After Life Page 3

  Chapter 4

  The alcohol was slipping through Zoe’s veins and lightening her mind. The weight of her secret and her past all but evaporated into the cold night air.

  For the first time in a long time, she was content in her body and among other people.

  The atmosphere at the party was super-amped. Songs with a deep, fast base pounded around her. Guys and girls chatted and laughed, danced and shrieked.

  Zoe stared out at the colourful crowd, taking it all in, grateful she was a part of it. After two years of not fitting in, being shunned because she was different, and teased relentlessly because of circumstances outside of her control, it was nice to be a seemingly regular cog in the wheel of normality.

  Natural giggles were tumbling from Zoe’s mouth as the night progressed, allowing her to believe the last few years of her life never happened. She had glimpses of her old self—happy, complete and normal.

  The fact that she had just snuck out of her dormitory and had to get back without notice didn’t even worry her.

  But mostly, Zoe loved how her body was reacting to Theron: tingly and warm. She smiled as she finished the dregs of her third cup of beer and peered up into his green eyes.

  Her body was feeling again. She was reconnected.

  Alive.

  “Who’s up for a little game?” Daniel asked, jogging over and slamming into Theron’s shoulder with his own.

  Theron stumbled a few steps, laughing. “Count me in.”

  “You girls up for it?”

  Zoe’s stomach squeezed. She looked at Rhianna to seek her response.

  “What type of game?” Rhianna asked.

  “A game with a thousand possibilities ...”

  Next minute, Zoe was sitting in a circle with about twenty other students. An empty cup sat in the centre with a pack of playing cards spread in a tight circle around the cup. Theron sat next to her on one side, and Rhianna sat on the other.

  “King’s Cup,” Daniel said. “If you don’t know the rules, you’ll learn soon enough.”

  Surrounding them all was a circle of students who’d thought better to watch rather than participate. May have been a smart move because Zoe didn’t have one clue in hell what she was in for.

  Excited murmur and laughter buzzed all around. Zoe’s head was in the clouds from the beer, the excitement surrounding her, and the anticipation swarming through her cells.

  Daniel stood in the centre of the circle, a huge grin on his lips. “Okay, peoples, we’re going to find out who gets the honours of winning the King’s Cup.”

  The crowd erupted in cheers and claps.

  Zoe, eyes wide and heart racing, turned to Rhianna. “What the hell?” she mouthed.

  Rhianna smiled. “Just a little fun. Totally harmless.”

  Totally harmless. Zoe had to remember that. This school, this party, wasn’t a continuation of what she’d been through. This was a new beginning. A better beginning. Though her heart was thundering and her belly beat with wings of anticipation. A fizzing excitement swelled in her bones.

  It had been so long since she let go of her tightly held self and just had fun. This game was all in good humour, and she was ripe for it.

  “The new girl can start us off,” Daniel said.

  Zoe pointed to her chest. “Who me?”

  Daniel grinned. “Yep. Pick a card, any card, and make it a good one.”

  Zoe pushed onto her knees, crawled to the cards, and slid one out of the pack. She held it up for Daniel and the rest of the eagerly awaiting eyes of her fellow players.

  “Six is for chicks,” Daniel said, half yelling, half laughing. “Good to see you’re looking after the sisters.”

  The girls in the circle laughed and giggled as they lifted their drinks in the air, then skolled a good portion.

  Zoe could see how this card game was going to work. Each card would mean a certain person or group of people had to skol. She quickly reached for her cup and downed the beer. The bitter, lukewarm liquid slid down her throat until her gag reflex kicked in and she had to stop.

  Cheers and claps rang out from the guys, including Theron beside her. A good enough indicator that the girls had drank enough.

  Theron’s turn. He crawled to the card, slid one out from the opposite side of the cup and held it up. “A king,” he bellowed as if he’d won a hundred bucks.

  “Fill 'er up,” Daniel said.

  The circle of students were boisterous as Theron poured his beer into the huge cup in the centre.

