Chapter 29

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Maddy

DAD

Have a good time. Be good. Call the bar if you need anything in case I can't hear my phone. If you walk home DO NOT take the short cut across the railway line. DO NOT WALK HOME ALONE in fact make sure Zak walks you home.

" Y our dad again?" Emma asked as we walked towards Zak's house, carrying bags of snacks and some beers from the previous Christmas that I'd found in the cupboard under the stairs.

I dropped my phone into my jacket pocket. "Yeah. Last-minute check in that I'm going to be good."

Emma giggled and poked me in the side. "And do you think you will be?"

"Of course." I frowned at her. "I'm always good."

"Yes, but you haven't had a hot boyfriend before."

My stomach swooped as I thought about Zak and the fact that we would be spending the evening together. Admittedly with our friends, but there would be no adults which meant we would have a certain amount of freedom. Which meant that there would be a lot of necking on. At least I hoped so. The more time I spent with the Zak, the further that I wanted to go. I knew it wouldn't be long before we moved past him feeling my boobs and putting our hands inside each other's jeans.

"Not denying it, are you?" she laughed.

"You can talk. I saw you and Liam getting cosy at lunchtime."

"Don't know how, seeing as you two sneaked off behind the science block."

"Stop changing the subject." I nudged her. "So, do you like him?"

"I'm a bit surprised, seeing as we've known each other since we were little. He's got kind of hot over the last year."

I screwed up my face. "Ugh, no way."

"You just think that because you're practically family. You really should look carefully."

"No thanks." I jumped a puddle, the bag of goodies swinging, and I couldn't resist the urge to smile. The idea of the next few hours was exciting like this was some of the best times of our lives, but we would never realise how much until we were older. "Is Ana coming or not?"

"If you don't know, how am I supposed to?" Emma said, catching me up.

Everybody knew Ana and I were close, just like Emma was closer to Liv. It seemed to have become the natural order of things after our first year at school. Liam was an unofficial member of our little gang because we spent so much time together. He'd spent many hours suffering Twilight marathons and make-up tutorials on YouTube. Sometimes Dad would rescue him to watch football or play Xbox with him, but often he had his toenails painted pink and cheered for Team Edward.

"She didn't mention anything to me about whether she was coming or not. She's been in a bad mood today." I was worried about her. Hated when she was down, especially as she didn't seem to be snapping out of it. "Maybe she'll come with Liv later."

"Honestly, she's been proper miserable," Emma grumbled. "Bit my head off earlier when I asked if she wanted a lift home."

"She walked home then?"

"Yeah," Emma sighed. "Said she wanted to be on her own."

I pulled my phone back out and clicked on her name. "I'm going to call her." As we carried on walking, I listened to the line ringing out without anyone answering.

"She must still be in a mood," Emma said as we reached the gate to the path leading up to Zak's house.

"Hmm, maybe." Ending the call, my nerves suddenly kicked in. We'd arrived.

"Nice house," Emma commented, looking up at the large detached Victorian property with its bright red front door. The pebbled driveway ran across the front of the house, with the path alongside it, and there were three cars parked up. I recognised the third one as Liam's Corsa that his grandparents had bought for him.

"I thought his mum and dad were out," Em said, grabbing my forearm. "I'm scared. What do I call his dad? Sir or doctor?"

"Mr Hoyland." I didn't tell her he'd told me to call him Jim as we ate pizza. "And Mrs Hoyland." Again, no point in mentioning I'd been invited to call her Lisa.

We didn't have any more time to worry about it, because the door swung open, and standing there were the Hoylands and Amelia.

"Maddy," Lisa cried. "How are you?"

"Hi." I gave them all a shy smile and a small wave.

"Hi, Maddy." Amelia beamed at me as Jim ran a hand down her hair.

"Hi, Amelia. You look pretty."

She looked down at her jeans, sparkly pink jumper and matching pumps and then up at her dad. "Dad wanted me to wear a dress, but I didn't want to."

"I was never going to win that argument." He laughed and shook his head. "Nice to see you again, Maddy."

"You, too. Are you all going somewhere nice?" I asked.

"Cinema and then Nando's," Lisa told me with a roll of her eyes. "Anyway, we need to go otherwise we'll miss the start of the film."

"Yes, let's get going." Jim gave us a wide smile. "So, the boys are downstairs. Go towards the kitchen, and the door to the basement is just before it on the right."

"Okay, thank you and enjoy the film," I told them as we stood aside for them to pass.

"Wow," Emma whispered as they got into the car. "Zak's dad is hot."

"Come on," I groaned, "let's get inside."

