Chapter 11 - Chocolate Chip Cookies

ZACH's POV

What time is it? I groaned. I opened my eyes, but closed it almost instantly the moment sunlight hit them. Immediately, I covered my head with a pillow trying to fight the massive headache I was having. I sat up, scratched my head, and tried to piece together what went down yesterday.

Images flashed in my head. The time I spent with Tori, the boys, Chloe... how did I end up in bed anyway?

I reached for the clock. It was already half past ten in the morning. Damn it! I missed two classes already. I stood up and headed to the door to look for Boris when I suddenly felt a massive headache.

"Fuck!" My cursed, and held my head with both hands.

"Care for a glass of milk, sir?" Boris came out of nowhere with a glass of milk on his hand.

"Thank God! Give me that." I finished the whole glass in one go. "By the way, what happened last night after I got here?"

"When you came back from your trip with Miss Loise, you drank another bottle of whisky and then you passed out. I carried you to bed, sir." Boris stated.

"Wait. I'm not wearing the same clothes as last night, did you..." I pointed my finger at him. I noticed I was wearing new boxers.

"I was very discreet, sir."

"Great! Just Great! Anything else you wanna tell me? You brushed my teeth too?" I asked sarcastically.

"Well, a girl came in a while ago. Your girlfriend, and no, I didn't brush your teeth. My nose couldn't bare the stench." Boris said finger quoting girlfriend. I couldn't blame the guy. I couldn't even remember the drinks I had with the guys and Chloe. My brain is still powering up at this point. Suddenly it struck me. I raised my head, forgot about the headache for a moment, and looked straight at Boris.

"Wait. Who came in a while ago?" I asked.

"Do you have lots of girlfriends, sir?" Boris asked with a chuckle. I just looked at him, brows raised and then he cleared his throat. "My apologies." He said, trying hard not to laugh.

"Just tell me what happened."

"I was hesitant to let her in at first, and I asked her how she knew you. You know, usual protocol. Then I remembered her name from when you asked me to search for her address."

"Protocol? Why did you do that, old man?"

"For your safety, sir. I was left in charge of this home, and I've been more cautious after the first time one of your girlfriends just barged in, knocking over furniture as if they owned the place."

"Fair enough." I agreed. "So, what did she want?"

"She was worried about you. She told me she hasn't heard from you since you drove her home."

"And you bought her story? That's very unlikely, even for you Boris." I joked.

"Well, she thought I looked dashing, sir. And we both connected on a certain level." Boris said, finger quoting the word certain.

"Care to tell me what you two love birds talked about?" I couldn't help but grin over the fact that Tori had a conversation with Boris.

"My apologies, but I believe I'm sworn to a pinky promise." Boris said, sounding slightly confused. I couldn't feel the headache anymore. The thought of them having a conversation made me smile. They had probably been talking about me. The old man knew me too well. I just wondered why she didn't wake me up after coming all the way here.

"Why didn't she wake me up?" I asked.

"I asked her if she wanted to, but she said that it wouldn't be necessary. We both agreed that you needed to rest and waking you up would get us both in trouble."

"Yeah, good choice. Now stop smiling." I commanded. Then I realized something and had a moment of panic. "Wait, did you mention what happened last night?" I was worried if she found out about the incident with Chloe last night.

"Don't worry, sir. I didn't mention anything about the other girl for your sake." He said, patting my shoulder.

"Good," was all I could say. I stood up and headed to the bathroom.

"By the way, I must say that Miss Peige is a wonderful lady. You won't find another one like her. Take good care of her, sir."

"Oprah's gone, Boris. Live with it. Don't you have other errands to..." I peeked out the bathroom, toothbrush in hand, to see Boris gone.

* * * * * * *

Lunchtime was almost over when I arrived at school. I headed straight to the cafeteria, knowing the three musketeers would be at their usual table. I marched toward their direction, and cleared my throat so they would notice my presence.

"Zach! Be a dear and join us," Chloe said upon spotting me. And here I thought she'd just been really nice, and drunk, last night. I looked at Tori and then Nathan. The look on their faces was priceless. They were both stunned at Chloe's suggestion.

