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Zak’s P.O.V

Vegas was cooking today. It was always warm here, seeing as it was a desert and all, but the sun seemed to be especially relentless today. I was out in the tiny two car garage, giving my sports car an oil change and other small fix-ups. I had a wife-beater on which totally wasn’t my style, but it was drenched in sweat and oil stains anyway. I’d rather have that kind of a mess on a useless top than one I actually liked.

I was using an old skateboard of Aaron’s to get underneath my car. It was cutting into my ribs and my neck was screaming in pain. I was actually starting to feel pretty miserable as a result of the heat and my sore body. I didn’t like being uncomfortable. I also didn’t like doing my own oil change, but the last time I’d gotten a shop to do it they’d completely fucked things up and I was scared to try it again anywhere.

I pushed myself out from under the car and sighed. I was finally finished. I got up off the stupid skateboard, cracked my back a few times, and then looked at the mess I had to clean up next. What a fantastic Saturday I was having.

I grabbed some paper towels and wiped off some oil smudges here and there, as well as the sweat that slicked my body. I glared out the open garage doors at the sunny sky.

“It’s days like this I wish I lived in Seattle…or New York,” I snapped.

The door that led into the house opened and Aaron stood there with a half-eaten cherry Popsicle in his hand. I glared at him.

“Whatcha doin’?” he asked, slurping up the sticky mess.

“Giving my car an oil change and getting heat exhaustion,” I muttered, wiping the oil off my fingers with a bit more vigour.

“Oh,” Aaron looked at his Popsicle. “Should I not be eating this in front of you then?”

“No, no, that’d be too considerate of you,” I grumbled. “Please, carry on.”

“’Kay,” He walked down into the garage and continued to take bites of his stupid Popsicle. I grumbled and turned away. “So, you going over to Lily’s tonight? I bet she’ll like you all sweaty and greased up. That sounds like a plot to the perfect 80’s movie.”

I scoffed. “No, not tonight. She has work shit she has to get done and said she didn’t want me distracting her.”

Aaron let out a long, low whistle. “What kind of distractions are you giving her, Zak? Or do I want to ask?”

I rolled my eyes. “It’s not whatever you’re thinking, you pervert.”

“Yeah, why isn’t it, by the way?” He finished his Popsicle and chewed on the wooden stick thoughtfully. “I mean, you’ve known her for almost two months now. You’re at her house a lot. So…why haven’t you made any moves? Normally by now you’ve already banged and broken up with a girl.”

I tasted poison at those words, because they were true. And I felt pretty shitty that they were true. I never really thought I’d find someone special enough to take my time with until I met Lily, so I just screwed around in all my relationships. It was just yet another gold star to tack on to my reputation.

“I don’t know,” I mumbled. I set his skateboard back up on its rack. “I just…it’s different this time. I don’t know.”

But I did know, well, kind of. I was really hesitant about “defining the relationship” as they say. I was scared that if I brought it up too soon Lily would block me out and get cold. She did that sometimes. At this point, we were really close, happy friends. We’d laugh together, goof off, and just spend time together. I didn’t want to ruin that because I wanted her. I still wanted her; I’d always want her, but I couldn’t be selfish with her. She’d been through a lot and although I didn’t know much about it, I didn’t want to scare her off. I couldn’t be insensitive. I couldn’t be demanding. I had to just wait for the right time. Unfortunately I’d never been super patient.

“Well if you don’t make a move soon maybe there won’t be any legendary Lily and Zak,” Aaron mused.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “What do you mean?”

“Everyone gets a window of opportunity, Zak,” he sighed. “I’ve seen you get some so many times now and you haven’t done anything with it! I’m just saying, bro, you have to swoop in on that before it’s too late. I’d hate to see you lose her because you waited too long.”

I bit the inside of my cheek. Without even knowing it Aaron was arguing with me. He was playing the devil’s advocate, so to speak. I hated being argued with, but on this particular subject I had to hear him out. I shouldn’t just be afraid of losing Lily because I was being pushy, but I should worry about losing her because I was wasting too much time. I really felt like I couldn’t win.

“I just don’t want to jump the gun, that’s all,” I sighed. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

I leaned against my car and shook my head. This wasn’t me. I was never hesitant with girls. I never took my time. I was never scared or nervous…I was always confident and strong. What kind of magic powers did Lily have to wield to change that about me in an instant? I’d tried to be confident when I first met her and it only worked for so long before she broke me down. I was screwed.

“Nah, you’re fine,” Aaron consoled. “You just have to keep your eyes peeled for your next chance and take it this time, bro.”

