Brandi sighed in relief and mentally scolded herself for embarrassing him. "Of course I forgive you. I shouldn't have said that. I'm sorry too."
"Let's get out of here," he said, standing up and pulling her with him.
As Zack took Brandi home, she debated whether or not to invite him inside. She didn't want him to think she was easy, but she also didn't want to end the date on a sour note. She still felt guilty about insulting him. He pulled into her driveway and she took a deep breath. "Do you want to come in for a few minutes? My mom won't be home till midnight."
Zack shook his head. "No."
"Oh," Brandi said softly, looking down. "Ok."
"I should rephrase," Zack said, gently turning her face towards his. "Yes, I want to come in. Badly. But I won't. Because I won't be able to keep my hands off of you."
Brandi's heart skipped a beat and in a bold move, she pulled his face towards hers and pressed her lips to his. Zack grabbed the back of her head and pushed his tongue into her mouth. "Damn, Brandi," he murmured into her mouth. "You're killing me." He kissed her for another minute then pulled away. "I'll see you tomorrow before first period, ok?"
"Yeah. Thanks, Zack. I had a great time tonight."
"Me too, Brandi. Goodnight."
Brandi reluctantly got out if the car and went inside. She immediately called Kayla. "He kissed me!" She cried when Kayla answered the phone. "Like, we full on made out. He's an amazing kisser. The date was amazing." She left out the part about Zack getting upset with her. He clearly wasn't mad about it anymore.
"That's great, Brandi. I'm happy for you," Kayla said. Brandi heard the hesitation in her voice. "What's wrong?" She asked. Kayla sighed. "It's just...apparently Zack has a reputation for being kind of an asshole."
Brandi tried to ignore the anger that coursed through her veins. "Who told you that?"
"Gina Reynolds. She used to go out with him last year. She said he would get mad all the time for no reason and yell at her."
Brandi rolled her eyes. "Well I can assure you that he's not like that. He's sweet and nice. And he was incredibly respectful to me tonight. And maybe Gina was just a bad girlfriend. People don't just yell for no reason."
Kayla was silent for a minute. "I guess. I just wanted to make sure he was nice to you. I'll pick you up tomorrow."
Brandi hung up the phone feeling frustrated. It was nice that Kayla cared, but she was upset that she couldn't just be happy for her. Maybe she was jealous. The thought made Brandi smile. Kayla, jealous of her. She laid in bed, thinking of Zack's kiss.
Kayla picked Brandi up the next morning and handed her a cup of coffee. "Peace offering," Kayla said, smiling. "I'm sorry about last night. I shouldn't have said anything. Zack seems like a nice guy. As long as he treats you good, I approve."
Brandi wanted to say that she didn't need Kayla's approval, but she smiled instead. "Thanks. It's cool. I know you're just looking out for me. If Zack was an asshole, I wouldn't go out with him."
"So are you guys official?"
"Not really. I mean, we've only been on one date. I don't want to push it. But I really, really like him. And I think he likes me."
Kayla pulled into the school. "Well, as long as you're happy. See you at lunch."
Zack was waiting for Brandi at her locker. "Hey, beautiful," he greeted her. Brandi was unable to keep the huge smile from her face. Nobody had ever called her beautiful before. "Hi," she said, wrapping her arms around him. "I had an amazing time last night. Thanks again."
He kissed her on the forehead. "I have something even better planned for this weekend. Let's spend all day Saturday together."
Brandi nodded happily. "Ok. Oh wait, no. I can't on Saturday," she said, remembering the project she was working on with Eric.
Zack's eyes darkened. "Why not?"
"It's this stupid history project. We have to start working on our presentation. But we should be done by four or so."
"We?" Zack asked, stepping away from her. "Who's 'we'"
"Eric Kellen and I. We got partnered together."
To her surprise, Zack burst out laughing. "Seriously? You'd rather hang out with that nerd than with your boyfriend?"
Brandi's eyes widened. "Boyfriend?"
Zack smirked down at her. "Isn't that what we are?"
Brandi smiled softly at him. "I mean, yeah, I want to be. But I didn't know if we were official. We never really talked about it."
Zack nodded, looking around. "Ok. What's your middle name?"