Nathan looked like he was going to punch me at any moment, but I didn't let it get to me. It wasn't the right approach. I now knew that he liked Tori, I could piss him off through her.

"Hey, Chloe, I came by to see my girlfriend," I said, took emphasis on the girlfriend word. I glanced at Nathan, and sure enough, he was getting all flustered. I sat down beside Tori. She was about to say something, but I interrupted. "Thanks for yesterday, Tori. It was fun, and I can't forget about the kiss." I winked at her. They looked shocked, especially Nathan. I could tell he was trying to tune me out.

This confirmed it. Nathan did like Tori.

"By the way," I continued, "thanks for visiting me earlier. Boris told me. Next time bring him some French macaron. He loves those. Well, I have to go. I'll see you later." I stood up and left. I grinned to myself. I was pissing Nathan off just by being nice to Tori and there was not a damn thing he could do about it.

Life was good.

* * * * * * *

TORI's POV

"You two kissed? How come you never mentioned that to me yesterday? It was your first kiss, Tori! Are you listening?" Chloe said.

"In my defense, you left in a hurry yesterday." I defended.

"Isn't it too soon to give him your first kiss? I mean, you've just been together for days and you already..." Nathan couldn't complete his statement.

"Nathan, not you too." I said disappointingly.

Everyone at the table was making way too big of a deal about the kiss. What had Zach been thinking, blurting it out like that? I bit into my sandwich mulishly. Was he trying to humiliate me in front of my friends? Haven't I embarrassed myself enough by initiating that stupid kiss?

"Stop it, guys. It was only a kiss on the cheek. Besides, Nathan is right, it's only been days so it's too soon for a first kiss. Can we please talk about something else?" I pleaded.

I wished Zach haven't gone to school. All of this was giving me a headache.

"What about coming to his house? Was that true?" Nathan eagerly asked. He had this bothered look on his face.

"Nathan!"

"Come on, Tori. Your secret's safe with us! Tell us! Tell us!" Chloe insisted. Honestly, she was the only one enjoying this.

"Fine." I said in defeat. "I was kinda worried last night. I didn't know where he was after he dropped me off at home. I'd be responsible if something happened to him. So, I paid him a visit earlier."

"Oh, I'm so proud of you, Tori! You're someone's girlfriend now! I feel so happy for you!" Chloe said cheerfully. She looked at Nathan for a moment there just minding his own business.

"By the way, Chloe, you asked Zach to join us a while ago. What's up with that?" I asked.

"Well, you see, my dear Tori, Zach and I had a little talk yesterday and found it best if we just forget about the past and become friends again. You know, since you two are together now, why not right? There's nothing wrong with that."

"I never said there was something wrong with that."

"You didn't? Oh, silly me. Let's talk about something else, shall we?" She suggested.

"You came to his house last night?" Nathan interjected.

"No! I did not! It happened... here! At school! I never went to his house. Oh, look at the time, I have to go. You know me, busy bee, got homework and stuff. Ciao!" She stood up and left in a hurry.

"What was that all about? Break is almost over anyway, let's go. I'll see you later Nate." Nathan grabbed my hand and held me back. "What's wrong?" I asked, worried.

"Can I drive you home later?" He asked. I could see the sincerity on his face. "I-I don't know." I told him honestly.

"Please." He pleaded.

I sat down and sighed. I wanted to say yes, I really did. But I was pretty sure Zach wouldn't like it, and I didn't want them at each other's throats again. Knowing Zach, he would definitely freak out if I let Nathan drive me home. I really missed Nathan's company, but I needed to be Zach's girlfriend. For Chloe's sake, I had to set aside my feelings for Nathan.

"I-I'll try," I told him.

* * * * * * *

At the end of the school day, I was at the library when I received a call. I checked and saw that it was no other than Zach. He probably wanted to know where he should pick me up.

I lowered my head under the table, and answered in a low voice "Hello?"

"Where are you? I've been standing here for ten whole minutes, and you're still not here! You know I don't want to be the one waiting, right?" He was being very loud about it. I looked up a little to take a peek, and I saw everyone around me looking. Clearly, they heard his voice.

