by J. S. Cooper
I peeked into the dining room again and saw that Zane and Leo were still talking animatedly. I was surprised to see that it was Leo who looked upset and angry and not Zane. Why was Leo upset? Maybe Zane had accused him of trying to flirt with me and he was sticking up for himself? Who knew? I couldn’t keep up with Zane and his moods. I wanted to go into the dining room and ask him what they had been talking about, but I decided to call Leeza first. I grabbed my phone and tried calling her again. I was really hoping to find out what she had been trying to tell me before I had a conversation with Zane.
“Lucky?” Leeza’s voice was airy and I frowned. How could she sound so happy and carefree when she had just been trying to tell me that my boyfriend was a stalker?
“Yes,” I whispered.
“Why are you whispering?” Leeza asked, confused.
“Because I don’t want Zane to know I’m on the phone.” My voice was exasperated. Sometimes Leeza just didn’t have a clue. “Now hurry up and tell me what you were trying to say before. I don’t have all day.”
“Before?” Leeza giggled and I heard a guy in the background. “I’m kind of busy, Lucky, can we talk later?”
“No,” I hissed, my face growing red with anger. “You made it sound really important, so I want to know exactly what you were talking about.”
“Oh.” She sighed and I heard her whispering. “I’ll be right back, Evan.” I heard what sounded like kissing and then she came back to the phone with a sigh. “Sorry, I was kinda busy.”
“Are you with Evan, the guy from the party you tried to hook me up with?” I asked, surprised.
“Yeah.” Her voice sounded happy. “He’s great and I just love being with him.”
“How do you even know him?”
“I met him months ago at a frat party.”
“You did?” I frowned. “You never told me.”
“Well, you know,” she sighed. “I didn’t think he was into me.”
“Okay, and …?”
“I met your Zane before as well.” Her voice was light and my heart skipped a beat. “I didn’t have time to tell you before.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, a few weeks before the party. He was with Evan and that DJ guy, hanging out with some guys I know.”
“And …?” Please God, don’t let her say that she slept with him. Please God no.
“And nothing much.” She paused. “Look, it might not be a big deal, and I wasn’t going to tell you, but he was the reason why I pushed so hard for you to go to that party that night.”
“What?” I frowned into the phone, feeling confused and overwhelmed. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t really remember exactly. But I was telling Evan how crazy you were and how you had left school to go to LA with some guy named Zane, and Evan was like, ‘Wow, stalking really works.’ And he reminded me of what had happened before.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Well, Evan had asked if I had any hot friends to bring to the party and I’d been a bit upset because I thought he had been into me and then I thought he really wasn’t, because if he was, why would he ask me to bring a friend? Well, who knows, I mean I—”
“Leeza.” My voice was sharp. “Get on with it please.”
“Oh, sorry. Well, he asked if I had any friends to bring and I guess I said something like I could bring my friend Lucky.”
“And?”
“And that creepy guy, Zane. Sorry, you know, your Zane? Well he looked at me hard and was like, ‘Lucky?’ Or something like that. And I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s her name.’ I was like, ‘I can ask her to come, but she’s a waitress and works late nights, so I don’t know.’”
“Ok.”
“And then Zane was like, ‘Does she work at Lou’s Diner?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, yeah.’ At the time, I didn’t think about it. But that’s just weird that he knew that.”
“And?”
“And nothing. The conversation ended. But a couple of days later, Evan called me and he was like, ‘Can you try really hard to bring your friend Lucky? I’d like to meet her.’ And of course I was upset, but then he said he’d hook me up with some concert tickets, and so you know, I invited you.”
“I thought you wanted to hang out as roommates.” My voice was cold and dry as I tried to process all the information she was giving me.
