Perfectly Flawed (36 page)

At least there was Zephyr.

“Hello, hello,” Zephyr calls as he enters
through the front door I left unlocked for him after my shower.
This morning, I actually made sure I was in an outfit worthy of
girlfriend
status. Nothing too extravagant, just jeans and a
green cable knit sweater that made me feel
cute
. “There you
are,” I hear him say before he wraps his arms around my waist as I
stand at the counter in the kitchen adding sugar to my chamomile
tea. He tugs me backward until my back is pressed firmly against
his chest. “Morning,” Zephyr purrs in my ear. “You look lovely this
morning.”

Lovely?
Not exactly what I was going
for but approximate and I’ll take it.

“Thank you,” I reply, feeling my cheeks heat
up. “Good morning to you, too,” I say to my mug of tea, the one I
almost dropped when I felt his touch a moment ago. “How are you
this morning?” I ask before taking a sip, burning my tongue on the
scalding hot liquid.
Bad life choice, bad life choice!

I set the mug down and fan my mouth, willing
it to cool down, while Zephyr chuckles in my ear.

“I could take care of that for you,” he
offers, suggestively, his lips brushing suggestively against my
neck, and
holy moley
, he should never stop doing that.

Despite my body’s objection, I shoot a
pointed glare over my shoulder. “No you couldn’t.” Anything he’d do
to me would send fire coursing through me, my veins—case in point,
my blood is boiling where he just kissed my neck. I’d overheat in a
matter of seconds, completely defeating the purpose.

“Well, I’m wonderfully splendid,” he tells
me, speaking directly into my ear. His voice, deep and smooth,
sends chills down my spine when she speaks, his breath warming and
tickling my ear. I hear him take a deep breath; I can feel his nose
against my hairline. “Your hair smells fantastic. I’ve always
wanted to tell you that.”

My hand reaches for my hair. “Thank you,” I
reply, my smile growing wider. “It’s my cherry blossom shampoo. Or
body lotion. Or body spray.”

“You like cherry blossoms?” he asks
sarcastically.

“I
love
cherry blossoms,” I tell him.
“Almost as much as I love you.”

Zephyr spins me, leaning me against the
counter, as he mimes his heart breaking. “That hurt. A lot.” The
smile on his face, though, is infectious. His hands slide down my
sides, electricity shooting from every touch. It’s like he’s
touching my bare skin, like he’s seeking to feel every inch of me.
His hands rest on my hips, tapping his fingers up and down.

I shy away, looking at my hands between us,
avoiding his intense gaze.

He tips my head up with his hand. “I’ve been
waiting for a moment like this,” he whispers.

I open my mouth to ask ‘Why?’ but his lips
cut me off before a word leaves my lips. He presses into me,
pushing me against the sharp edge of the counter but I don’t care,
I barely notice it. His hands remain on my hips but mine travel, up
his chest, past his neck, threading into the soft locks of his
hair.

If he ever decided to cut his hair, I think
I’d cry. Not little
I’m unhappy
tears, I mean full out
blubbering sobs. One of my favorite things about him is his hair.
When he refused to get his hair cut last year—Molly wanted him to
completely cut it off—I spent that night braiding it. I still have
the photo on my phone and computer for blackmail purposes. It’s
even tacked on my bulletin board.

I should post it on his Facebook wall like a
good girlfriend
.

Zephyr pulls away; I unconsciously follow,
wanting his lips. He laughs, resting his forehead against mine.
“You have no idea how many times I’ve wanted to do that in this
kitchen.”
I know now
. “Whenever I saw you, your hair
dripping wet, smelling sweetly of cherry blossoms, it hurt
not
to do that.”

The only thing I can think to ask is,
“Really?” Wrapping my arms around his neck, I pull him closer.

“Really.”

I play with his hair, twirling it around my
fingers, feeling how soft it is against my skin.

“Am I going to walk in on you two making out
every morning now?” Jamie asks. There’s a slight whine in her
voice. She’s standing in the doorframe of the kitchen with her arms
crossed along her chest. Neither of us heard her walk in and I
usually listen for the door opening. Though, I was a little bit
distracted.

“No,” I say while Zephyr says, “Yes.”