"About that, I think you should go first." I told him.

"Why?"

"I still have some after-class things to do, and they're due tomorrow, so I'm here at the library."

"Oh, I'm sorry," he retorted bitingly. "Feel free to come to school tomorrow. I bet the janitor's really expecting your work. Tomorrow's a Saturday." He stated sarcastically.

I haven't realized that if he didn't remind me. I had a lot on my mind, but I really intended to stay here today to finish my work. I was one of those people who liked to spend the weekend stress-free.

"Sorry, okay? I just had a lot on my mind. Besides, I want to finish this so I won't have anything to do during the weekend." I said apologetically.

"It's the twenty-first century, Peige. Haven't you heard of the Internet, Wikipedia, and Google? You could finish all that at home in minutes." This guy was really unbelievable.

"Books are more reliable than your internet, Anderson." I fired back.

"Fine. Whatever. How long until you finish?"

"Sorry?"

"I said, how long will it take for you to finish your work? I don't plan on waiting for you here in the parking lot. I'll just come back to pick you up."

"Oh no. You go ahead. I'll just take a cab or ride with Nathan."

"What are you talking about? Just call me when you're done. Don't you dare call that idiot to pick you up, you understand?" He sounded really annoyed.

I couldn't help raising my voice at his tone. "I can hear you loud and clear, you know. The reception here is just fine. There's no need to shout! Everyone here can hear you! I'll call you later. Bye." I ended the call.

When I looked up, I saw that everyone was looking at me. I felt my face heat up, and I frowned. Zach had embarrassed me twice today.

Guess I'd have to tell Nathan he wouldn't be able to take me home today after all.

* * * * * * *

About three hours have passed since Zach's phone call. I sent him a text telling him I was done, then gathered my things and headed for the parking lot. He was already there, leaning against the side of his car; it was dark, but I immediately recognized his messy blond hair standing out even at night.

I walked to his direction, and he opened the car door for me. 'So now he's being a gentleman again.'

I apologized before I enter. "Sorry it took so long to finish."

"Forget it. You're quite the bookworm, you know that?" He said coldly.

Once we were both in the car, he handed me something in a pink rectangular box. "What's this?" I asked.

"Just open it." He commanded.

This guy's really getting on my nerves!

Still, I opened the box, and inside were my favorite kind of cookies— chocolate chip! How did he know that cookies are my favorite?

"I-I stopped by at this shop and figured you probably haven't eaten yet, so I decided to buy some for you." He stated. I looked at him, trying to see his expression, but he had his face turned away. I smiled. He was pretty cute when he was embarrassed.

I ate a cookie. "It's delicious, Zach," I said, beaming at him. "Thanks."

"Yeah, well, you know for something, I guess." He said trying hard not to look at me.

"What? I didn't understand a word you said. You sound funny." I shot him a smile then took a bite out of another cookie.

"Shut up. Give me some of that!" He grabbed a cookie and stuffed the whole thing inside his mouth. I just shook my head.

He'd just started the car when I asked him, "How did you know that cookies are my favorite?"

"I don't know. Wild guess?" He answered.

Another shade of Zachary. Never in a million years have I figured him for the type to do something like this. It was kind of sweet, and it made me smile.

"By the way, you're coming with me tomorrow. My friend from Paris is having a party, and he wants to meet you. I won't take no for an answer."

"Excuse me?" I choked out. "What are you talking about?"

"You're coming with me tomorrow to a party. To meet my friends. My friends want to meet you. End of story." He concluded.

I looked at the half-eaten cookie still in my hand and thought, 'This isn't Zach being sweet to me. This is bribery!'

So much for any plans of having a stress-free weekend. Great! Dealing with one playboy was hard enough. Now, I'd have to face a flock of them! Because I was sure Zach's friends were cut from the same cloth he was.

This plan of mine just kept getting worse and worse.

---END OF CHAPTER ELEVEN---

Well that's it :) Hope you all like it. Next is the PARTY! What do you think will happen? Share your thoughts!

Hi guys! Please check my new story "Getting Out Of Friendzone" I hope you will love it too like how you supported and loved my Playboy series. See you there <3