"Umm...Nicole," she said, confused. Zack took her hand and got on his knees. "What are you doing?" Brandi hissed, looking around. Everyone in the hallway stopped and stared at them.
"Brandi Nicole Warner. Will you be my girlfriend?" He asked loudly.
Brandi laughed. "You're crazy."
"So is that a yes?"
"Yes, of course it's a yes. Now get up."
Zack jumped up and grabbed her face, kissing her hard. Brandi was sure her face was bright red from the spectacle, but she didn't care. Zack's gesture was the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for her. She glanced around at everybody smiling at her. Her mood faltered a little bit when she saw Gina Reynolds watching her with a concerned look on her face.
Jealous. She's just jealous.
"So, Saturday then?" Zack asked.
Brandi looked back up at him. "Can't we just do something at four? I really need to get this project started. It counts for like a quarter of my grade."
Zack clenched his jaw for a second, then shrugged. "I guess I can live with that. But I'm picking you up at four, so be ready, girlfriend."
She smiled at being called his girlfriend. "Thanks, boyfriend."
Take It Out On You
The next few days were blissful for Brandi, although it was hard juggling Zack, Kayla and schoolwork. Zack wanted her to spend every free minute with him, so she had to stay up late to do her homework and wasn't getting a lot of sleep.
Saturday morning rolled around and Brandi woke up, refreshed. She hadn't bothered to do her homework on Friday night. She'd worry about that tomorrow. Today was her date with Zack. She showered and dressed in her nice clothes that she wanted to wear for her date, figuring she wouldn't have enough time to get ready after Eric left. At 12, the doorbell rang and she ran downstairs to meet Eric. "Hey! Wow, you look different. Are you wearing contacts?" She asked, stepping back and letting him inside.
"Yeah. I don't usually wear them on school days cause I don't have enough time in the morning to bother with them."
"Oh. Well, you look nice. You should wear them more often," Brandi said.
"Thanks," Eric said shyly. "You look nice too."
"Oh, thanks," Brandi said, remembering her outfit. "My boyfriend is picking me up at four, so I figured we could work longer if I got ready before we got started."
Eric's face fell. "Oh. So let's get started then. I have a few ideas you might like."
Brandi and Eric worked for a few hours, figuring out their topic and setting the points they wanted to prove. At 3, the doorbell rang. Brandi looked at Eric and shrugged. "Zack's not coming till four. I'll be right back."
Brandi opened the door. "Zack! What are you doing here? I thought we said four?"
"I couldn't wait another hour to see you. I thought you'd be happy to see me," he said, pushing past her into the house. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"
Brandi glanced toward the living room. "Well actually..."
"It's cool," Zack said, backing Brandi into the counter. "I won't bother you." He squeezed her ass and kissed her. "Just pretend I'm not here."
Brandi laughed, gently pushing him away. "Alright. There's time for that later. The sooner we can get this done, the sooner we can go out. Ok?"
Zack sighed and followed Brandi into the living room. "Eric, you know Zack, right?" Brandi asked. Eric nodded at Zack. "Hey."
Zack didn't answer. He gave Brandi a light smack on the butt and sat in the chair, staring at Eric. "So Eric, where are y
our glasses?"
"I put my contacts in today," Eric replied.
"Why?" Zack asked.
Eric shrugged, looking uncomfortable. "I had some extra time this morning. I usually wear them on weekends."
"Yeah," said Zack, looking bored. "Well it sure was nice of you to dress up for my girlfriend today."
Brandi's head shot up. "Zack! That's not true." She turned to Eric. "I'm sorry."
Eric stood up. "It's ok. We're pretty much done for today anyway. I'll see you in school." He left without a glance back. Brandi turned to glare at Zack. "Why would you say that?"
Zack glared back at her. "Are you stupid, Brandi? He was trying to get into your pants. And why the hell did you dress up anyway?"
Brandi swallowed hard. "I wanted to be ready when you came."
"So the fact that you're dressed like a slut has nothing to do with that guy?"
Brandi looked down at her outfit. She was wearing a knee length skirt and a long sleeve pink sweater. Nothing about her outfit was slutty. "I'm not dressed like a slut, Zack. You're acting jealous for no reason."
