Love Me Like You Hate Me (Edited Version)

Chapter 26

"You know, I used to dream about you all the time," Zack murmured into my chest as he played with a freckle on my shoulder.

"Oh, yeah...?" I asked. I was gently combing his hair with my fingers as we both layed on the couch. "What did you dream about?"

He laughed lightly and curled up on my lap even more. "It's the funniest thing..." he said. "The first time it happened was the day after I first saw you. I dreamed we we walking through a really pretty clearing, holding hands."

"Really?" I mused. A small smile graced my face as I thought about that. It wasn't hard to imagine.

Zack looked up at me, rolling so he could see my face. "It was such a beautiful dream," he said as he reached up and brush his fingers against my cheek. "Kinda like you..."

I could feel my face heating up, but I was happy. My smile grew a little bit as I reached up and moved his hand so I could kissed his palm gratefully. He smiled at that, but remained silent, just gazing up at me. His eyes were soft, yet he was looking at me with a firm, unwavering gaze. It was comfortable though; I felt at home in his eyes.

Suddenly, we heard the front door unlocking. Zack sat up quickly. "Shit! It's my parents!" he said.

We both jumped up and I grabbed my pants off the floor as he zipped his quickly. "Get upstairs," he said. He grabbed my hand and we ran for the second floor. We were just reaching the top of the stair when Zack's mom called him. "Honey? You home?" she asked.

He pushed me into his room. "I'll be down in a minute!" he shouted back. Then he closed his door firmly and locked it. We stared at each other with looks of belated panic for several long second. Then Zack chuckled. I was surprised at his humor at first, but after he started laughing harder I couldn't help laughing a little myself. He struggled to walk over before throwing his arms over my shoulders, trying to bury is giggles in my shirt. "Oh, my God!" he said. "Imagine my parents' faces if they'd seen us like that!"

"I don't know if I want to imagine it," I said, laughing as we fell back on his bed together.

He rolled so that the two of us were facing the ceiling, laughing at the stupidity of our almost-really-bad situation. "The look on my mom's face would've been priceless!" he wheezed.

I held my stomach, laughing as I imagined the horrified looks at the scene of their son and a boy they didn't even know, laying half-naked on their expensive leather couch. It was definitely something parents couldn't even dream of. It'd have been a nightmare.

It was a long five minutes of laughing before we calmed down enough to breathe properly. Zack sat up and stared down at me, his face flushed. He looked happier than I'd ever seen him. Then he shoved a pillow in my face and stood up. "Put your pants on," he chuckled. "I'm gonna introduce you to my parents."

I quickly pulled my jeans on and made sure the bite mark on my shoulder was hidden under my shirt before Zack and I headed downstairs. His parents were putting groceries away while they talked about how their work day had gone. Nervously, I stood behind Zack as he went and gave his mom a kiss on the cheek.

She smiled at him before she caught sight of me by the kitchen doorway. A huge smile crossed her face. "You didn't tell me you had a friend over," she said. I held out my hand as she came towards me. She shook it politely before giving me a once-over. "Are you a friend from school?" she asked.

I nodded. "My name's Erik," I said shyly.

Her brown eyes shown bright with happiness. "What a nice name," she said. "Scandinavian, I think."

Zack snickered behind her back as I blinked in confusion. "Um, thank you?" I said.

She laughed and turned back to her groceries. "You boys go play. Dinner won't be done for an hour," she told us.