Opposites Attract (On-Hold) - Chloe Knox (novels for students txt) 📗

when we were only inches apart, “If you want me only for my body?”
He did not just say that? OMG!
“Oh my god,” I muttered as I giggled, “You’re crazy.”
“I know what I want, Ashley…what do you want? Do you want this?”
I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath, to calm myself and force myself to think clearly.
I liked him, I wanted him, but did I want a relationship? Did I want to put my heart on the line? Did I want to put myself out there when I had only a few days ago been betrayed by a guy that I’d thought was a “Good Guy”? Was I willing to put myself out there when I knew the type of guy Zane was? Maybe I was judging him too harshly, but there are so many rumors, and the way he acts, even the way he looks at someone can be enough evidence to prove most of the rumors true…what ever happened to judging a book by its cover?


“I thought we were going to work on our drawing project?” I asked, even though I really didn’t care. I was too curious about where Zane was taking me to care.
“We are.”
I flashed him a skeptical look, and he smiled, “Eventually, we will. But I felt like having fun.”
“What’s so fun about a long walk up a huge flight of stairs?” I asked as he led me up at least five different flights of stairs.
“You’ll see.” Was all he would say, and a few minutes later the stairs ended at a door at the top floor of the mystery building.
“Yeah, this is fun. I’m siked!” I said with fake enthusiasm as Zane pulled a chain of keys from his pocket. He unlocked the door and pushed it open revealing nothing. All I could see was pitch black on the other side of the door frame.
“Is this where you kill me?”
Zane smiled and turned to grab my hands and pull me into the room, “Don’t tempt me.”
After a few moments in complete blackness, there was a click and wuh-lah!
All the lights in the room flickered on revealing an arcade of all the classics; Pac-man, Super Mario Bros, the Claw Machine, etc. The carpets were black with a random pattern of rainbow colored swirls and lines. There was a pool-table in one corner of the room, and a small narrow hallway to the far right of the room.
It was dorky, but cute, “You brought me to an arcade?” I asked trying to hide my true excitement.
“Not quite, follow me.” He took my hand, and led me through the narrow hall to yet another pitch black room.
“Wait here! Don’t move!” he whispered in my ear before letting go of my hand and leaving me alone in the pitch black dark.
I giggled when I hear the faint sound of rustling and a few cusses, “You okay?”
“I’m fine, just stay where you are! Don’t move!”
“I won’t,” I reassured, as I waited.
Moments later ‘Hit the Lights’ by Jay Sean featuring Lil Wayne blasted through the black room making me jump. I squealed when my heart leapt, and then laughed at my own childish fears of the dark.
Then a disco ball of color appeared in the middle of the room casting colorful beams of funky blues, reds, greens, and yellows all over the wooden rink in front of me. I looked to my left and saw Zane rush out of a door, only to come running towards me. He grabbed my hands and pulled me to a counter that was covered in different sized shoes with wheels on the bottom.
“You actually brought me to a roller rink?” I asked the sudden lights and music vibrating into my core strengthening my excitement.
“Yup! I work here on the weekends.”
“Could you get in trouble for doing this?” I asked Zane as he hoped over the counter to look over the rack of roller skates. He grabbed two pairs of skates and set them on the counter, pushing the smaller pair toward me, “Yup! You’re a size eight, right?”
I nodded and sat on the floor to take off my converse. Zane hopped back over the counter and sat down on the rugged floor next to me to take off his boots and put on his own skates.
I sighed nervously as I tied my last skate and turned to Zane, “Zane?”
“Wassup?”
“I’ve never done this before?”
Zane laughed, “Never…EVER?”
“I’ve never roller skated before, no!”
“Oh, how do you live?” Zane mumbled sarcastically as he hopped to his feet. I tried to do the same, but even on the rough rug, slipped and fell on my butt, “You haven’t even gotten on the rink and you’re falling!”
I laughed, “Don’t make fun…just help,” I mumbled as I held up my arms like a helpless little child. Zane rolled his eyes and easily helped me to my feet. Even with me stumbling and tripping over my own feet, he was able to manage to skate gracefully and swiftly to the rink while holding my hand.
My wheels touched the smooth and slick wooden surface of the rink and I swear not a second later I was falling, “Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! You really haven’t done this before, huh?”
I just laughed to hide my embarrassment.
“It really isn’t that hard, you just can’t think of falling.”
“Easy for you to say,” I mumbled.
“Just push forward and to the side, forward and to the side,” Zane said as he motioned for me to watch his feet. I did, and only minutes later I was copying his actions, trying my best not to think about breaking my butt.
And just when I thought I was starting to get the hang of it, I pushed a bit too hard with my right foot. I lost control and my left foot collided into Zane’s skate making us both fall to the ground.
