We're Lost Til We Learn How To Ask (So Please, Please, Just Ask)
Chapter: 1/1
Song: In The End- Snow Patrol
Word Count: 6,044
Summary: Gigi sticks around for an extra night after Homecoming & Coming Home and she and Zoe head to a bar in Mobile where they drink too much and Wade has to come to their rescue.
A/N: It has been a long time since I've seen this episode so I'm kind of winging it with Gigi.
“Go get us some more drinks.” Gigi’s fingers are pinched around the stem of her empty martini glass and her other hand is gesturing lazily (drunkenly) towards the bar, or, more specifically towards the bartender.
Zoe still has a few more sips left in hers and she shakes her head. “I’ve already been up there five times. I can’t keep doing it.”
“Sure you can. He’s giving them away to you. Take advantage of it. Go get your free drinks. Go get your hot bartender.”
Zoe sighs and takes the last few sips of her drink. She stands up and gives Gigi a look as she claps happily.
They have been in this Mobile bar for the last two hours. Gigi had insisted that they go out on her last night in Alabama and turned up her nose at spending anymore time in Bluebell so Zoe had to borrow Lavon’s car and drive them out to Mobile. It’s not like Zoe minded the drive. She’d rather not subject the townspeople to Gigi any further than she already had and it was good to have a change of scenery; a way to remind herself that there are other bars out there besides the Rammer Jammer. This bar is still far from being anything like a New York bar but it’s not as down home as the Rammer Jammer. Same thick, southern accents, less jeans, boots and plaid.
They hit the bar first, of course, where Zoe quickly discovered that the bartender (Mark-tall, dark, and handsome with just enough southern twang to his voice to fit in) was into Zoe.
She ordered first and when she dug into her bag he waved her off and said “I got it, it’s on the house.” Gigi had elbowed her side as Zoe began to argue. “For your friend too” Mark had said without even looking at Gigi.
It was obviously and embarrassingly clear who he was interested in. Gigi didn’t seem to care. There were other guys to look at and she was still getting free drinks out of it but Zoe took some pride in it. She had no interest in Mark, he was good looking, sure, but that was it. But it felt nice to know that someone was into her and only her. She and Judson might not have been meant to be but it still stung when he hopped right over to Gigi without a second thought.
“Go.” Gigi pushes her in the direction of the bar and Zoe straightens her dress.
“I don’t know. Shouldn’t we be going soon?”
“What is the rush? Aren’t you having fun? There is no way you can tell me that you have had this much fun in Bluebean?”
“Bluebell.” Zoe corrects, suddenly feeling very protective of the town.
“Right, right, Bluebell. Let me ask you this then; do you have one of those.” She holds Zoe’s elbow and points to Mark. “In Bluebell.”
Mark catches her watching and smiles at her. Gigi tugs on her elbow to prove her point.
“Oh, wait; you do have one of those. And he’s your neighbor. Pretty convenient.” Gigi looks like she’s proud of Zoe for snagging such an arrangement and Zoe yanks her elbow away.
“It’s not convenient.”
Gigi raises her eyebrows.
“Nothing is going on there.”
“Really?”
Zoe nods.
“So then you wouldn’t mind if….” She trails off and shrugs her shoulders and Zoe narrows her eyes.
“What?”
“Well, the night is young and I’m leaving in the morning and he is right next door. If you want to leave right now I could still--.”
“No, Gigi.” Zoe almost shouts, taken aback by her insinuation and suddenly feeling very protective of him.
“Why not?” Gigi clearly doesn’t hear the outrage in her voice and pouts.
“Because.” She stutters and can’t come up with a good reason to tell her. She can’t even come up with a good reason to tell herself. It’s not like she thinks he’s not good enough for Gigi-if anything it’s the other way around especially with the recent events involving Judson. What kind of friend does that? “Just because….I think…it would just be weird.”
“How would it be weird?”
“It just would okay. He’s….just…”
“Hot. Single. Right in front of you like, all the time?”
Zoe sighs. People need to stop reminding her of all those things. “Just forget it okay. Look.” She grabs Gigi’s elbow this time. “There are tons of hot, single, men that are right in front of you right now.”
“Not the same.”
“Forget it, Gigi. Stay here. I’ll go get some more drinks. We don’t have to head back yet.”
She walks away before Gigi could object and immediately met up with Mark who was waiting for her with two fresh drinks. She lingers there, leaning over the bar a bit more than she has too, leaning towards him and acting like she’s flirting back. She needs some mindless conversation with him to get her mind off Gigi and what she’s done and what she wants to do with Wade. She needs to get Wade off her mind right now.