“I did, I did.” She paused. “But, you know. Anyways, I saw Evan a couple of days ago and he was all like, ‘Hey what’s up?’ But I was like, ‘You wanted to date my friend.’ And he was like, ‘No, no, no. My friend, Zane asked me to call you and to make sure Lucky came to the party, but to leave his name out of it.’ I was like, ‘Why would you do that? You didn’t seem like great friends.’ And he was like, “Well, Zane’s dad is huge in Hollywood” and you know Evan is trying to be an actor.’”
“I see.”
“Yeah, he’s hoping to make it as big as Braydon Eagle.”
“Uh huh.” Mentally, I was no longer paying attention to her.
“You know him, right? Handsome blond, I think I saw you talking to him at the party.”
“Look, I have to go, Leeza,” I sighed, frustrated. I needed to think about the information she had just given me. Zane had wanted me to be at that party? But he didn’t even really know me, aside from the diner. And he’d never let on, not for one minute, that he had orchestrated that whole event. What else had he done? I felt cold as I thought about him helping me when my car had broken down. Had he done something to my car so he could rescue me? I froze and took a deep breath. No, he hadn’t done anything to my car. I had known my head gasket was about to go. There was no way he could have made that happen. But maybe he had been following me. Because how was it that he just happened to pull up behind me? How long had he been following me? My hands felt clammy and I realized that I still had the phone next to my ear.
“Lucky, are you there?” Leeza sounded concerned.
“Yes,” I whispered.
“Be careful, okay? I’m worried about Zane. I know he’s cute, and you’ve been a bit desperate, but I don’t trust him.”
“I have not been desperate!”
“Well, it’s been over a year.”
“I had my rules, Leeza, you know that.”
“Yeah, but you dropped that pretty quickly once a man came along.”
“No, I didn’t. And he wasn’t the first guy who tried to get with me.” I was angry now.
“I’m just saying be careful.” She paused. “I was thinking that maybe I could come visit you. Make sure he’s not a stalker.”
“He’s not a stalker, Leeza!” I sighed. “And when did you want to come?”
“Next weekend?” Her voice was hopeful.
“I’ll let you know.” And then I hung up, not caring that I was being rude.
My head was spinning and I knew that I needed to sit down and think about everything. I felt like I was lost in a maze of people I didn’t know and everything I thought I knew about was wrong. I was angry and upset, and if I was honest, I was a little bit scared. What else had Zane lied to me about?
***
We ate the apple pie in silence. There was a cold air between Leo and Zane, and I was also giving Zane the silent treatment. I wanted very badly to ask him why he hadn’t told me he had arranged to have me at the party. I wasn’t even that mad. In a way, it was endearing, and I felt a warm glow. He’d had his eyes on me, just like I’d had my eyes on him. However, I kept my mouth shut because I didn’t want to bring Leo into our drama.
I could see Zane’s surreptitious glances and I just avoided all eye contact with him. I felt like I was in a spy movie or something—only I was the oddball that didn’t realize that she was in it. I had no clue what was going on anymore and I was annoyed. Really annoyed. I liked being in control and knowing exactly what was going on. Zane had my head spinning.
“This is delicious, Lucky. Thank you.” Leo smiled at me and I smiled back at him.
“Thanks to Sara L
ee.”
“Well thank you, Sara Lee.” Leo licked his lips and dropped his spoon back down into his bowl. “That was really good.”
“I’m sorry that nothing was homemade.” I frowned.
“The salad was to-die-for.” Leo made some noises that reminded me of sex, and I blushed.
“Really, Leo?” Zane muttered at him.
“He’s just showing me that he liked the pie,” I snapped at Zane. “At least he can express his feelings.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Zane looked at me with a question in his clouded, blue eyes. “I don’t tell you how I feel enough?”
I remained mute and looked away from him. I didn’t want to start an argument with him in front of Leo. I wasn’t that angry. And it wasn’t even about expressing feelings.
“Do you want me to sing you a love song in front of Leo, Lucky? So he knows how I feel?”
“No.” My face burned with humiliation.
