"I bet." He grunted as he pulled the tire off and set it aside. Damn, he was fast. I watched as he lifted the full size spare where it needed to be. He let go. "Why do girls like those things anyway?" He asked as he sat back down on the ground. Another car drove by slowly, probably checking to see that everything was alright.
I swung my foot a little as I answered. "It's a girly thing. Every once in a while, a girl wants to get glammed up, show off what she's got, and slow dance with a guy." I shrugged, trying to make it sound like no big deal. "Getting dressed up makes you feel great, and slow dancing with a guy makes you feel beautiful and, well, special. Like I said, it's a girl thing."
"I guess that makes sense." He muttered as he kept putting lug nuts back on the tire. "Did you get your dance?" He asked, his voice strained as he tightened a lug nut.
"No, but there's always next year," I said quietly as I looked out at the snow-covered meadow.
"Huh."
"So, what were you doing tonight?" I asked, turning to watch him tightening another lug nut.
"I was watching a movie with a tub of popcorn," He said. I smiled, that actually sounded like more fun than the dance was.
"Good call. Asher was right, dances aren't really that fun without a date," I admitted. The headlights showed his smirk. Zeke dropped onto his back on the cold cement again and began bringing down the jack. He didn't tell me to move, so I assumed I was fine where I was. A car drove by slowly again, I looked this time to see a white Camry going by. "What movie were you watching?" I asked.
"Shaun of the Dead," He answered, I chuckled. I loved that movie. Zeke pulled the jack out, got up, and walked around me to put it into the back.
"It's still early, want to come over? Watch a movie?" He asked, pulling his handkerchief out of his back pocket. He started wiping the grease off his hands.
"Yeah, but I'm in a formal dress." I gestured at my body. He chuckled.
"I can give you a shirt that will feel like a dress," He offered. I smirked. Zeke's shirts went down to my knees. He thought it was funny, I just felt small.
"How about you come over to my house, and we watch a movie?" I offered "You know, after I get out of this get up."
"Sounds good, but first..." Zeke went to the driver side door, opened it, and reached inside. He fiddled with something then turned up the volume. Nickelback's Far Away played through my speakers. I raised an eyebrow at him as he came back around the truck and tucked his handkerchief in his back pocket. He crooked his finger at me. My heart skipped a beat, is he asking me to...? My question was answered when he reached out, snagged my hand, and pulled until I slid off the tailgate. Stunned, Zeke pulled me in close, his other hand going around my waist. Then he began to dance with me. He could have smacked me, and I would have been less surprised.
"Um... Zeke? What's going on?" I asked, still stunned almost speechless. I peeked up at him; he was looking out at the meadow over my head.
"You wanted a dance, you're getting a dance," He grumbled as if it made perfect sense to him.
"You know how to dance?" I asked, still amazed. He looked down at me with sharp eyes.
"Lexie, shut up and enjoy your dance," He growled as his cheeks tinged pink. I looked up at him smiling in surprise. He was looking out over my head again, his jaw clenched. I was vaguely aware of a car going by, but most of my attention was on the way he held me almost against him. His tall frame dwarfed mine, his big hand practically spanned my entire lower back. My hand disappeared into his, my other rested on his left arm just below his shoulder. He was a little overwhelming up close like this.
"Who taught you how to dance?" I asked, quietly.
"Maria. She demanded that all of us at least know the basics before we started dating," He said gruffly. "She was big into ballroom dancing when she was younger." I smiled, the twins' mom always made me laugh. She once let me soak Ethan in his bed with ice water for sleeping in late. She was my favorite Mom ever. Zeke started humming along with the song, his bass rolling over my ears, it made me want to bite my lip. I looked up at him amazed. This was Zeke, big, strong, scary as hell Zeke to everyone else. He yelled at me, he argued with me, he's sometimes an overprotective ass who bossed me around, and he was dancing with me just because I didn't get to at the dance. My heart turned to jelly. I couldn't believe how sweet he was being. He brought my hand to rest on his on his chest as he looked down at me with warm eyes and a soft smile. My heart raced as my eyes met his. Our dancing slowed. For the first time, I felt like I was really seeing Zeke. Not the angry, every day Zeke. But the Zeke that he was under all that armor. The one who called me Baby, the one who worried about my health and what I ate. The Zeke that ran out the door without his jacket because I was stuck on the side of the road alone at night. I saw him. And he made my heart skip. My stomach gave a hard, low flip and the butterflies went crazy. His hand moved up my back to just under my ribs. Hot chills ran through me as his gaze ran over my face. I looked at his lips and wanted to... I had to stop staring. I rested my head on his chest just so I couldn't do what I was thinking. Shit, I needed to distract myself.
