Loose Change~ Montgomery De La Cruz / Zach Dempsey/Scott Reed

Chapter 21

It felt like the kiss lasted hours.

His lips on hers froze them together and they could not pull away until the heat of their desires melted them.

Zach did pull away, eventually, and they were both surprised when they realized the kiss only lasted a few seconds.

Maybe their locked lips had stopped time. No, the kiss didn't stop time. When Zach pulled away, he looked Ophelia deep in the eyes. Their shared gaze is what stopped time.

Ophelia felt light headed, and couldn't process whether she was breathing or not. Zach broke the gaze, eyes falling back to her lips. He leaned in again, and she met him in the middle. Her hands had been at her side, but now they rose and fell on his shoulders. Zach's hands moved to her hair, entangling his fingers in it purposefully.

He kissed her with an open mouth. His hot breath she felt on her cold skin. It sent shivers down her body, goosebumps rising.

"Zachary?"

They pulled apart. Ophelia gasped, head snapping to the door. Honor stood there. She had opened Ophelia's door and was gazing in.

Honor was staring at Zach. She was smiling. "Zachary, are you her boyfriend now?"

"Oh my god..." Ophelia whispered, realizing what she had done.

Ophelia just kissed Zach. She had just cheated on Montgomery. She was a cheater. And her big-mouthed sister knew it.

"No!" Ophelia said quickly.

Zach stepped up quickly. He kneeled down to speak to Honor. He spoke calmly, like her sudden presence didn't effect him. "Sorry, Honor, were we being loud?"

Honor looked at her sister then back to Zach. "I heard shouting."

"We were practicing," Zach told her. Ophelia bit her lip, wondering if she should let him continue. She did. "See, we're doing a play for our class. Shakespeare. We have to practice our lines today. And...we have to kiss in the play."

Ophelia felt relief at Zach's quick thinking.

"You kiss in the play?" Honor asked. "Teachers can't make you kiss."

Zach shrugged and said, "Extra credit."

Honor nodded her head, understanding, "Ooooooh."

"Yeah," Zach continued, "So don't tell anyone about it yet. We don't want anyone else stealing our idea."

Honor sent him a thumbs up. "You got it!" She then stuck a tongue out at her sister before hurrying back to her room.

Zach stood back up, happy with himself. He turned towards Ophelia, only to be met with another slap.

"Fuck, Ophelia!" he hissed, putting a hand against his throbbing jaw, low enough so Honor wouldn't hear. "You're boyfriend just fucking punched me there and you're still slapping me."

Ophelia slammed her door back shut, locking it. "My boyfriend. My fucking boyfriend. I have a boyfriend, Zach."

Zach hesitated. "Look, I'm sorry-"

"You're not sorry!" she told him.

"I am!" he said, looking down at her. "I didn't want our first kiss to be like that, okay?"

"Our first kiss?" Ophelia scoffed. "Our last kiss. I'm not doing this, Zach. I am not cheating on my boyfriend with you."

Zach looked bewildered. "Then break up with him. I can protect you from him, Ophelia."

"No, you can't!"