Chapter 1"Baby, why no tongue this time?"
Wait—what?!
That was my FIRST kiss.
But Zachary Kane kissed me like a goddamn expert.
"Not so shy last time, babe," he mumbled, half-drunk, pulling me closer.
LAST TIME?!
I was his childhood sweetheart, the girl he'd been chasing for fifteen years, the one he swore he'd marry after graduation.
So who the hell had he been practicing with?
Was that HER...
That hot transfer girl who swore she'd "get him in bed in three months."
Back then, Zach looked her dead in the eye: "In your dreams!"
Then grabbed my hand like a puppy.
"Come on, Wren. Everyone knows I'm yours."
But later, I'd seen Chelsea texting him in class.
"Tried a bunch of new flavors last night... wanna test them tonight?"
So not candy, she meant CONDOMS?
Sorry, asshole. I didn't take back trash I already threw out!
...
Before I could even ask, he let me go.
Zachary was too wasted, could barely keep his eyes open.
He groaned, frowning. "Idiot... you still don't know how to breathe?"
"Great, did I teach you for nothing?"
I took a deep breath and grabbed his face.
My hands were shaking, but I kept my voice steady.
"Zach. Look at me. Who am I?"
He went quiet, squinting at me.
Those few seconds before he answered felt like forever.
My gut already had the answer—but I still wanted to hear it from him.
Zach patted his own face, then squeezed mine, slurring.
"Baby, why are you still in my dream?"
"Wren... dream-you is better. I can kiss you all I want."
My lashes fluttered. Hearing my name made that knot in my chest loosen.
Oh. He thought he was dreaming.
Zach cupped my face and kissed me again.
"Babe, breathe. Don't hold it till your face turns red like last time."
He kept kissing me, kept cooing those stupid pet names he used only for me.
When he finished, he flopped down and buried his face in the pillow, like he was shy.
"Damn, this one felt so real."
I sat there next to him, biting my lip.
A few seconds of thought, I stood up.
Whatever. Zachary was an idiot. He'd been chasing me since we were kids.
Whatever he tried to hide, I'll always catch it.
No one was home.
I grabbed my phone to order him some hangover soup, but it died.
Too lazy to charge it, I picked up Zach's phone instead.
His lock screen was still my latest photo.
Zach always said he got bored easily, so I had to send him three new pictures every week.
Or he'd pout and ignore me. Total drama queen.
I used to tease him about it. "You get bored so easy, but you've liked me for years?"
He'd just smirked. "Yeah, 'cause I only like YOU."
Then the fingerprint unlock failed.
Out of the five fingerprints saved on Zach's phone, four were mine. Only one was his.
I tried them all—every single one failed.
Deleted by accident?
But Zachary wasn't that careless.
I tried the password—my birthday. A code he's used for years, never changed.
Still failed.
Right then, a message popped up.
A picture. From Chelsea.
That transfer girl who'd been chasing Zachary for months.
Chapter 2
My hand tightened around the phone.
When the hell did they even add each other?
Zach hated her most, didn't he?
Truth is, Zach always had girls chasing him.
But he was cold as ice and sharp-tongued as hell. Plus everyone could see he only had eyes for me. Most girls gave up pretty fast.
Chelsea was the only one who stuck around that long.
Also the only one who pissed him off that much.
One night after study hall, she cornered me in the hallway.
"You and Zach aren't dating, right?"
"Then may the best girl win."
Before I could even respond, Zachary grabbed my backpack and slung it over his shoulder like always.
He handed me a warm milk, wrapped my scarf and hat around me.
Zach was usually pretty chill, but that night I could feel the storm brewing.
He took my hand, stepped in front of me—tall, broad, blocking her out completely—and said coldly.
"She doesn't need to compete with you. I'm the one chasing HER."
"We're not dating yet, sure. But I'm her future husband."
He didn't say a word the whole walk home.
I finally poked his arm. "What's wrong?"
Zach's eyes were red. He pinched my cheek, annoyed. "You're not jealous?"
"She literally challenged you and you didn't even react. Do you even like me?"
Oh. That's what this was about.
I shook my head.
"Of course I like you. I know you only care about me."
His lips twitched. Like that made him feel better.
He grabbed my hand again.
"Hurry up and graduate already, Wren. I'm dying to actually date you."
I looked down, remembering what his mom told me.