As we made our way down the stairs to the basement it was obvious that it wasn't going to be dank, dark, and smelly. The walls were painted white with framed gig posters, and there was a shiny steel banister. The smell of cinnamon and the sound of laughter floated up the stairs, and as I looked down I could see the floor was a rich dark wood. On it was a huge rug of every colour you could think of, and on a unit, the same wood as the floor, which took up the whole of one wall was a massive TV. It was not like any basement that I'd imagined.

"Hey," I said as I reached the bottom stair.

Zak was sprawled on one end of a large corner sofa, a huge cushion behind his head, while Liam echoed his position at the opposite end. As soon as he saw me, he sat and grinned, dropping his feet to the floor.

"Hello gorgeous."

I felt the usual reaction of nerves, butterflies, excitement.

"Oh God," Emma groaned behind me. "You two have it really bad."

I nudged my elbow back into her stomach and flashed a smile at Zak. "Hiya."

Zak got up and sauntered over, meeting me halfway. He dipped his head and kissed me softly, his hands going to my hips. I leaned into him, relishing in his taste and the feel of the cool steel of his rings on my skin as he slipped his hands inside my coat and under my t-shirt. I was about to open my mouth to allow him in when we were pushed from behind.

"Please," Emma groaned. "Liam, why are you driving?"

I pulled away from Zak and looked over as she flopped down next to Liam, leaning into him. "There has to be something going on with them," I muttered.

"Well seeing as he's been talking about her for ages and wondering what time you'll be here, I think you're right." Zak slipped his hands into the back pockets of my jeans. "No Ana or Liv?"

"No idea about Ana but Liv is going to be late. She's gone shopping with her dad to get something for her mum's birthday."

He frowned. "Ana didn't call or anything?"

"Nope. I'm worried about her. She never takes this long to snap out of it."

"I'm sure she'll be fine." He dropped a kiss to my forehead. "We can call her later if she doesn't turn up. Even stop by her house if you want."

I shook my head. "No, let's see how she is tomorrow."

He looked down at the carrier bag in my hand. "Supplies?"

"Chocolate, popcorn and bottles of beer courtesy of a stash that my dad's forgotten about." I held up the bag and opened it out for him to look inside. "I found them in the cupboard under the stairs, but I'm sure he'd have said yes anyway." I rolled my eyes. "Seeing as he obviously likes you."

"I don't know about that." He leaned in closer. "Especially not if he knew what I wanted to do to you."

My breath stalled and instinctively my hips jerked forward. He wasn't fully hard but was definitely on his way to it. When I shifted my hips again, he groaned quietly and pushed himself up against me. He was definitely fully hard now.

"Maybe we shouldn't tell him," I replied, close to his ear.

His breath was ragged. "Perhaps you're right."

The air was electric as we stared at each other, both of us knowing that things were going to change even more than they already had. Our feelings for each other were about to take another shift. The ground beneath our feet was about to flip and we were about to become something more. I was ready to give him something that I'd never wanted to give to anyone before.

"Oi," Liam yelled. "Are we watching this film or not?"

"Yeah," Zak said, his lips against my forehead. "We're coming."

We were alone. Liam had taken Emma and Liv home about half an hour before. Liv had had turned up halfway through the film, moaning that her parents wanted her home by half nine. That meant that it was just the two of us snuggled up on the sofa with a large, brown, furry throw over us and we were dangerously close to taking the next step.

"Zak," I groaned as he ran a hand over my bum, his fingers playing with the elastic on my knickers. He was inches away from my wetness after already giving me an orgasm with his fingers. "What if your mum and dad come back?"

"They won't come down here." He nibbled at my ear lobe, pushing his hard on between the apex of my thighs. "I locked the door when the others left."

Our jeans and t-shirts were on the floor down the side of the sofa, and Spotify was on the huge TV, quietly playing Made for Me by Muni Long. I was running my fingers along the ridges of his abs in a rhythm he clearly liked, if the soft moans were anything to go by.

"Won't they wonder why it's locked?" As Zak's tongue slithered down my neck, I arched my back and let out a soft breath. My nipples were so hard they hurt.

"They'll know I want some privacy, but they won't even try it. I promise."

Any nerves I had disappeared. Any worries that he wouldn't be the boy I thought he was, seemed unfounded. But I didn't care if nothing came of it, of us, because I was ready. It was what I wanted even if our time together was brief.

Everything about this boy made me feel. My blood thrummed rapidly through my veins. I had constant butterflies in my stomach. I jumped out of bed in a morning, desperate to start a new day with him. He made me want to laugh and smile all the time. Maybe those feelings wouldn't last forever but they were there now, and I was going to embrace them.

"Do you have a condom?" I asked, closing my eyes to avoid watching his expression. Scared that he might reject me, and not wanting to see it if he did.