I playfully smack him. “
No
,” I say
louder, placing my hands on Zephyr’s stomach to push him away. “Hi,
Jamie.” I say, smiling widely.

“Good morning, Joey.” She takes the first
seat at the dining room table and pulls her silver compact from her
purse, checking her makeup. She slides a manicured finger beneath
her eye, fixing whatever mistake she found. “So, how’s the
honeymoon phase?”

“The what?” I ask, feeling Zephyr’s hand slip
down my arm, his fingers threading with mine. Jamie’s gaze briefly
drops to our hands, her hidden smile revealing itself, before she
turns her attention back to the tiny mirror in her hand.

“The honeymoon phase?” she repeats, clicking
her compact close and slipping it back into her Chanel purse.
“Never mind”—she waves a hand through the air—“though I feel the
need to do that whole protective thing.”

“I know, Jamie,” I start, preparing for the
lecture—or whatever it’s called—when she tells me how important her
brother is, how she’ll get revenge if I ever break his heart, the
usual yadda yadda. I already know these things.

“So,” she starts, standing away from her seat
and crossing her arms across her chest. “Zephyr”—that surprises
me—“if you hurt her, even a paper cut, I
will
kick your ass,
capiche?”

Capiche?

“Noted, Jay.” He looks to me, smiling. His
hand tugs on mine.

“Good,” Jamie says, plastering a beauty
pageant smile on her face as she looks from me to her brother. “You
both are so cute together.”

We’ve heard.

While I didn’t expect her to stand up for
me—I didn’t expect her to say anything remotely close to
that
to her brother of all people—she did put a smile on my
face. I leaned into Zephyr’s side and waiting with them until it
was time to head off to school. Jamie and I started talking about
chemistry and physics, a class I took last year as an elective
because I was interested, when Hilary walked, eh, more like
crawled, through the front door.

Hilary drops her bags in a heap by the door,
letting out an exhaustive sigh as she straightens and tucks her
orange hair behind her ears. She turns toward the living room, her
smile slowly disappearing as she spots me… on Zephyr’s lap. “Uh,
hello?” she asks with her hand pointing to me… still on Zephyr’s
lap. “What’s this?”

All eyes are on me. I neglected to tell my
aunt anything about this last night. What was I supposed to say?
Hey, Aunt Hil, while you were over here, debating my punishment
and if I’ve finally snapped, I was making out with the boy next
door
. I don’t think that would’ve turned out well.

“I didn’t tell you?” I ask, feigning
innocence. Everyone can tell I’m lying about something, my voice
ends in a nervous squeak. I remove my arms from around Zephyr’s
neck, trying to pretend this is a natural occurrence for us. I
wouldn’t be sitting on his lap if he didn’t pull me there when we
sat down, anyway. I was perfect content to sit on the couch.

“Tell me what?” my aunt asks with her hands
on her hips.

I fumble for words, trying to think of how to
tell her. I’m not sure how well she’ll take it, I mean, he’s always
just around, I don’t want things to change.

I shoot Zephyr a glare, silently begging for
his help, but he shies away.

Thanks, boyfriend.

“They’ve found love,” Jamie offers. I turn my
glare to
her
. “Isn’t it a little disgusting?” she asks my
aunt, ignoring the look on my face—wide eyes, open mouth, I bet I
look sexy.

“When did this, uh, happen?” my aunt asks as
she peels her jacket down her arms, lying it along the back of the
chair. She ties up her hair, freeing her face.

“Uh…” I trail off, trying to stall. How’ll
this affect what happened with us last night? We sort of made some
progress, right?” Last night?” I tell her. I’m not sure why I ended
in a question; I guess I’m just nervous.

“Seriously?” she asks in disbelief. She leans
to the side to get a better look at Zephyr, who’s jokingly hiding
behind me. At least, I think he’s joking. I hope he knows my aunt
won’t hit him. I will—but never my aunt. “Better late than never,”
she mutters under her breath as she walks through the living
room.

“Huh?” I ask, trying to catch my aunt’s
attention.

“Better him than that Ryder fellow,” Hilary
continues.

“Tell me about it,” Jamie chimes from the
dining room.

“Y’all could’ve talked to me, you know?” I
point out loudly, watching Hilary walk up the stairs heading to her
room. “Night,” I call up to her. She waves a hand above her head
showing me she heard me.

