CHAPTER FOUR: DANCE, DANCE
Christmas came and went, and still no one knew where Zack's father had gone. I was constantly amazed by Zack's nonchalance. There was almost no difference in his behavior even though he was now working nearly forty hours a week and also making sure his younger brother and sisters made it to school on time since his mother worked the night shift. Of course, we all did what we could for him, but any form of help made him uncomfortable, so it wasn't much.
I wish I could say that the problems he had to face ended my fascinated with him. If anything, it was worse now than ever. The sheer intensity of his physical presence drew me inexorably.
Today was no exception. The class was working on an independent writing assignment, and Zack was staring absently at the wall. He toyed with the class ring dangling from a chain around his neck, and the unconscious movements of his fingers entranced me. It seemed grossly unfair that he could have that kind of power over me, especially since it had been a long time since he had even jokingly made a pass at me. I sighed.
He detected my gaze and looked at me, then shook himself and returned to the work at hand. And speaking of hands, I abruptly realized that he wasn't wearing his class ring on his finger. The one around his neck wasn't his either. It was a girl's.
I was mortified by the pang of jealousy that stabbed through me. To my own annoyance, I spent the rest of the class period asking myself ridiculous questions, questions about who she was and how long he had been seeing her. I halfway hoped it would be someone I approved of, although I doubted that was remotely possible.
I didn't have to wonder for long. He stopped by after class especially to inform me that he had a girlfriend named Jenn, and they had gotten together that weekend. I couldn't repress a smile at his innocent excitement, and it occurred to me that she might actually be his first girlfriend. His happiness was contagious, and even though my jealousy was far from nonexistent, I was glad that he had something to be happy about.
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That gladness evaporated almost instantly a few weeks later when he announced to Chuck, "Jenn and I had a REALLY good time last night."
Zack's hair was rumpled and his eyes wore that drowsy expression that always sped my pulse up. There was a languor over him mixed with an arrogant swagger that told me exactly what kind of good time he and Jenn must have had. It was ridiculous, but I felt an insane urge to find Jenn, whoever she was, and beat the hell out of her.
Chuck listened to Zack, but it was with a kind of amused indulgence. Chuck's sense of humor, friendliness, and good looks made him popular with the girls his age, and Zack wasn't telling him anything Chuck hadn't already known for years.
Zack caught me staring at him, and he grinned with that spark of mischief. "Don't worry, Miss Martin, there's plenty to go around."
A vivid image of him on top of me took possession of my senses. I found myself staring at Imaginary Naked Zack, a flush creeping over my body. It was at that exact moment that I happened to notice that Actual Zack had a new hole in his jeans, a huge one right in the middle of his crotch. "I'm sure there is," I muttered before I could stop myself.
He raised an eyebrow, but I tried to cover for myself before he could call me on what I said. "If by 'around' you mean around to doing your work so that you can graduate."
I could tell the battle wasn't really over. I gave the class a group assignment and gave them time to work as I floated between groups to help when they needed it. My back was to Zack and Chuck's group when I heard Zack's maddening voice. "I heard this woman on TV last night who got arrested for sleeping with one of her students. I wish I was that lucky."
