Chapter 3

River

A few hours later, Zach came by, knocking at my door.

“It’s me… Z. Open up, babe,” he hollered from behind the door.

I got up from the floor and glanced toward my window, only then realizing how dark it had gotten outside. I hadn’t even noticed the sun go down. How long had I been sitting there? Shaking the thought away, I walked over and opened the door, surprised to find Jason and Erica standing there with him. “Hey, guys! Come in,” I greeted, stepping aside to let them through.

“Nice place, shorty!” Jason said as he walked in and looked around the apartment.

“Umm hmm! I love it!” Erica chimed in dramatically before looking back at me with a teasing grin. “Too bad you only have one room. Where would I sleep if I wanted to spend the night, Riv?”

I cocked an eyebrow at her and crossed my arms. “The couch, E,” I answered dryly, earning a laugh from her.

“Right, because we all know you're a bed hogger.”

“Am not!” I scowled instantly, but Zach only chuckled at my reaction.

“She ain’t lying, babe. You sleep like the whole bed isn’t enough for you.”

“Oh, you shush! What’s up? Whatcha want? Why’d ya come over here for? Ya came to taunt me or what?” I questioned, my hand resting on my hip, while Zach raised his hands in surrender.

“Damn, so many questions. Can’t we just visit just because?” Jason laughed before continuing dramatically, “Well, if you really wanna know so bad, food brought me here and, of course, visiting you.”

“I told them we would order some wings and pizza and come over to your place to eat. You know, get your place dirty instead of mine,” Zach added with a grin that immediately made me narrow my eyes at him.

“Really? How thoughtful of you.”

“I do want some Wingstop, though, and you're paying since my place was your pick,” I replied with a half-smirk. He shrugged carelessly before motioning toward my phone.

“Fine, you call and order it then.”

I sneered at him. “Erica, you call it. I’m busy. I ain’t your PA, Z.”

He chuckled under his breath before turning toward Erica. “Fine, call it, Erica. Pretty please?”

“Oh, I see! You say pretty please to her, but...” I started complaining before he abruptly cut me off by pulling me into his arms.

“Shh... You talk too much. You look cuter, quiet.”

I immediately pushed him away, glaring at him while he laughed at my irritation. Looking back toward Jason and Erica, I noticed both of them staring at us with bored expressions plastered across their faces.

“Ya act like a married couple,” Jason commented with one eyebrow raised.

“Oh, hush! Well, E... you know what I like. Mango habanero and stuffed crust!”

All three of them groaned dramatically while rolling their eyes, which only made me giggle because clearly none of them appreciated good food the way I did. Erica pulled out her phone and placed orders at Papa John’s and Wingstop, while Zach handed over his card to pay for everything.

“DoorDash will be dropping it off in twenty-five to forty minutes,” she announced after finishing the order. Then her expression shifted slightly as she looked over at me again. “Z told us you don’t want to go to the party tomorrow, Riv. Why is that?”

“Cuz. What’s the dang point? Besides...” I began, but Erica didn’t even let me finish before interrupting loudly.

“Besides nothing! You're going, and that’s it. We did not come over here just so you could stay in your happy little place alone reading your smut romance books and listening to music instead of experiencing actual college life.”

I froze while the guys burst out laughing so hard that my jaw literally dropped. There was absolutely no way she had just exposed me like that in front of them.

“W-what s-smut romance?! They are romance novels full of passion! You know... happy endings, not you know, you jerk!” I sputtered nervously while Erica practically doubled over laughing at my reaction.

The more embarrassed I became, the harder all of them laughed, which only made me even more irritated.

“Forget ya! Ya can go to Z’s place and eat there! I don’t need this. Now leave me alone. Besides, E, I did tell knucklehead over here that I would think about it. I dislike you right now, Z, and because of that, I ain’t going!” I shouted dramatically while crossing my arms over my chest like a stubborn child.

Zach just stared at me for a second before shaking his head with amusement. “No, you don’t, babe. We both know you love me. We’re just joking. Come here... come to Z.”

Oh, heck nah.

“No!” I snapped immediately because at that point, I was taking all my frustration out on him. After all, he was the one who decided bringing them over here was a good idea.

He raised an eyebrow at my answer. “No?!”

I looked at him like he’d suddenly grown another head. “Did I stutter, Z? No, I will not go to you. Call me when the food gets here.”

