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She patted the table. “Okay, but I’m paying for bowling.”
“We’ll see.” No way was she paying for anything, because I was determined to treat her well—treat her well and show her how nice a man I could be, because, for some reason, I felt like she hadn’t had one before.
Chapter Seventeen
Maddy
Iwas annoyed with my dad. He had sent me a message to say he wouldn’t be home for dinner, but there was curry in the slow cooker, and I had to make sure I ate some.
It wasn’t that I was mad that he wasn’t home, but that he hadn’t messaged me until I was walking through the door. I could have said yes to Zak’s invitation to McDonald’s. I could have been enjoying a bloody burger with him instead of my dad’s curry,alone. It wasn’t like I could call him and say my plans had changed. That would have looked desperate.
At least dad not being home meant that I could get ready without him questioning me every five minutes. Or him hanging around the front door when Zak arrived, or even worse, asking Zak a thousand and one questions about the evening and warning him to take care of me.
Annoyance, though, was soon replaced by nerves as I realised the time. It was almost five to seven and Zak would be arriving soon. Unless, of course, he stood me up. My stomach dropped at the thought. What if he did? Maybe he’d changed his mind?What if it was just a joke and he didn’t like me at all? What if Liam had dared him?
“Shut up, Maddy,” I muttered to myself. “You’re being stupid.”
When, just seconds later, there was a loud banging on the door, I knew I hadn’t been stood up. At least I hoped it was Zak. With one last look in the mirror, I ran down the stairs, took a quick breath at the bottom and then pulled open the door.
Zak was standing very straight, with his hands behind his back, grinning. “You look good.” He looked me up and down. “Gorgeous, in fact.”
My heart beat erratically as I stared at him. I wasn’t used to boys being so confident and saying what they thought. Most of the boys I’d talked to, or had dates with, liked to mess around with a girls’ head. Talking in some sort of stupid boy code and expecting the girl to understand. And never had one told me that I looked gorgeous as soon as I’d opened the door. One boy, Toby Jacobs, who had since left our school, told me once I looked quite nice, but only after I told him that I liked his jacket.
“Thanks. I like your jacket.”
Shit, I was an idiot. Who told a boy they liked his jacket? Me apparently,to two different boys.
He gave his sexy grin again. “Cheers.” When he held his hand out to me, I gasped, and he smiled. “I won’t bite.”
I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks as I tentatively took his offer and let him curl his fingers around mine.
“I borrowed my mum’s car, so sorry if it’s a bit…” Zak shrugged his shoulders.
I looked past him to see a Mini parked at the curb. “I like it.”
“Yeah,” he said, rolling his eyes. “It’s great, but not the best when you’re six foot two.”
Swallowing, I looked up the full length of him, finding everything about him hot. He was gorgeous to look at, but I likedhim as a person too. So far, he seemed like he was nice and wouldn’t do the usual dickhead boy things. What did I know, though; he might be the biggest player in the world.
“Anyway, let’s go,” he said, tugging on my hand. “I’m starving.”
“You haven’t eaten yet?”
Pulling me down the path to the car, he groaned. “No. Mum made this awful lentil thing because she thinks we eat too much meat. Even Dad wouldn’t eat it, and he eats everything.”
I thought about his parents and how slim his dad was. He didn’t look like he ate everything. He was nothing like my dad; he was older and had been wearing suit trousers and a white shirt—something you’d never see Dad in. Mr Hoyland’s hair—Mister, not Doctor, because he was a surgeon—was greying at the temples, and he had a short beard also speckled with grey. He was also very tall, which was obviously where Zak got his height from, because his mum was tiny, not much taller than Amelia.
When we reached the car, Zak opened the door for me. He didn’t do it with flourish or make it cheesy; he just did it like it was a normal thing for him to do. Not at all like the other boys my age, who let a door swing back in your face without caring.
“Thanks.” I flashed him a smile and got into the car, and when he leaned inside, I felt my breath rush from my lungs.
“I’ll just fasten you in.” His breath whispered against my ear, making me shiver. “Make sure you’re safe.”
“Is your driving that bad?”
His face was inches from mine, and I could smell the mint of his toothpaste on his breath as it mingled with his aftershave. When he smiled and showed his perfectly white, perfectly straight teeth, I had to hold back a moan. He was beautiful.
“Nope, I’m a great driver. In fact, my dad says I’m a little bit slow at times.”
