Free Collide by Melissa Toppen Page B

whiplash he just inflicted on me is proving impossible to grasp.
    First he brought me out here to tell me that things like last night could never happen again. Then he's joking and tickling me like we're best friends. Then he's kissing me so damn hard and passionately that my lips will be feeling the burn for days, only for him to take it full circle and push me away again.
    I stew on my emotions the entire ride back. Zayne doesn't turn around to face me not once and by the time we reach the dock, I have settled on just one emotion. Anger. I am angry with him for treating me like a yo-yo. I'm angry with myself for letting him. I'm pissed off that despite how angry I am, it doesn't dull the deep ache I feel in the pit of my stomach or the intense want I have for this man.
    Zayne hops off the boat the second we arrive back. Quickly tying off the rope that keeps that boat anchored to the dock, he manages to get half way up the stairs before I have even attempted to move from my seat.
    A part of me desperately wants to go after him. The broken, weak girl inside of me wants to beg him to reconsider. To be with me, love me, fix me.  But the strong woman inside, the one I let everyone believe I am, well that woman is determined not to go anywhere near Zayne Evans ever again.

Chapter Ten
    ––––––––
    Z ayne disappeared after the incident on the boat and when I woke up the next day I learned that he and Alec had caught an early flight back to New York. While I tried to pretend it didn't bother me, the truth is it ate at me for the remainder of the week.
    Now, standing in the middle of my new living room, I feel a sense of freedom I didn't realize I needed. While Zayne still occupies a good portion of my thoughts on a daily basis, somehow it all seems a little less important right now.
    “Oh my god, I love it!” Emma squeals, reappearing from her bedroom at the end of the hall. “I'm gonna go check out Carv's room. Money says he snagged the biggest bedroom.” She smiles, walking to the opposite end of the hall where Carver's bedroom and the only bathroom are located.
    The apartment isn't huge but it's much larger than I pictured. It's an open floor plan where the living room, kitchen and dining area are all essentially one large room with only a breakfast bar separating the space. The kitchen is pretty basic. White tile floors, cabinets and counter tops with black and silver back splash that really makes the white pop. Three black bar stools line the breakfast bar and I have a sneaking suspicion that Carver nabbed them from the bar he worked at back in Oxford.
    The living room is pretty bare. Carver's uncle supplied us with a large wrap around black couch that has seen better days and a pretty decent size flat panel T.V. that hangs on the main wall. Add a couple of basic glass top end stands and that's really all there is.
    I grab my suitcase and make my way to the right. The hallway goes in two directions. The right side houses me and Emma's room, the left; Carver's room and the bathroom. My room is located directly past Em's. At least Carv thought enough to give me the room the furthest away from the living quarters, knowing that I need quiet to write.
    I push my way through the door and am relieved to see that Carver has already set up my bed and dresser. The room's not much. A small square roughly 12 x 12. My full size bed is crammed into the far right corner, directly next to a double window. I can't help but smile at how well Carver knows me. Sleeping next to a window has been something I have done since I was a child. I love being able to fall asleep looking up at the sky.
    My matching oak dresser and vanity is perched along the left wall, a small closet just to the right of it. Like the rest of the house, the walls are white and the carpet is a dark tan color. Carver left the rest of my stuff in boxes and for that I am grateful. I'm a pretty private person and the last thing I want is someone going through my