The Golden Boys

Chapter Twenty-Five

The next couple of weeks passed by in a blink of an eye. Zara went to most of Damien's races and hung out with Tommy and his inner circle. She attended Kenji's Fight Club, now allowed to sit in the private box with him to get a better view. Zara was relieved when Enzo stopped coming home with so many bruises, she was thankful that Giovanni and Fabian were usually at his side. Sam was getting along better with his guards as well which was a bonus. Damien and Cersei had been out on a couple of dates, making it official a week before Homecoming. The two were always together.

Zara kept busy, it was a nice distraction from Gray's words. She had some people dig into the topic for her and they've yet to report anything, which she didn't know how to feel. The girl wanted to see him. And everything else seemed to be falling into place except for one thing.

Andrei hadn't been in school for those weeks.

He wasn't even in the same fucking country.

The girl debated trying to call him so they could get the much needed conversation over with. And many times she had opened her phone (her original phone since she finally got back her handbag and hid away her spare) with his contact on the screen. But what would she say?

It was the weekend before Homecoming when Cersei, Zara, and some other girls on the court were dress shopping. Zara was able to keep her Elie Saab dress, now sitting in her closet, hopefully to be worn later on. For Homecoming, they all were wearing cocktail dresses from some designer. It was Lena who scheduled all of their appointments, Cersei being the first and Zara being the last as they went alphabetically by first name. Her best friend chose a gorgeous baby pink dress that hugged her perfectly and matched the corset. When it was Zara's turn, all of the girls made her try on over twenty dresses before she came out in a dark blue satin one.

"Bitch, you look hot!" a girl exclaimed.

And everyone decided that was what she was going to wear. None of the girls commented on her not having a date, probably because Zara would roll her eyes or send a small glare their way. She didn't mind going stag, she'd be with Enzo and Kenji. The three of them would be chaperoning Damien and Cersei the entire night, spiking the drinks with alcohol and making sure that everyone comes to the afterparty.

Cersei invited Zara, Bree and Ashlyn to spend the night over at her house. Just a girls night, no boys allowed, though Cersei spent two hours talking to Damien while the other girls were swimming in the pool. It was past midnight when Bree and Ashlyn went upstairs to shower and Zara was left in the hot tub, checking her phone and debating whether or not she should call Andrei. The alcohol in her system was pushing her to do so.

"Fucking make up your mind, Caddel," she scolded herself.

The girl glanced at his contact picture. It was from a couple of years ago and he had just eaten the hottest pepper ever, his face was priceless. Shaking her head, she turned off her phone.

"Mind if I join?"

Fucking hell. Zara glanced to her side to see Andrei standing there with a towel and book in hand. She noticed he was wearing black trunks and a white shirt. Did he just see her almost call him? Fuck. The girl was not ready to talk right now. Shit. Shit. Shit.

"Of course, it's your hot tub," she replied, proud of herself for how normal she sounded.

He set down the towel and book on a table nearby and proceeded to remove his shirt, tossing it with his other belongings. She knew she was holding her breath as she tried not to stare, but that was kinda hard. Anyone in her position would look. Zara managed to steal a quick glance of his chest, a fucking eight-pack, before he climbed in. Andrei positioned himself across from her so that they were forced to look at one another. It was also the furthest away from touching, though they were only five feet apart.