dimmed. I don’t know if I could’ve recalled a single scene from the overly explosive flick. Not with Chase slowly brushing his finger tips along the inside of my hand, tracing delicate circles that made my entire body tingle.

Every so often Lola tried to distract me and pull me toward her with a comment about the action star and an unrealistic leap, or that he should have been dead within the first five minutes of the movie. When I leaned in to rest my head on Chase’s shoulder, she finally gave up, shaking her head in frustration. I couldn’t concentrate on anything except for his breath next to my ear and his cheek against the top of my head as he casually breathed me in. The star could’ve died in the first five minutes - I would have had no idea.

When we stood up to leave, my legs were weak and my head was spinning. Chase kept his hand on my waist, holding me next to him while we made our way up the crowded aisle. I placed my hand over his, securing him to me. As soon as we were in the main hall, Lola caught my arm.

“We’ll be right back,” she announced, pulling me away from Chase’s wrap and toward the bathroom.

As soon as we entered, Lola whipped around to face me, demanding, “What are you doing?” She didn’t pause to let me answer. “If you tell me one more time that you’re just friends, I’m going to kill you. Do you want this? Because all you have to do is tell me and I’ll leave you alone. But you were the one who convinced me this couldn’t happen, and now look at you – you can barely see straight.

“Just think about it clearly for one minute and let me know if you want more from Chase than just a friendship. Forget about what you’re feeling – think about it. Think about Abby.”

I shuddered at the mention of her name.

I stood there for a minute, taking in her passionate expression and was overwhelmed with the situation. I couldn’t think. My body was so mesmerized by the trance of his touch that my mind wasn’t working. I couldn’t answer her.

“I don’t know what to do,” I confessed quietly, “but don’t worry about me Lola; it will be okay. I promise.”

“You know you can’t promise that.”