Her plan ultimately backfires on her two hours and many drinks later. They’re both too drunk to drive home and Lavon is not picking up his phone.
Zoe’s starting to get worried with thoughts of being stranded in Mobile and Gigi is either laughing or bouncing in her seat, completely excited by the prospect of spending any amount of time with Lavon Hayes.
“He’s not picking up.” Zoe tells her after the tenth time of trying.
“So rude that he’s just ignoring us.” She scoffs and tries to drain the last drop from her glass. “Maybe hot bartender will put us up for the night. I know he’ll help you out.” She winks at Zoe and Zoe rolls her eyes.
“No fun. Who are you calling now?” Gigi leans in and tries to take a peek at her phone.
“Wade.”
Gigi sits back in her chair and claps happily. “Even better than Lavon Hayes. Just what I want. He better pick up.”
Zoe’s nerves are about to push her over the edge. She doesn’t want to be stranded in Mobile but she might prefer it to riding home with Gigi in the same car as Wade.
When he picks up Zoe closes her eyes and curses under her breath. Gigi launches forward and tries to grab the phone so Zoe has to spin away.
“You alright, Doc?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. We’re fine.”
“Who’s we’re?”
“Oh, you know….me and Gigi.”
“Oh really?” He smiles and leans on the bar. It’s pretty busy at the Rammer Jammer tonight but he’s got enough free time to talk. He can feel where this is going just by the sound of her voice.
“Yeah. We went into Mobile tonight and had a little bit too much to drink and I don’t think it would really be safe for either of us to drive home so…”
“So?” He’s already started to walk around the bar; pulling his keys out of his pocket and looks for Shelly to tell her that he’s got to leave.
“So I keep trying Lavon but he’s not answering.”
“He had a meeting tonight-said it could run late.”
“Oh. I don’t know who else to call.”
“Maybe if you were a little bit nicer and got involved in more town events you’d have a longer list.” He teases and laughs because he can imagine the face she’s making right now.
“Shut up, Wade.”
“Why are you calling me now?” While he waits for her to figure out what to say he finds Shelly and points to his phone while he mouths it’s an emergency. She gives him a look that says she doesn’t believe him but lets him go anyways.
“I need you to come and get us.” She mumbles and over the sound of the bar that she’s at and the Rammer Jammer he almost doesn’t hear her.
“What was that Doc?” His smile’s so wide it hurts as he pushes the door open and steps outside. “I don’t think I heard that too clear.”
“I said I need you to come and get us.” It’s a little louder now but it’s still not good enough.
He leans against his car and dangles the keys in his hand. “I’m sorry, one more time?”
“Would you just please come and get us?” She rushes out.
“That is what I thought you said.”
“Are you coming or not?”
“I don’t know.” He opens the car door and sits down. “I got a lot to do tonight.”
“Fine, whatever, don’t come. We don’t need you anyways. We’ll just get a ride from someone else.”
“Who else are you going to call? You said you didn’t have anyone else.”
“I don’t have anyone else to call but Gigi and I have been talking to these guys and I’m sure they’d love to help us out.”
“Don’t do that.” He says seriously as he starts the car and throws it in drive. “Where are you?”
She gives him the name of the bar. “You know where that is?”
“I’ll find it. Hang on, okay? Don’t go off with anyone, you hear me?”
“Yeah, I hear you.”
There’s a beat of silence.
“I’ll be there soon.”
Zone hung up proud of herself for thinking on her feet even with the alcohol in her system.
“He’ll be here soon.”
“Excellent.” Gigi’s fingers drum on the table in excitement.
Wade gets to the bar in half the time it’s supposed to take him. He illegally parks outside of the bar and figures that if he didn’t get pulled over on the drive there luck was on his side and he didn’t have to worry about getting a ticket.
Zoe and Gigi are sitting at a table near the bar so he finds them easily. Zoe looks bored and sleepy as she rests her chin in her hand. Gigi is bright eyed and sloppy as she finishes another drink and adds the empty glass to the four others that are on the table waiting to be picked up by a waitress.
Zoe lifts her head when she sees him walking towards them. He’s in boots and jeans and a grey t-shirt. She has to smile because all he’s missing is the plaid shirt over it and he’d be everything that she and Gigi were trying to get away from tonight.
“Y’all ready to go?”
Zoe nods and grabs her bag but Gigi smiles and puts an arm around his shoulders.
“Wade.” She says in a sing song-y voice. “It is so good to see you…so heroic of you to come down here and rescue us.”