"So, Maria made you guys learn how to dance?" I asked, a little desperately.
"Um, yeah," His voice was the soft one he used with me. I bit my lip at the sound as he continued. "She insisted before our first dance in seventh grade." His voice was deeper than usual, maybe he needed the distraction too. He continued. "She enjoyed teaching us so much that Miles kept taking lessons from her just to make her smile." I smiled at that.
"That sounds like Miles," I said.
"Don't think you'll get out of it because you're new. I'm surprised she hasn't given you a lesson already," He told me as his thumb ran over my hand.
"Because I'm a bad dancer?" I asked, pretending to be confused. His chest moved as he chuckled, though his arm was suddenly tense around me as his hand squeezed mine rhythmically.
"No, because that's just the way she is...." His voice was distracted. I lifted my head and pulled back to see where he was looking. He was watching as a white Camry drove by again. The song was over so we stopped dancing. I pulled back a bit, but he didn't let go. I peeked up at him. He was still looking out at the road, a frown formed on his face. He seemed to shake something out of his mind then looked down at me. His ice blue eyes were soft when they met mine. "So, do you feel beautiful and special now?" He asked, trying to make a joke out of it. Only his voice was still soft and deeper than usual, and he still hadn't let go.
"Yep." I chirped as I smiled up at him, totally trying to totally kill the mood that we had going. This was Zeke. I didn't need to go crushing on another one of my friends. A little voice in the back of my head was telling me it was too late. He shook his head as he let go and stepped back. I tried again to kill the mood. "Thank you, Zeke, I know that was a huge manly sacrifice on your part," I teased. He narrowed his eyes at me.
"Don't say a word," He growled before heading towards my flat tire. Yeah, that was the Zeke I was used to. I went and turned down the music in the Blazer. Zeke put the tire back in the back of the Blazer as another car went by. I got out of the truck and went to thank him when I realized Zeke's shoulders were tense, his jaw was clenched as he glared at the road. "How many times has that car gone by?" He was using his 'I'm staying calm when I really want to beat the shit out of someone’ voice.
"Um, like four or five times now," I answered, realizing how weird that was. "Maybe they're lost."
"Did you see the car before I got here?" Zeke's face was hard, his fists clenching.
"No, you got here first." I didn't understand what was wrong. "Zeke?" Zeke grabbed my arm and started moving me towards the driver's side door.
"Get inside Baby, and lock the doors," He ordered. I almost stumbled because of the heels. Zeke steadied me but didn't slow down.
"Zeke, what's going on?" My voice was hard this time, I was demanding an answer. Zeke got me to the driver side door. I was about to climb in when his hands grabbed my butt and lifted me i
nto the seat. My surprise at his grab didn't last long since he was watching the road again and trying to shut my door. I shot my hand out stopping him. "Zeke!" He looked down at me, his face hard, eyes burning.
"That car has driven by at least four times. No one gets that lost." He looked back at the road. "I have a bad feeling about that car." He tilted his chin towards the road. "I think that's the guy sending you all those texts, and I don't think you got a flat on accident." My heart slammed in my chest, my stomach dropped. If Zeke was right, and he usually was, I would have been out here alone with my Secret Admirer. That was scary to a whole level than I ever expected.
"Shit," I whispered as I looked out at the road expecting the car to come back. Zeke's fingers grabbed my chin and brought my face back towards him.
"Hey, it's okay," He told me calmly, though his grip on the door made his knuckles white. "You are going to drive straight home. I'll be on your ass the whole way," He told me calmly, but it was still clearly not up for negotiation. I swallowed hard and nodded. "Then we'll watch Monty Python or something," He offered. I gave him a small, tense smile, but it was still a smile.
