Chapter Six
I woke up two hours later to gentle fingers running through my long, soft hair… I could feel Zak's warm, strong body next to mine, and I snuggled closer to him, not quite ready to fully wake up. "Good morning Andrea." Zak said softly, wrapping his arms tighter around me and holding me close to his chest. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and upper back, letting my fingers gently glide along his beautiful, soft, tan skin. I decided then and there that his voice in the morning was the most beautiful sound I'd ever heard. It was soft and low and very sweet. I thought I could drown myself in it and be perfectly content… "Good morning Zak." I said softly, burying my head in his neck. My heart was pounding in my chest as we lay there together. I couldn't believe that Zak was awake, shirtless, in my bed, and cuddling me! It was like a dream come true! I knew for a fact that there were hundreds of girls out there who would kill to be where I was right now. And they were all those crazy fangirls that Zak had talked about the night before… His fingers lightly brushed along the back of my neck, making me shiver involuntarily. I felt Zak smirk against my hair as he rubbed gentle circles against my skin. "You're so soft." he whispered, burying his face in my hair. "Thanks." I whispered back as he continued massaging my neck. We were silent for several seconds, and then Zak pulled back from me a little and took my face in his warm, strong hands. I looked at him and smiled, and he grinned back at me. But then he got a serious look on his face and he swallowed nervously. "What's wrong?" I asked. Zak didn't answer. He just shook his head. I gave him a puzzled look. "Zak what's – " He cut me off when his lips crashed into mine… I could barely breathe. He had taken me completely by surprise, and I couldn't think straight. After a few seconds, though, I gave up on thinking and just decided to act. I kissed Zak back as passionately as I could, molding my lips to his. We kissed for about a minute straight, and then we both pulled away, gasping slightly. I had been kissed by two boys already in my life, but Zak's kiss was nothing like I had ever experienced before. It was soft and gentle, but also warm and fierce and passionate. It felt like Heaven! Zak gentle stroked my cheek and held me close to him. "That was amazing." he whispered. "I know." I whispered back. "I know." I looked up at Zak, and the next thing I knew he was kissing me. Our second kiss was a lot gentler than the first one, and it lasted a little bit longer. Zak was a really good kisser! He took my breath away and nearly rendered me senseless. I saw stars every time he kissed me, and it was completely and utterly beautiful. When we pulled away again, he looked at me and said, "I'm sorry if I stepped out of line by kissing you. But I really do think I have a crush on you, and I couldn't think of a better way of telling you. In fact… I think I love you…" I didn't say anything for several seconds. I was to happy and shocked to speak. Zak was in love with me! It was an amazing concept, and one that I could barely wrap my head around. The idea of Zak truly loving me almost made me cry. In a choked up voice I asked, "Do you believe in first sight?" Zak slowly nodded as he hugged me close. "I'm starting to." he whispered in my ear. "Do you believe in love at first sight?" I nodded against his neck. "I do." I whispered. "I always have." Zak hugged me tightly and I hugged him back. I gently ran my fingers through his soft, black hair, and he generously returned the favor. "Do we have to get up at any particular time?" I asked softly, burying my head in the warm skin of his neck and closing my eyes. Zak shook his head. "We have to be at Bobby's at eight so we can start getting set up before sundown, but, no, other than that we don't have to get up at any particular time." I nodded. "What do you guys usually do the day of the lockdown?" Zak shrugged. "It kind of depends. Generally we each do our own thing, although I'm sure the guys will want to spend some more time with you before the lockdown." I nodded again. I was still feeling sleepy – I blamed it on Zak being so warm and his breathing being so calm and relaxing – and all I wanted to do was fall back asleep in his arms. Zak was still playing with my hair, and he had started planting soft, gentle kisses all over my neck, ears, and face. I had never been kissed like this before, and it made me both nervous and excited. I wanted to kiss him back, but I was too nervous. But Zak knew that I was enjoying it because he hadn't stopped kissing me, and because I kept snuggling closer and closer to him as he continued kissing me. "You're so beautiful Andrea!" he whispered. "So, so beautiful!" I felt myself blushing as happiness welled up inside of me and fresh tears filled my eyes. Not many guys had ever called me beautiful before, and I found it amazing that a guy I had just met thought I was beautiful and felt comfortable enough to tell me so. I closed my eyes and relaxed completely in Zak's arms. I felt like I was floating on a soft, beautiful, peaceful cloud, and Zak was the only person with me. We were on top of the world, where no one else could reach us. We were completely alone together, where no one and nothing could ever touch us… The peaceful moment was shattered when Zak's phone started ringing. "Shit." he muttered as he gave me one last, lingering kiss before letting go of me, sitting up, and reaching for his phone. It was Aaron that was calling. Zak answered the phone and said, "Hello?" I could Aaron on the other end, and I couldn't help but overhear the guys' conversation. "Dude where are you?" he asked. "Nick and I have been looking all over for you!" "I stayed the night with Andrea last night." That same cute blush from the night before crept up Zak's cheeks as he said that, and I just smiled at him, trying hard not to start giggling. "And that's where I am now." Zak continued. "I'm still in Andrea's room." "You stayed the night with her!?" Zak rolled his eyes, and I had to bury my head in a pillow to muffle my giggles. "Yes I stayed the night with her Aaron. We were both pretty freaked out after the episodes last night, and then she fell asleep in my arms. I promised her I'd stay with her so she wouldn't have to be alone and scared when she woke up. Nothing happened!" Aaron was suddenly on the defensive, although I could hear the amusement in his voice, and I could