“I love it when you get all Southern,” Zephyr
coos near my neck.

I point another glare in his direction. “Shut
up.” That makes him throw his head back in laughter.

“Welp, time to go,” Jamie announces, slapping
her legging-clad thighs as she stands, tucking her chair back
beneath the table. She grabs her bag and Zephyr walks me through
the door, swinging our hands between us like little kids. We’re
weird.

“I’ll see you later, yeah?” he says, not
meaning the question. I nod. He leans forward and gives me a quick
kiss before I slide into the car for Jamie drives us to school.
This is when she starts making fun of me.

“
You are so love struck!
” Jamie
laughs, putting the car in reverse and backing down the driveway as
her brother briefly watches us.

“I am not!” I object loudly, watching Zephyr
walk back to his house through the yards. “I’m, well…” I trail off,
trying to think of the appropriate word. “I’m smitten.”

“You’re a little smitten kitten, is what you
are,” Jamie jokes as she heads through town. It feels good to joke
with her again. “I’m only kidding, it’s adorable, Joey. Zephyr
really likes you—he’s always
liked you
liked you.”

What is this?
Hey Arnold
?

“I learned that last night,” I mumble,
feeling my cheeks heat up as the memories of last night flood my
mind. Sitting on his floor, kissing him for the first time, the
painting of me—it all seemed so surreal. And I wouldn’t change any
of it, not a thing.

We walk into the school together before
separating, she heads toward Marcus and his outstretched arms, and
I head toward my locker. I still notice the weird looks people give
me, from the
full out stares
to the
avoiding
to the
look-and-divert
, I just don’t care today. I’m in such a
great mood I don’t think anything could bring me down. I grab my
books from my locker and head toward my first class as I check over
the notes from yesterday.

Walking down the hall, I bump into someone
with the same hard build as a wall. I only know that it isn’t a
wall because walls don’t make sounds when you walk into them. This
person sounded to be in pain.

I look up, and now I understand the pain.
Connecting eyes with the person I walked into, I let out a loud
snort when I see his face. The eyes are still the familiar pale
blue, still ocean like, only the thick rim of a blue-ish, purpling
bruise surrounds them. He was right, too. Zephyr did break his
nose.

Ryder scowls when he notices me standing in
front of him. Turning up what remains of his once-
perfect
nose, he walks down the hall toward his locker.

I laugh loudly as Ryder practically runs away
from me with his tail between his legs.

Finally, a little imperfection comes his
way.

First period is normal, as are second, third,
and fourth. I learn a lot, as expected, but I’m bored without
Zephyr. At lunch, I walk up to Harley and Kennie with a smile on my
face, I’m excited for interaction but I’m more excited about seeing
their faces when I tell them what happened between Zephyr and
me.

I spot Avery taking the seat next to Harley.
I spy Harley blushing and bashful.
That’s new
. Avery smiles
when I walk up. Is he always this happy to see me or is it just
because of who my best girl friend is? All I ever see is him
smiling.

He’s just a jolly fellow.

“Hello, everyone,” I say loudly as I take my
usual seat next to Kennie. “How are you this
fine
afternoon?”

I’ll admit that I’m piling it on, but I can’t
help it. I become more sarcastic when I’m happy. Actually, I’m more
sarcastic and annoying with any emotion I have.

“Hold up,” says Kennie with her hands raised,
whipping her head in my direction. “What happy juice have you been
drinking?” she asks.

Happy juice? Random.

I raise a brow.

“You’re happier than a kid in a candy store,”
Kennie points out.

“A
fat
kid in a candy store,” Harley
clarifies.

“I haven’t been drinking any, uh… happy
juice?” I tell them, the phrase still weird in my mind.

“Does this have anything to do with Zephyr?”
Avery asks with mischief in his eyes. He knows something. He has
that look about him. Knowledgeable.

“That depends,” I start suspiciously, angling
away, looking at him through to corner of my eye. “What do you
know?”

His smile grows bigger. “Well, last night,”
he starts, making a production out of it. “At exactly 10:37 pm,
Zephyr posted on Facebook that he was in a relationship with one
Joey Archembault,” Avery explains, his hand, palm up, pointing to
me.