"Wren, sweetie, I know my son's loved you since forever. I'm not against it, but... could you wait till after graduation to say yes?"
I squeezed Zach's hand tighter.
Just one more semester. That's all.
---
I put Zach's phone down and went to my room downstairs.
The room I'd lived in for over a decade.
When I was three, my parents divorced.
Mom brought me to the Kanes' house. She worked as their housekeeper while raising me.
Zach and I were the same age. We basically grew up together.
He'd always been distant with everyone, kind of intimidating.
I was scared of him, but I still politely called him "brother."
He never answered to that. But he'd let me tag along with him and his friends.
I guess I was cute as a kid, because one of his friends once joked about Zachary "giving me" to him.
Zach went ballistic, slammed the guy to the ground and told him to fuck off.
First time I saw him angry. First time I heard him swear.
On the way back, I nervously called him "brother" from behind.
He was still mad, snapped at me for the first time ever.
"Stop calling me that!"
I avoided him for days after that, until he finally cornered me.
His voice softened. And for the first time, he called me by name.
"Wren... are you dumb?"
"Brothers and sisters can't get married."
I froze, heart pounding.
I'd thought maybe he hated me, or found me annoying. Never thought he'd actually LIKE me.
After that confession, Zachary stopped holding back.
His love wasn't like him at all.
It was loud, bold, impossible to miss.
Everyone knew Zachary Kane would only ever marry one person.
Wren Sinclair.
But tonight, I couldn't stop my mind from spiraling.
His way-too-practiced kissing. Him calling someone else "babe."
And that photo Chelsea sent I couldn't see.
Chapter 3
The next day was the first day back at school.
Mom took a month off. Zach's parents were on a business trip.
Just me and him in the house.
I didn't sleep all night and ended up oversleeping.
The second I opened my door, I crashed into Zach's chest. A faint citrus scent hit me.
I sniffed. "Did you change body wash?"
"That smells... different."
He'd always used the same one as me for years. Even yesterday, he smelled like my body wash.
Zach's Adam's apple bobbed, and he hummed, clearly didn't want to explain.
"Breakfast's ready. Let's go."
I took the food from him, biting my lip.
"Mom said I should take care of you."
Zach grabbed my hand, smirking.
"You? Take care of me? You dumped me on the bed and left last night."
I seized the opening. "I was gonna order you hangover soup. My phone died, and you changed your passcode..."
Zach paused, then explained.
"Someone guessed my password last time—your birthday. Not safe anymore."
"My phone's full of your pictures. If I lose even one, I'll lose it."
I nodded quietly.
He continued. "Changed it to the day I confessed to you."
I nodded again. But I couldn't stop thinking—
That still didn't explain why he deleted my fingerprints.
Before I could ask, Zachary dropped his phone in my lap and leaned against the car window, eyes closed.
"Go ahead. Check it. Since you finally care about me for once."
I never used to do this. But today, I couldn't help it.
I opened his messages.
Chelsea's contact was gone.
I threw the phone at him. "I saw Chelsea text you yesterday. A picture. Now it's gone."
Zach said casually, "Yeah. She sent me nudes. I blocked and deleted her."
Nudes?
My throat tightened.
I wanted to ask why he added her in the first place.
Didn't he hate her the most?
But then I felt weird even asking—what right did I have?
Everyone thought I was being dramatic. Zach had been chasing me forever, and I still wouldn't say yes.
But his mom took my mom and me in. We owed her everything.
If she asked me to wait, I'd wait.
Besides, it was just a little longer.
Being with Zach at all was already more than I deserved.
"Wren, I didn't know it was her when I accepted the request."
He held up his phone, showing me his lock screen—my face.
His eyes soft, voice sincere. "She grossed me out. She's got nothing on you."
Once we got to class, Zachary sat next to me like always.
He pulled out snacks, new school supplies, little things I might need—all from his bag.
He always took care of me like this, every detail.
Chelsea walked in last.
Middle of winter.
She wore a tight cropped top, a flimsy jacket, and a skirt that didn't even reach her knees.
Chewing gum, she tossed her bag onto the seat across the aisle from Zach.
Zachary paused mid-note, then glanced at me.
"Wren. Switch seats with me."
Chelsea smirked and sat down without a word.
I moved to Zach's seat.
The second I sat down, I smelled it.
Citrus—same scent as Zach.
Only... stronger.