“Maybe you’re right—”

I was cut off by my phone ringing from inside my car. I reached in through the open driver’s window and snagged it off the seat. I didn’t know the number but I answered it anyway.

“Hello?” I asked suspiciously.

“Hi, is this Zak?” It was a female voice. “Like, the Zak who wants to get with my sister Zak?”

I smirked. “Ana, hey, what’s up?”

She chuckled on the other end of the line. “Lounging, drinking wine by the pool, you know, a typical day.”

“Sounds like it.”

“Mm, yes. Although, while I’m sitting here soaking up the sun, I can’t help but be a bit troubled by one nagging thought in particular…”

“What might that be?” Aaron was mouthing ‘who is it’ at me and I waved him off, turning my back to him.

“Why aren’t you dating my sister officially yet?” Ana asked.

I looked down at my scuffed up shoes. This whole day was about me dating Lily it seemed. I didn’t really mind, I just wish I knew what to say.

“I don’t know if it’s the right time yet,” I sighed into my phone. “You know Lily…I don’t know what she’s been through exactly, but she’s pretty sketchy about that stuff. I don’t want to push something that might make her uncomfortable around me, y’know?”

“I know she’s had a rough past with Matt and everything,” Ana’s voice was sad. “I mean she got pregnant at 19 for god’s sake. She didn’t want that, Zak. She loves Avaya; that girl is Lily’s world, but she never wanted to get pregnant before she could really live.”

“I understand,” I nodded. I still sensed there was something that everyone was leaving out of the story. I didn’t want to outright ask what it was though. I wasn’t sure t was any of my business just yet.

“Yes, but listen to me and listen good,” Ana was back to her bossy voice. We were alike in that sense, I learned. “You are perfect for my little sister. Even if she won’t admit it out loud, you make her happy. I could see it on her face when you walked into the apartment. Every time you spoke to her or even looked at her, she got that look on her face that I haven’t seen in 5 years. I think you and her could work out, I really do.”

“Wow, thanks, Ana. That actually makes me feel a lot more confident…” I kicked at a stray pebble on the cement floor.

“I sense some hesitation…”

“It’s just…I don’t know when the right time would be,” I muttered. “I don’t want to scare her off. I want her, I really do, but I don’t want to screw anything up because I couldn’t wait.”

“I say you’ve done enough waiting, and so has Lily. If you want her, go get her, Zak. She’s basically just waiting for you to make the next move.”

“I tried to kiss her a few weeks ago and she denied me,” I was still thinking about that. That was a big part of whatever was holding me back. If she didn’t want to kiss me, why would she want to date me?

“Physical contact has spooked Lily for quite some time,” Ana sighed. “She’s timid like that. But trust me, she wants to be with you, Zak. She’s just hiding from it right now; it’s what she does. All you have to do is ask and those walls of hers will come tumbling down.”

“But when do I ask?” I chuckled a little. “I’ve never been this technical about asking a girl out before…”

“This is why I called you,” she responded. “I thought you might be floundering a bit. You’re in luck, though. This coming weekend she’s shipping Avaya out to our parents’ for the whole weekend. That’s your chance, Zak. Take her out somewhere nice, get her laughing and smiling, make her feel comfortable and then the rest will come easy. You’ll know what to do after that.”

Something fluttered inside my gut. Anastasia was right; this was my perfect chance! I spun around to Aaron with a huge grin on my face. The little shit had been right after all.

“That’s perfect,” I said. “Thank you for telling me, Ana. You’re a fucking saint, I swear.”

“Now, now, Zak,” she giggled. “Save the suck-up language for when you’re my brother-in-law.”

I laughed awkwardly at her joke. “Well I better get planning for this weekend. Thanks again, Ana. You’re a life saver.”

“Don’t thank me until Lily is all yours,” Ana said softly. “You have the ability to get my baby sister back to how she once was, I can sense it. Good luck, Zak.”

“Thanks. Talk to you soon.” I hung up and just kept grinning like a maniac at Aaron.

Aaron gave me a puzzled look. “Why are you looking at me like that, dude? You’re kind of creeping me out, not gonna lie.”

“You know that thing you were saying about my ‘window of opportunity?’” I said excitedly. He nodded. “I got another one, and I’m jumping through it and I’m not looking back.”

Aaron busted out into his classic smile. “Atta boy, Zak!” He walked over to clap me on the back and then made a face, wiping his hand on his pants. “We’ll talk a bit more after you’ve showered, I think.”

“Sounds like a plan,” I chuckled, heading towards the house. “Get me a Popsicle while I’m cleaning up, will you?”

“I’d say you deserve it now.” Aaron winked at me as we walked back inside.