“He’s not rescuing us.” She says to her and then looks at Wade. “You’re not rescuing us.”
“He can rescue me if he wants.” Gigi says to Zoe before she leans closer to Wade. “You can rescue me if you want to.”
Zoe rolls her eyes and pushes her way through them; breaking them up. “Can we go home now, please?”
“Absolutely.” She hears Gigi say behind her and she can only imagine how close she’s standing to Wade now. Her head hurts from more than the alcohol.
She can hear the sound of Wade’s boots against the floor closer behind her than Gigi’s heels. They’re almost to the door when Mark calls out to her.
“You’re leaving so soon, Zoe.”
She stops suddenly which makes Wade knock into her and Gigi stumble against Wade. Wade shoots her an annoyed look and Zoe walks a few paces to the bar.
“It’s late. We’ve been here for awhile.”
“I get off in ten minutes. I was hoping we could hang out and talk more.”
“Ummm.” She stalls and looks over her shoulder at Wade who is looking at Mark with a strange expression on his face while simultaneously trying to keep Gigi at an arm’s length while she attempts to whisper into his ear. The whole thing is a mess and Zoe is caught squarely in the middle of it all. “I can’t. Not tonight.”
“Alright. I understand.” He reaches for a napkin and a pen and scribbles something down. “Here’s my number.” He holds it out to her. “Call me and we’ll get together sometime.”
Zoe looks back to Wade again. He’s not looking at Mark anymore but has the bar door open, looking out onto the street. Gigi is still trying to get his attention.
Zoe takes the steps over to the bar and grabs the napkin. “Thanks.”
“Hope to hear from you soon.”
She smiles tightly then heads for the door, slipping out between the frame of it and Wade’s body. He follows after with Gigi only an inch behind him.
Zoe has to pull Gigi away from him so he can unlock the car door and he holds it open. Neither of the women moves to climb into the backseat and Wade sighs heavily.
“Gigi.” Zoe waves her hand and tips her head toward the car. “You going to get in?”
“Oh, no, I can’t sit in the back. I get car sick.”
“No you don’t.” She has ridden in the backs of cabs with her enough times to know that Gigi is just fine in the backseat.
“Zoe, you have spent too much time away from me or the heat down here must have wiped your memory or something because I just cannot stand it back there.” She gives Zoe a severe look that’s basically telling Zoe to shut up, drop it, and get in the back.
But Zoe doesn’t plan on backing down.
“Ladies, I am illegally parked here and unless you want to split the cost of the ticket I’m going to get I suggest one of you get in the car right now and then the other follows after.”
Zoe rolls her eyes at Gigi as she climbs into the back and then Gigi sits down in the passenger seat, smiling up at Wade as he closes the door.
“You don’t get car sickness.” Zoe leans forward and whispers even though Wade’s crossing in front of the car to get to the driver’s side.
“Relax, Zoe. Don’t ruin this for me.”
Zoe can’t say anything discouraging back because Wade opens the door and starts the car. All she can do the entire ride back to Bluebell is sit back with her arms folded over her chest and watch as Gigi flirts tirelessly with Wade, occasionally laughing at something he’s said with her arm placed on his arm or his knee and at one point his thigh and for all the time he spent rebuffing her advances in the bar he doesn’t seem to hate it now.
The ride home seems to take forever and they finally pull into Lavon’s drive way right before Zoe kicks the back of Gigi’s seat in frustration.
“We should’ve just stayed here.” She says and Wade looks at her in the rear view mirror. It’s the first time she’s spoken. “Lavon has all the alcohol we could want.” She makes eye contact with Wade in the mirror. “Could’ve saved you the trouble.”
Gigi turns around with one arm thrown behind the headrest and the other on Wade’s shoulder to steady her. “Does he? Let’s stop.”
“Why would we do that?”
“Because I could use a drink.”
“I think you’ve had enough.” Zoe tries to reason.
“No, the drive was really long, it’s worn off.” She drops back down onto the seat and move hers hands so one is on the crook of his elbow and the other is on his knee. “Stop here Wade, come on.” She bats her eyelashes and Zoe rolls her eyes and Wade looks like he doesn’t know what to do and Zoe’s not willing to help him just yet.
“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.”
“Why not?” She whines and moves that hand that’s on his elbow up so it’s on his shoulder and quickly moving towards his neck.
“Wade, just stop the car.” Zoe speaks up just in time to stop Gigi’s fingers from touching his collarbone.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure.” She snaps. She desperately needs to get Gigi out of the car.