"Open your eyes," he whispered, kissing my forehead. "Mads, please, open them."

Slowly I did as he asked and peeked up at him through my lashes. He was smiling softly as he pushed the hair from my eyes.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" he asked, "because I swear, we don't have to."

My heart was thudding so fast, I wondered if it was what a heart attack felt like. The anticipation of what we were about to do sending an electric current through ever nerve ending but I knew what I wanted.

Nodding, I reached up to run a finger down his cheek. "I do. I do want to."

"Okay, if you're sure," he said softly, "then yes, I have a condom."

I pushed the breath of nervous energy from my lungs and allowed myself to relax into the sofa, letting my limbs soften and soak up the attention that Zak was giving to me.

"Would you prefer to go upstairs?" he asked, linking our fingers together. "To my bedroom?"

"Here is good." Here was perfect. Moving might change that.

After pecking a kiss to my lips, Zak slipped from under the throw and padded over to the unit against the wall. As he opened up one of the drawers, he took out a box and turned to me.

"I put them in here earlier."

I burst out laughing. "You thought I'd be a sure thing, did you?"

His eyes went wide, and he ran a hand over his head, shaking it fiercely. "Shit, no. I swear. I just thought that… honestly, Maddie, I didn't… I thought that maybe?—"

"Zak, it's fine." Giggling, I sat up letting the throw drop to my waist. I was wearing a bright pink bra with electric blue lace and my nipples were hard and pushing against the jersey material—instantly his eyes were drawn to them.

"Shit, Mads." He rubbed a hand down his face and groaned. "Anyway, if you think I'm a twat then I understand, but I swear I didn't?—"

"Zak." I rolled my eyes. "Just get back over here."

"Are you sure?" He put the box back in the drawer and took a tentative step back to me.

"I am, but please don't forget the condoms. We're going to need them."

He exhaled and turning quickly, reached for them, and then almost ran back to me, launching himself on the sofa on top of me, dropping the condoms behind my head. I let out an explosion of air and laughter, relishing in the warmth he brought to me, not just from his body against mine.

His hands moved to either side of my face, pushing all my hair away from it and his beautiful chocolate pools studied me. "I really like you, Maddy. A lot."

I swallowed. "I like you, too. A lot."

"This means something to me, you know." He licked his lips. "What we're about to do. I know we haven't been together long, but I think you're incredible, and I don't think I've ever wanted to spend as much time with a girl as I want to spend with you. I've never liked anyone as much as I do you."

My face flushed hot as his words hit me in the chest. "The same," I whispered. "You're not like any other boy I've ever met before. You're," I dropped my gaze feeling shy, "lovely."

Zak ran a finger along the apple of my cheek and sighed reverently. "Look at me, babe." I did as he asked. "I think you're lovely too."

The kiss that followed was gentle and full of promises. It was sweet. It was sexy. It was everything. It quickly moved to feverish as Zak's fingers tangled in my hair and mine grabbed at the hard muscles of his back. He squeezed one boob, while his mouth sucked the nipple of my other over my bra. Not even the fabric of my bra stopped the sensation making me arch and keen with the pleasure. Slowly and tenderly, we removed each other's underwear and explored. Zak was bold and confident, whereas I touched him with a little shyness and hesitancy, but when he kicked the throw off us, I felt bolder. It was because of him and the care and devotion that he was giving to me. My heart raced as joy flowed through me, heating my blood and igniting a fire.

As my legs parted, Zak groaned. "I need to put the condom on." He got to his knees and reached behind me for the box.

"I have the implant," I told him, suddenly too impatient.

"Okay, but I want to be sure we're totally safe. I mean I don't have?—"

"Zak it's fine, put the condom on. I like that you care."

His smile was dazzling as he ripped open the packet, his stomach muscles taut as his dick bobbed against it. I swallowed wondering whether it would fit but determined that it would.

"Can I help?" I asked, desperate to touch him.

He licked his lips and then reached a hand out for me and pulled me up. We were eye to eye, his dark with desire as he watched me.

"You're gorgeous, you know," he whispered, tracing a finger along the curve of my nose.

"So, are you, but that didn't answer my question."

His grin matched mine as he held the condom up. "You still want to do this?" he asked.

I nodded and tentatively took it from him. "I've only ever put one on a banana."

Zak laughed quietly, and guiding my hand, we put the condom on together, and I knew that we would always be connected, even if we were apart.

"You sure?" he asked me again as he gently lowered me back to the sofa.

His necklace dangled as he looked down at me, and I hooked my finger in it, pulling his mouth closer to mine. "Definitely."

Nothing after that moment mattered and as he pushed into me, my fingertips pressed into the muscles of his hard, toned back. In that moment I was lost letting myself fall in love.