“How’s about some Frank Sinatra?” He cleared his throat. “Let me see, I could sing ‘Lady Luck’ or … wait, ‘Strangers in the Night.’”
“You’re an ass.” I glared at him.
“You’re a woman.”
“Excuse me?” I jumped up. “What does that mean?”
“You’re so moody. I don’t even know what your problem is.” He glared back at me.
“You stalked me!” I spat out.
“Here we go again,” he sighed. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but I’ve never stalked you, Lucky.”
“I know about the party and Evan.” I stared him down, and if it wasn’t for the slightest flinch, I would have thought I was wrong. Zane looked at me calmly and didn’t say a word.
“Hey, guys, I think that is my invitation to leave.” Leo jumped up and walked over to me and gave me a hug. “It was great meeting you. Thank you for a lovely dinner, and maybe we can hang out again soon?”
“Thanks.” I smiled at him weakly, slightly embarrassed. “And sure.”
“Awesome.” He kissed my cheek and then turned to Zane. “Remember what I said, man.”
“I’ll call you tomorrow.” Zane spoke to him, but his eyes never left mine.
“Bye, guys.” Leo walked to the front door and let himself out. I heard the door close behind him, but still we both remained silent.
“That was rude of you.” I couldn’t help myself. “You should have seen Leo to the door.”
“He’ll live.” Zane didn’t blink.
“Typical response.” I rolled my eyes. “What do you have to say about the fact that you were stalking me?”
“I didn’t stalk you,” Zane sighed and I watched as he swallowed.
“Explain it to me then. I’m extremely curious.” My cheeks were heated and I stood there staring at him with wide eyes. Tears were threatening to fall and I wanted to turn away from him, because I didn’t want him to see how he had affected me.
“Lucky, I …” He sighed again and stood up and walked over to me. He made a gesture to bring me into his arms and I pushed him away.
“No.”
“I don’t understand why you’re mad at me.” He pursed his lips.
“Because you’re a creeper!” I shouted at him and his eyes darkened. “Are you going to explain to me what happened or not?”
“I didn’t stalk you.” He sighed. “I was hanging out with some friends and your roommate was there.”
“Are you sure you didn’t plan that?”
“I didn’t even know she was your roommate.” He looked at me pleadingly. “But she made some comment about having a roommate named Lucky who worked in a diner, and I figured out that it was you. She said she didn’t think you’d go to the party. And I wanted you to go.”
“I see.” I continued frowning at him, but I was starting to relax inside.
“So I asked Evan to convince her to invite you and bring you to the party.”
“How did you know Evan could convince her?”
“He has powers of persuasion.” He laughed.
I shook my head. “So what was in it for Evan?”
“An audition for a movie if you made it to the party.” He smiled.
“I did wonder why Evan didn’t seem that interested when Leeza dragged me up there.” I frowned. “But you never said much to me. Not really.”
“Evan texted me when you got to the room, but two things happened.” Zane sighed. “Angelique wouldn’t leave my side, and you ended up talking to Braydon.”
“So you just left me?” For some reason I felt sad.
“I watched you like a hawk the whole night.” His voice was hard. “I wanted to punch Braydon so hard, but I didn’t want to do anything that would make him suspicious and think that I liked you. So I just watched to make sure nothing bad happened.”
“So you followed me home?” I already knew the answer.
“I wanted to make sure Braydon wasn’t following you.” He frowned. “I had no idea your car was going to break down. I was so angry at you. I kept thinking, what if Braydon had been there? What if it was him you had to depend on? I wanted to throttle you.”
“Yeah, I could tell you were pissed.” I laughed at him, and I saw him smile back at me.
“I was more than pissed.” He replied. “I was angry that you had spent the whole night dancing with Braydon and then you gave him your phone number. It should have been me.”
“But we were talking when I first got there, you had your chance.”
“But then your friend Leeza came and dragged you away.” He sighed. “And I had to play along so it didn’t look so obvious. I didn’t want you to know just what lengths I had gone to, to try and spend some time with you, outside of the diner.”