Lavon’s kitchen door is unlocked so Zoe breezes in with Gigi right behind her-momentarily forgetting Wade on her quest for another drink.
Wade lingers by the door; one foot in the house and one foot out and his eyes are wide when Zoe looks up at him.
“Thanks for the ride, Wade.” She’s clearly dismissing him and even drunk Gigi can catch onto it.
“Don’t go yet.” She stumbles over to him with an empty glass in her hand. “Come have a drink with me; you look like you need one.”
She’s not wrong. He looks worn out and annoyed and he gratefully takes the beer that Gigi presses into his hand.
He nurses the beer knowing that he’s still partially responsible for getting the two of them back to the carriage house. He didn’t know that picking them up from a bar would lead to an all night assignment but he’s here now and he has to see it through.
Zoe has a few sips of bourbon. Just enough to make her feel light headed again and keep her on her feet at the same time.
Gigi dives right in and overdoes it and three shots of tequila and one more valiant effort to seduce Wade later she’s passed out on Lavon’s couch.
Zoe feels like she can breathe for the first time now that Gigi isn’t throwing herself at Wade.
The house is silent except for Wade capping up the alcohol and placing the dirty glasses in the sink.
She leans against the center island and looks him over as he moves on and leans up to grabs two glasses from the cabinet by the sink, taking a warm pleasure in seeing the way his shoulders and the muscles of his back move beneath his t-shirt. Her gaze drops to the floor when he drops his shoulders and moves over to the sink to start to fill them.
“I used my body for evil tonight.” She mumbles and he turns to her sharply; his lips pulled down into a deep frown and worry written all over his face. “I flirted with the bartender tonight. He gave me free drinks.”
“Is that all you did?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh.” He sighs and it breaks off into a laugh at the end. “You worried me there for a second.” He turns back to the sink and starts to fill the first glass with water.
“You don’t understand. “He gave me free drinks and I flirted with him and he gave me his number and I took it but I wasn’t really interested in him. I led him on.”
“Zoe, he’s a bartender. He’s used to. I’m sure his feelings aren’t hurt.”
“So it happens to him all the time?”
“Probably.”
“So I’m nothing special.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Does it happen to you?”
He glances at her over his shoulder before he sets down the full glass on the counter next to him and starts to fill the next one. She’s assuming it’s for Gigi and she looks towards the living room where Gigi is passed out on the couch, one shoe on, one shoe off, snoring softly. Zoe snorts a laugh and her hand automatically reaches for her bag on the counter behind her for her phone because there needs to be photo evidence of this.
“Sometimes.”
Her attention snaps back to him. He’s turned around against the sink with both glasses in his hand and he follows the path that her eyes took towards Gigi and puts the second glass down.
“Sometimes women flirt with you? Just sometimes?”
“While I’m working it’s sometimes. That’s what we’re talking about, right?”
She drops her eyes from him for the second time.
“Yeah.”
She hears him take a step towards her and his boots appear in the small section of tiled floor that she’s been staring at.
“Do you give them free drinks?” She raises her chin suddenly feeling brave and looks him in the eyes.
He shrugs. “Not all of them. I mean, when you give out free drinks you have to pay for them out of your own pocket. I’m not made of money, Doc.”
“So you have to really like them?”
He nods and holds out the glass. She touches it but doesn’t take it and they’re both standing there holding the glass together and staring at each other.
“Take it.” He pushes the glass a little further into her hand but still doesn’t let go. “I think Lavon has some aspirin around here somewhere.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever paid for a drink that I’ve gotten from you.”
His eyes widen and he takes a sharp intake of breath because he’s gotten caught and he needs to talk his way out of it. That’s something he’s usually great at but with her and especially with her standing right in front of him looking at him like she’s figured him all out, it’s a struggle.
“Yeah…well.” He shrugs.
“Wade.” Her voice is harsh, like she’s scolding him, like she caught him with his hand in the cookie jar.
“That aspirin, I’m gonna go look for it.”
“Wade.” She’s got a softer tone the second time around with her voice just barely reaching a whisper. If he was a half an inch further from her he wouldn’t have heard it. She takes the glass out of his hand and puts it down on the counter off to the side and then wraps her fingers around his wrist before he can pull away. She tugs on his wrist and guides his hand to her hip forcing him to take a step closer to do so.
“You’ll thank me in the morning if you let me go find some aspirin.”
“Shhh.” With her heels on her mouth is level with his collarbone. She can feel him shiver when her breath hits his skin and it’s enough to make her smile as she presses a kiss to the skin at the base of his neck.
