After having found out that Jenn was in town, I called her up and made plans to see her the following afternoon. Taylor wanted me to spend the night with him – he wanted to cook dinner, rent a movie and spend the night on the couch watching it with me. I always loved when we did things like this; it always turned my heart into mush and reminded me just how lucky I was. So he and Isaac went to the store and Taylor bought what he needed to buy in order to make a spaghetti dinner while I stayed at home and showered, washing away the day’s stress and anxiety and preparing to relax for a few days with Taylor.

After I had showered and changed, I walked out into the living room, only to find Zac in command of the TV. He was watching something on the Discovery Channel, and it wasn’t until I heard something about sex that I understood what he was watching.

“Hi ‘Roo,” he called out from his spot. “Wanna join me and watch this interesting program called Sex?”

I laughed, changing my destination and going into the kitchen to get a drink of water. “No thanks, I’m good on the sex stuff for now,” I replied. “Where do you keep your glasses, by the way?”

There was a long pause. “Glasses?” he finally said, “I don’t wear glasses …”

I laughed again. “Oh my God, that is such a Taylor thing to say!”

“Oh! You meant drinking glasses?! Well why didn’t you say so?” I saw him leap up from the couch and join me in the kitchen, grinning. He opened a cupboard and one out for me. “What do you want to drink?”

“Oh, just water.” I reached for the glass and he held it away. “The glass, please?”

“I’ll get water for you. You would probably get it from the ‘fridge, but see, that’s a no-no.” I watched as he opened the refrigerator, taking out a water filter and pouring some water into the glass. He smiled widely and handed it to me. “Here, nice fresh water for ‘Roo.”

I took it from him, grinning and shaking my head. I took a sip then said, “Thanks, Zac. Best water ever.”

He beamed and bowed. “Welcome, m’lady.”

So we stood there in the kitchen together – I sipped my water and watched Zac, who watched me back, kind of tapping his fingers on the counter. This was the first time since I had been in their new place that we were actually alone – and one of us wasn’t in one of the bedrooms. Okay, so I had only been there for a few hours, but I had taken several trips around the house and barely run into him. When we had, we exchanged apologetic glances and kept going.

“So, Miss Trish, tell me. How’s college going?” he finally asked, after a pregnant silence between us. “I’ve barely spoken to you since you left, so I have no idea what’s going on with you.”

“Tay doesn’t talk to you about what’s going on with me?” I asked curiously. I told Taylor practically everything that went on in Santa Barbara – not because I had to, but because I wanted to.

Zac shrugged, reaching out for my glass. I handed it to him and he took a sip. “He does sometimes.”

“So – what do you know?”

“I know that you and Taylor fought a lot your first year, that he’d visit you randomly. I know that he surprised you on Valentine’s Day by showing up in a suit at your dorm with flowers in his hands and some jewelry. I heard that people think you’re going to get married to him, that you used to make him sing you to sleep on the phone,” Zac replied, looking me right in the eyes as he said this.

I suddenly felt very self-conscious and I could practically feel myself blushing. “Oh,” I said, looking away.

“Yeah, that’s about all I know.” I looked back up and he gave me a half-hearted smile and thank God he continued, or else I wouldn’t have known what else to say. “So – tell me. What’s the college life like?”

“Well, it’s interesting – lot more fun than high school. Everyone’s pretty much into his or her own thing and everyone is so chill …”

“Are the guys cute?”

“Hell yeah they are.”

I almost suspected the next line: “Cuter than yours truly?”

I couldn’t help but smile and I definitely couldn’t help my response: “Oh, no way.”

There was a shy exchange of a certain look between us – you know the look I’m talking about.

“I’m sure that out of all the girls at Santa Barbara, you’re the most beautiful by far,” he said softly. And then he did a bold move – he stepped forward, leaned down and kissed me softly. I didn’t have time to react – I was still processing his recent statement when he did that. But when it did hit me that what the hell, he was just kissing me – I didn’t know what to do except kiss him back.

