All I've Never Wanted(117)

I frowned, leaning against the wall. “Planning what?”

Adriana and Venice exchanged exasperated glances. “Your anniversary night,” the blonde hinted.

“Oh, I don’t know. I just thought we’d go out for a nice dinner or something,” I said honestly.

Venice shook her head, her curls bouncing merrily. “I don’t think she gets it,” she told Adriana.

“I don’t. Can you tell me what you’re talking about?” I was so not in the mood for cryptic riddles.

Adriana tossed her lip gloss back in her bag. “Remember the reason why we went lingerie shopping when you were ‘dating’ Parker?”

I stared at her for a moment, until realization set in and turned my entire body a flaming red.

“Wh-what? We’re not talking about that now,” I stuttered. Or ever. There’s a reason why most people keep these things private, with the exception of porn stars and Paris Hilton.

Unfortunately, Adriana was not “most people.”

“We don’t have much time,” she pointed out, as an elegant, fur-clad woman swept into the bathroom without sparing us a glance. “You’ve only got a week left before your anniversary. You have to put that lingerie to good use.”

I shifted my weight, trying to ignore the woman’s now disapproving glare. “I don’t know if I’m ready,” I mumbled, wishing the floor would just open up and swallow me right then and there.

This was even worse than the last discussion they had about my sex life, because back then, I knew I wasn’t going to sleep with Parker. Now, though, the possibility of Roman and I, you know, doing it, was a lot higher—especially considering how close we’d gotten to the act lately.

Not that I was going to tell anyone that.

“So you want to wait?” Venice asked curiously.

I shrugged. “I’m not sure. I just—I don’t know. The right moment hasn’t come up yet.”

For some reason, I thought back to that night in Hawaii, when I’d been “teasing” Roman as part of Carlo’s plan. The moment the images played out in my mind, my skin warmed up so much I’m sure you could’ve fried an egg on my forehead.

Adriana raised an eyebrow as the fur-clad woman finally swished out of the bathroom, brushing past me huffily and muttering under her breath about “kids these days.”

“Well, it’s your decision, obviously,” she finally said. “Don’t let anyone pressure you, not even me.”

I cracked a smile at that.


“But if you are ready—“ Her aqua eyes were knowing. “Don’t be scared. Like I said all along, Roman’s really a good guy underneath that grumpy exterior of his, which you should know by now. If you like someone, you should take a risk. Grab the bull by its horns, so to speak.” She smirked. “Besides, Parker provided you with plenty of protection.”

I groaned. “Your boyfriend sucks. That’s so embarrassing!”

“He’s just looking out for you. Honeybee.” Adriana winked at me. “Come on, let’s get back to the boys before they think we died or something.”

I was just about to follow her out of the bathroom when I realized Venice hadn’t moved.

“V? Are you ok?” I asked, concerned. She had a pensive look on her face, but she also looked a little green, like she was nervous about something.

She nodded once. “I’m fine.” Her voice shook a little.

“Are you sure? I have some Advil—“

“No.” Venice shook her head. “I’m fine, really,” she insisted more clearly, even though she grabbed my arm for support as I led us out of the bathroom.

We walked slowly down the hall back to our table, and Venice’s grip tightened.

“Ok, you can do this, you can do this,” she muttered under her breath.

She was freaking me out. “Do what?”

But she just shook her head.

When I slid into my seat, she remained standing.

“Venice? Aren’t you going to sit?” Zack asked, blinking his big blue eyes in confusion.

She shook her head, a determined look sliding over her face. “No.” Venice lifted her chin up. “I’m not. I have—I have something to say.”

Roman shot me a questioning glance, but I just shook my head, as baffled as he was.

We all waited patiently, but it seemed as though Venice was losing her nerve. She got paler and paler with each passing, silent second.

“You wanted to tell us something?” Zack prompted, looking at her like he was afraid she was going to pass out.

It wouldn’t be the first time.

“Yes. Well—I—I—“ Venice stuttered. Then she just shook her head, mumbled something that sounded a lot like “screw it,” stormed around to the other side of the table, and, as the rest of us watched with open mouths, grabbed Zack’s face between her hands and planted a kiss right on his lips.

* * *

Roman and I were half-naked on his bed.

I’m not sure how we ended up here, actually. After Venice and Zack’s shocking kiss earlier, she’d ended up fleeing the restaurant, mortified, before anyone had a chance to say anything.

Zack just spent all of lunch sitting there like a cardboard cutout of himself, the shocked expression never leaving his face, until we had to physically haul him out of his chair and back to school.