“Zoe.” It’s weak and breathy and she giggles softly as she drags her lips further up his neck standing up straighter and then on her toes to do so.
“Hmmm.” She hums against his skin; lips’ still moving along his jaw line now and it delights her to hear him mumble ‘god’ under his breath right before he moves against her.
He presses his hips to hers, hard enough that the edge of the counter is digging into her lower back but it’s not for long because his other hand grips at her waist and she steadies herself against his shoulders so he can lift her up onto the counter and changes their positions so he’s the one pressing his lips to her neck. She shudders and feels sympathy for what she was putting him through.
Her arm loops around his neck to bring him even closer and his hand moves to her waist to her hip, his fingertips pressing into her flesh making her dress bunch around them until they move down her thigh and hook around her knee so she’s pulled closer to him.
He’s focused on the spot where her shoulder meets her neck and between the feel of his lips there and his stubble scratching lightly against her skin and his rough hand gripping behind her knee she forgets that they’re in Lavon’s kitchen and Gigi is, albeit drunk and passed out, just a few yards away.
But what the hell, right? She’s drunk on free alcohol and more than a little pissed off at Gigi and if Gigi’s interactions with him on the car ride home were any indication she knows that Gigi would trade places with her right now in a heartbeat ( a drunken heartbeat) so there’s a little bit of revenge to this. An eye for an eye. A Judson for a Wade.
Wade moves his lips from that spot, she vaguely wonders if he’s left a mark, and up to just below her earlobe and when he says her name it vibrates against her skin and it’s suddenly so much more than revenge. She’s positive Judson could never be capable of this so there wasn’t much to lose there. Her eyes squeeze shut and her fingers grasp as the short hair on the back of his head and she knows that deep down she’s allowing this to happen because he’s Wade and he’s infuriating and argumentative and drives her crazy and all those things she has saved up in her mind to say if anyone ever questions her liking him but truth is, she does like him. It’s like she can’t stay away from him no matter how hard she pretends to try. There’s no denying that she’s attracted to him. It’s hard not to be-lean body, sandy hair, dazzling smile-if he had the personality for it he’d fit in as a model in New York. Maybe that’s why Gigi likes him so much.
She tightens her legs around his hips and he makes this low, humming sound in the back of his throat to show his approval as she hooks one leg around the back of his causing her shoe to fall off and hit the floor with a thud. She makes a noise somewhere between a sigh and a whimper when he detaches his mouth from her neck and she yanks on the short hairs she’s been preoccupying herself with so she can look at his face. His eyes are half hooded and heavy and he’s not smiling like she expected him to be. Where’s that cocky-I knew you’d give into me eventually, Doc-smile?
She doesn’t have time to over think it because his brings his hand up to her face and cups her jaw gently. She leans into the touch because somewhere in her foggy, drunk, mind there’s a moment of clarity that makes her realize that he likes her back. They meet in the middle (something they never do) and he’s kissing her and she’s kissing him.
It gets messy and out of control quickly because all she wants is more as she holds him tighter and opens her mouth under his a little wider and that grip he’s got on the back of her knee shifts so his hand is working its way back up under the dress this time instead of over it.
She makes that noise again-the one between a sigh and a whimper-but it’s tinged with frustration this time because she’s gotten tired of feeling fabric instead of his skin. One of her hands snakes beneath his shirt, moving from his stomach, fingers lingering over the definition of muscles and to his back, pressing into the curve of his spine and then back again. He’s trying so hard to shove the hem of her dress up or to do anything with it that she laughs at him, the sound muffled against his lips. She answers back by dropping both hands to the top of his jeans, clumsily trying to undo the button and the zipper.
His hand falls away from her face to the counter moving too fast and uncoordinated and hits the glass of water causing it to tip over and roll to the floor where it shatters on impact. She pulls her lips from his so she can look; her hands still at his waist and his other hand moves away from under her dress.
“Whoops.” She giggles then looks back to him and her fingers start to move against his jeans again but he quickly encircles both her wrists with his fingers and pulls her hands away. “What?”
“Zoe.” His voice is shaky, like he’s trying too hard to be calm.
“What?”
He laughs and slowly let’s go of her hands. “We can’t do this.” He watches her face fall in disappointment and he adds. “Now.”
“Why not?”
“First of all you’re drunk.” He ticks off on one finger.
“I’m not that drunk.” She leans forward. “Plus, that didn’t stop you before.”
“That was different.”
“How?”
“I had….more control last time.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing, it doesn’t matter, it’s not important.”
