Ghost Girl

Chapter 7

When Zak and I finally broke apart, the smile on Zak's face could have split his face in two and a smile lit up my face in response. Zak's hands slid down my neck, shoulders and arms until they reached my hands; twining our fingers and freeing my death grip on the sheet wrapped around my body. I was lucky it had stayed up whenever I let it go; I had a feeling that would have made things more awkward and I didn't need that.

"I just have one more question," he said when I started to pull him towards the bed. I stopped in my tracks and began to protest but he silenced me with a touch of his lips. "It's an easy one, I promise. And there's no pressure. Ready?"

I nodded, knowing that he wasn't going to be satisfied until I answered all his questions. This was hard on Zak and I wanted to make it as easy as I possibly could. I wanted him to know how sincere I was.

"Okay, last night after we had sex, you said something..." he said, arching his eyebrows at me.

He paused, giving me a moment to see if I knew what he was getting at. I instantly remembered and my body went stiff. I had been hoping he had been passed out or hadn't caught onto my little slip of the tongue. But of course he had noticed; he never missed anything.

Zak realized I knew what he meant because his eyes widened. "Skylar... don't tell me you don't know. You just went stiff as a board. Sky... what you said last night...did you mean it?" he asked earnestly.

I sighed in defeat. Laughing to try and dispel the tension I hid my face in Zak's chest. "Zak how is that a no pressure question? You said it was a simple question."

"It is," he laughed in response. "The answer isn't important to me. I've already got you as my girlfriend, the rest will come with time. But I still want to know...did you mean what you said last night?" he asked, wrapping me securely in his arms and rocking us from side to side playfully.

My heart flip flopped when he called me his girlfriend. We hadn't discussed labels yet but it still felt incredibly right. He's my boyfriend, I thought, giggling on the inside like a schoolgirl.

"Sky?" Zak asked, amused and pulling me out of my moment.

I shook my head and turned my thoughts to the question at hand. Last night as I'd drifted off to sleep I'd said, "I love you". The question was, did I mean it? And could I mean it and commit myself fully to this man? When I thought about it, the answer to all those questions was a resounding, yes.

I looked up into his bright, blue eyes and pressed my lips to his. "Yes, yes I meant it. I meant it from the bottom of my heart. I know we just got together but I love you, Zak. It wasn't something I said in the throes of passion—"

"Because that would be more believable than what you're telling me right now," Zak laughed, interrupting me. "I've been told that my sexual prowess in bed has ladies falling at me, but never before like this. But on a serious note..." Zak ducked down and softly rubbed his nose against mine before resting his forehead against mine. "You really love me? I've waited too long for you to be joking, Skylar. Because I've always loved you. I love you," he confessed as he crashed his lips onto mine.

Ismiled, I never thought he'd return the sentiment so quick; Zak was the type ofperson who was never with a girl for too long and he didn't throw the word love around. But Zak was saying it and Icould tell that he was sincere. Obviously he'd been invested in ourabsent-until-recently relationship longer than I had. But saying "I love you" was a huge step—oneboth of us seemed ready and willing to take