Zack stood up and stormed over to her. He leaned over her and grabbed her face roughly. "Look at me," he said quietly. Brandi looked into his eyes fearfully. She couldn’t understand why he was so angry.
"You invited that asshole into your house without your mom home. A guy that clearly wants to sleep with you. Did you want him to fuck you, Brandi? Am I that worthless to you? How did you think I would feel?"
"No," Brandi choked out. "It wasn't like that."
"Yes it was," Zack said, tightening his grip on her face. "Do you think I'm stupid?"
"No, Zack. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for making you feel bad. I won't do it again."
Zack looked at her angrily for a moment, then his expression softened. "It's ok, Brandi. I'm sorry for getting so mad. I keep forgetting how innocent you are. You probably didn't know about Eric's ulterior motives."
Brandi still didn't think Eric had any ulterior motives, but she was glad that Zack had calmed down. "I'm sorry, Zack," she repeated as he sat down next to her and pulled her in his lap. The last thing she wanted to do was make him upset. She mentally scolded herself for having another guy over without her mom home, even if it was just Eric. She would feel bad if the situation was reversed. "I'm sorry I ruined our day," she said, tears spilling down her face.
"Shh, it's ok baby. You didn't ruin anything. I made us a reservation at La Fortuna. Not till 5 though, so we have some time. Let me just hold you."
Brandi snuggled on his lap, grateful that he wasn't mad anymore. "You look really pretty," he murmured into her hair. Brandi pulled back and looked into his eyes. "Thanks," she said softly. His face immediately fell. "Oh, shit, Brandi."
"What?" She asked. "What's wrong?"
"Your face. I hurt you."
Brandi's mind finally registered the pain in her jaw. "It's ok," she said, touching it gingerly. "It's not too bad."
Zack shook his head. "I'm so sorry, Brandi. I was just so mad. I didn't mean to take it out on you."
"It doesn't hurt," she lied. "Zack, it's ok, really. I'll put some makeup on it and it'll be fine."
Zack nodded as Brandi went upstairs to cover her bruises. She gasped when she looked in the mirror. Two small bruises were forming on either side of her face.
He did this to me, she thought. He physically hurt me.
A fresh wave of tears spilled down her cheeks. She knew that he shouldn't have touched her. But she had brought it on herself.
Hadn't she?
Brandi wiped away her tears as she applied foundation to her jaw line. He hadn't hit her or anything. Just squeezed a little too hard. Everything else about Zack besides his temper was wonderful. She would just have to try harder not to make him angry. Feeling a little better, she went downstairs to find Zack. She didn't see him in the living room. She went to the kitchen and saw him through the window, smoking a cigarette outside. She opened the door. "Hey," she said quietly. Zack put out his cigarette and followed her back inside. Brandi sat down on the couch and Zack sat next to her. "You did a good job," he said. "I can barely see anything."
She nodded, trying to smile. "Thanks."
"I really am sorry, Brandi. I promise you that I'll never hurt you again."
"It's ok," she said, putting her head on his shoulder. "Let's just forget it ever happened, ok?"
Zack smelled like cigarettes, a smell that Brandi didn't like but could deal with for Zack. He held her until 4:45, when they had to make their dinner reservation. Brandi wasn't in the mood to leave the house, but Zack had gone through the trouble of making the reservation so she should at least try to enjoy herself.
Dinner ended up being wonderful. Zack was happy and joking with her, and Brandi felt happier than she had since Zack had kissed her for the first time.
"I'm so glad we went here," Brandi said after the waitress took her plate away. "I'm gonna get fat if you keep spoiling me like this."
Zack grinned at her. "You're worth it, Brandi. You're so amazing."
She blushed at his compliment and reached across the table to take his hand.
"Brandi?"
She looked up and her smile disappeared. "Dad? What are you doing here?"
Her dad adjusted his tie nervously. "Michelle wanted lobster. You know, pregnancy hormones and everything," he joked. Brandi didn't smile.
He smiled at Zack, who tightened his grip on Brandi's hand. "Hi, I'm Paul, Brandi's father."