“Then what’s the problem?” She reaches for him and grabs a hold of his arm to try and pull him closer but he resists.
“We are in Lavon’s kitchen. You’re best friend is passed out right over there.” He glances over to the couch. Gigi’s still asleep and completely unaware.
“Then let’s fix that.” She starts to slide off the counter but he puts his hand on her hip to stop her. She doesn’t pay attention to it. “Do you want to go to my place or yours?”
“No. You don’t understand?”
“What is there to understand?” She tries to move again but he’s still holding her and this time she surveys him with a hard stare until she breaks and pushes his hand off of her. “I get it.”
“You do?” He sounds hopeful and looks at her shyly. “That’s good because I have been trying to figure out how to tell you--.”
“You know if you didn’t want me you should’ve just said something.” She interrupts hotly as she hops down from the counter, pushing his arm away again when he tries to guide her safely away from the glass.
“Whoa, Zoe, that is not at all--.”
“You should’ve told me.” There’s a momentary struggle as she tries to get her shoe back on but once she does she’s walking swiftly, and swaying just a little from the alcohol, around the island to the door with Wade following right behind her. “You should’ve just said something instead of letting me kiss you and leading me on so you could just…what, what were you going to do?” She opens the door and tires to slam it closed on him but he’s too fast and too strong and he makes it out after her. “Were you going to let me do all of that and then hold it over me and make fun of me later?”
“Hold on, don’t get so upset, Doc.” He maneuvers in front of her and she feels like she could scream in frustration because no matter what she does he’s faster and more coordinated than she is. “I’m not rejecting you.”
“That’s what it feels like.”
“Well, it’s not.”
She makes one last, desperate move to get around him but he holds tight to her arms to keep her still.
“Can you stop moving?”
“Can you let me go?” She snaps.
“No. You’re going to listen to me.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Too damn bad.” He squeezes her arms lightly to get her attention but she refuses to raises her eyes to meet his and he sighs. “Do you really think I’m not interested in you?”
She shrugs.
“You’re even crazier than I thought if you think that’s true.”
She shakes her head; still staring down at her feet and the patterns the soles of her heels make in the dirt when he cups her face again and guides her face up. She dodges eye contact and he exhales heavily through his nose clearly losing patience with her drunken immaturity.
“Zoe. Hey.” He applies a slight pressure to the side of her face. “Look at me.”
Her eyes shift up. He’s almost as close now as he was in the kitchen.
“Obviously I’m interested in you.”
“So?”
“So? Isn’t what this whole thing is about?”
“You could just be saying this. Just to shut me up-make yourself look good.”
He takes his hand away and covers his face in exasperation. “Are you kidding me? Does anything I say matter to you right now or are you so stubborn and drunk--.”
“I am not drunk.”
“You can’t even walk in a straight line.”
“I can to.”
He steps out of the way and holds his hands out in front of him. “Please. Go ahead.”
She narrows her eyes and frowns at him before squaring her shoulders, taking a deep breath and moving one foot in front of the other. It’s wobbly and wrong and she stops herself before taking another and sticks her hands on her hips and stares at him.
“I don’t need to prove anything to you.”
“Ha, I knew it.”
“You don’t know anything.”
“I know that you’re freaking out right now for no reason. You’re not thinking clearly and you don’t have any idea what I really mean when I say we can’t do this right now.”
“Oh yeah.” It’s all she can come up with and her cheeks tinge pink because she knows it’s stupid.
“Yeah.” He laughs a little and invades her space again. “I wanna do that.” He nods back to the house referring to what happened between them in there. “I want to do all of that but not like this.” He gestures between them. “You have to be sober and I have to take you out a few times first because that’s the kind of thing that you deserve. You can’t be like all the other girls and all the other times because you’re just not. You’re so different and I gotta be different with you. I gotta be better. I’m learning this. That first time with you-in my car-I didn’t know it then. I didn’t care then. I care now.”
Her eyes scan across his face. “Do you?”
He smiles and nods. “Why do you think I came and got you?”
“You only agreed after I said we were going to get a ride from a bunch of strangers.”
He shakes his head and holds onto her hand. She curls her fingers around his.
“I was already in the car when you said that, Doc.”
She’s flattered and giddy and nervous all at the same time and she’s not sure what to say but thankfully he does. He always has something to say and she’s just starting to learn that his words actually mean something.
“Let’s go back inside. I’ll make you some coffee we can talk.” Take things slow. Do things right.
Lavon comes home an hour later looking tired and confused when he sees the two of them sitting at his kitchen table; drinking coffee, knees touching, laughing, getting along.
