Ghost Girl

Chapter 6

My eyes slowly opened but I didn't move; I was too comfortable where I was. Lying on Zak, skin to skin... it felt incredible. My face was buried in his chest and it only felt natural and incredibly right to turn my head slightly and land a kiss on his perfect chest. Zak's arms were wrapped around me, holding me to him. I sighed in contentment. His breathing was slow and easy but the slight hitch gave away the fact that he was awake. "Good morning," I purred, nuzzling his chest.

I immediately felt Zak stiffen beneath me and it gave me pause. "Zak..?" I asked, when he didn't say anything. If I hadn't felt his body go completely rigid, I would have thought he was still asleep. "Zak, hey, what's wrong?"

What he asked surprised me. "How much of last night do you remember, Skylar?" he said, his voice tense.

I definitely wasn't expecting that. I blinked, confused. "Zak, I don't... I don't understand what you mean," I admitted. I shifted my body so that I was closer to him, letting my hand run gently over his chest, trying to soothe him, to soothe any worry that he had.

Zak snatched my hand off of his chest and set it to the side. "Don't, Skylar." He eased me off him and crawled out of bed. Sometime during the night he must have slipped his underwear back on because I wasn't rewarded with a glimpse of his naked behind like I had hoped for. But I would still take this view; the black material clung to every curve of him. The subtle bulge in the front explained why I was so sore this morning.

I watched him with the blankets pulled up to my chest, as Zak stood at the window, his back to me. I hated that he wouldn't look at me. I stayed quiet, not knowing what to say or how not to make things worse. Had I done something wrong last night? Maybe he no longer felt the way I did now. But I wouldn't know unless he talked to me. And I desperately needed him to talk to me right now. My mind was going crazy with what could possibly be going through his head.

Finally after a few tense moments, Zak broke the silence. "What was last night all about? And don't tell me you don't know because if you kissing my chest this morning is anything to go by, you know exactly what I mean." His voice was hard and angry, angrier than I'd ever heard him before.

I was quiet for a minute, digesting his tone of voice. It was hurt and accusatory. "I honestly don't know what to say, Zak. I'm sorry." And I really was, for whatever he was angry. But he needed to give me more.

"Don't give me that!" he yelled.

I cringed in response, fighting the urge to cover my ears. I had just about enough of a man yelling in my face after Travis. "What do you want me to say?"

"I want an explanation, damn it. Because I'm sure as hell confused. All this time, you've been telling me how great a friend I'm being and then last night you jump me—"

"I didn't jump you," I interrupted him, jumping up and wrapping the blanket around me. "I kissed you but you kissed me back; things just progressed from there."

"Do you even realize what last night meant to me?" he cried, absolutely distraught. "You know I've had feelings for you since we first met but you've always wanted to be just friends. I came here as a friend but then last night... After last night I don't know what you want from me."

Tears pricked my eyes as he walked towards me. Now that I understood what this was about, my heart was breaking for him. How did I prove to him that last night meant everything to me? "I've always hated girls who played games and messed with my head. But I want to know... What was last night to you? Was I just some revenge/comfort fuck to get back at Travis for what he did to you? Did last night mean anything to you at all?" he cried, inches from my face.

Now the tears trickled down my face and before I could process what was happening or what I was doing, I threw my arms around his neck. "Zak, I'm so sorry. I wasn't trying to mess with your head," I sobbed into his neck and miraculously, I felt Zak's arms go around me, squeezing me tight. "Zak last night... last night was everything to me. Yeah, when I asked you to stay with me last night, I never meant for anything to happen; especially for what did happen. But it did; and I don't regret a single second of it," I said, my voice soft. "Zak, you're telling me that you've had a crush on me forever; but I've had one on you too. I just haven't been able to admit it to myself until now. I couldn't act on it first because of Travis and then after we broke up, I wasn't ready to get back into a relationship again so soon. Or at least, I didn't think I was. But last night I realized that I'm ready; I want to be with you."

Zak was stunned into silence at my confession—I would have been too if our positions had been reversed—but his hands moved from my back to my waist. I pulled my head away from his neck and looked into his eyes. "Skylar... I don't know what to say. But I do know that I am so sorry for screaming at you like that. You didn't deserve that at all! I just made you feel like Travis did, didn't I?" he asked and I nodded sadly. He sighed, "I'm a piece of crap for doing that; there's no excuse, no matter how mad I was I shouldn't have done that. But... I never realized that you felt the same way that I do. God, I can't apologize enough for my behaviour," he whispered, his voice laced with pain.

I lifted my hand and cupped his face gently. "I understand why you got upset; I do. But last night meant everything to me, Zak. I can't deny my feelings for you anymore. I want to be with you," I cried.

Zakgasped and I think what I was saying finally sank in for him. "I want to bewith you too. God, Skylar. I've waited so long for this; for you to say that."He gently cradled my face in his hands and slowly tilted my face to meet hiseyes. We held eyes until his lips brushed mine and we both fell instantly intothe kiss. This kiss said everything that neither Zak nor I could put into wordsat that moment. It finally felt like everything was right in the world and Icouldn't have been happier.