But Zane seeing me like this? I’d rather crawl into a dark hole and wait until morning.
Chloe’s cell phone started ringing. “Oh. That’s him.” She answered. “Yeah? Yeah, okay. See you in a second.”
“I am not ever never going with him. I won’t do it.”
“We don’t have a choice. Maddox can’t drive us, and you need to get back before your parents—”
“Oh my God. My parents.” The pit of dread in my stomach sobered me a little.
“It’s not that late. Zane can get you home before they even realize.”
“Max. We should call Max. He can cover for me, he’s good like that.”
Chloe yanked me to my feet. “Okay?”
I nodded. Swaying a little. My head felt too heavy for my shoulders, bobbing on my neck.
“Text me when you’re home,” Maddog said.
“Thanks for all the vodka,” I sang, leaning on Chloe. She curled her arm around my waist and led me out of the house, down the steps toward…
“Zane.” My breath caught in my throat at the sight of him, standing there.
“A little help,” Chloe snapped, and he stalked toward us, his expression hard.
“You came,” I said, tripping on something. Chloe tried to grab me as I flung forward, but it was Zane who caught me.
“Fucking hell,” he muttered, steadying me. I tried to burrow into his side, to get close to him. He was so strong, and he smelled good. Too good.
“How much did she drink?”
“Not as much as you would think given the state she’s in.”
“Help me get her in the car.” Zane fisted the back of my jacket using it to steer me toward the door and the air whooshed from my lungs.
Chloe opened it. “You going to be okay in the back?”
“Me? I’m fine. Totally fined.”
She snickered but Zane didn’t laugh. He growled. A low rumble that made a shiver run down my spine.
“In you go, Einstein.” He gave me a shove and I climbed albeit clumsily into the back. The door slammed shut and I inhaled a deep breath.
I didn’t feel so good.
I didn’t feel so good at all.
Chloe got in the front with Zane, the two of them talking about me like I wasn’t there. But I could barely get my lips to work, to tell them that I could hear and that I was fine, as my head lolled to the side, and I closed my eyes.
“What’s up with her anyway?” Zane asked Chloe and I felt his stare on me through the rearview mirror. Cold. Assessing…Angry.
I wanted to say something funny, to crack his hard exterior just a little bit, and make him smile. He deserved to smile.
Everybody did.
“Miles is going to Winter Formal with someone. I know she dumped him, but they were best friends. It’s got to hurt.”
“So she decided to drink her body weight in vodka?”