“Ow,” I groaned in between giggles as I rolled onto my back.
Zane laughed this time as well, “You really are horrible at this.”
“I thought I told you not to make fun?”
Zane only laughed more, as he helped me for like the tenth time in the past five minutes to my feet, “Here let’s try something different. Give me your hands.”
I sighed and gave him both my hands. He took them and then began to skate backward, so that he was facing me.
“You’re such a show-off.”
“No, I’m trying to help you not bust your ass.” I rolled my eyes, and looked down at our feet. I watched and concentrated on my feet as I slowly and carefully pushed on the rink with my skates to glide forward. Every now and then I’d stumble, but Zane never let go of me. He just continued to spat constructive criticism as he lightly pulled me forward in a big circle around the rink. And then a sudden rainbow beam of light bounced over my skates and encircled me on the floor. Next thing I knew I was being distracted like an idiotic fly to a bright light. Instead of watching my feet I looked at the lights and then I began to trip again.
Zane laughed and easily corrected my position to prevent me from in his words ‘busting my ass’.
“Like I said, don’t look at the lights.”
“I wasn’t! I was looking at my feet when the light—“
“Don’t look at the lights! Don’t look at your feet! Don’t look down period! Just look straight ahead!”
“Well you’re kind of in my way.”
Zane rolled his eyes, “Then you’re going to have to deal with this misfortune of staring at me.”
I knew he was joking, but the comment still made me second guess him. Did he not know how attractive he is? I guess guys struggle with that just as much as girls. Unless…Zane is a girl! I laughed at the pure ridiculous thought!
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing,” I mumbled.
Zane just shrugged and let it go, “Well, I’m thirsty, do you want anything?”
I shook my head, and so, carefully, Zane slid from my grasp and quickly skated across the rink toward the vending machine.
While he was away, I looked straight ahead, and pushed…push…push…push…
Before I knew it, I was rapidly skating in circles around the rink. I didn’t stumble or trip, I just soared across the floor, never once the thought of falling even coming to my mind. All I was thinking of was how beautiful the place looked, in complete darkness, the only light being the colorful rays that ricocheted off the walls and onto the ground. I was thinking of how excited the music—that I usually hated—made me feel, and I was relishing in the feel of wind blowing through my hair while I flew.
“Ashley! Watch out!”
Zane was too late. By the time I opened my eyes I was already colliding into the small three foot wall that separated the regular carpeted floor from the rink. The edge whammed into my gut, knocking all the air from my lungs. I gasped and grasped onto the edge before I tumbled completely over the wall…this, I was not going to be able laugh off…
“Are you okay?” Zane asked as he laughed.
My mouth fell open, “You jack-ass! Don’t laugh! That hurt!”
“I’m sure it did.” He said that stupid annoying smirk still on his lips.
I rolled my eyes, groaned, and pushed off with my feet to skate around him. He didn’t let me though.
Zane sighed, and then wrapped an arm around my waist just as I was about to pass him. I stopped moving thinking he would be able to move me, but dumb ass me forgot…duh! You’re on skates!
Zane effortlessly was able to push me in front of him, despite my unwillingness to cooperate.
“Seriously? Don’t play fud-head, just cause you have two left feet.”
“I do not! I was actually…doing pretty good till you…called my name—what are you doing?” I trailed on and off as Zane used his arm to push me against the closest carpeted wall.
“What?”Zane whispered in my ear with a goofy smile on his face as he skated into me, flattening his chest against my own.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I asked, trying to sound angry, but failing miserably. It was hard to keep my anger kindled when he was doing…you know, that!
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Zane mumbled.
“Oh no? You have no clue?”
“Nope,” Zane said popping the ‘p’ and chuckling. I rolled my eyes, but gave up trying to be angry and ended up giggling, “You’re such an ass.”
“At least mine’s not busted.”
“Shut up,” I said with another giggle as I pushed his chest. Zane chuckled, but my little push didn’t affect the guy at all. He was pretty strong. Very muscular too; I could feel that much through the thin fabric of his baseball tee with the sleeves pushed to his elbows.
The song changed and there I was, yet again, being caught in one of those stupid cliché romance scenes…one of my favorite songs, soft, slow, and emotion full, began to play from the hidden speakers hidden all around the roller rink. The hypnotizing chimes made my knees wobble in the presence of Zane, and then Tim McGraw began to sing. The famous Nelly eventually joined Tim McGraw in the most beautiful duet I had ever heard called ‘Over and Over Again’.
“You like this song?”
“Mhmmm, I used to listen to it all the time when I was younger.”
Zane nodded, and then we fell into silence.
“You know…you owe me a kiss.” I said before giving myself a chance to process what I was