April 17, 2013
Day 17: Write a scene you've always been afraid to write.
"Zacharyyy," I called teasingly, still half asleep on Zach's bed.
There was no answer.
I opened my eyes and was forced to put a hand up to block out the sunlight. The curtains had been drawn and I tossed the covers aside, swinging my legs on the floor in a sitting position. Zach was nowhere to be seen. I stretched my arms above my head, feeling the soreness of last night. I realized I had nothing on, but carelessly walked across the room to Zach's dressing room and picked out one of his shirts.
"Zach?" I called again, slipping a white shirt on.
It smelled of soap and citrus shampoo. It smelled of Zach, not that I was sniffing him or anything while he was sleeping.
"Shower," came a reply from the bathroom. I could hear the shower running, water hitting the bathroom tiles.
"I made breakfast," Zach added in a muffled voice, "It's on the table."
"Okay."
I was halfway out of Zach's huge room when a crazy idea occured to me. Instead of heading dowstairs to eat, I spun on the balls of my bare feet and tiptoed back into the dressing room towards the en suite bathroom, locking the closets and keeping the key in my palm in the process.
Smiling to myself at the memory of last night and feeling boldly playful, I turned the knob of the bathroom door and stepped inside.
Zach was in the shower, the frosted glass doors of the little cubicle covering him up. He had his bare back tom me as he let water run over his face, tracing the contours and planes of his cheeks, his forehead, his nose, and those lips of his, those soft, pink lips of his that can do unspeakable wonders. Water cascaded down his bare back and down the drain.
His words from last night came back to me all of a sudden.
It's okay to be a little naughty sometimes.
Zach turned off the tap. Just as he was about to turn around, running a hand over his wet hair, I snatched his clothes from the rack where he had hung them. I was half way out of the bathroom when he emerged from the shower without a stitch on. His eyes widened in surprise as he saw me, and realized what I was doing.
"What the hell?"
I didn't wait for him to react.
I ran, making a mad dash out the bed room.
"Addie!" Zach shouted behind me. I heard him try to rattle the closet doors open, maybe to grab another set of clothes, only to realize that I had locked them. Thank you Fate, for my clairvoyant abilities.
I spared him a glance over my shoulder. He was running after me, dripping all over the house with only a towel wrapped around his slim waist. A crooked smile was on his lips. I couldn't let the thought of him naked distract me, so I ran even harder, laughing all the way.
We raced down the stairs with Zach hot behind my heels. Zach slipped on the last step and fell. I stopped and walked over to him to check if he was alright. As I stepped within reach peering at him, he reached out to grab me, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
I shrieked in surprise and slipped away. I started running again, laughing even harder at his futile efforts. Zach cursed and got back on his feet.
We reached the dining room now and started circling each other around the huge mahogany table. As he said, the eggs and bacon Zach had made sat on the table along with a glass of milk and a plate of toast together with a pitcher of orange juice and a jar of marmalade. It was sweet of him to cook me breakfast, knowing that the kitchen isn't his favorite part of the house.
"Addie," Zach said warningly as he moved in a slow circle around the table, "Give me my clothes."
"And if I don't?" I asked him in a low voice that I barely even recognized on my own.
"I would do unspeakable things to you," he said in his low, husky bedroom voice, making me shiver involuntarily.
"Huh," I huffed, trying to keep my voice even but failing, "Last time I checked, you do not have bargaining rights. I've got the leverage here."
I gestured at his clothes balled up under my arm. I could only imagine how rumpled his clothes are now. Zach quickened his pace and I dashed out the back door into the huge garden.
The grass ticked my bare feet as I ran like a mad woman. Zach lunged at me and we both rolled on the grass, laughing.
"What's gotten into you today?" he asked, smiling, "Feeling naughty?"
"You said there's nothing wrong with being a little naughty sometimes."
I rolled away from him and threw the bunched up ball of clothes as far as I could. We heard a splash. I quickly looked at Zach, lying on the grass next to me. He looked at me, wide eyed.
Immediately, Zach scrambled to his feet and ran after his clothes towards the direction of the pool. I followed behind him in a quick walk.
His shirt was floating on the pool along with his boxer briefs and his jeans were nowhere in sight, probably having sunk to the bottom. Zach stood at the edge of the pool. The sun shone off his glistening skin and wet hair, defining his profile deliciously. His clothes were soaked. It was useless now, his only hope were the keys to the closet in my hand. He looked at me slowly, a menacing smirk unfurling on his lips.
"Oh, it's on."
I let out a strangled scream as he came at me. I willed my legs to carry me towards the house. We were in the kitchen when a pair of strong arms wrapped around my waist and lifted me up. Zach hoisted me up on the kitchen counter, but before he could put me down, I dropped on the floor by myself and slipped on the water we had trailed earlier.
Somehow, we ended up both on the floor, me hovering over him. Suddenly, Zach rolled and he was on top of me, just like that first time we met. As I looked into his chocolate brown eyes, I knew everything between us has changed. I couldn't tell how or when we changed, but I was different and Zach was different. We were both breathing heavily, none of us smiling now.
There was so much more to Zach beneath all his arrogance and bravado. He was real and honest and just...Zach.
And I think I might be in danger of falling for him.
And that scared me.
It scared me that I was feeling this strongly about him and to him, who am I really? I was just a girl to warm his bed every night. I wasn't supposed to fall for him.
Zach leaned in and I was all too aware of how close we were, only his shirt between us. There was something different with the way he was looking at me, or is it because I have only noticed it now. I closed my eyes as I felt his breath on my lips, but the kiss never came.
"Zachary!" a shrill voice screamed up in horror.
My eyes snapped open and i saw Zach staring at someone towering above us. I followed his line of sight and my blood turned cold.
It was Grandma Cross in her orchid-printed dress and rosewood cane.