“Hey.” He looks between them and then over to the couch where Gigi’s still snoring softly. “Hey.”
“Hey.” Wade greets him. Zoe covers her mouth with her hand to hide the smile. “Long night?”
“Mmmm.” He hums and nods as he regards them with a skeptical eye. He can feel that something has shifted. “I could ask you the same thing.”
Zoe bites her lip and looks at Wade. Shameless guilt all over her face.
“Someone had a little too much fun in Mobile. I had to swoop in and save the day.”
She hits his arm and scolds him but there’s something different about it. Her hand lingers on his arm affectionately.
“You did not save the day.”
“I think I did.”
“I know you think you did but you didn’t.”
“Well who came and saved you?”
“You didn’t save me. That makes it sound like I needed to be rescued.”
“You did.”
Lavon rolls his eyes at their bickering and turns away seeing the broken glass that Wade has picked up and set on the counter before he made them some coffee.
Lavon points to it. “How did this happen?”
Zoe blushes and raises the coffee cup to her lips to hide the smile forming on her lips and Wade bites his lip as his fingertips drum against his own cup.
“Zoe’s fault.” He says suddenly and her face drops in good natured shock before she fights back.
“Not true.”
Lavon sighs as he carefully sets the glass into the garbage listening to the sound of their back and forth banter from the table behind him.
Some things never change.
Song: In The End- Snow Patrol
Word Count: 6,044
Summary: Gigi sticks around for an extra night after Homecoming & Coming Home and she and Zoe head to a bar in Mobile where they drink too much and Wade has to come to their rescue.
A/N: It has been a long time since I've seen this episode so I'm kind of winging it with Gigi.
“Go get us some more drinks.” Gigi’s fingers are pinched around the stem of her empty martini glass and her other hand is gesturing lazily (drunkenly) towards the bar, or, more specifically towards the bartender.
Zoe still has a few more sips left in hers and she shakes her head. “I’ve already been up there five times. I can’t keep doing it.”
“Sure you can. He’s giving them away to you. Take advantage of it. Go get your free drinks. Go get your hot bartender.”
Zoe sighs and takes the last few sips of her drink. She stands up and gives Gigi a look as she claps happily.
They have been in this Mobile bar for the last two hours. Gigi had insisted that they go out on her last night in Alabama and turned up her nose at spending anymore time in Bluebell so Zoe had to borrow Lavon’s car and drive them out to Mobile. It’s not like Zoe minded the drive. She’d rather not subject the townspeople to Gigi any further than she already had and it was good to have a change of scenery; a way to remind herself that there are other bars out there besides the Rammer Jammer. This bar is still far from being anything like a New York bar but it’s not as down home as the Rammer Jammer. Same thick, southern accents, less jeans, boots and plaid.
They hit the bar first, of course, where Zoe quickly discovered that the bartender (Mark-tall, dark, and handsome with just enough southern twang to his voice to fit in) was into Zoe.
She ordered first and when she dug into her bag he waved her off and said “I got it, it’s on the house.” Gigi had elbowed her side as Zoe began to argue. “For your friend too” Mark had said without even looking at Gigi.
It was obviously and embarrassingly clear who he was interested in. Gigi didn’t seem to care. There were other guys to look at and she was still getting free drinks out of it but Zoe took some pride in it. She had no interest in Mark, he was good looking, sure, but that was it. But it felt nice to know that someone was into her and only her. She and Judson might not have been meant to be but it still stung when he hopped right over to Gigi without a second thought.
“Go.” Gigi pushes her in the direction of the bar and Zoe straightens her dress.
“I don’t know. Shouldn’t we be going soon?”
“What is the rush? Aren’t you having fun? There is no way you can tell me that you have had this much fun in Bluebean?”
“Bluebell.” Zoe corrects, suddenly feeling very protective of the town.
“Right, right, Bluebell. Let me ask you this then; do you have one of those.” She holds Zoe’s elbow and points to Mark. “In Bluebell.”
Mark catches her watching and smiles at her. Gigi tugs on her elbow to prove her point.
“Oh, wait; you do have one of those. And he’s your neighbor. Pretty convenient.” Gigi looks like she’s proud of Zoe for snagging such an arrangement and Zoe yanks her elbow away.
“It’s not convenient.”
Gigi raises her eyebrows.
“Nothing is going on there.”
“Really?”
Zoe nods.
“So then you wouldn’t mind if….” She trails off and shrugs her shoulders and Zoe narrows her eyes.
“What?”