"Okay, straight home," I agreed and turned in my seat; he reached down and lifted the bottom of my dress in before closing the door. I locked it like he wanted and waited until he closed the back.
It felt like an eternity before I watched him get back into his Jeep. I drove home making sure not to go so fast that I'd lose Zeke. What the fuck was going? Was that really him? Did I really get a flat tire on accident? My heart raced as I drove. By the time I reached the turn for Rory's street, my nerves were tight. Give me the dead or a pissed off ghost any day, it's the living that scared me and made me shake. I took deep calming breaths as I parked.
I had just unlocked the door when Zeke opened it, scaring the shit out of me. He ignored my jump and helped me out of the truck. He kept an arm around me as we headed toward the front door. He kept looking around as if he expected the Camry to pull up. I finally got the door open, then we were inside and closing it behind us. I turned the deadbolt. It took me a few seconds before I could step away from the door. I bit down on the corner of my bottom lip as I waited for something to happen. He saw it on my face, I was scared. Zeke didn't like it.
"Lexie," He said, drawing my attention. I looked up to meet his gaze. His eyes melted before he grabbed ahold of my jacket and pulled me into his arms. "You're okay, you're safe." One of his big hands cupped the back of my head, the other moved around my back and kept me pressed against him. I wrapped my fists in the front of his hoodie and clung to him, my body shaking against him. I was so thankful that he didn't go to the dance tonight. I was so fucking thankful that he didn't wait to come out to help me. I rested my forehead against his chest and just breathed in leather and engine grease. "I've got you," He whispered against the back of my hair. "And Rory's in his bedroom with several guns," He added softly.
"No, he's not," I whispered. He grew tense around me.
"Where is he?" He asked, his voice hard.
"He's working nights for the next two weeks, he does it once every year," I told him. "Tara's not even coming home tonight." My stomach was a rock. Zeke cursed and clutched me tighter.
"I'm not going to let anything happen to you, Baby," He whispered into my hair. I nodded, my throat tight. "Though, I'm going to pick you up a short crowbar tomorrow." I chuckled at that and took a deep breath. Hades whined at my feet. "It's okay buddy, I've got her right now," Zeke said. I took another deep breath and another. Zeke held me to him until my hands loosened on his hoodie. He let me go when I stepped back. I bent down and picked up Hades who sniffed all over my face and gave me a lick. I smiled at my big ball of love.
"How about you go change while I call Rory?" Zeke offered awkwardly as he ran his hand through his hair. I nodded. I put Hades down and headed upstairs. "And Lexie?" I turned and looked down the stairs. His gaze ran over me. "Did anyone get a picture of you in that dress?" He asked, his voice serious.
"Yeah, Asher and Ethan did."
"Good," He said quietly. I turned my back and started going up the stairs feeling better. I walked into my bedroom to find my computer on, again. Did I mess with the sleep settings and forget about it? I'd check later. I changed out of my dress and jewelry. I pulled on Asher's Sylvester the cat pajama bottoms, a black cami, and Miles’ gray hoodie. Yeah, I looked ridiculous, but I was comfy. I went to the bathroom, washed my face and pulled the pins out of my hair. The mass tumbled down my back. I said screw it and left it down. I was coming downstairs when Zeke got off his phone, his eyes ran over me before meeting mine.
"I'm crashing here. Rory's orders," He announced. The knots in my stomach ease. I took a deep breath of relief.
"Kinda glad to hear it," I admitted. He gave me a half grin. "I'll get you some blankets and pillows." I headed back upstairs to the hall closet and brought them down to Zeke. "Do you want some sweats? I can grab some from Rory's room."
"No, I'm good," He assured me as he sat down on the couch. "Now, what awful movie are we watching?"
Zeke ended up putting on Sharknado. We both laughed and pointed out huge plot holes. I didn't care about those, I ended up bitching that they didn't add the protective film over a shark's eyes when it attacked. It was simple research that bugged the hell out of me. Zeke laughed his ass off then looked at me.
"There are sharks in a tornado, and your issue is that they forgot to put in the thing that happens to shark's eyes when they attack?" He burst out laughing again. I just shrugged, that sort of stuff bothered me. Zeke played with Hades while he gave me control of the remote. Eventually, I fell asleep curled up in the armchair.