“And then you came to the room too late,” I continued understandingly.
“Exactly, my perfect plan was foiled.”
“What was the plan for?” I smiled at him, wondering what he had expected.
“I wanted us to talk and dance and get to know each other, outside of the diner.” He looked a little embarrassed.
“Why?” I continued.
“Because I liked you and wanted to get to know you better,” he muttered.
“You liked me?” I grinned.
“Yes, Lucky.” He pulled me towards him, and this time I didn’t protest. “I thought you were beautiful, engaging, delightful, and someone I very much wanted to get to know better.”
“So you really liked me, huh?” I couldn’t stop smiling and I felt his hands wrap around my waist and bring me in closer to him.
“Yes, I really liked you.” He grinned at me. “I guess I didn’t know how to approach you in the restaurant and not get shot down.”
“Why would I shoot you down?”
“Uh, let me think … because I was on a different date every week.”
“You could have asked me out.”
“And you would have said yes?” He looked at me in surprise.
“No.” I laughed. “I don’t think I would have. Well, I don’t know. You did have me intrigued.”
“Not as intrigued as you had me.” He smiled at me and bit my nose. “I used to live for Fridays and your smile and witty comments.”
“I used to live for Fridays so I could see you and make fun of you with Maria and Shayla.”
“I know.” He laughed.
“What?”
“I used to see the three of you peeking at my table from the kitchen.”
“Oops.” I laughed.
“I love your laugh.” His voice was emotional. “It makes me feel all warm and happy inside. Your smile and your laugh make me feel like life is worth living. All I want is to see you happy. You know that, right?” He looked at me and I nodded back at him silently. “Please be patient with me, Lucky. I’m rough around the edges when it comes to love and how to treat a lady. I know that sometimes I don’t give you what you need, but I’m trying. I’m really trying. I want to be worthy of your heart.”
/> “You are,” I protested, and he leaned forward and kissed me.
“I want to feel like I’m worthy of your love.” He smiled awkwardly. “You deserve the best. And sometimes I know it’s hard for me to let other people in. I don’t want you to ever feel like you can’t talk to me or come to me.”
“I feel the same, Zane. I want you to trust me and come to me as well.”
“I will.” His eyes flashed with an emotion I didn’t recognize and I was about to say something when he pulled me against him hard.
“Tell me you’re not aroused right now?”
I looked up at him in amazement as I felt his erection press against my belly.
“I’m always aroused when I am with you, Lucky.” He kissed my forehead and slid his hands to my ass, cupping my buttocks. “I want to make sweet love to you all day and night.”
“All day and night, huh?” I grinned and pushed my breasts into his chest, relishing in his hardness against my body. “You smell so good.” I leaned my nose into his chest and breathed him in.
“How good?” I could hear the smile in his voice.
“Really good.” I sighed and lay my head against his chest, loving the warmth of his embrace.
“Good enough to eat?”
“I’d eat you in a second,” I giggled, running my hand down his chest to his pants and grabbing hold. “In fact, I’m feeling quite hungry right now.”
“Do I turn you on then?”
“Hmm, I’ll have to think about that.” I fiddled with the button at the top of his jeans and then yanked the zipper down before pushing my hand down his pants and grabbing a hold of him. I slid my fingers up and down the length of him, amazed at how hard he was already.
“I think you know you turn me on.”
“Isn’t that what all the stalkers say?” I giggled again and I felt Zane’s hand on my chin bringing my face up to his.
“I wasn’t stalking you, Lucky.” He looked at me seriously. “Stalking is a serious thing. I don’t want you to think I’m that crazy guy. I did do everything in my power to get you to that party, and I did follow you because I was scared of what Braydon may do, but I would never stalk you, or tap your phone, or anything like that.”
“Okay.” I nodded. “Good.”
“I’ll do everything I can to protect you, Lucky. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” I watched as he cringed and I pouted up at him.
