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Zak’s P.O.V

“You’re still free for one more day. Come spend it at my place for once.”

I smiled at Lily, all wrapped up in my arms. It felt right, holding her to me. I could feel her fingers continuously press against my chest as she drew figure 8’s along my body. Her breath snaked along my bare torso and warmed my skin. I liked seeing her with me, where she belonged. That’s why I wanted her to come with me for one night.

“But what about Aaron and Nick?” she asked softly. “I don’t want to intrude. It’s their home too.”

“Please,” I rolled my eyes. “They won’t care; they like you. Besides, Nick brings his girlfriend over all the time. It’s not a problem.”

She made a soft humming noise as she thought. I knew she was starting to miss Avaya and I wanted to be there for her. I felt like I’d spent enough time taking up space in her home. It was the least I could do to invite her over to mine.

“C’mon, Lily,” I urged. “I’ve practically been living here and you haven’t ever seen my house. It’ll be fun.”

She peered up at me and smiled her own secret smile meant just for my eyes. “Okay,” she nodded.

“Great. Want me to help you pack a bag?”

“Sure. I just have to call my parents first and check in, then we can get going.” She kissed my cheek and walked off, already dialling her parents on her phone.

I smiled at her and looked around her room for a bag. I pulled open her closet doors and found a small suitcase/purse mechanism on her floor. I grabbed it and stared at it for a moment, realizing I had no idea what she wanted to bring for a night. So, I started with what I knew. I walked over to her dresser and put the hand lotion she always uses in one pocket, along with her hairbrush and chapstick and retainer. I pulled open the top drawer of her dresser and put a pair of socks in the big pocket. I made sure they were fuzzy socks, because those were her favourite. Then I pulled open drawer number two and noticed it was her underwear drawer. I smirked to myself as my eyes scoured the contents. I picked up a red and black lacy number and grinned at it.

“She’s gonna need this one…” I said to myself, slipping it into her bag.

“Oh, am I?”

I looked over to the doorway to find her standing there, looking at me with suspicious but amused eyes. I smirked at her, deciding to play it cool. Yes, I was just looking at your underwear, but you’re my girlfriend now so I can totally do that without punishment.

“Definitely,” I agreed. “Those are my favourite colours; why didn’t you tell me you had that?”

She laughed, walking over and taking over the packing job. “I never thought it mattered.”

“Oh, baby, lingerie always matters.” I winked.

“You’re a pervert,” she sighed, tossing a pair of pyjamas into her bag.

“Well I don’t hear you complaining.” I spread out on the messy bed where we’d spent the past few hours.

“True,” she chuckled, sauntering over to her closet to grab an outfit.

“How’s Avaya?” I asked, watching her back.

“She’s good; she’s doing finger painting with grandma today,” she said. “She was so excited she barely even wanted to talk to me. Oh, by the way, I was thinking since I’ll be at your place tomorrow morning anyway, did you want to come pick her up with me?”

I smiled warmly at her. Whenever she invited me to take part in anything involving Avaya I felt like I belonged in this family of hers. I loved that feeling a lot.

“Of course,” I said, suddenly smirking to myself. “What are you going to tell your parents?”

She sighed and turned around with a tiny smile on her face. She set the bag on the floor and crawled across the bed to me, straddling me and kissing down my throat while she spoke. “Well, I guess I’ll tell them ‘hey, this is my sexy boyfriend, Zak. I like him a lot; what do you think?’”

I gave a throaty chuckle and brought her chin up to kiss her firmly. “I think that’ll work.”

She gave my neck a little nip and then smiled down at me. “I think so too,” she said.

I brushed her hair behind her ear. She’d worn it down today and it was really beautiful. Her hair was soft, not dry and crinkly, and it always smelled nice, like coconut and flowers. I like that about her a lot. She smells homey and warm. Compared to the other girls I’ve dated who smelled unfamiliar and fake, Lily was really something else. I wouldn’t let her go for anything in the world. She made me happy from day one.

“As much as it pains me to say this, you’re gonna have to put a shirt on,” She winced, tracing innocent little patterns on my chest, “unless you normally drive home half-naked.”

“I do, but it tends to be the other half,” I looked down at myself and smirked.

“Oh hush,” she giggled, playfully swatting me. “C’mon, let’s go; I wanna see Nick and Aaron.”

“Really? You’re not happy just seeing me?” I raised my eyebrows.

“Yes, I’m very happy just seeing you but I like your friends too,” she said, trying her best to urge me to follow her.