  Sitting back next to Zoe, he leaned closer, his shoulder resting against hers and said, close to her ear, “And whoever pulls the last king from the deck has to skol the contents,” he nodded toward the centre cup, “of that.”

  Zoe winced. She could barely manage a few gulps of her own, let alone an entire cup. “I hope it’s not me then.”

  Theron laughed. “You and me both. It’s never pleasant.”

  The next in line, a girl with a long blonde ponytail, pulled a card from the pack. It was a five, which, apparently, because it loosely rhymed with guys, meant all the boys had to skol their drinks with noisy encouragement from the girls.

  And so the game went on, friends refilling cups for the players, sobriety sliding away on a wave of bliss and happiness and release.

  As time passed in a fuzzy, wavy blur, and Zoe’s head grew lighter and tongue thicker, the less she was able to feel her own lips.

  Rhianna’s turn came around. The cards were becoming sparse. She pulled a jack, the first time it had appeared.

  “Oooowee,” Daniel yowled. “Do you dare?”

  Rhianna laughed. “I definitely do.” She bit her fingernail as she thought for a few moments. “When the next four is pulled, all the girls kiss the closest boy.”

  Zoe nearly choked on the beer she was sipping.

  Daniel laughed. “You look a little worried, new girl. Theron’s not that scary, is he?”

  She looked at Theron, who met her gaze with a gleam in his eyes she couldn’t be certain of, but it looked a little like lust. Which was surprising.

  Until tonight, a guy couldn’t look or smile at her without an underlying fear that her crazy might rub off on him. And not the cutsie you’re crazy, yeah well you make me crazy but rather drugged to the eyeballs in a psychiatric hospital crazy and seeing dripping wet dead girls in school halls and white-eyed dead boys kneeling between rows of chairs crazy.

  Zoe shook her head. Now was not the moment to dwell on that. Her past and the ghosts, well, they were ignorable. And besides that, nothing was here to spoil the mood but her overactive mind.

  If a four was pulled from the deck, then she would simply have to kiss Theron. She could think of much worse things to do.

  Theron nodded to the cards. “You’re up.”

  Zoe went to the cards in the centre and pulled one out. It felt like only a moment ago that she had had a turn. Alcohol was eating up her sense of time. She chose a king, which meant there was only one king left in the pack.

  The centre cup was now a concoction of beer and rum and with her final contribution, full to the brim. She didn’t envy the player who had to drink it.

  Theron pressed his shoulder to hers, leaned in even closer than he had before. “Lucky escape. Let’s hope someone pulls the king before our turn again.” His warm breath and words felt so good against her ear. So good, she nearly closed her eyes as a shot of sensation worked under her skin.

  Theron’s turn. He pulled a two from the back.

  “Two, fuck you. Two fuck you. Two fuck you,” Daniel chanted.

  Theron had to nominate someone to skol their drink. He chose the boy sitting a short distance to his left—a big bulky boy with black hair and piercing blue eyes.

  “A lucky escape,” Zoe said to him with a laugh.

  “Oh yeah. Twos come in handy in a game like this.”

  His words were interrupted by a cheer.

  “Four to the floor,” Daniel yelled.

  The girl next to Th
eron had pulled out a four.

  Zoe shot a worried glance at Rhianna, who stared back with equal concern.

  “What does that mean?” she asked. But she knew what it meant. Girls had to kiss the closest boy.

  Daniel cleared his throat. “It means that you and Theron are to kiss. For a full minute. And don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten the dare goes out to all of you. Everyone on your feet. Let’s make this a floor show.”

  Holy shit. Could she kiss Theron in front of all these people? As she stood, she searched Theron’s face, her focus dropping to his mouth. He had full lips—a delicious looking mouth.

  “You think you can manage that?” Daniel asked.

  Zoe nodded as she met Theron’s eyes again.

  Daniel smirked. “And what about you, Theron?”

  Theron’s gaze was moving between Zoe’s lips and her eyes. She didn’t know if he liked what he was seeing or not.