"I'm Zack, Brandi's boyfriend," Zack said, not taking his hand from Brandi's.
"Oh," Paul said, surprised. "Brandi, I didn't know you had a boyfriend."
"No, you wouldn't, would you?" She snapped.
Paul sighed. "Brandi..."
"Just save it, dad. Go back to Michelle and your new perfect little family and leave your old, crappy broken family alone."
Paul watched her for a second then shook his head, walking back to his table.
"Are you ok, babe?" Zack asked softly. Brandi shook her head. "No."
Zack paid the bill and they walked to his car. "I'm sorry, Brandi."
"No, screw him," she said angrily. "I haven't even talked to him in months. Months! And now he has the balls to joke about his pregnant mistress to me and act surprised that I have a boyfriend? I hate him," she said, tears of anger spilling down her face. "I hate him so much," she sobbed. Zack pulled her in for a hug and buried his face in her hair. "Shh," he said. "It's ok. Don't even think about him. You have me now. I'll take care of you."
Brandi tightened her grip on Zack. "Thank you," she whispered.
Zack let her go and she sat down in his car, exhausted. She hated her dad for ruining her perfect night.
"My mom's working a double again," she said as Zack pulled into her driveway. "Want to come in?"
Zack studied her for a second, then smiled, wiggling his eyebrows at her. "Hell yeah I do."
Brandi giggled as she opened the door and he crouched in front of her. "Jump on," he said. She climbed onto his back as he kicked the car door shut and carried her to the house. "Don't drop me," she warned. He rolled his eyes. "I know what I'm doing."
He put her down and she unlocked the door. Pushing it open, she gasped when she saw her mom sitting at the kitchen table with a bottle of wine in front of her.
"Brandi!" She cried frantically. "Where were you? I tried calling you. Why didn't you answer your phone?"
"I was on a date, mom. This is Zack," she said, pulling him forward to meet her.
She ignored Zack. "I thought you were dead somewhere in a ditch or something. How could you do this to me?"
Brandi closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Mom," she said calmly, "you told me you were working a double today and wouldn't be home until midnight. If I knew you would be home, I would have told you where I was going."
Lynn shook her head. "You're just like your father. You don't give a shit about me. Nobody gives a shit about me!" She screamed, jumping up. Zack held Bra
ndi protectively as Lynn stormed up the stairs and slammed her bedroom door.
"Brandi?" Zack asked gently. "Are you ok?"
Brandi stated straight ahead, expressionless. "Yep."
"Do you want me to go?"
"I think I'm just gonna go to bed," she said flatly.
Zack watched her for a minute. "You know, my dad is an alcoholic."
She spun around. "I didn't know that."
He nodded. "Yeah. And he gets angry when he drinks. His favorite thing to do is tell me that I'm useless and he wishes my mom would have taken me with her when she left."
Brandi gasped. "That's horrible."
"Yeah. It sucks. But you know what, Brandi? It doesn't matter. Because I have you. And you have me. None of them matter."
Brandi hugged him tightly. "Thank you, Zack. I'm sorry that you have to go through that. But you're right. They don't matter."
"I love you, Brandi."
She looked up in surprise, choking back a sob. "I love you too, Zack."
Zack leaned down and kissed her. "I'll call you tomorrow, ok? Get some sleep."
Brandi watched as Zack left and smiled. He loved her. He had managed to take a horrible moment and make it beautiful. And better than that, he understood her.
Brandi called Kayla as soon as Zack was gone. She told her all about her night, leaving out the part about Zack grabbing her face and getting mad at her. Kayla would just blow it out of proportion.
"I'm sorry that both of your parents are so ridiculous," Kayla said sympathetically. "But it's great that you guys are in love."
"It feels amazing," Brandi said dreamily. "He understands me, you know? And he was so sweet to me."
"That's great, Brandi," Kayla said. "I'm really happy for you."
Brandi hung up and went to bed, thanking God that she had met Zack Masterson.
The next few weeks were the best of Brandi's life. Zack was so sweet to her, and made sure everybody knew that she was his girlfriend. Girls gave her jealous looks when she walked down the hall with him. They weren't having sex yet, but Zack was sweet and respectful, never pressuring her.
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