“Fine, but they don’t get to kiss you or see you naked.” I grumbled, standing up.

“Darn it. I’m really into polygamy so this sucks.” She sighed sarcastically, slipping a pair of yoga pants on and straightening out her shirt.

I rolled my eyes at her. She could be so sassy sometimes but I just let her be. “Let’s go then.” I slung her overnight bag over my shoulder. “Are you sure you have everything?”

She stood for a minute, seemingly counting her belongings on her fingers and then nodded. “Yes, we’re good to go.”

We drove the short distance to my place and I started to get a bit nervous. Of course Nick and Aaron knew Lily by now, but this time things would be different. Not only was she my girlfriend now, but now I knew things about her that they didn’t. And they could be pretty rough or say stupid things sometimes, specifically Aaron, and I didn’t want them to do anything that may make her uncomfortable or scared. I was just beginning to feel especially protective of her.

“Here we are,” I said, pulling into the driveway. Our house was small but it worked for us. I watched Lily gaze out her window at it and smile. I smirked. “Is it not what you expected?”

“I don’t know what I expected,” she answered. “Maybe black siding and a skull doorknocker, I don’t know.”

I fake laughed. “Oh, you’re so funny.”

She chuckled to herself. “I know.”

We walked into the house to find the TV on and a box of Frosted Flakes on the couch. I winced at it and hoped Aaron and Nick were decent, wherever they were.

“Aaron? Nick? You two better not be naked, we have company,” I called, my voice echoing throughout the house.

Nick popped his head around the corner of the hallway with a toothbrush between his lips. His eyes widened when he saw who I was with and he made a surprised noise before disappearing back into the hallway, muttering on about something. I sighed and slipped my shoes off, beckoning Lily into the house. She followed, curious, and stuck close by my side. I could sense her anxiety, so I kept her tucked away behind me. I really hoped the guys would be on good behaviour around her. They may not know what she’d gone through, but I did, and I intended to keep her safe and comfortable for as long as she was mine.

Suddenly Nick and Aaron both came dashing out of the hallway into the small living room and they were gawking at Lily and I. Aaron was the first to speak.

“So…does this mean that you did it?” he asked with wide eyes.

I sighed and nodded, trying to disguise it as a chin scratch. I could see Lily tilting her head out of the corner of my eye.

“Awesome, dude!” Aaron exclaimed. He rushed towards us and hugged us both.

“Aaron, get off!” I whined, pushing on his chest. Lily was chuckling softly.

“I think I’m a little lost,” she said bashfully.

“Ah, it’s nothin’ big,” Aaron said with a smirk. “You’re just Zak’s girly-friend now is all.”

She laughed but I rolled my eyes. Maybe bringing her here wasn’t my best idea.

“So what’s up?” Nick asked, looking from me to Lily. “How come you’re here for once? We didn’t exactly clean the place, Zak.”

“Yeah, I noticed,” I jabbed a thumb at the box of cereal on the couch. “We just wanted a change of scenery. Maybe we could all go out and play ball or something. This house isn’t really fit for my ‘girly-friend.’” Aaron smirked at me.

“Oh, I don’t mind, really,” Lily piped up.

“Yeah, let’s go to the ball diamond! We haven’t been there in months and my glove is collecting dust in my closet.” Nick exclaimed, jumping up and down on his toes.

Both he and Aaron took off to get their stuff. Aaron wasn’t really one for baseball; he preferred to just take pictures of us playing. But he had a glove and bat nonetheless and he joined in on special occasions.

“You any good at baseball?” I asked, lightly nudging Lily with my elbow.

She looked up at me with this wicked smirk on her face. “I guess you’ll find out. But I’m going to need a glove, you know.”

I chuckled. “I have my sister’s glove in my room somewhere. It should fit you.”

“Oh, good! Take me to your room, I wanna see.” She tugged on my hand but I shook my head. I hadn’t made my bed or anything for a few days since I’d mostly been with her, and I really didn’t need her seeing how big of a slob I could be sometimes.

“N-no, that’s okay. Another time, alright?”

She huffed. “You’re no fun.”

“I know,” I whispered, winking at her. “Just wait until I’m winning on the baseball field.”



It was the second inning and Aaron and I were getting our asses kicked by Lily and Nick. In fact, as much as it kills me to admit it, I think getting our asses kicked is an understatement. One thing Lily and I had neglected to talk about was sports, specifically ones we played in high school. For example, I had no idea Lily was a star baseball player from grade 4 to grade 12 until a few minutes ago when she hit her third home run and as she was casually strolling past me, she politely informed me of it. Not only were we playing half-ass because we only had two people on a team, but now we find out Lily is the wild card. Nick was far too pleased about it.

