Chapter Thirty-Two – Why?
"You can have the shower first," Ray offered.
"No thanks. I'm going to take forever with my hair like this," Zarine said, pointing to her tangled mess of curls.
"Okay," he said, and went to get some clothes out.
Zarine fell onto the bed, hugging a pillow. She was really tired and hungry after that long swim. She sighed and closed her eyes. Ray looked over his shoulder at her small body on the bed. (She is still in her bikini.)
[Man, she's hot!] he thought. His eyes never left her until he had to close the door to the bathroom. He didn't even notice that he dropped his shirt on the floor.
"Oh no!" he muttered as he came out of the shower. "I must have dropped my shirt outside."
When he came out, he saw Zarine sleeping. He thought he better wake her up before she gets a cold since she wasn't exactly wearing a lot of clothes.
She yawned, and opened her eyes. She rubbed her eyes sleepily. "You better take a shower before you get a cold or your brother will kill me," Ray said.
"Yeah, thanks," she said vaguely. She was still tired. Suddenly, she just noticed that Ray was shirtless.
[What a hottie! He's got such a good body...]she thought dreamily to herself, admiring Ray's well-toned chest. Then, her face turned into a bright shade of red when she realized that she had been gawking at him. She carefully avoided looking at him as she got out some clean clothes. Ray also kept his eyes away from her. He knew if he did, he'd probably end up doing something stupid. Yet he could not help but to at least sneak a look at her. Zarine, however, had more control over herself. She managed not to look at him, even though she was tempted to.
While Zarine was struggling to get the hairbrush through her hair, her thoughts turned to Ray. [He looked so hot! I really like him. He is such a sweetie...When should I tell him? Tonight? Nah, I should get him something first. He did save me in the finals. Now what should I get him?] she wondered. She spent long time thinking, but no good ideas came to her, only stupid ones.
Then the greatest idea came to her. She thought he would really like it. She hoped so.
Ray's POV
Will came in when Zarine was talking a shower. I was just flapping through the channels to see if anything good was on.
"Hey, is Zarine still in the shower?" Will asked.
"Yeah," I replied. "Is she always that playful?"
Will smiled, "You have no idea. Sometimes she is just so exasperating, you just want to spank her, but that's what makes her so lovable. Besides, she is so sweet and cute, I wouldn't trade her for any other girl. Tell her to come and see me when she comes out." He turned around and left.
Cute and sweet? I certainly wouldn't us those words to describe Zarine. Then again, she seemed so different from the gril I thought I knew.
The ring of the phone interrupted my thoughts.
"Hello?" I said into the receiver.
"Hi, is Zarine there?" a male voice on the other end asked.
I wondered who that person was. Why on earth would a guy want to talk to her? "She's in the shower right now," I replied.
"Not anymore," Zarine's voice said. She took the phone out of my hand.
Normal POV
"Hello?" Zarine said. Ray was listening intently to her side of the conversation.
"Hey Zarine," that guy said.
"Hey, Jeffie!" Zarine said happily, recognizing the voice. Ray wondered what made her so cheerful all of a sudden.
"I've been so worried about you. So have are you and Will?" 'Jeffie' asked, concerned.
"Jeff, I'm fine. I can take care of myself," she said. "Will is fine too."
"Who was the guy that just answered the phone?" he asked curiously.
"It was just Ray," Zarine replied. "He's my roommate. So why did you call?"
"Oh. I was wondering if you and Will wanted to come and live with me. My parents said they'll love to have you!" Jeff said excitedly.
The small girl sighed and bit her lip. There was a long silence. "Zarine? You here still?" he asked when Zarine didn't answer. He thought the line had been cut off or something.
"I don't know..." she finally answered. At this point, Ray was convinced that this Jeff had just asked her out. He really hoped she wouldn't. "I'll just have to get back to you on that after I talk with Will about it," she continued.
"Okay. I really hope you can! Miss ya lots!" he said.
"Miss you too! Love ya!" Zarine said before hanging up the phone. She hurried out of the room as soon as she put the phone back.
Now Ray was so jealous, he thought he would burst with it. Not just jealousy, but resentment too. He disliked the fact that Zarine was forgetting him. She never even looks at him twice. It was like he was just a decoration, or an unnecessary thing to her or something. But then again, how can he expect to compete with all the other guys that she can get?
By the sound of that conversation between Jeff and Zarine, it looked like that she would go out with him for sure. What she had said at the end had confirmed it. Now what was it? He snorted, that's right; it was "love ya." [Why didn't she love, or at least, like me? I saved her after all, and I was there when she needed me...Her heart belongs to someone else. I shouldn't have told her that I loved her. I shouldn't even have loved her in the first place!
She probably just used us to help her, or something. I would have never suspected that she was like that...until now.] The more he thought about it, the more angry he became, making unreasonable assumptions that only made him even angrier with her.
