I try my best not to make any slurping sounds as we eat at the table. My arms are itching to tidy up the kitchen. If my mom saw this, she would have a heart attack and I would be left to clean by myself for days. The level of tidiness she expects is extreme in my opinion, but it's what I'm used to.

"You made this?" Zack asks, as if making sure. I nod. He stares down in awe as if it's some five-star meal and not a basic soup. "It's really good," he compliments sincerely and a little smile escapes me.

"I'm glad you like it," I reply almost sheepishly.

"I'm sorry you had to deal with that," Zack apologizes, which catches me by surprise. "He must be really fucked up to be drinking like that."

"It's okay." I stir my soup a little with my spoon. "He misses her."

He nods slowly and exhales. "He doesn't even know life without her. This is why he shouldn't have gotten so damn attached..." He pauses.

"He loves her," I say.

"He does," Zack agrees quietly. "That's why he's in so much damn pain now." He presses his lips together. "If you don't care, you don't get hurt," he adds gruffly and straightens up to resume eating.

I don't know if it's my sleepiness or what but my voice turns wistful. "I think it's worth it," I say. "Feeling pain if you get to feel love. Feeling like no one cares is..." My voice trails off and I shake my head.

The crickets outside chirp as silence sits between us.

"I know," he says quietly. Our eyes meet and an unspoken empathy flickers between us.

"You really care about him," I say faintly.

He blinks slowly, sizing me up as if deciding whether or not to trust me. It takes a while.

"He's my best friend," is all the explanation he needs. In just those words, I can feel the bond between them. Zack looks down at his bowl. "Even if he is a dumbass," he adds with a quirk of a smile.

I laugh as he finishes his bowl. "Thanks for the food," he says. "It's, uh... been a while since I had food made at home."

"What about your parents?" I ask without thinking. The second the words are out, I want to take them back. "Sorry, I didn't-"

"It's fine," he insists but I notice his jaw tighten. "It's just my mom. She's at her boyfriend's place with my brother."

"You have a brother?" I question, surprised.

Zack gifts me a small grin. "He's in fifth grade."

Wow. I didn't exactly pin Zack as the big brother type.

"I have a brother, too," I say, thinking of my oh so very treasured brother.

"I know," Zack says. I tilt my head in confusion. "Daniel Hayes #35."

"Right. Football." What doesn't revolve around football?

"I saw the protein powder in your car," he says. "You got the wrong one."

My face falls. "Seriously? Why are there so many kinds?"

He leans back in amusement. "All you had to do was not get the vegan kind. Aren't you supposed to be some kind of nerd?"

"I can't be that smart if I'm here with you," I say.

"You know you like me," he drawls.

I roll my eyes. "Keep dreaming," I tell him.

"I will."

We lock eyes and an indescribable energy translates between us. I can practically feel it. His gaze on me burns but like a small flame slowly growing into a fire, and I don't dare tear my eyes away. For the first time, whatever connection I'm feeling, I think he's feeling too.

At that moment, a loud snore erupts from Zack's room, breaking us out of it.

"Way to ruin the moment," Zack remarks and I pause. So we were having a moment?

"How long have you known each other?" I ask as Zack goes to the fridge and grabs us both water.

"Basically my whole life. We've always played together. Football's everything to us." He sits down and looks to the side, lost in his thoughts. "To me, at least."

I wait for him to explain.

"The plan was always LSU for both of us but now Miami's his first choice because Lola wants to go to school there. I love Lola but... it's like he can't even make his own decisions anymore. My whole life, we've talked about getting drafted to the NFL together but now he's talking about taking some subpar coaching job just so he can spend more time with her." I raise a brow. "No offense," he adds.

I read between the lines: Jaden chose Lola over Zack even though Zack has never wavered.

"I get what you're saying," I empathize. "But sometimes people's dreams change."

He considers this. "You don't change your dreams for someone. They're supposed to support you. And realistically, he's 16 and... people leave. If he doesn't try now, he won't get a second chance but he doesn't see that because football's always been there for him."

"It's the same way with people, though," I point out. "If you don't try now, they might not be there for you in the future."

It goes quiet and I can tell he's taking in every word, really thinking it over.

"I want him to be happy," he concludes. "And I know she makes him happy but... look how easy it was for her to leave."

My voice goes quiet. "Is that why you don't do relationships? Because you think people just leave?" I ask.

"I don't think it; I know it," he replies briskly. Catching himself, he loosens up. "Also, I've never met any girl who makes me feel anything close to how football does. And I've met a lot of girls."

He just HAD to throw that in there.

I disregard it. "It's nice seeing someone so passionate about something," I tell him sincerely.

He blinks slowly, watching me through a veil of lashes. "It's nice having someone listen." Really listen. There's a difference between someone who will just hear you and someone who will genuinely take in what you're saying and try to understand. I know that, too.

"You surprised me," I admit and his lips lift into a slow grin.

He shakes his head. "You fell for it. I tend to have that effect on girls." He's trying to brush it off but I know that everything he said was sincere.

"Not me."

His eyes shift and he studies me like I'm a difficult math problem that he doesn't even know how to start. For a second, I can tell he believes me but it fades away. I recognize the expression on his face: his logical mind fighting for control over his feelings. It's the expression I see when I look in the mirror.

I change the subject to lighten the mood.

"Your house is nice," I try. It is nice, extremely messy but still cozy with lots of childhood pictures everywhere. The second you walk into my house, there's a daunting family portrait where we're all wearing black and white and staring intensely into the camera. If you manage to walk past that, it's all white walls and trophy displays.

My eyes land on a picture on the fridge. "Is that you?" I ask and stand up to get a closer look. Sure enough, it's young Zack, maybe seven or eight, dressed in a frog costume with a gap-toothed grin. Even as a kid, you could tell that he was going to grow up to be a heartbreaker: the mischievous smile, the big dark eyes, and long lashes. Smiling, I hold the picture in my hands.

"Give it here." He gets up to take the picture back but I hold it away from him.

"What is this? Princess and the Frog?" I look at him, trying to suppress my laughter. "You did plays?" I can tell by his expression that I'm right and a burst of laughter escapes me.

"Ha ha. Now give it back," he says.

I turn to run but he pulls me into him with ease so I'm staring at his chest, breathless. Gulping, I put the picture in my back pocket in one last attempt to save it.

"Is that supposed to stop me?" he asks. His hand lands on my waist, sending shivers up my side, and slowly starts to trail down. At the last second, I pull out the picture and he takes it triumphantly. Where he was touching me suddenly feels empty.

"Don't you know not to mess with me by now?" he asks quietly. It's not threatening, but my heart races anyway. I can't focus. My waist is still tingling and there's an odd feeling in my body.

It feels like... desire.

It feels wrong.

The words leave my lips without thinking. "I should go." Rapidly, I grab my keys from the table and practically storm to the door.

"Wait," he stops me. "Thanks for staying."

I nod slowly. "I... had fun."

Conflicting emotions appear on his face, the main being confusion as he says, "me, too."

"Bye."

He waits by the door, making sure I get to my car and drive away. Once he's out of sight, I let go of a breath that I didn't even know I was holding onto.

A/N: turning point tingz hehe. leave a vote/comment if u like :)