Innocence

We walked the Strip for a while until we decided to go into one of the bars. After a few drinks, Val and I decided to go out and dance. It was fun to tease guys by dancing with another girl. I have no idea why they always found that so hot…

I felt some random guy come up behind me and start dancing with me. Val smirked, so I knew he had to be cute. She left us to dance as she went back over to the group. The guy wrapped his arms around me, and pulled me closer. I was about to pull away, not comfortable with it, when I noticed the familiar tattooed arms…

I turned around and came face to face with those green orbs. “Zack, what’re you doing?” I asked, pushing him away from me.

“Dancing with a beautiful girl,” he said, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear.

I scoffed, shaking my head. “Keep the flattery, it doesn’t work on me.” I walked away, knowing I would do something I would feel totally guilty about if I stayed. I wasn’t going to deny I still had feelings bubbling, but I wasn’t going to ruin a relationship. I’ve had it done to me before, so I know how painful it is. I would never wish it upon someone else.

“Where are you going?” Brian asked, as I walked by the group.

“The bathroom, since you just need to know. No, I’m not running from my problems again.” I might have said it with a little too much venom, but whatever.

When I came out of the bathroom, I was pulled to the end of the dark hallway and pushed up against the wall. “Stop being stubborn, and just listened to me,” Zacky said softly.

“You ass! You gave me a fucking heart attack! I thought someone was grabbing me to rape and kill me,” I said, giving him a glare and slapping his arm.

He put his hand to my chest, where my heart was beating wildly. “Damn, I didn’t mean to scare you like that,” he said, laughing softly. “But seriously, will you please just listen to me and hear me out?”

I rolled my eyes. “Well, I kind of have to, since you have me backed up against a wall.”

“Gena’s gone,” he said softly.

“Yeah, where is she?” I asked, confused.

He smiled softly. “She’s gone for good. We broke up this morning.”

My eyes went wide as I looked up at him. “Zachary! What the hell?!” I tried pushing him off of me, but he wouldn’t budge.

“Quiet and just listen to me, okay?” He waited until I nodded my head. “I told you, things have been off between her and I for a while now. This was just waiting to happen, we were holding on by a thread. I didn’t break up with her just so I could get an easy lay with you. I really do care about you, Manda, I have since high school.”

“Why didn’t you ever tell me?” I asked softly.

He shrugged, looking down for a second. “I was going to after Graduation, but…”

“But I left.” I shook my head. “I’m sorry, Zack.”

He laughed, shaking his head. “There’s nothing to be sorry for. You were with Matt, and when things went sour, you did what was best for you.”

I sighed, bringing my hand up to run it through his hair. “And I’m still trying to work on what’s best for me.”

“Hmm, well how about I help you out with that?” He smirked, running his hands up and down my sides.

“You’re so damn cocky,” I laughed, shaking my head.

He laughed too, shrugging his shoulders. “I can’t help it. But, in all seriousness, please give me a chance.” His voice came out so soft and innocent. I gazed into his emerald orbs, really debating it. “Just let go,” he whispered, seeing what I was contemplating.

“I’m afraid of falling again,” I admitted softly, hating how vulnerable I was being.

He leaned in, his lips barely brushing mine. “I promise I’ll be there to catch you.” So I jumped.

I pulled him into a kiss, savoring every bit of it. My arms curled around his neck as his arms snaked around my waist, pulling me closer to him. I felt safe and comforted in his arms. I felt confident, like nothing could get me down.

We pulled away, catching our breaths. He smiled, stroking my cheek. “Is that a yes?”

“Let’s take it a day at a time, baby steps.”

He nodded, agreeing with me. “I can do that.” He grinned, pulling me in for another kiss.

“There you two are. We thought you guys got lost,” Val said, popping out of nowhere.

“We would never be able to get lost. Jimmy would always somehow be able to find us,” I said, rolling my eyes.

“Found them!” Jimmy yelled, bouncing over to us.

“See,” I told Val, laughing.

“Come on! I need a new dancing partner!” The tall green bean said, grabbing my hand and leading me back out.

I was laying in bed that night, not being able to sleep, when my door opened. Soon, a pair of tattooed arms wrapped around my waist from behind. I rolled over and gave Zacky a small smile. “What’re you doing here?” I asked softly, snuggling into his chest.

“I couldn’t sleep, so I decided I would come bug you.”

“Ass.”

He laughed. “Hey, you weren’t sleeping either, so you have no room to complain.”

“Eh, I tried.” He shook his head, before stroking my back. “What’re we going to tell the guys?” I asked softly after a few minutes of silence.

“What do you mean?”

I pulled back to look up at him. “What are we going to tell them about us?”

He thought about it for a moment. “We can tell them exactly what we’re doing. We’re taking this step by step to see what becomes of it. They can get their knickers in a twist if they want, though I doubt they will, but then they can get over it.”

I smiled, loving his logic. “Sounds good to me.”