One of the Boys

Chapter 9

“Finally.” Zac says, slumping onto the nearest chair.

“Aren’t you upset that your girlfriend’s just left?” I ask, with obvious jealousy in my voice.

“Aren’t you supposed to be getting a ride home with your boyfriend?” Zac retorts.

I sigh.  “Yeah I was going to, but then Cooper told me I had to stay and make up with you.”  I’m aware that I’ve probably just erased all chances of making up now that I’ve told Zac I’m only here to make up.  Ugh.  Why do I have such a stupid mouth?

“What’s there to make up for?”  See what I mean.  Now Zac’s going to pretend neither of us is mad at the other.  Boys are so bad at talking about feelings and figuring things out.  “Come on.  Let’s start cleaning up the house.”

I groan.  This is the major downside to hosting a party.  The house is a complete mess, with plastic cups lying everywhere, spilled beer, crushed chips in the carpet, and there’s probably going to be puke in every bathroom as usual.  “Not doing the bathrooms.” I say immediately, beating Zac to it.

“Darn it.” he says. 

I give him an innocent smile.  “But I will do the rubbish collecting.” I say.  Rubbish collecting is almost as bad as cleaning up the puke.  You should see some of the stuff people manage to leave on the floor.

After about 45 minutes I’ve got pretty much all the rubbish tied up in four huge black plastic bags, and Zac’s turned the bathroom floors spotless.  We’re pretty efficient with the cleaning since we’ve done this so many times.

“I think that’s enough for now.  Let’s finish up tomorrow morning before my dad and step-mom get back.” Zac says.  I couldn’t agree more.  “So about what happened tonight…” Zac starts.  Oh, so now he wants to talk.

“Yeah?”

“Why didn’t you tell me it was your first kiss?”

This has me blushing.  I’m not sure how I’m supposed to respond without sounding completely pathetic.  “It’s not like I had time between the bottle spinning and it landing on me.  I didn’t want to announce it was my first kiss in front of everybody.”

“You didn’t have to play you know?  You could’ve said no.”

I give Zac a pointed look.  He knows as well as me that I would never turn down a challenge.  I would never forfeit a game.  My pride is just too precious for that.

“You know, for someone who’d just had their first kiss, you were pretty bold going for a second with Jordan just minutes after.”  There’s definitely hostility in Zac’s voice.

“What’s your problem with Jordan?” I ask accusingly. 

“I don’t like him.” Zac says.  Wow.  That escalated fast.  What’s Zac’s problem?  Jordan’s my boyfriend and he’s going to have to deal with it.  If Zac liked me and didn’t want me with Jordan, then that would be a different story.  As much as I don’t want to admit it, I’d be with Zac in a heartbeat.  But Zac’s with Lindsey.  He obviously doesn’t like me like that.  So what’s his problem? 

I’m about to tell him I don’t like Lindsey either when I realise how stupid that would sound.  After all, I’m the one that got them together.  I open my mouth to say something offensive but Zac cuts me off.

“Did he tell you how we know each other?” he asks.

“Yeah.  We’ve been over this haven’t we?  He said your dads were friends but then they had a falling out.”