“We’re not going to have sex tomorrow,” Zoey said quickly. It was a definite possibility, but she wasn’t sure. Jonathan walked back out with a faded Diamondbacks shirt on.
“Don’t believe her, Jonathan,” Dan said. “That’s a wild one, right there.”
Zoey looked over to see a blush covering Jonathan’s cheeks. Sweet Jonathan.
“You shaved your mustache,” Zoey noticed, pointing to her own upper lip.
“Yeah, it was a one-night thing. To troll Caroline.”
“It worked.”
“Get some sleep. Big day tomorrow,” Dan said. Dan walked by Jonathan and whispered, “Get ready. Hydrate. Lots and lots of sex.”
Zoey threw a dirty look, and Dan blew a kiss.
“Yeah, we should get some sleep,” Zoey said, arms crossed over her now-covered breasts.
Jonathan also crossed his arms as well. “I agree.”
Jonathan let Zoey have the bathroom first. The shower felt like a baptism; she stood under it for twenty minutes to warm up and wash the lake water out of her hair. The tequila had left a raging headache and dry mouth as parting gifts. Her body still hummed from his kisses. She still felt drawn to him with the strength of a magnetic force, no matter how much she tried to ignore it or disregard it.
After Zoey climbed in bed, she studied the glowing outline of the door. They hadn’t talked about spending the night together, even if it was just sleeping and cuddling, but she secretly hoped he would try. Her eyelids fluttered closed, and she was startled by the creak of the door and light pouring in from the hallway.
“I figured…” Jonathan whispered, his outline dark with the light all around him.
“Sure,” Zoey said through half-sleep, lifting the covers so he could climb in. The mattress shifted when he laid down. She smelled his minty breath as he pulled her close, their foreheads touching. They were quiet and their breathing slowed as they cuddled against each other, their bodies fitting together like two puzzle pieces. Her whole body relaxed, as did his, his arm heavy across her. As Zoey drifted off, she wasn’t sure if she imagined his words.
“I never stopped thinking about you.”
“Me too,” she said, either in her dreams or wakefulness. He pulled her closer, and Zoey drifted into a dreamless and heavy sleep, the best sleep she’d had in months.
12
Zoey woke up to a headache and the shrill sound of her phone’s alarm. She looked around, unsure of what happened the night before but knowing for sure that Jonathan was not there and he definitely was there last night.
She rubbed her eyes and sat up. Zoey grabbed her phone. Ugh, eight thirty. Zoey clicked on the Instagram app to see if there were any pictures she was tagged in. Addison had posted a selfie of her and Derek. Her caption read: “Rehearsal dinner today with my forever love! #carolinejoinsthebradybunch.” Zoey rolled her eyes.
Zoey looked around. No note.
A note fell under the umbrella of do nice things. She scrolled through her feed. There was a great group photo posted last night at the rehearsal, taken prior to her tequila haze. Jonathan smiled next to her, their faces pressed together. She clicked onto Jonathan’s feed to see his post from the night before with Brady and Dan, his arms slung over the two of them. No allusion to her at all. It was understandable since they just reconnected and it might be too soon. Also, who knew what was going on on other platforms. Zoey didn’t have Facebook or Snapchat. They hadn’t gotten some cute selfies last night.
Zoey yawned as she opened the door to her room. She heard soft rustling from the kitchen and walked toward it, unsure of what she would find. Maybe Jonathan was making her coffee and was planning to bring it to her bed. Instead, Caroline stood there, scooping coffee grounds into the coffeemaker.
“How do you feel, wifey?” Zoey asked as she climbed onto one of the high stools.
“Well, it looks like shit outside.”
Zoey walked over to the front door and opened it. It was noticeably cooler. The wind whistled as it whipped by, shaking the trees. She looked up to see dark, ominous clouds. Zoey returned to Caroline. “You know, they say rain on your wedding day is good luck.”
“Please don’t start with the negativity,” Caroline said, the machine beeping with her touch.
Zoey shrugged.
“So…” Caroline said as she walked around the island, “I saw you left with Jonathan last night.”
“That is correct.”
“How does your vagina feel?”
Zoey pondered an answer. “Uncharted.”
“No sex last night?”
“No. I did pie him, though,” she said. “Not as satisfying as I thought it would be.”
Caroline choked on the sip of water she took. “You did what?”
“I ordered a pie and pied him. Then I made him jump in the lake.” She didn’t mention that she’d followed him in, against her better judgment. Then kissed him, against her better judgment.
Then made out with him topless on that couch over there. Against her better judgment.
“Well, did you get it out of your system?” Caroline set two steaming cups of coffee down with their favorite soy creamer. After the coffee was doctored up, they cheersed and took the first sip. It was heavenly.
“Do you know where Jonathan went, by chance?” Zoey asked, taking a slow sip of coffee.
“He went to the gym. I saw him on the way out.”
Okay, the gym. Well, he didn’t get to looking like that by thinking about weights.
“Is something wrong?” Caroline asked.
“No, nothing. It’s fine. I’m fine. Wow, can you believe you’re getting married today?”
“Cut the shit, Zoey. Did something else happen last night besides pieing him and making him jump in the lake?”
Zoey didn’t answer but gave a grimace-smile, and Caroline slapped the island.
“I fucking knew it. What happened?”
“I kissed him and we may have ended up making out on the couch and he touched my boobs and then Dan walked in on us.”
“Zoey,” Caroline said with a hint of disapproving mother.
Zoey covered her eyes. “I know, I know. This is a terrible idea. I literally show him my boobs again and he doesn’t leave a note after I explicitly told him he needed to start doing romantic things if he even wanted a shot with me, and now I feel real, real dumb.”
“Yeah, he was never the most observant dude,” Caroline said. “I told Addison to be at the bridal suite at nine thirty, so we better hustle. Makenna is coming at eleven. Taylor offered to bring lunch around the same time and hang out.”
“Perfect,” Zoey said. Though inside, she felt a pit at the bottom of her stomach. There were so many unknowns with her and Jonathan, and her breath shortened as she thought about it. She was wondering if he had in fact told her he hadn’t stopped thinking about her or if it was just a projection, a dream.
She took a quick peek into Jonathan’s room and saw his luggage open and messy, with his outfit from the night before discarded on the bed. She also noticed his phone in the dead center of the bed. Well, she might not get a text right away, so she let out a long breath. Everything was fine. No need to freak out. She gathered her stuff and secretly hoped he would get back before they left so she would know everything was okay. That she hadn’t dreamed the night before, that everything happened happened and Jonathan felt the way she did too.