"Hey, big bro!" Zarine said excitedly. "Guess what!"
Will smiled at Zarine's excited face. "What is it?"
"Jeff just called. He asked if we wanted to go and live with him! Aunt Ella and Uncle Jimmy said they would love to have us!" she told him.
Will frowned. "What about your team?"
"I don't even know what they're planning to do after the party. I think they're just going to go home afterwards..." she answered. "I'll just ask Ray or Kai later."
After dinner, Ray sat alone in the room, watching TV, since Zarine was off with Will and Max. They were going to some candy factory or something. He sighed. She didn't even talk to him during dinner. [Didn't she know that if we're not going to Tyson's dojo, or Kai's mansion, then we won't see each other again until December, when we go to the World Championships?] he snapped out of his reverie. [What do I care? I'm supposed to be mad at her! It'll be better for me if I just forgot that I ever loved her.]
He was so frustrated with himself. As much as he wanted to forget about Zarine, he couldn't. She kept haunting him in his mind. Some of his frustration must have shown on his face, because the first thing out of Zarine's mouth when she came in was, "Is there something wrong?"
[Doesn't she know?] he thought incredulously. [No, I guess not, since she was too busy with that brother of hers.]
He snapped, "If you don't know, then I'm not going to tell you." He even sent her a glare.
Zarine looked away. She couldn't bear to look at his angry face, knowing that she was probably the reason why he was so upset.
[Why is he so mad at me? What did I do?] she thought, confused. [How does he expect me to know why he is upset? I 'm not a freaking mind reader. I wish I was, then at least, I can find out what his problem is.]
When she finally looked up at Ray again, she asked softly, "You sure you don't want to tell me what it is?"
"It's none of your business," he answered coldly, before walking past her to leave.
She nearly flinched at his cold tone. He had never talked to her like that before. She sighed sadly and slowly lay on her bed. Maybe he didn't love her anymore. Yeah, that was probably it. He was probably giving her the cold shoulder so she would get the signal. She didn't understand it. Everything between them was fine in the afternoon, he had even gotten her an ice-cream cone!
She closed her eyes. It makes her head hurt just trying to figure out why. She decided that she didn't have to know why. Maybe if she got him something, and be nicer to him, he'd like her more? If only she didn't have so little time to make him like her again. She only had five days, she better think up of all the tricks that she had used to win guys' hearts.
Another one done! Yay! I better go do my homework now!
"You can have the shower first," Ray offered.
"No thanks. I'm going to take forever with my hair like this," Zarine said, pointing to her tangled mess of curls.
"Okay," he said, and went to get some clothes out.
Zarine fell onto the bed, hugging a pillow. She was really tired and hungry after that long swim. She sighed and closed her eyes. Ray looked over his shoulder at her small body on the bed. (She is still in her bikini.)
[Man, she's hot!] he thought. His eyes never left her until he had to close the door to the bathroom. He didn't even notice that he dropped his shirt on the floor.
"Oh no!" he muttered as he came out of the shower. "I must have dropped my shirt outside."
When he came out, he saw Zarine sleeping. He thought he better wake her up before she gets a cold since she wasn't exactly wearing a lot of clothes.
She yawned, and opened her eyes. She rubbed her eyes sleepily. "You better take a shower before you get a cold or your brother will kill me," Ray said.
"Yeah, thanks," she said vaguely. She was still tired. Suddenly, she just noticed that Ray was shirtless.
[What a hottie! He's got such a good body...]she thought dreamily to herself, admiring Ray's well-toned chest. Then, her face turned into a bright shade of red when she realized that she had been gawking at him. She carefully avoided looking at him as she got out some clean clothes. Ray also kept his eyes away from her. He knew if he did, he'd probably end up doing something stupid. Yet he could not help but to at least sneak a look at her. Zarine, however, had more control over herself. She managed not to look at him, even though she was tempted to.
While Zarine was struggling to get the hairbrush through her hair, her thoughts turned to Ray. [He looked so hot! I really like him. He is such a sweetie...When should I tell him? Tonight? Nah, I should get him something first. He did save me in the finals. Now what should I get him?] she wondered. She spent long time thinking, but no good ideas came to her, only stupid ones.
Then the greatest idea came to her. She thought he would really like it. She hoped so.
Ray's POV
Will came in when Zarine was talking a shower. I was just flapping through the channels to see if anything good was on.
"Hey, is Zarine still in the shower?" Will asked.
"Yeah," I replied. "Is she always that playful?"
Will smiled, "You have no idea. Sometimes she is just so exasperating, you just want to spank her, but that's what makes her so lovable. Besides, she is so sweet and cute, I wouldn't trade her for any other girl. Tell her to come and see me when she comes out." He turned around and left.