  He took a step closer and gripped Zoe’s waist. She gasped a breath as he drew her against his body, totally in control.

  I guess he’s okay with kissing me.

  She slanted her head back and peered up at him. He was half a metre taller than her and double the width. That thought alone made her tummy tug low and deep.

  Her resolve strengthened by the second as she felt his warm, hard body against hers.

  Daniel laughed, pressed some buttons on his phone and said, “Get those tongues tangling.”

  Theron leaned down, his eyes firmly on hers. She lifted onto her tippy toes. Her heart was pounding hard, not from fear but because she did want this.

  As his face neared hers, she could smell him, a hint of soap and raw maleness. The combination of his big strong arms around her waist and the heat of his chest against hers did weird things to her body.

  Blood rushed, plumping and sensitising places that hadn’t been paid attention to in a long while. For what seemed like forever, Zoe missed these moments in life where she got to feel another human being.

  Yes, I can kiss him. I can kiss him silly.

  And looking up at his pale green eyes, her only fear was not being able to stop once they started.

  His warm lips pressed against hers.

  Her eyes fluttered closed.

  Biology took over as he opened her mouth with his lips, and his tongue slipped against hers. It felt so damn good. She rested her hand on the back of his head, the other wrapped around his waist as she lifted higher onto her toes—seeking more of him.

  Their kiss deepened. And when a soft groan sounded in Theron’s throat, her senses were flooded, her head dizzied.

  He gripped her waist tighter. His fingers cupped her jaw, holding her face just right. He tasted sweet and warm against her tongue. Zoe wanted the minute to extend another five and the yahooing, clapping audience to disappear, so she could explore Theron further, intimately.

  His hands slid down to her arse. He was lifting her up. She complied, jumped off her toes, and spread her legs around his taut waist. With the difference in the size of their bodies, Zoe a bird, Theron a mountain, he held her against him with such ease.

  His strength gave her goosebumps, the good kind.

  All the while, he sucked and nipped at her mouth, tasted her tongue. His breaths were noisy. His chest rose and fell sharply with each inhalation. Her heart paced as his warmth and desire flooded her.

  “Time’s up,” came Daniel’s laughing voice.

  No. It can’t be.

  She wanted to kiss him longer.

  So did Theron, apparently, because he wasn’t stopping.

  “You two can take it off to the side, we’ve got a game to play.”

  Zoe mustered all her strength and pulled back from him, though she was still planted firmly in his arms, her legs tightly around him. He smiled at her, and she melted. Zoe didn’t know if it was the beer she drank or that this guy was insanely breathtaking.

  Not wanting to yet knowing she had to, she slowly slid her legs down until her feet touched the ground.

  Theron kept his arms around her, maintaining the chest to chest contact. “That didn’t feel like punishment,” he said, voice deeper, huskier than usual.

  She shook her head. “To me either.”

  “All right, you two, you’re slowing us down,” came Rhianna’s voice.

  Was that anger in her tone?

  Zoe turned to look at her. Rhianna was standing beside them, hands on her hips, and scowling.

  Why the hell would she be angry?

  And then it dawned on her—Theron was the closest to Rhianna too and, obviously now, she made the dare with the full intention of taking advantage of that. Except Zoe had just kissed the heck out of him in front of everyone, instead. Not Rhianna.

  Zoe looked away and pulled herself out of Theron’s arms. “Come on. We better get back to it.”

  She didn’t want Rhianna offside because that had the potential to ruin everything Zoe was striving to achieve. Though, somewhere deep inside, she had the intuition that she might be too late.

  Chapter 5

  Zoe had her first official class Monday morning. The weekend had passed and in that time, she had made peace with all that had happened on Friday night.

  Yes, Rhianna was sweet on Theron, but she would not be so childish as to spill Zoe’s past. They were year twelve students now—that kind of behaviour was what would be expected from juniors.

  Instead, Zoe relished how well she had done at fitting in here and making new friends.

