Authors: Anne Leigh
Me: Haha. So you get notes from this “or” looking girl?
Zander: Haha. Yeah
Me: What does she get from you?
I regretted texting it but I couldn’t retrieve it back
.
Zander: Babe, u jealous?
I ignored his question
.
Me: You didn’t answer my question.
Zander: I give her oral and anal sex, 5x a day
I burst into a giggle.
Me: Good for her
Zander: Seriously?! You should know I only have the hots for a certain brunette lady, with killer purple eyes, and lips to die for.
Me: Whatever
Zander: Did I mention that this lady has mile-long legs, an ass I could kiss for a week or more, and man, I haven’t even begun describing her delicious breasts?
Me: Stop
Zander: So u jealous? ;)
Me: Nah
Zander: Jen’s a classmate. We’re cool. She likes to share her notes. Nothing in return.
Me: Ok, how can u type so fast?
Zander: It’s a skill, babe. Kinda like my tongue on you, skill.
Me: I don’t think Prof. Blanks will appreciate u saying naughty stuff in class
Zander: No he won’t. But do you?
My cheeks felt hot.
Me: I’ll show u tonite
Zander: Oh man, I wish u were here right now
Me: I’ll have to change majors
Zander: Can u?
Me: Silly. Hey, is it cool if Kieran goes to dinner with us?
Zander: Dinner only right? Not after?
Me: Lol
Zander: Cool with me. What time? Where?
Me: 6:30? Dunno where yet
Zander: K, call or text me.
Me: Yes sir
Zander: U r so gonna get it tonite
Me: Promise?
Zander: Wait and see
So dinner it was.
Kieran and I drove together since Zander’s teammates wanted to hang out after practice. Upon entering the restaurant, three pretty girls eyed Kieran. He tipped his head towards them.
“You know them?” I asked.
“They’re beginners at the pool,” Kieran muttered.
They waved at him and he barely spared them a glance.
“You’re such a snob!” I hissed at him.
It was true. My best friend was such a snob sometimes. He said he didn’t waste people's time by pretending to like them. Maybe growing up with 2 older brothers in an upper class family did that to him. He was a nice guy, once you peel all the layers of snobbishness.
I teased
him all the time why he wasting his time, hanging out with me. His answer was always, "Cuz you're my best buddy, Ace."
Kieran, as a friend was funny, attentive, and generous. Under the public eye, he took on a different persona. Weekly Magazine called him a "good-looking, aloof, latest Swimming Sensation” in their rising sports stars edition.
Zander was s
tuck in traffic. Oh, and his teammates were coming with him. He asked me to order 10 orders of chicken wings. What was it with Zander and chicken wings?
I requested a table for 7 with the server. Kieran lifted an eyebrow, “He invited the whole team?”
“I guess.”
Kieran and I were watching the Food Network on TV as we patiently waited for our burgers. Thank god, the sweet potato fries came in first so we had something to munch on. I barely noticed people going in and out of the restaurant as my eyes were glued on the mouth-watering delicacies on the 52” TV screen.
I was lost in the world of fried chocolate ice cream when a muscular arm pulled me to his side.
"Sorry we’re late. The guys really wanted to come with,” Zander
kissed the side of my head.
I turned to face him. My face s
till heated up with PDA’s.
"No worries, we got here maybe 15 minutes ago.” He looked so yummy in his polo shirt, jeans, and freshly showered hair. I stayed in his embrace.
Our table was now filled with a bunch of heavily muscled guys. I felt small compared to the giants sitting at our table. Zander sat to my left and Kieran to my right.
Zander kept the conversation light while he held my hands.
The server took their orders; Zander was finishing his third plate of the chicken wings.
I recognized
all of the guys with him. I have seen them at his football practices.
Jack, one of the behemoths, asked Kieran, "Dude, aren't you that super-fast swimming dude?!"
I laughed at that. Kieran hated the word ‘dude’; especially, when
it was used to address him.
Kieran simply said, "Ahuh" while
eating his fries.
Jack was oblivious to Kieran’s disinterest. "No wonder you look familiar. My girlfriend's friend has your poster up on her wall."
I burst into complete laughter. I a
lmost choked on my burger.
Kieran tapped my back, "Ace, you
got to stop choking today."
Zander
asked, "You choked today?!"
Luckily, his voice was drowned out by the multiple conversat
ions happening in our table.
I shrugged my shoulders, "Early this morning, at the pool, lost my focus, I swam under and had water up my nose.
Kieran’s just overreacting."
I redirected the attention to Kieran, "So, Jack, tell me about the poster on your friend's wall."