I know, I know. You’d think that after a year of basically not seeing him and having the best boyfriend ever, I’d be able to push him away and storm off angrily, and then proceed to tell Taylor what a horrible brother Zac was; how dare he try doing that to me! But I did not possess such strength, so I just stood there, kissing him back, letting him take my hands into his and letting him pull me closer against him.

“I know I shouldn’t be doing this,” he breathed between kisses, “but I can’t help myself. I’ve waited for forever to do this ...” He kissed me again before I could respond and I practically forgot that I had a boyfriend – hell, I practically forgot my boyfriend’s name. Tyler, Taylor?

The sound of a cell phone ringing interrupted us and it took me a few seconds to get my thoughts straightened up. It wasn’t my phone anyway – it was Zac’s. He looked at me and then grabbed his phone from his pocket, flipping it open and greeting the person with a, “Hello?” He smiled at me and tucked some hair behind my ear, listening to the other party. “Wait, do I want what, Tay? … Cereal? Yeah, sure, what kind? … Um, just pick one, I really don’t care … Trish? Watching TV … Yeah … Yeah … ‘Kaybye.” He closed his phone and shrugged. “Wanted to know if I wanted cereal. And they’re coming home soon.”

“Oh, that’s cool,” I replied, my heart racing. I wanted to kiss Zac again, I really did.

He grinned at me, leaning forward and kissing me softly. “I’m going to go in my room now – you’re welcome to join me if you want …” he said casually.

“I shouldn’t,” I mumbled. “They’ll be home soon …”

“So? We’ll hear the front door open and you can pretend you’re coming out of the bathroom, no big deal.” He widened his eyes and gave me a puppy dog look. “Please, ‘Roo? Come and keep me company? Zac needs you …”

I stared at him, chewing my bottom lip nervously as he pleaded with his eyes. “Fine,” I sighed, though inside I was bursting with excitement. Zac let out a little ‘whoop!’ and grabbed my hand, pulling me into his bedroom. He shut the door behind him and then pulled me onto the bed with him, kissing me eagerly and holding me close against him. He lowered me onto my back, taking my breath away with one of his kisses.

“Wanna know something?” he whispered breathlessly in my ear, as I rubbed his back lightly, my mind reeling with thoughts.

“What?” I asked. Well, I’m pretty sure I asked it – I was somewhere on cloud nine and definitely not thinking correctly.

He didn’t answer immediately and I focused my eyes on him. “What?” I asked again.

He smiled tenderly and kissed my forehead. “I still have feelings for you,” he said softly.

Taylor arrived not long after he called. By that time, I was up and in the living room, my hair brushed down to prevent him from knowing that I had just been a little unfaithful to him. He (meaning Taylor) opened the door with a bag of groceries in one arm, a big ol’ smile on his face. “Hi babes!” he called out cheerfully.

I turned around from the couch and smiled. “Hi! How was grocery shopping?”

“Good, good. Ike here didn’t know whether he wanted two-percent milk or vitamin D milk.”

“Dude, there are benefits to both!” Isaac said defensively, sauntering in behind Taylor with several more bags. “And they taste differently!”

“It’s milk!” Taylor replied, rolling his eyes. I got up from the couch and walked over to them in the kitchen to help them unload their grocery bags.

“What’d you end up getting?” I asked, grabbing several things and storing them away.

“Two-percent. I’ll get Vitamin D next time,” Isaac replied. He handed me a few more things and for the next couple of minutes, we put the food away. After the bags were put away and Isaac retreated to his room, cell phone in one hand and a glass of his precious two-percent milk in the other, I went back onto the couch and Taylor started preparing dinner, humming a song while he worked. Though Taylor was never much of a cook, the dinners, lunches, or even breakfasts he rarely made were nothing short of delicious.

I switched on the television, finding an episode of Friends and settling into the couch to watch it. Isaac joined me midway and pinched my leg so that I would move them. I shot him an evil look as he plopped down next to me, interrupting my intense concentration on Joey Tribianni and Phoebe Buffay.

“So, you’re seeing Jenn tomorrow, eh?” he asked, as I lay my legs across his lap. He rested his arms on top of them.

“Yup, for a few hours. Her and Robin have plans to go see a play in West Hollywood or something, so we’re going out for lunch,” I replied. “Why?”