  At least fifty times in the last forty-eight hours, Zoe had replayed that kiss with Theron in her head. She could effortlessly recall the exquisite, warm press of his lips against hers.

  Each time she thought of seeing Theron again, her stomach tugged low. He would be in her form class this morning and that had her striding quickly through the halls to get there and her tummy fluttering with nerves.

  Would he have any regrets about their kiss?

  Was it going to be awkward between them now?

  Students were bustling around with backpacks and carrying laptops under their arms. Using her trick from the party, she tried to engage with the other students by smiling if they looked at her.

  She passed two girls she could vaguely remember from the party; they glared at her, then whispered among themselves, not willing to meet her eye for the second time.

  Were they whispering about her?

  Zoe shook her head, continued down the hall and up some stairs, passing students as they marched down.

  How typical to assume the worst, but that’s how it had been for so long; it was difficult to react any differently.

  A group of four guys stood talking at the top of the stairwell.

  “I think that’s her,” whispered one, loud enough for Zoe to catch it. Her heart thumped like a deep bass. Her stomach roiled with nerves. This situation could not be happening to her again.

  Has Rhianna said something?

  No. She wouldn’t have. They were just talking about the full-blooded way Zoe kissed Theron, surely.

  Moving down the hall, she could see it; people would spy her and whisper among themselves, some laughing and others surreptitiously pointing in her direction.

  No. No. No.

  Her cheeks heated. Her breaths were short. The last thing she wanted was an entire school ridiculing her. She strode into the form room, eyes down and sat in the front row—that way she didn’t have to see the people staring at her.

  How much did they know?

  Zoe closed her eyes and breathed in and out deeply while she counted backward from ten.

  Think rationally, Zoe. You jumped into Theron’s arms and kissed him in front of the entire party like you needed his lips to live. This reaction could be all because of that.

  Yes, that had to be the answer. People were curious about the new girl who kissed big, sexy Theron.

  She turned around and eyed the students filling the seats. Her gaze caught Rhianna’s. She was sitting in the middle of the classroom, further
to the right, about twenty chairs over. Zoe forced a smile and waved.

  Rhianna arched a brow, pursed her lips and looked away.

  Zoe’s stomach sunk. She faced forward again but did a double-glance when she noticed Daniel and Theron entering through the doors on the opposite side of the room.

  Her chest tightened as she looked at Theron, his tall muscular frame and gorgeous smile, but she couldn’t meet his eyes, couldn’t bear to see his reaction, so she quickly looked away.

  Zoe looked nowhere but her lap and the form teacher. And all the while her cheeks flamed with shame—shame for even considering that Theron may have wanted anything to do with her.

  After the roll was taken and they were to move onto their classes, Zoe rushed out the closest door. Head down, she hurried down the hall toward the stairwell. She didn’t look anyone in the eye and certainly didn’t offer a smile.

  “Zoe,” came a voice from behind.

  His voice made her body stir and hum like his very lips were pressed against the soft flesh of her belly.

  Theron.

  But she didn’t acknowledge him and rushed down the stairs.

  “Zoe,” he called again.

  Her shoulders rolled forward on a long sigh. She stopped at the bottom, slowly turned and looked up. Theron jogged down the stairs, smiling, which was not what she expected.

  What did she expect exactly? An angry glare, a twisted snarl, harsh words?

  “Hey,” he said when he reached her.

  She peered into his pale green eyes, his smiling face, and managed to say ‘hey’ back, though her words were weak and lacked volume.

  “What’s your first class?” he asked.

  “Business principles.”

  His nose wrinkled. “Eew, I’m glad I don’t have that one.”

  She smiled despite herself. “It does sound pretty horrible.”

  “My aunt has her own business. She has an accountant who comes to her house to do her taxes each year. Such a stiff. He has black-framed glasses and is thin on top. He smells like coffee and dust. Reminds me of the teacher for business principles, so every time I hear about that class, I think of the accountant and shudder.”