Chapter 17-Fool–1
–LIA’S POV–
I stood behind the table, feeling utterly ridiculous.
“Here’s your knife,” Zane picked it up and offered it to me. He’d even had a pink bow tied around it.
“Thanks,” I muttered, taking it from him.
“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you,” he began singing, and I held back a grimace as I cut the cake. “Happy birthday dear Lia, happy birthday to you.” I picked up the piece I had cut, and immediately, Zane walked around the table to stand beside me.
“I’m not feeding it to you,” I said, staring up at him.
Zane frowned. “Why not? I promise I won’t bite your fingers off.”
I lifted the piece towards his mouth, and he gently grabbed my hand, his gaze locked with mine. Zane bent his head slightly, taking a big bite of the cake, still not looking away from me. His lips brushed the tips of my fingers, and a shiver crawled through me, making my heart skip a beat. The cream smeared on his lips, and he slowly chewed the bite, not letting go of my hand. Butterflies filled my stomach, and I found myself unable to look away. My gaze dropped to his lips as he licked them, then
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proceeded to take another bite from my hand. Those tingles which erupted in the parts of my skin that made contact with his, spread to other parts, sending a shiver through me. I tried to pull my hand from his, but he tightened his hold. Heat rose to my cheeks.
“Let me enjoy my cake,” he said softly. “It took me hours to make it.”
“What? You made it?”
“Yes.”
“Liar.”
Zane chuckled. “Yes.”
I rolled my eyes, finally pulling my hand away from his.
“So we celebrated my birthday, can we leave now?” I asked.
“What?” He scoffed. “Of course not. There is a lot to do.”
“Like what?” I asked.
“I don’t know, what do you normally do on birthdays?”
“Sulk at home.”
“Other than that.”
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“Nothing.” I smiled sarcastically.
“Okay, works for me. Let’s do nothing.”
“I like to do nothing alone.”
“Unfortunately for you, you’re with me right now.”
“Zane, we have school. I have to sleep.”
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“I have an idea,” he said. “Stay over tonight. Let’s go together.”
I laughed. “Yeah, right.”
“Why not?”
“Are you our of your mind? What makes you think I trust you enough to sleep here? Are you forgetting all you guys have done. to me?”
Zane narrowed his eyes. “I didn’t do anything to you.”
“You wanna go into that debate again?”
“Never mind,” he muttered.
“Take me home, Zane. Please. Thank you for this… attempt. It means something to me, if not a lot. But I need to go home now. won’t take me, I’ll go myself.” I started to walk away, but
If you
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he quickly moved to block my way.
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“Okay, okay. Wait. I’ll take you.” He frowned. “At least accept your gift first.”
“What gift?”
“Wait here,” he said softly, then returned to the table. He bent down and retrieved something from under it, before returning to me. “Happy birthday, Lia.” He handed me the wrapped gift.
“What is this?” I asked, starting to open it.
“No wait, don’t open it here,” he said, taking hold of my wrists.
“Why?” I asked.
“Open it when you get home.”
“It’s not a bomb, is it?” I narrowed my eyes.
Now he shot me a look.
“Yes, Lia. It’s a bomb. I want to kill you, so I am gifting you a bomb that will burst when you unwrap it. I want to blow bits.”
I shrugged. “Wouldn’t surprise me if you did.”
you to
Zane let go of my wrists and took my arms instead, pulling me
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slightly closer. “I have never wanted to hurt you, Lia. Ever. You have to believe me.”
“Why should I?” I asked. “Your friends have tormented me
for years. How and why should I trust that you weren’t the mastermind behind it all?”
“I don’t know the how,” he said softly, “but I can give you a why.”
“Well?”
“It could be my birthday gift,” he said. “I arranged a mini party for you. And gave you a gift. I promise you’ll like it.”
“So in return for all this, you want me to believe that you never wanted to hurt me?”
“Yes.”
I stared up at him. “Why does it matter to you so much?” I whispered.
“You’ll understand. Eventually. I promise. For now, all I can tell you is that you’re safe. I don’t have any bad intentions towards you. And I promise you that my friends won’t bother you. anymore.”
I pushed his hands off of me. “You’re trying to compete with Blake, isn’t it? You’re doing the things he’s doing for me. You
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found out I went out with him on my birthday, so you arranged one too. He protects me from your friends, so now you wanna take credit for that too. Why are you competing with him? You’re playing a game, Zane.”
“What do you think I’m getting out of this?” he asked.
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