also hear Nick laughing in the background. "Okay, Zak, okay!" Aaron said. "We believe you! We promise!" Zak sighed as Aaron finally broke into full-blown laughter. "You guys are amazing friends." Zak said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "You really are." "You know you love us anyway Zak." Nick said. Zak just shrugged. "I guess." I could tell he was trying not to smiled, and I knew Nick and Aaron could hear that in his voice. "Seriously, though," Aaron said. "we've been looking for you. We're hungry and ready for breakfast. Jay and Billy are sleeping in, and Andrea can join us if she wants to." "Just for the record," Nick piped up. "Aaron is hungry. After all the pizza we ate last night, I could be fine until lunch." Zak and I both busted out laughing. "Alright guys we'll meet you in the lobby in a few minutes. And then we can decide from there what we're going to do for breakfast." "That sounds awesome!" Aaron said, making Zak and I both start laughing again. "Alright. Bye." Zak said. "Bye." Aaron replied, and then both guys hung up. Zak set his phone back down on the floor, turned back to me, and took me in his arms again. "I'm sorry Andrea. Believe me, I did want to spend the whole day like that." I kiss him gently and said, "It's okay Zak. Let's go have some breakfast!" Zak smiled at me and kissed me again softly before sliding out of the bed. His shirt was lying on the floor with his shoes, and he slipped it on over his head. I shamelessly stared at his arms and his back as he put his t-shirt on, fully appreciating how gorgeous he was. "Zak?" I asked quietly. He turned around, looked at me, and said, "Yeah?" "Sometime before tomorrow, will you tell me the stories behind you tattoos?" Zak grinned at me. "Sure. I'll tell you about them." "Cool!" I said softly. "However," Zak continued. "you should know that there's one of my tattoos that's extremely personal and only a handful of people know the story behind." "Which one?" I asked quietly. Zak turned his left arm over and pointed at the tattoo on the inside of his wrist. "This is Dracula's cross." Zak explained. "It's a representation of my love and obsession for Dracula, and of my darker side. Before you freak, though, you should know that I am Christian and I don't worship the Devil!" I chuckled softly. "No worries Zak. You've never struck me as being the Devil-worshipping type. And everybody has a dark side. We all just express it differently." Zak chuckled and said, "Thanks for understanding Andrea." I nodded, and then grabbed a pair of shorts and a t-shirt out of my suitcase. "I'll be out in a couple minutes." I said, before ducking into the bathroom to get dressed. In the bathroom, I brushed my hair and teeth, put on deodorant, and then got dressed. Then, gathering up my pajamas in a bundle, I went back out to my room. I put my pajamas in my suitcase and then turned around to face Zak. He chuckled and said, "I like your shirt." I looked down at my shirt and blushed deeply. It was another t-shirt that was part of a set that my friends and I had made. Eleanor, Caroline, Meghan, Martha, and I had all made shirts with Zak's picture on the front, and then a picture of the Demonic-looking tattoo on the back. We were proud of our shirts. "I'm glad you like it." I said quietly, grinning back at Zak as I put on my tennis shoes. Then I grabbed my purse out of my suitcase, put my prescription sunglasses, room key, and car keys in my purse, and said, "You ready?" Zak nodded. "Let's go!" We left my room and then took the elevator down to the lobby. When we got off the elevator, to my surprise and delight, Zak took hold of my right hand. We were holding hands when we went to meet Nick and Aaron, who were sitting on couches in a little alcove just inside the front door. Aaron's jaw dropped when he saw Zak and I, and he elbowed Nick in the ribs, who raised his eyebrows when he looked at us. They stood up and walked over to us, and Aaron said, "So what are we doing for breakfast?" Zak and I both shrugged. "I don't know." I said. "What do you two want to do?" Nick shrugged. "I'm not feeling very hungry, to be honest with you." He turned to look at Aaron. "I guess that leaves it up to you Aaron." Aaron grinned. "Anybody up for I-Hop again?" Aaron looked at us all with puppy-dog eyes, and we all busted out laughing. "Alright Aaron." Nick said. "Let's go to I-Hop!" Zak said. "We can take my car," I chimed in, pulling out my car keys. "since it's only the four of us." "Cool." Aaron grinned at me and I grinned back, and then we all went out to the parking lot. I unlocked my car, and Nick and Aaron climbed into the back seat. Zak opened my door for me again, before going around the car and climbing into the front passenger seat. I saw Nick and Aaron exchange smirks in my rearview mirror, but I pretended not to notice. Once Zak was in and we were all buckled up, I put on my sunglasses and drove out of the parking lot. As I drove across town Nick asked, "So what's the game plan for today Zak? Are we all just doing our own thing until it's time for us to head to Bobby's, or are we all gonna hang out?" Zak shrugged. He had combed his hair before we left the hotel, and he had put on his sunglasses when we'd gotten in the car. He looked even more beautiful than he had yesterday, although not even half as beautiful as he had looked when I'd woken up beside him that morning. "I don't know bro. What do you guys wanna do?" Nick and Aaron looked at each other and shrugged. "I don't know." Nick said. "There's really not much to do in Wilder, to be honest." Aaron chimed in. "We could play poker in my room." I piped up, shrugging my shoulders casually. Complete and utter silence filled the car as the three guys all stared at me. I looked at them in my rearview mirror and burst out laughing. All three of them were looking at me in shock and horror. Finally Zak said, "You know how to play poker!?" I shook my head, still laughing. "No, I don't. Nor do I have any desire to learn. I just wanted to see how you all would react!" I smirked at them, and Aaron and Nick both shook their heads, trying hard not laugh. "Well," Zak said. "we're learning a lot about Andrea today." I chuckled. "Yes, you are!" I grinned at Zak, and he grinned back at me. We were somewhat silent for the rest of the drive, and Zak held onto my hand for the entire time. When we got to I-Hop I parked my car in the parking lot and then turned to Aaron and said, "Alright Aaron, welcome home!"