All Chapters of Party Animals: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

**Elijah**I finally got Zoe settled and in bed with a heating pad because she had complained earlier of back pain. She forced me to stay in bed with her until she passed out and whined every time I made a move to leave.For someone who says she doesn’t want me here, she sure isn’t behaving like it.She could try to put on a front, but I had already figured her out, and she had already expressed last night that she felt something for me as well, so there was no sense in Zoe putting up a fight any longer.The buzzing of my phone distracted me from my deep thoughts regarding my situationship. I sighed at Michael’s name, which appeared on the screen. He had texted several times last night and this morning to check on Zoe, but I was still too angry to speak to him.“What?” I answered in a harsh whisper, not wanting to wake Zoe up.“I know you’re mad, and you have every right to be, but can we talk?”“Sure.” I patiently waited for Michael to say whatever he had to say, but it never came.“H

Zoe“Oh, my God, Daddy. Right there. Fuck yeah,” I groaned. I was being rewarded for saving Elijah’s life with a massage. I’d received massages before, but this massage was hitting differently. “Harder,” I moaned.“Mama, you’re gonna have to stop moaning like that, or I won’t be able to hold myself back,” Elijah warned.“I don’t want you to. I’ve been trying to tell you that,” I whined into the pillow.“Mama, it’s not safe. I think you’re more injured than we realized. The doctor said you would be sore for a few days, but you can barely walk. I had to carry you upstairs.”“You know, if I had something stronger than two 325mg tabs of Tylenol, then I would be able to walk,” I huffed.“I’ll roll you a joint in a little bit if you stop complaining. It’ll help with the pain.”I popped my head up from the pillow. I wished I could turn around to stare Elijah dead in his eyes as he repeated that statement. “I thought you didn’t like when I smoked?” I incredulously asked.“The only thing I’ve

ZoeThe brunch with Elijah and my friends went...as expected. Samuel warmed up to Elijah quickly, but Brianna remained the Ice Queen throughout most of brunch. It didn’t bother me any because I was on Cloud 9. I had a designated driver, a bottomless pitcher of mimosas, and chicken and waffles in front of me. After a while, she realized that her attitude wasn’t making anyone uncomfortable but herself and apologized to Elijah. She must’ve gotten tired of everyone talking over her like she didn’t exist.Sammy and Brianna caught me up on all the juicy gossip I missed and a couple of parties they had hit up over the weekend. I lost interest after a few moments and decided to gaze at Elijah’s profile as he feigned interest in Brianna, bragging about how many Jell-O shots she consumed in an hour. He must’ve felt my heated gaze through my sunglasses and squeezed my thigh underneath the table, causing me to jump slightly. His hand traveled towards my inner thighs, and he rested his fingers com

**Elijah**I paced my living room while English and Michael sat on the couch and watched me as if I had lost my mind. They’re not too far off base. I was a mess thinking about how I could screw our date up tonight.“Relax, Eli. It’s just a date. Just know that whatever you do, Zoe will still be your girlfriend at the end of the night. You don’t have to have first date jitters because you already know that there will be a second, a third, and a hundred dates later.”“You’re right,” I breathed out, gathering my wallet and keys before leaving to pick Zoe up. “Don’t be here when I get back!” I shouted, making my way out of the house. Even though I had nothing to be nervous about, I couldn’t help the anxious knots that twisted in my stomach. My palms were sweating, and I felt the same way I did when I asked Tina Wilburn out to prom.I rang the doorbell and patiently waited for Zoe to answer. I gave myself a final pep talk as I heard her heels clack towards the door. She opened the door, an

**Elijah**“Your painting came out great, Mama. I swear you can sell it.”“You really think so?”“Absolutely.""Do you want it? I mean, technically, you paid for it,” Zoe offered.“No, I couldn’t.”“No, I insist. It was fun; hopefully, it won’t be the last time we do it.”“If it will make you happy. I’ll hang it in the living room.”“That’s not the best place for something like that. You have all your framed movie posters and stuff. It’ll look weird in that space. How about the downstairs bathroom? It’ll go great with the color on the wall.”“Now that you mention it, that’s a better idea," I agreed.Zoe hummed in satisfaction as she went over the wine menu. We arrived at the Brazilian steakhouse a few minutes ago, and Zoe was teeming with excitement. I ordered our wine while she sauntered towards the salad bar, drawing most of the male attention in the room as she walked through the tables towards the bar.I sighed, knowing that it was just something I would have to get over. It was o