“How does it taste to lose to your girlfriend, Zak?” he asked, throwing the ball in the air arrogantly.

I just scoffed and kicked at the home plate. Nick was pitching and covering first base while Lily had volunteered to manage everything else. For a quiet, sheltered girl she was pretty cocky on the ball diamond. But I was going to give her something to work for out there. I took my stance, planting my feet firmly into the dusty dirt. I tapped the home plate twice with the tip of my bat and held it ready just over my shoulder. I narrowed my eyes, focusing in on the ball in Nick’s hand.

“Good luck, man. You’re gonna need it.” Aaron mumbled behind me.

“Nah, I won’t,” I replied. “Just you watch and see. This home run is all mine.”

Nick wound up and chucked the ball at me with all of his force. I bunched my muscles and brought my arms forward until I heard the sharp sound of the ball connecting with my aluminum bat. It was sent flying, curving just a little to my left, and Lily was chasing after it. I grinned, dropped my bat and took off running for my bases. I was going to make it home with that one! There was no way in hell she could catch it and make it all the way back in time to tag me out. However, to my surprise, as I was rounding second I looked up to see her rushing with all her speed to third. And she was getting far too close for comfort. I panicked and ran faster, tripping up and falling. I was reaching for the third base with the tips of my fingers, thinking if I could just make it there Aaron could get me home and steal first at least. But just as the dust was clouding around me from my fall and my fingers were just about to make contact with the smooth plate, a white ball beat me to it. I stared in shock at the sight inches from my face and my jaw dropped.

“You’ve got to be kidding me…” I gasped breathlessly. I rolled onto my back, panting, and as the dust cleared I saw Lily hovering over me with a cocky smile.

“What’s the matter, Zak?” she asked. “Did I sneak up on you a little bit?” She knelt down more so she could whisper in my ear, “Did you bite off a little more than you could chew with me?”

I was still trying to catch my breath on the ground and I shook my head. “You’re unbelievable,” I whispered.

“Oh, sweetheart, I know,” she chuckled, lightly cupping my face with the palm of her hand. “I have my moments.”

She grabbed my hand and hauled me upright. I dusted some of the dirt off of me and just stared at her, awestruck. I would’ve never expected such a thing to come out of her. And her talent was baseball, nonetheless! I mean really, who could’ve guessed that one? It made me wonder what other tricks she had up her sleeve.

“Aw man, can we just forfeit?” Aaron groaned, throwing his glove onto the ground. “I’m exhausted and we’re losing big time.”

Nick and Lily looked at me expectantly, just waiting to watch me wave the white flag of surrender. I was going to argue the point a little because I hate losing, but I just rolled my eyes instead.

“Fine,” I snarled, “we forfeit.”

Nick and Lily cheered and did the jumping high-five and everything. I secured my hat on my head and kicked at a dirt clump. It wasn’t that I’m a sore loser, because I’m definitely not, it’s just that I thought baseball would give me a chance to impress Lily but instead she’d been the one to impress me. I felt a little less manly for it, and my ego was extremely sensitive.

“Oh, don’t pout,” Lily said, jogging over to me. She reached up and kissed my cheek. “You played a good game, Bagans. Maybe next time we can play golf.”

I smirked a little. “Why golf?”

“I’m no good at golf.” She winked.

That made me feel a bit better. I kissed the top of her head and wrapped my arm around her.

“I’m just glad you had fun,” I admitted. I really was glad she had a good time. I was worried she might be shy or anxious now that things had changed between us. She was hard to read that way. But she seemed to be comfortable with Nick and Aaron and she fit in pretty well. I liked seeing her interact with my friends, honestly.

“I did have fun, thank you. Now, would you like me to buy you an ice cream cone?” she asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

I mulled it over and smiled slowly. “Cookies ‘n Cream…?”

She laughed. “Yes, cookies ‘n cream.”

“Did I hear someone mention ice cream?” Nick asked. “Is Zak paying?”

“In your dreams!” I retorted, lightly pushing his shoulder as Lily and I walked by.

“Wow, baseball and ice cream afterwards,” Aaron said in a high-pitched voice. “You really know how to treat a lady, Zachary!”

“Shut up, Aaron.” I groaned.

So we left the baseball diamond behind for the night. Even though I lost the game, I was feeling pretty damn good when I looked down and saw Lily’s fingers slipping between mine.