The Last Boyfriend (Forever Love #1)(29)
Author: J.S. Cooper

“What?” I was starting to get annoyed at Braydon.

“I know this may be hard to believe, but I think he has it out for me. Maybe he’s jealous or something. But he is really not right in the head.”

“Braydon, why would you say that?”

“Look, I don’t know him that well. We don’t really hang in the same circles. But his brother Noah and I were pretty tight. I think—”

“Hey, where is Noah now?” I interrupted him, hoping to get some information on the infamous Noah Beaumont.

“Zane hasn’t told you?” Braydon’s voice was slow and deliberate.

“No, and I haven’t wanted to intrude. Did they fall out or something?”

Braydon sighed and took a deep breath. “Look, I don’t want to say much, but Noah and Zane fell out. And Noah kind of left Zane behind. He wanted to make something of himself. He wanted to be a new person. Zane is so insular. He was all about it being him and Noah against the world, but Noah wanted more than that.”

“Oh wow, so they fell out.”

“Yeah.” Braydon cleared his throat. “Look Lucky, I want you to stay safe okay. I’m going to try and fly down to LA this week.”

“Wait, where is Noah now?”

“I gotta go. I’ll talk to you later.” And with that, Braydon hung up and I was no closer to knowing where Noah was. I sat looking at my phone and wondered what could have come between Zane and his brother. It seemed like they were as tight as two brothers could have been. Maybe Zane didn’t like Braydon because Noah stole his friendship. Someone who was as emotionally insecure as Zane probably found it pretty hard to trust anyone. All of a sudden, I realized that I wanted to fix Zane. I wanted to be the one to let him see that not all relationships ended badly. Not all love was selfish and hurtful. Even if it cost me my heart. Zane was like no other man I had met before. On the surface, he seemed cocky, bossy, and uncaring, but I was starting to get to know the real him and he was a really good guy. The sort of guy that could win my heart forever. He was the type of guy a girl took a chance on, and that was exactly what I was going to do.

Chapter 10

“Hey, can I come in?” I knocked on the door and opened it slightly so that I could be sure that Zane knew I was there.

“Hey, come in.” Zane was lying on top of his bed in a pair of black gym shorts and another grey t-shirt. His hair was still damp from his shower and he looked cleanly shaved.

“Thanks. Are you still on for a movie?”

“Am I ever?” He ushered me into the room and slapped the empty space next to him on the bed. “Have a seat.”

“Thanks.” I climbed onto the bed next to him, feeling slightly self-conscious.

“Do you like your room?” Zane leaned against the headboard and stared at me.

“It’s really nice. Really feminine.” I answered, hoping he would provide some insight to the room.

“I’m glad you like it.” He nodded and smiled. I held my breath as he looked me up and down slowly. My toes curled when he raised a single eyebrow and grinned mischievously at me. “Nice pajamas.”

“I don’t have PJs.” I blushed. “So I generally sleep in shorts and a t-shirt.”

“I approve.” He grinned. “Though I don’t mind if you take the t-shirt off.”

“You what?”

“I said, I don’t mind if you want to get naked.” He laughed and ran his hand down my back.

“Is that how you talk to all the girls, Zane Beaumont?” I shook his hand off of me. “It seems to me that you’re a lot more uncouth than I thought.”

“Why, did you think I was a smooth operator?”

I stared at him for a second. “Well, I certainly didn’t think you were a ‘girl, let’s get these clothes off of you’ kind of guy. I assumed you had a little more finesse.”

“I’m just a regular old Don Juan in your eyes, aren’t I?”

“I wouldn’t say that.” I laughed. “You can’t seem to keep them past a week.”

“Why you—” He burst out laughing and pulled me up towards him. “You’re my regular little comedian aren’t you, Lucky?”

I felt a warm shot of happiness inflame my body at his use of the word “my.” It held a connation of closeness that I wanted to have with him. “Is that your way of letting me know that you want me to tell you a joke?” I peeked up at his face and rolled my eyes. “You could just ask you know.”

“You know what I want to know?” He grinned at me and I leaned back into him, my back fitting into his arms comfortably.

“Why the sky is blue?”

“It’s not blue right now. But perhaps you can tell me why it is black.”

“Because there is no sun right now.”

“Where is the sun?”

“Is this what you wanted to know? This is your last question. I will answer no more.”

“Oh genie, how you tease me.” He laughed and I grinned at him, trying to ignore the warmth emanating from his chest.

“One question.”

“Or can I change that to one wish?”

“Hmm, I don’t know …”

“What did you think of me when you met me in Lou’s?” Zane’s face was suddenly serious as he interrupted me. “I want to know how you knew you could trust me.”

“How do you know I trust you?”

“You accepted this job. You’re here with me now. You—”

“Okay, okay. I trust you.” I laughed and paused, twisting to look at him. “I don’t know why I trust you.”

“Well thanks.” He pouted.

“No, I don’t mean it like that. I mean, I was your waitress, we were never really friends. And honestly, I never really had a great impression of you. We used to talk about you in the restaurant. Every Friday, we would roll our eyes when you walked in with a different girl. But inside, secretly, I was happy. I was happy to see you again, because you were always nice, always friendly, and always leaving big tips.”

“And you thought I was hot, huh?” He wiggled his eyebrows and I punched him in the stomach. “Ow.” He rubbed his stomach and groaned.

“Yes. I thought you were cute.” I laughed. “Why, what did you think of me?”

“I thought you were the cutest thing.” He laughed. “Every week, I told myself to take my date to a different restaurant, but every week I ended up at Lou’s.”