Kieran’s face was beet red. He whispered, "I’m going
to get you for this, Ace."
Jack described the poster as Kieran wearing some sort of ‘flimsy shorts’ (basically, trunks) while he was ready to jump in the water. It was shot for the
university’s swim team, featuring their star swimmer, Kieran Stone. I had a copy of picture framed and gave it to Kieran on his birthday. Who knew whatever happened to it? He probably hid it under his bed.
"What it's doing on your friend's wall?" My eyes were looking at Jack, but my question was meant to teas
e Kieran.
Kieran didn't wait for Jack to answer. He completely ignored me and started a new topic with Jack.
The
sauce from the burger I was eating must have dripped out of my mouth, as Zander started wiping the left side of my face with a napkin.
"Babe, stop teasing him," he said with a soft smile, his eye
s crinkling at the corners.
"He deserves it,” I retorted. I liked teasing Kieran. A girl had an actual poster of him on her wall? This was real good. Stories
could be written from this.
Zander softly whispered, "You're
gorgeous, babe," with his fingers slowly tracing the top side of my left palm.
Goodness, I was in the middle of a bunch of giants, with different conversations going on around me,
and I was getting turned on!
"Zander."
"Yes, babe?" he
smiled knowingly.
"Stop it."
"Stop what?" he asked innocently.
I removed my hand from his. For the sa
ke of my sanity, it would be so awkward for me to get all hot and bothered in the midst of all these guys.
"Ok, I'll behave," placing my hand back in his.
The rest of the dinner went along smoothly. The guys teased each other just like women did. Only their jokes were raunchier, dirtier. Our table was loud and rambunctious. We were all having a good time. Kieran was enjoying himself. He laughed, joked, and dished it out to the other guys.
I had really wanted to stay over at Zander’s, but his teammates rode with him. By the time, he dropped me off, it would be really late. It was best for me to have Kieran drop me off.
Kieran was parked directl
y in front of the restaurant; Zander and his teammates walked us to Kieran’s car. I was going to hug Zander to say bye, but he had a different idea. He gave me a long, slow kiss, in front of everyone present, garnering grins and cheers from his teammates. Then, with his smile wide on his face, he stepped away from the car and said, “Call me when you get home, babe.”
Kieran said bye to everyone. One of the guys motioned Kieran for a kiss, imitating Zander. Everyone laughed.
"He’s really good for you, Ace.” His voice was so low, almost as if he was speaking to himself.
"Ahuh,” I said to him, turning the volume of radio a bit louder. I wasn’t being rude; I just really wanted to liste
n to the song on the radio.
Kieran lowered the volume on
the steering wheel control.
"He's not playing games with you, Ace," he said, “The way he looks at you and acts around you – you’re important to him.”
A small smile formed on my lips, “He’s great. I mean, it still throws me off when he does something PD
A-like in front of people.”
Kieran went on, his brown eyes bright, “He could choose to hide you, to keep everything just between the two of you. But I think he wants to let people know that you really matter to him.”
He turned on the left tur
n signal at the stop light, as we neared my place.
"I understand him. I let everyone know you’re my best buddy. He wants to let everyone know that you’re his girlfriend.”
“I know, it just feels different being his girlfriend,” I was rambling.
"Do you want to be?” he asked.
Kieran must have sensed that I was overthinking his question, he followed it up closely with, “Are you happy, Ace? Does he make you happy?”
“Yes.” When I was with Zander, I was happy.
“Everything else will fall into place. Ace, I just want you to truly be happy.” His car was now stopped in front of my building.
I understood what Kieran was trying to tell me. I wanted him to be happy too. He has dated girls but has never been serious about them. I wanted him to find a girl who made him feel the way I felt about Zander. Time could only tell what would happen between Zander and me. But every time
I was with him, I felt a part of myself opening up. A part that I didn’t know existed inside of me.
“What the mind wants, the heart, might not. What the heart wants, the mind, will.”
Zander
After football practice, I went straight to her apartment. Tonight was Wednesday. Homework night for Sedona. She had to be up early tomorrow. I still didn’t know how she did it. She was Ms. Brainiac and Ms. Busy Bee.
Nalee was lounging in the living room when I knocked. She had a big smile on her face when she saw the bag of Crabby’s burgers I was holding. I liked to bring them food. By our second date, I had figured out Sedona didn’t cook. She ate fruits, veggies, pre-packaged salads, and ready-to-heat items. Not that I was a master chef or anything, but I could whip up omelets and simple stuff like meatloaf and pasta. I had spent some time with my mom in the kitchen so I kind of knew my way around it.