Chapter 5

Zane climbed out of the pool and went over to a small tiki-hut style bar. He pulled out a glass bottle and drank half the thing. I watched, not sure of what to do. I mean, he was drinking alcohol right in front of me. It was kind of weird. I'm not the kind of girl to partake in illegal activities. When Zane was finished drinking, he returned to the side of the pool and sat with his legs in the water.

"Are you going to join me?" I asked.

"Fine," he sighed. He slipped into the water and stood staring at me.

"Alright, is there anything specific you want to learn?" I could see Zane thinking for a moment. Something flashed in his eyes for a split second, then vanished. I dismissed it.

"How about you teach me to dive?" he asked, nodding toward the diving board at the deep end of the pool.

"Uh, I guess. But you don't know how to hold your breath yet. Or how to swim underwater."

"Hey, you tried to drown me. I'd say you owe me," he smirked.

"Fine. Let's go," I said, climbing out of the pool. I walked over to the diving board, leaving a trail of wet footprints. Zane followed me. When I reached the board, I turned to him.

"What kind of dive do you want to learn? There are normal, pencil, tucks, pikes, flips-"

"How 'bout a flip?" he asked. This guy obviously liked a challenge.

"Very well then," I climbed up the small ladder and walked to the end of the board. I bounced a little to get the feel of the it, then felt eyes watching me. I turned my head to see Zane staring not at my back, but a little bit lower. Creeper. I jumped, catapulting myself into the air, tucked my legs in, and leaned forward. I completed two rotations and plunged headfirst into the water. Once I was submerged, I arched my back and kicked a little, propelling myself back to the surface. I brushed my hair back away from my face and swam to the edge of the pool.

"Well?" I asked.

"Impressive," Zane replied. I smirked, proud of my accomplishment. That all faded when Zane made his way to the end of the board, jumped once, did a triple rotation, and dove in head first. When he surfaced, I was sitting right on the edge of the pool where he was. He looked at my knees, then his eyes traveled upward to my face.

"You knew how to swim all along," I said.

"No."

"Don't bother lying. I should've realized it earlier. You're one of those blue blood boys who think you're so much better than anyone else, and you figured it would be fun to waste my time. Well, you've had 

your fun, and now I'm going home," as I finished, I stood up and turned to leave. I grabbed my pool bag and wogged off (not improper spelling, it's a cross between walking and jogging). I was halfway to the house when Zane caught up with me.

"Wait," he grabbed my arm and turned me around. I responded by slapping him square in the face.

"Why'd you do that?" he yelled.

"Same reason I did this," I said. He was halfway through saying "what?" when I kneed him in th groin. He groaned and fell to the ground, clutching himself in pain. I whirled around and sauntered to the house. I walked in, to the front door, and out. And realized that the limo was gone. I bit my lip, feeling a bit uncomfortable. I turned around and went back into the house, looking for the man who'd driven me here. I looked for several minutes, not finding a single person. I arrived back in the living room to see Zane, still in his swim shorts, still looking like he was in pain. Crap. He glared at me a little.

"That was uncalled for," he said.

"Well, so was grabbing me. And throwing me in the deep end. And wasting my time with swim lessons you didn't even need."

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe I'm a fast learner?"

"People don't learn to do triple rotations by watching someone do a double once," I glared. "Where's the car?"

"What?"

"The car that drove me here. I'm ready to go home."

"It's Harry's day off. He only picked you up as a favor."

"Then how am I supposed to get home?" I asked. I looked at the clock. "Dang it!"

"Who says dang it anymore?" he asked, looking at me funny.

"I'm gonna miss the concert," I said, ignoring him.

"What concert?"

"The Jet concert. You know, Jet Rebel. The hottest male singer in existence," I said, giving him an 'are you kidding me?' look.

"Well, if you want, you can watch it here. I've got like twenty TV's," Zane said.

"Really? You, you don't mind?"

"Not at all. What channel is it on?" he asked, picking up the remote off of a nearby endtable.



"145," I said, reaching into my pool bag. I pulled out a towel and wrapped it around myself. "Is it okay if I sit?"

"Yeah, sure," Zane flopped down on the leather couch, still in his wet swim shorts.

"Um, your shorts are gonna ruin the leather."

"Huh? Doesn't matter. I'll just get a new couch." Before I could reply, the concert started. There were flashy lights, smoke on the stage, and band members rocking out. Then, a trap door opened and Jet Rebel came up out of the floor. Girls were shrieking, music was blaring, and he began to sing.

Hey I've been watching you,

Every little thing you do,

Every time I see you dance in my homeroom class makes my heart beat fast,

I tried to page you twice,

But I see you roll your eyes,

Wish I could make you feel that I'm into you it ain't no big deal,

Cuz I know you really want me,

I hear your friends talk about me,

So whatcha tryin' to do without me?

Well you got me, where you want me,

(Hey Juliet)

I think, you're fine,

You really blow my mind,

Maybe, someday,

You and me can run away,

I just want you to know,

I wanna be your Romeo,

Hey Juliet,

Hey Juliet!

Jet stopped singing and the music continued.

"You like this stuff?" Zane asked.

"Duh. He's such a hunkmuffin," I said dreamily.

"Hunkmuffin? Where the hell did you get 'hunkmuffin'?"

"I heard it somewhere," I said, my eyes still glued to the TV screen.

"Teenage girls," Zane huffed.

The song continued, the concert continued, and the whole thing was over an hour and a half later. It was now after noon.

"Hey, I've got a question," Zane began. "Why was the concert so early?"

"Jet was performing live in Asia. He's so foreign." I awed.

"Right. You hungry?"

"Huh? I guess. A little peckish, yeah."

"Peckish? What the hell is peckish?" he looked at me funny.

"It means pleasantly hungry." Zane stared at me. I looked away, feeling slightly uncomfortable.

"So, do you want to get some lunch?" he asked finally.

"Uh, sure. Where do you want to go?"

"I don't know. I'm not a picky eater. How about Olive Garden?"

"Um, okay. Just let me change. Wait, I only brought pajama-ish clothes."

"'Pajama-ish'? God, you use the weirdest words. You can probably borrow some of my sister's clothes. They might be a little big on you, though," he said. "I'll show you to her room." Zane led me up the stairs and down a few hallways. He opened a door and ushered me inside. I looked in Azure's closet and looked back at Zane.

"This is all designer stuff."

"Yeah, your point?"

"Is it really okay if I borrow these?" I asked.

"Yeah. She doesn't even use this stuff. It's 'last month's fashions!'" he imitated his sister.

"Okay then." I selected a pair of jeans, artistically ripped, and a red halter top. I changed, then presented myself to Zane.

"Is this okay?" I asked.

"Fine," he said. He sounded almost breathless. What a weird guy. We left the bedroom wing of the house and went to the garage. Zane opened the large metal door, revealing a black ferarri.

"That's your car?" I asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. Hop in."