I turned around, ready to stomp away in annoyance, but what happened next was exactly why our friends never understood the relationship between Zach and me. Honestly, even I knew it wasn’t exactly normal.

Before I could make it far, he grabbed me by the waist, lifted me effortlessly, and carried me straight toward my room while shouting over his shoulder, “We’ll be right back.”

I couldn’t even explain how annoyed I became because I already knew exactly what he was doing. He always pulled this whenever I got genuinely upset, and somehow it always worked, no matter how much I hated admitting it.

“Let go, Z,” I growled through gritted teeth while trying to push him away.

“No, you need to calm down with that sassy attitude of yours,” he replied casually as he sat down on my bed and pulled me onto his lap, forcing my legs around his torso. Before I could protest further, he removed my glasses and held me securely with one arm wrapped around my waist while the other rested behind my neck.

Usually, that kind of thing was something couples did. At least, according to the books I read.

I let my arms hang limply at my sides because I refused to hug him back.

“Hug me, River,” he ordered in a low growling tone.

“No, jerk,” I muttered stubbornly while glaring at him.

“If you don’t hug me, we won’t be leaving this room, and you know damn well I don’t play. I don’t care if you fall asleep in my arms. We will not eat.”

“ARRGHHH!” I screamed into the crook of his neck, my voice muffled against his skin while he laughed softly.

I know exactly what this sounds like, okay? Trust me, I do. But this was genuinely what Zach did every single time I got extremely upset. Weird? Absolutely. Normal for friends? Probably not. Did other friendships work this way? Honestly... I had no clue.

After a few minutes, I slowly started calming down. His scent surrounded me while the warmth of his arms somehow soothed me in ways I couldn’t explain. No matter how irritated I became with him, I could never stay mad for very long, so eventually I sighed and wrapped my arms around him.

“Now, that’s more like it,” he murmured softly against my hair. “I’m sorry, babe. You're easy to tease, you know that? But you know we care about you and don’t mean it in a bad way. You're probably tired and hungry.”

The annoying thing was that he wasn’t wrong. I was exhausted, hungry, and still stressed from everything that had happened earlier. Maybe I had overreacted and let their teasing affect me more than it should have.

I nodded slightly to let him know I understood what he was saying before finally mumbling, “Can we go now, please?”

He chuckled softly. “Of course, babe.”

The second we walked back into the living room, Erica and Jason looked at us suspiciously.

“Well, that was fast! Was the quickie good? Did you tame her...?” Jason joked immediately.

“Shut it, J!” I yelled while rolling my eyes, but Zach just laughed.

“No, baby girl just needed a hug. It’s nothing like that.”

Right then, the doorbell rang, immediately saving me from further embarrassment. Their stares still made things awkward, though. People would never understand the friendship Zach and I had, and honestly, there wasn’t even a point trying to explain it anymore.

The next morning, I woke up around nine and decided that maybe Erica had been right after all. You only live once, so maybe going to the party wouldn’t kill me after all. After eating breakfast and organizing my apartment a little more, I changed into jeans, a white tee, and my white Adidas before heading out.

My first stop was Party City because I needed a cute black mask that covered half my face. After that, I stopped by Bath & Body Works for a couple of fall candles, and somewhere between smelling pumpkin spice and apple cinnamon, I decided I absolutely needed fall decorations for my apartment, too.

That led to a stop at Michaels and Hobby Lobby before I eventually returned home with way more bags than I originally planned to buy.

Before going inside, I stopped at Zach’s apartment and knocked loudly on the door.

“Sleepyhead! Wake up, Zachy! It’s me, your worst nightmare!” I shouted dramatically while giggling to myself.

A minute later, the door finally opened, revealing a sleepy, shirtless Zach wearing black sweatpants hanging dangerously low on his hips. My eyes instantly widened before I could stop myself.

Oh, my word.

When the heck did he get that... sexy body?

He smirked the second he noticed me staring. “Eyes up here, babe. Well, unless you like what you see.”

I immediately looked away awkwardly while he chuckled at my reaction.

“...and you're not a nightmare, babe. You're the exact opposite.”

Okay, this was weird. I wasn’t supposed to notice my best friend like that. Sure, Zach was attractive. Anyone with functioning eyesight could see that, but he was still Zach. My best friend.