Cute and sweet? I certainly wouldn't us those words to describe Zarine. Then again, she seemed so different from the gril I thought I knew.
The ring of the phone interrupted my thoughts.
"Hello?" I said into the receiver.
"Hi, is Zarine there?" a male voice on the other end asked.
I wondered who that person was. Why on earth would a guy want to talk to her? "She's in the shower right now," I replied.
"Not anymore," Zarine's voice said. She took the phone out of my hand.
Normal POV
"Hello?" Zarine said. Ray was listening intently to her side of the conversation.
"Hey Zarine," that guy said.
"Hey, Jeffie!" Zarine said happily, recognizing the voice. Ray wondered what made her so cheerful all of a sudden.
"I've been so worried about you. So have are you and Will?" 'Jeffie' asked, concerned.
"Jeff, I'm fine. I can take care of myself," she said. "Will is fine too."
"Who was the guy that just answered the phone?" he asked curiously.
"It was just Ray," Zarine replied. "He's my roommate. So why did you call?"
"Oh. I was wondering if you and Will wanted to come and live with me. My parents said they'll love to have you!" Jeff said excitedly.
The small girl sighed and bit her lip. There was a long silence. "Zarine? You here still?" he asked when Zarine didn't answer. He thought the line had been cut off or something.
"I don't know..." she finally answered. At this point, Ray was convinced that this Jeff had just asked her out. He really hoped she wouldn't. "I'll just have to get back to you on that after I talk with Will about it," she continued.
"Okay. I really hope you can! Miss ya lots!" he said.
"Miss you too! Love ya!" Zarine said before hanging up the phone. She hurried out of the room as soon as she put the phone back.
Now Ray was so jealous, he thought he would burst with it. Not just jealousy, but resentment too. He disliked the fact that Zarine was forgetting him. She never even looks at him twice. It was like he was just a decoration, or an unnecessary thing to her or something. But then again, how can he expect to compete with all the other guys that she can get?
By the sound of that conversation between Jeff and Zarine, it looked like that she would go out with him for sure. What she had said at the end had confirmed it. Now what was it? He snorted, that's right; it was "love ya." [Why didn't she love, or at least, like me? I saved her after all, and I was there when she needed me...Her heart belongs to someone else. I shouldn't have told her that I loved her. I shouldn't even have loved her in the first place!
She probably just used us to help her, or something. I would have never suspected that she was like that...until now.] The more he thought about it, the more angry he became, making unreasonable assumptions that only made him even angrier with her.
"Hey, big bro!" Zarine said excitedly. "Guess what!"
Will smiled at Zarine's excited face. "What is it?"
"Jeff just called. He asked if we wanted to go and live with him! Aunt Ella and Uncle Jimmy said they would love to have us!" she told him.
Will frowned. "What about your team?"
"I don't even know what they're planning to do after the party. I think they're just going to go home afterwards..." she answered. "I'll just ask Ray or Kai later."
After dinner, Ray sat alone in the room, watching TV, since Zarine was off with Will and Max. They were going to some candy factory or something. He sighed. She didn't even talk to him during dinner. [Didn't she know that if we're not going to Tyson's dojo, or Kai's mansion, then we won't see each other again until December, when we go to the World Championships?] he snapped out of his reverie. [What do I care? I'm supposed to be mad at her! It'll be better for me if I just forgot that I ever loved her.]
He was so frustrated with himself. As much as he wanted to forget about Zarine, he couldn't. She kept haunting him in his mind. Some of his frustration must have shown on his face, because the first thing out of Zarine's mouth when she came in was, "Is there something wrong?"
[Doesn't she know?] he thought incredulously. [No, I guess not, since she was too busy with that brother of hers.]
He snapped, "If you don't know, then I'm not going to tell you." He even sent her a glare.
Zarine looked away. She couldn't bear to look at his angry face, knowing that she was probably the reason why he was so upset.
[Why is he so mad at me? What did I do?] she thought, confused. [How does he expect me to know why he is upset? I 'm not a freaking mind reader. I wish I was, then at least, I can find out what his problem is.]
When she finally looked up at Ray again, she asked softly, "You sure you don't want to tell me what it is?"
"It's none of your business," he answered coldly, before walking past her to leave.
She nearly flinched at his cold tone. He had never talked to her like that before. She sighed sadly and slowly lay on her bed. Maybe he didn't love her anymore. Yeah, that was probably it. He was probably giving her the cold shoulder so she would get the signal. She didn't understand it. Everything between them was fine in the afternoon, he had even gotten her an ice-cream cone!
She closed her eyes. It makes her head hurt just trying to figure out why. She decided that she didn't have to know why. Maybe if she got him something, and be nicer to him, he'd like her more? If only she didn't have so little time to make him like her again. She only had five days, she better think up of all the tricks that she had used to win guys' hearts.
Another one done! Yay! I better go do my homework now!