“Oh, nothing.”

“Wait – how’d you know I was seeing Jenn tomorrow? I don’t think I’ve told anyone about that.”

“I was just talking to her on the phone ---“

“You still talk to Jenn?! Oh my God, you are so in love with her!”

I felt another piece of my skin be practically squeezed to death and I shrieked.

“We’re just friends, you little punk,” Isaac said, staring into my eyes. As if staring into my eyes made me believe him. I rolled my own.

“Yeah, sure.”

Someone’s cell phone rang and we all scrambled to check it, even though we all had different phone models. I knew it wasn’t mine but ever since I had one, any cell phone noise brought out an instinct in me to check my phone “just in case”. Apparently this instinct is in everyone else, too.

It was Isaac’s phone and he shot me a look before answering, “Hello?”

I looked back at the TV to find out that my show was practically done, so I sighed.

“Oh, hey, yeah don’t worry about it! Happens all the time …” I looked at Isaac and he looked at me. I immediately knew who he was talking to, so I yelled out, “JENN AND ISAAC SITTING IN A TREE! F-U-C-K-I---“

Isaac pinched my leg again and I yelped. Isaac scrambled up and ran into his bedroom while I sat rubbing my leg, where I was sure a few bruises would appear soon. I looked over at the kitchen to see my boyfriend standing over the simmering pot of spaghetti sauce, stirring it lightly.

“Need any help?” I asked, coming up behind him.

He turned around and smiled at me, kissing my cheek sweetly. “Naw, I’m good for now babydoll. I’ll call you if I need anything, though, yeah?”

I gave him a one-armed hug, resting my head on his shoulder. “It smells good,” I told him, as I inhaled the scent of a home cooked meal. “Oh man, I am so hungry.”

“It’s almost finished, I just have to make the noodles and that’ll be that.” He stirred the sauce a little more and left the stirrer in there before turning to me, his blue eyes sparkling. He wrapped me in his arms and kissed me passionately, taking me by surprise. “I have big plans for us tonight,” he winked, rubbing my back.

“Really? Big plans like what?” I asked.

He kissed my neck softly and I almost turned into butter. “Well, let’s just say that the Kama Sutra ain’t got nothin’ on me,” he whispered seductively into my ear.

I felt my face turn a shade of red – in fact, it probably matched the shade of the spaghetti sauce. “Ummm,” was all that I cold muster out because I had suddenly turned into a stammering teenybopper.

Taylor chuckled, kissing the tip of my nose before letting go of me. “But that’s for tonight,” he said, his eyes shining. “For now, I need to get back to my spaghetti before we end up having to eat fast food for the upteenth time.”

After a more than delicious meal and the other two had gone out, thus leaving Taylor and I all alone in the house, we put in a movie to watch: The Sound of Music. It was one of my favorites, mainly because I loved the singing and the good, happy feelings that came from it – minus the whole Nazi part, of course. When we were younger, Taylor and I would watch it together with a big bowl of popcorn between us.

We weren’t even that far into the movie before the kissing started. Julie Andrews was just learning the von Trapp kids’ names. He was the one that initiated it, his lips kissing and sucking on my neck lightly, and his breath warm on my skin. As soon as I turned to him to respond to his affection, that was it for the movie. He was kissing me eagerly, pulling me close against him and pressing his body against mine. I felt his hand sneak up my shirt, his fingers slowly tracing imaginary shapes on my stomach and then sneaking up to my chest. We kept kissing each other with hunger and pretty soon, the clothes started coming off. He was in his boxers and about to remove my pants when he suddenly stopped, breathing heavily.

“What?” I asked, eager for this to continue. “What’s wrong baby?”

“We can’t do this here, we might get caught,” he said. “The last thing I want is for my brothers to catch me in the act.”

I grinned, brushing some hair out of my face. “Yeah, that would not be good.”

“Come on, let’s take this to my room,” he grinned devilishly. He pulled me up with him and we made it over to his room. We had barely shut and locked the door before we were back to shedding our clothes, an obviously good night ahead of us.