I awkwardly cleared my throat before holding out the candle bag. “I bought you a candle. It’s Warm Apple Pie. I know you love that scent.”

His expression softened instantly. “Thanks! I’ll light it. Wanna come in?”

“No, I got a bunch of things in the truck. I wanted to give that to you before I forgot. I’m decorating for fall,” I explained excitedly.

“Ah... need help?” he asked, his morning voice sounding deeper than usual.

“No. I also wanted to let you know I’ll be going to the party. Just don’t wait for me. I’ll show up and find ya. I have a couple of things to do before I go.”

His face immediately frowned. “No, babe. You're not going alone. I can wait...”

I interrupted him quickly before he could continue arguing. “No, Zach. Can you, for once, let me just do something alone? I promise to let you know when I’m on my way, okay?”

After a moment, his expression softened again. “Fine, but you’ll text or call me. I’ll be waiting for you.”

I smiled lightly. “Fine. I’ll see ya later!”

I’d attended parties before, and honestly, most of them were either painfully lame or ridiculously chaotic. People usually spent the night playing beer pong, Truth or Dare, or games like Seven Minutes in Heaven while acting completely insane for no reason.

I never actually participated in those games, but I definitely cringed while watching everyone else embarrass themselves.

Still, a small part of me hoped college parties would somehow be different. Movies and TV shows made college seem exciting and wild, but I kept hoping most of it was exaggerated for entertainment.

Even so, I couldn’t deny that I was nervous because I had absolutely no idea what to expect. If girls like Barbie were common around here, then I definitely needed to look the part tonight.

Thankfully, Abby had convinced me to buy a few dresses when we went shopping after graduation. One dress in particular stood out because it was definitely more revealing than anything I’d normally wear. Dad and Zach would probably both hate it, but maybe college was finally the place where I stopped playing things so safe.

Besides, it would look perfect with my black lace mask.

Later that afternoon, while I finished decorating and started making lunch, Zach came over to hang out with me like he usually did. I always loved it when he spent time with me because he somehow made even the most ordinary moments feel comforting.

It also didn’t help that he looked ridiculously good lounging around my apartment in sweatpants and a white tee.

Watching him stretched out across my couch made me understand why people constantly misunderstood our friendship. We were affectionate in ways most friends probably weren’t. We cuddled, hugged, held hands, whispered to each other constantly, and occasionally sat in each other’s laps without even thinking twice about it.

But we’d known each other since elementary school, and at some point, physical closeness had just become normal for us.

While Zach relaxed on the couch watching Jurassic Park, I was making some spaghetti, using sausage meat because who doesn’t love pork? I’m sure a lot of people, but I hated using beef in spaghetti. It was an easy meal to make, and we were hungry. I had the oven preheating for the Texas toast to warm up, and Zach came from behind to get the drinks.

“DrPepper, babe?” he asked casually.

“Nah, I want iced tea with lemonade today,” I answered.

“Arnold Palmer, it is,” he replied.

After I fixed his plate, he pulled the bread from the oven and inhaled dramatically.

“It smells so good. I love the way you make your spaghetti. I swear it’s better than Olive Garden’s or Italiano’s.”

I laughed softly while setting my plate down. “Do you, now? Well, I’m glad you love it! When you find your girl or get married, I’ll show her how to make it for you.”

The second those words left my mouth, his smile disappeared.

I frowned in confusion. “Did I say something wrong? Too soon?”

“No, babe. I just...” He stopped himself and shook his head slightly. “Never mind.”

I could tell there was something he wanted to say, but decided against it. Instead, he quickly changed the subject.

“So, what time were you planning on going to the party? And before you go off on me, I’m just asking.”

“Don’t know. I’ll text you.”

That was honestly all I could say because I didn’t even know what time I planned on leaving. Besides, college parties usually lasted all night anyway.

He nodded slowly, though I could tell he still wasn’t thrilled with my answer.

What he didn’t know was that the girl showing up to that party tonight wasn’t going to look anything like the River he was used to. She would be wearing a revealing dress, heels, a black lace mask, and no glasses.

If Zach had even the slightest idea what I planned on wearing, he would absolutely try to stop me from leaving my apartment.

That was exactly why I planned on keeping him completely in the dark.

Tonight, I would be Raven, the name I chose for the bad girl side of me.