Page 9 of Tainted Romance

“So, we do friends? We can do that.” I was saying the words, but I wasn’t sure if I actually believed them, and even as Zane nodded his head I knew he was thinking the same; could we really do this?

***

It took a few days and, to be honest, I was really annoyed with myself it had taken that long, but I had figured it out, there were two Zanes. There was restaurant Zane, he was relaxed, flirty, and bearable, and then there was school Zane. School Zane had short-term memory loss and pretended like I was invisible. School Zane ignored me and was a stuck-up selfish prick.

It had taken me three days to work out there were two Zanes. Boy did that piss me off. I had wasted my Monday being nice to him. On Tuesday he ignored me - hell, I was still nice to him, and then Wednesday afternoon it clicked. I was sitting in English, listening to him talk to that dick, Taylor, about the girls last weekend and that’s when I discovered school Zane.

I took a seat in the middle of the classroom, leaving an empty seat next to me for Blake. The bell rang, and the students were filing in.

There was one more development that happened across the three days; a development I really didn’t want to admit. Zane and my wolf had connected mentally. That’s right, Zane now could invade my mind whenever he liked.

“Hey, Allie?” Blake waved his hand in front of my face, bringing me out of my self-pity.

“Sorry.” I shot him a smile and brought myself back to the present. “Where have you been?”

“It’s first period, Allie.” Blake looked at me confused.

Right, it is the start of the day. “Right.”

“You ok?” He placed a hand on my knee.

‘Allie, your boyfriend is speaking to you.’Zane’s sweet velvet voice swiped through my mind.

“Yeah, it’s nothing.” I put my hand over his, and, for some reason, I felt calmer. "Just a headache."

‘Are you ignoring me?’Zane’s voice spiked with interest.

‘Leave me alone,’I snapped back at him while smiling at Blake.‘And who told you Blake was my boyfriend?’

‘Wait, you’re actually dating him?’Zane’s voice flooded my mind again, and this time it was surprised.

All week he had ignored me, so why he was showing an interest in me now was beyond me. It was clear now he had been ignoring me because Blake and I had never hidden our relationship.

“Blake?” There were times in life, times when actions speak louder than words and this was one of those moments.

“Umm?” He was messaging someone, and his eyes were focused on the phone. I squeezed his hand a little tighter and moved in closer to him.

I placed my other hand on the back of his head, and immediately his eyes flickered up to mine. Then I attacked. I moved forward so quickly it took him by surprise.

His lips were my home, and they felt amazing. I could feel his lips curve into a slight smirk. Blake and I were many things, and we were great at a lot of them, but there was one thing we didn’t do well, and that was knowing when to stop.

“Winters, Falcon!” The teacher called for our attention.

‘You could have just said yes.’Zane’s voice flooded my mind again, and I really wished I could block him out.

‘Piss off, Zane.’

Mates aren’t meant to have secrets so they become one, so, of course, it makes sense we can share thoughts. The only downside is there is no block. I didn’t have a shield or anything to put up to block him out. All I got was a feeling of tension before he invaded.

“So, um tonight, are you still coming around?” Blake cleared his throat and that cute dazed look on his face begun to fade.

“I don’t know. Mom is, um, well, you know.” I sighed while playing with my pen. “It’s dad’s birthday today, so she is more insane than normal.”

“Sorry.” Blake’s face twisted in pity.

I shrugged my shoulders. What else could I say or do? It was what it was, and it sucked.

“Well, maybe after you’ve seen her you can come around?” Blake sounded hopeful, causing me to grin.

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