When You Can't Have It, You Want It

I smiled softly as I stared at the brown-haired boy across the room, engaged in a game of amateur Beer Pong on Jack’s dining room table. At the moment, I was peeling an orange in the kitchen, but I kind of got distracted. Alex’s laugh is just that noticeable, contagious, infectious, downright sexy. I mean, it was a small get together to begin with. It was the boys in All Time Low, Matt, Andy, Phil, Kara, Amanda, and I. So, it’s not my fault that I was currently leaning over the trash can with a half-peeled orange in my hand, gazing admirably at Alex’s dimply grin.

“Ahem.”

I stood up straight and looked to my left. It was just Zack. I let out a sigh of relief and continued to peel my orange.

“You’re so obvious, it’s not even funny.”

“Shut up.”

Zack and I were like peanut butter & jelly, macaroni & cheese, yin & yang, etc. But I hated it when he tagged me as being: cute, goofy, stupid, lame, cheesy, or obvious.

“Hey, I wouldn’t have noticed if Rian hadn’t said anything.”

I gasped.

“Rian noticed?” I whispered frantically. Rian was a smart cookie, but he didn’t know me well enough to know what I looked like when I was hot for someone. Zack threw away his paper plate and leaned on the counter next to me. He nodded in response to my question.

I groaned. “What am I going to do, Zacky? He doesn’t even like me like that. I am most definitely not his type, so there’s basically no chance of him ever liking me.”

“What’s his type?” Zack asked quizzically, raising his eyebrows.

“Blonde bimbo,”I said, “or just bimbo.”

“Yeah, I was about to say that you’re half-blonde, so we coul-“

I smacked the back of his head before he could finish his sentence. Regardless, I smiled.

“No, I will not wear that French Maid costume you have in the back of your closet that you just so happen to entertain yourself to every Friday night,” I said, smiling at Zack.

“Even if it was for Alex?” He tried.

“What’s for me?” Alex asked, as he entered the kitchen to re-fill his drink.

I jumped slightly at the sound of his voice and Zack quickly grabbed my hand and started pulling me away towards the front door.

“Absolutely nothing,” Zack said, winking at Alex on the way out.

Before I knew it, we were in Zack’s car driving down the street.

“What the hell, Zack? ” I semi-asked, as I sat against the passenger side door, facing towards Zack.

“Well if he can’t have it, then he’s gonna want it,” Zack said in a low voice with a smirk on his face. When the car came to a stop at the next red light, he turned to look at me with a suggestive smile on his face.

I did the thing that first came to mind: I screamed ‘Rape ’

Zack burst out laughing.

“No, seriously... hear me out. So, when you tell a kid not to go in the cookie jar, what does he do? He goes into the cookie jar. With Alex, when you tell him he can’t have something, what does he do? He has to have that something. So, I just have to keep you off-limits for a little while and make it really, really obvious to Alex, and we’ll see what happens. Sound like a plan?”

I scratched my head. When did Zack get a brain that actually worked in his head? I took a deep breath and replied, “Does this mean I have to flirt with you?”

He just shook his head in disbelief, with a grin on his face. Moments later, we were in his driveway and he parked the car. Right before he turned off the engine, I looked at the time: 8:43 P.M.

“No, you don’t have to flirt with me. Unless you want to, that is,” he said, getting out of the car and ducking from another hit to the back of his head, “But you do have to treat me better than you do the other guys.”

“I already do,” I said, frowning a little. I was beginning to doubt this plan. We were in silence as he opened the door to his house.

“Well, make it more noticeable. Treat the other guys worse while you treat me better,” Zack said, as he threw his car keys onto a table and grabbed the T.V. Remote, flopping down onto the sofa.

I sat in the loveseat across the room, absently watching “Lost” re-runs, but at the same time, pondering this Alex plan. Would it work? Hmm...

Sometime during the fifth episode of “Lost,” I fell asleep. And the last thing I remember is being carried upstairs and being laid to rest in Zack’s bed. When I woke up, I was alone.