Chapter 7

ZULEKAI 

I woke up slowly, my eyes blinking open one after the other. The sunlight slipped through the curtains and touched my skin, warm and soft. It was the light which rested on my face that woke me up. I would have still been enjoying the comfort of my bed and pillow. I stretched my arms and sat up on the bed. My stomach let out a low grumble and I sighed remembering the incident that happened last night.

Fucking asshole! I spat out as memories of last night came washing into my mind in a large torrent. I would have eaten if he hadn't pissed me off. I shrugged it off and stepped down from the bed. But my heart was beating faster than usual. I touched my chest lightly, trying to figure out what was wrong when something crossed my mind....the dream I had last night. I remembered it vividly and even though the events of last night tried crumbling it off, it still remained intact.

It was a hot dream. The hottest dream I had ever had was about lanvini. I didn't want to think about it right now, but it kept coming back. The way his touch had aroused something primal in me, his deep voice which had sent me into oblivion, his hot breath on my neck and the way he whispered my name in the dream like he needed me.

Zulekai! I mentally screamed my name. What the hell is wrong with you? I shook my head quickly, erasing the thoughts off.

“No,” I whispered to myself. “It was just a dream. And nothing more. Get a trip on yourself, zules.”

Great! Now I am sounding like him.

I stood up fully, did a few stretches to jerk my muscles up and walked to the bathroom. I didn’t want to think about Lanvin that way, but I couldn’t help it. He was always so cold. He never looked at me, at least that was what I thought. And he never spoke to me unless he had to and always did if he was going to piss me off. Most times walked past me like I wasn’t even there.

Still, my stupid body reacted to him. Why does my body, of all the guys in the college, decide to have a thing for lavini? Frankly enough, my heart never listens to me, it does strange things whenever he is around. It was like I could feel him even when he was not looking.

I took my bath, brushed my teeth, and put on clean clothes. I went downstairs to grab something to eat. My mind was still not settled. I didn’t tell anyone about the dream. How could I? What would I even say? I could have just decided to tell freckles but hell no, I would never give her the satisfaction of knowing I fantasize on the college-playboy-devils.

Or I could just walk up to zade since he is my confidant. I'd be like, “Hey, I had a dream about Lanvin last night, and I can’t stop thinking about it?”

Geez! Even saying that sounds ridiculous. No way will I tell my brother I dreamt about his best buddy. 

I entered the kitchen and left over rice and chicken stew and some vegetables and desert in the fridge. I mentally thanked my brother for having it in mind to keep my food for me. I piled up the tray with the food and still made fried eggs and bread. I was going to eat like a lion today and I sure want to do it now I'm alone.

I sat at the corner and started eating slowly. My head was full of thoughts. Thoughts about Lanvin. Why couldn’t I stop thinking about him? Why is my mind torturing me? 

As I was chewing, I heard a door open upstairs. Zade's awake to go to the gym. I didn’t even look up, there was no need for me to do that. But then I heard footsteps. It was slow, heavy and firm and it sounded so familiar. My heart raced as I looked up to find him staring at the kitchen.

And holy shit, he was shirtless.

My spoon dropped and my mouth hung open, my eyes widened.

I stared at his chest. My eyes raked all over his body hungrily, the muscles in his arms moved when he walked, his skin glowed in the dim, and there was a scar near his shoulder, and I wanted to know how he got it. His hair was messy like he just woke up. He didn’t look at me. He didn’t even blink.

My mouth went dry.

I cleared my throat quietly and picked up my spoon and tried to act like I wasn’t staring. But I was. I couldn't stop staring at his lean muscular figure, at his hair which was inviting me to come  rake my hands through it.

He walked past the dining table and opened the fridge. He brought out a bottle of water, drank straight from it, then closed it and turned around.

This time, he looked at me.

My heart jumped at the way his eyes checked me out from head to toe. I suddenly felt a kind of sensation swelling around my middle part. It looked so hot. I would have been nuzzling around him if not for my restrained self.

He looked straight into my eyes like he could see everything I was thinking and then he smirked. I blinked and looked down at my plate.

“Are you ready for school?” he finally asked.

His voice was deep. It made my stomach twist

I looked up, shocked that he would even talk to me. Not like I wasn't expecting him to do that but I didn't know if he was after what happened last night. And besides this happens to be the nicest thing he has ever said to me. He had never spoken to me like that before. Not with that voice. Not with that soft tone. Not with the calm look dancing in his eyes.

“What?” I balked.

“School,” he drawled, narrowing his gaze at me. “Are you ready?” he asked slowly, emphasizing each word.

Why was he asking if I'm ready for school? Wasn't he giving the impression of not wanting to talk to me? He doesn't want anything to do with me but why does he keep on doing this.

I stared at him, rolled my eyes and scoffed. “Why do you care?”

He paused.

My heart started beating fast again. He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it. Then he opened it again.

“Because...” he said.

That was all.

Just because.

Then he turned and walked away leaving me there stupefied.

See... he's such an asshole and he knows. I sat there frozen, my heart racing, my body warm all over. That one word was still ringing in my ears.

“Because…”

Because what? What did he mean? Why didn’t he finish the sentence? Why does he have to do that?

I stood up from the chair and walked to the sink to rinse my plate, but my hands were shaking. I could still feel the heat in my body. My legs felt weak like something had gone through it.

I kept thinking about the dream. I kept thinking about the way he looked without his shirt. I kept thinking about the way he looked at me. That look wasn’t empty. It wasn’t cold. It was something else. Something I didn’t understand yet.

I walked upstairs slowly. My head was full. I wanted to knock on his door and ask him what he meant. I wanted to shout at him for confusing me. But I didn’t.

Instead, I went to my room and sat on the edge of my bed.

I looked at the clock. I was already late for school. I didn’t even care. I was still stuck on what he said. Or what he didn’t say.

“Because…”

It meant something. I knew it did.

Later, I was walking downstairs again, ready to leave for school when I saw him by the car. He had a black shirt on now, but my eyes kept remembering how he looked earlier. My face grew hot.

He looked at me.

“I’m driving you,” he said.

I paused and hissed through my teeth. “I can take the bus.”

“I said I’m driving you,” he repeated.

“Why?” I asked.

He said nothing. He just opened the car door and waited.

I climbed in slowly, still confused.

The ride was quiet at first. The silence filled the car like thick air. I could hear my heartbeat. I could hear his breathing too.

I turned to him. “Lavin…”

He didn’t look at me.

“What did you mean earlier?”

He didn’t answer.

“Lavin,” I said again, louder this time.

He groaned. "For the love of the moon, my name is lanvini...not lavin or lavini." 

"Answer the question, lavini." I drawled.

He glanced at me for a second, then looked back at the road. “I said what I said.”

“But what did you mean?” I pushed.

He took a deep breath. “It doesn’t matter.”

“It does to me.”

He stopped the car suddenly. We weren’t at school yet. He parked by the side of the road and turned to face me.

“It’s better if I don’t talk,” he said.

“Why?” I asked again. “Talk." 

He groaned and slapped his palms on his forehead. "You know, you're such a pain in the ass. I said that because I wanted you ready before going to school." 

So that was it....ohh my goodness!