Page 89 of How to Get Revenge on a Cheating Ex
I wait for another buzzer noise, but instead he shakes his head. “You are seriously the worst liar on the planet.”
I try my best to go neutral. I let the muscles of my face go slack so I’m not giving away any tells.
His sudden grin and the laughter that follows are pretty good indicators that I’m not succeeding. He reaches out and wraps an arm around my waist, tugging me closer until I’m pressed against him from head to toe. “You know I have ways of getting answers out of you, right?”
“Zack,” I start to protest, but his mouth has found that spot on my neck that makes my knees go weak, and my words come out so breathless I sound like a phone sex operator. “We’re at work.”
“Mmm,” he hums as he trails kisses up to my ear. “Then you’d really better spill before you get us both fired.”
“Me?” I try to sound outraged, I really do. It doesn’t come out that way at all. It sounds like I’m not sure of my own identity.
Which isn’t too far from the truth, really. My head is spinning with that dizzy sensation I’ve never experienced before Zack.
It makes me forget my own name. It also makes me want to drag Zack into the back room, and deal with the consequences tomorrow.
But luckily for me and my college fund, Zack pulls back to stare down at me. “Spill, Smurfette.”
I sigh in resignation. The fact that he’s calling me by that stupid old nickname? Yeah, he’s not about to let this go. Not even if I drag him into the storage closet.
“You don’t need to go to this party and deal with Macy and her friends in order to convince anyone that you’ve moved on from Grayson,” he says. “And it’s only going to make you miserable to be there. So why are you insisting that we go?”
I arch my eyebrows. “Why are you so opposed to it?”
I bask in a single moment of triumph at that comeback, but he just gives me a look that says I’ve lost my mind.
“Uh, because it’s atMacy’shouse? She’s not your biggest fan, if you’ll recall. Not to mention, it’s going to be packed with Graysonites, not to mentionGrayson.”
I trail a finger down his chest and his arms tighten around me in response. “You worried about me, Zack?”
I say it with a teasing tone, but I hope the answer’s no.
I know I gave him a scare last week. Him, Janie,andToni. They’ve all seen me at my worst lately, and I get that. But I’m past that now. I’m stronger than that…
And I really want Zack to know it.
He lets out a long exhale. “I’m not worried. I just want to understand.”
“What’s so hard to get?” I push back a little so I can breathe. And think. Thinking is exceptionally hard when we’re pressed together like this.
“Why you want to go.” His gaze meets mine. “What are you still trying to prove?”
I open my mouth and shut it. I want to say I’m not out to prove anything, but we both know that’s a lie. I didn’t even like going to these ragers when I was a part of Macy’s crew.
And he’s right. I don’t have to go to a party to prove that we’re together. Everyone believes us.
Sometimes evenIbelieve that we’re together. All the ‘practicing’ makes it easy to forget.
“I want them to see me...with you,” I say slowly. “I want them to seeus.”
“Why?” One word, but it hits hard. There’s no escaping when he looks at me like this—like I’m the only person in the world that matters. Like whatever I say next is crucial. Like he’ll wait all day to hear the truth from me.
I swallow. “I don’t like what they’re saying about you.”
He frowns. “About me?”
I nod, suddenly feeling more shy and awkward around Zack than I have in weeks. “I see the way people are acting around you, and I know what Grayson’s doing.”
“What’s he doing?” His voice is low, but his gaze is so heavy it makes my stomach muscles tighten and my heart beat faster.