Chapter 15
Saturday
I woke up slowly. My neck ached, and my mind was still fuzzy with sleep as I sat up. I was in the living room while Zeke was sleeping on the couch. I remembered what happened last night. I had a fuzzy memory of Rory coming home at some point. I looked over at Zeke who was stretched out on the couch. He had taken off his hoodie and was wearing another black sleeveless t-shirt. His shirt had ridden up showing off his hard abs. Zeke would never have a six pack, he just didn't have the build for it, but that didn't mean his lines weren't yummy. Even his small, black happy trail was tempting as it disappeared into his unbuttoned jeans that were low on his hips. He was on his back, his face toward me, his arm on his chest. I took a minute to just look at him. Zeke had always been good looking, just scary good looking. In truth, he was a sweet-heart to me. Why did he dance with me last night? Why did I react that way? I closed my eyes and cursed myself. I knew the answer. Because he was like a wolf that would let only me touch him, that would only calm down for me, that would only listen to me. Lexie, don't think about this. But it was too late, it had been too late for a while. Zeke always got me, even from the beginning. When others flinched at what I told them about my life before Spring Mountain, Zeke just shrugged and said it could have been worse. He understood. I cursed myself. He has a girlfriend, an awesome girlfriend that you are friends with. It didn't seem to matter. Hades woke up and whined in my lap. I put him down then took him to the back door to let him out. I watched from the door as he took a leak, then a dump, and immediately decided to start destroying snow piles. My baby was getting big. He was already up to my knee and still growing. I chuckled quietly as I watched him through the window, destroying snow pile after snow pile.
"What's he doing?" Zeke's voice made me jump. Zeke was standing beside me, pulling on his hoodie as he watched Hades.
"Make some noise, man." I snapped at him. He snorted. I grinned as I turned back to watching my dog. "He goes crazy for snow piles, it's cute," I said.
"Yeah, it is." His voice was rougher than usual.
"Do you want some breakfast?" I asked.
"Sure, I'll get Hades," He offered. I went into the kitchen and started to make bacon, eggs, and coffee. It must have smelled good because Rory came in half asleep. Everyone dished up and sat at the table.
; "So, who's going to tell me what happened last night?" Rory asked. My mouth was full so Zeke ran over it quickly, he even threw in my Secret Admirer from school. Rory frowned as he kept eating. When he finished, he pushed his plate away.
"But, nothing threatening happened?" Rory asked. "The car didn't follow you home?"
"No, but they drove by when Zeke was changing the tire, like, five times," I reminded him. Rory nodded his eyes unfocused. Then he looked at both of us.
"It could have been that someone was lost, or they saw a girl on the side of the road with a boy bigger than her, and they were concerned," Rory explained.
"I still got a bad feeling about this, Rory," Zeke muttered. Rory nodded.
"And that's why I asked you to stay last night." Rory pointed out before looking to me. "Has anything else strange happened?" I thought about it then cringed.
"Yeah," I said painfully as I got up to get my phone out of my jacket. I came back to the table and worked my phone. "It was a few nights ago, I completely forgot about it. I woke up to Hades' barking in my room, so, I came downstairs to check. Hades ran straight to the back doors and started growling. I was about to call you when he stopped. I turned on the back-yard light and saw this." I handed him the phone then sat down and pulled my knees to my chest. Rory frowned at the photo. He got up, put the phone down, and went to the back door. He opened it and knelt to look at the locks on the outside of the door. Zeke grabbed my phone and looked at the photo.
"When did this happen?" Zeke demanded.
"Um, Tuesday night," I guessed.
Zeke cursed. "You should have fucking told someone."
"I forgot about it. And it hasn't happened since," I pointed out.
"Well, no one's tried to mess with the lock," Rory announced as he got to his feet. He shut the door and came back to the table. "It could have been someone looking to rob an empty house. They probably ran as soon as they realized someone was home. I'll have a patrol car drive through the neighborhood more often at night until we get a system installed." Rory looked at both of us. "Until we have proof otherwise, I'd say someone was concerned about a girl on the side of the road." Zeke ran a hand through his hair and sighed.
When To Fear The Living Page 25