“Well, the night is young and I’m leaving in the morning and he is right next door. If you want to leave right now I could still--.”
“No, Gigi.” Zoe almost shouts, taken aback by her insinuation and suddenly feeling very protective of him.
“Why not?” Gigi clearly doesn’t hear the outrage in her voice and pouts.
“Because.” She stutters and can’t come up with a good reason to tell her. She can’t even come up with a good reason to tell herself. It’s not like she thinks he’s not good enough for Gigi-if anything it’s the other way around especially with the recent events involving Judson. What kind of friend does that? “Just because….I think…it would just be weird.”
“How would it be weird?”
“It just would okay. He’s….just…”
“Hot. Single. Right in front of you like, all the time?”
Zoe sighs. People need to stop reminding her of all those things. “Just forget it okay. Look.” She grabs Gigi’s elbow this time. “There are tons of hot, single, men that are right in front of you right now.”
“Not the same.”
“Forget it, Gigi. Stay here. I’ll go get some more drinks. We don’t have to head back yet.”
She walks away before Gigi could object and immediately met up with Mark who was waiting for her with two fresh drinks. She lingers there, leaning over the bar a bit more than she has too, leaning towards him and acting like she’s flirting back. She needs some mindless conversation with him to get her mind off Gigi and what she’s done and what she wants to do with Wade. She needs to get Wade off her mind right now.
Her plan ultimately backfires on her two hours and many drinks later. They’re both too drunk to drive home and Lavon is not picking up his phone.
Zoe’s starting to get worried with thoughts of being stranded in Mobile and Gigi is either laughing or bouncing in her seat, completely excited by the prospect of spending any amount of time with Lavon Hayes.
“He’s not picking up.” Zoe tells her after the tenth time of trying.
“So rude that he’s just ignoring us.” She scoffs and tries to drain the last drop from her glass. “Maybe hot bartender will put us up for the night. I know he’ll help you out.” She winks at Zoe and Zoe rolls her eyes.
“No fun. Who are you calling now?” Gigi leans in and tries to take a peek at her phone.
“Wade.”
Gigi sits back in her chair and claps happily. “Even better than Lavon Hayes. Just what I want. He better pick up.”
Zoe’s nerves are about to push her over the edge. She doesn’t want to be stranded in Mobile but she might prefer it to riding home with Gigi in the same car as Wade.
When he picks up Zoe closes her eyes and curses under her breath. Gigi launches forward and tries to grab the phone so Zoe has to spin away.
“You alright, Doc?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. We’re fine.”
“Who’s we’re?”
“Oh, you know….me and Gigi.”
“Oh really?” He smiles and leans on the bar. It’s pretty busy at the Rammer Jammer tonight but he’s got enough free time to talk. He can feel where this is going just by the sound of her voice.
“Yeah. We went into Mobile tonight and had a little bit too much to drink and I don’t think it would really be safe for either of us to drive home so…”
“So?” He’s already started to walk around the bar; pulling his keys out of his pocket and looks for Shelly to tell her that he’s got to leave.
“So I keep trying Lavon but he’s not answering.”
“He had a meeting tonight-said it could run late.”
“Oh. I don’t know who else to call.”
“Maybe if you were a little bit nicer and got involved in more town events you’d have a longer list.” He teases and laughs because he can imagine the face she’s making right now.
“Shut up, Wade.”
“Why are you calling me now?” While he waits for her to figure out what to say he finds Shelly and points to his phone while he mouths it’s an emergency. She gives him a look that says she doesn’t believe him but lets him go anyways.
“I need you to come and get us.” She mumbles and over the sound of the bar that she’s at and the Rammer Jammer he almost doesn’t hear her.
“What was that Doc?” His smile’s so wide it hurts as he pushes the door open and steps outside. “I don’t think I heard that too clear.”
“I said I need you to come and get us.” It’s a little louder now but it’s still not good enough.
He leans against his car and dangles the keys in his hand. “I’m sorry, one more time?”
“Would you just please come and get us?” She rushes out.
“That is what I thought you said.”
“Are you coming or not?”
“I don’t know.” He opens the car door and sits down. “I got a lot to do tonight.”
“Fine, whatever, don’t come. We don’t need you anyways. We’ll just get a ride from someone else.”
“Who else are you going to call? You said you didn’t have anyone else.”
“I don’t have anyone else to call but Gigi and I have been talking to these guys and I’m sure they’d love to help us out.”
“Don’t do that.” He says seriously as he starts the car and throws it in drive. “Where are you?”
She gives him the name of the bar. “You know where that is?”
“I’ll find it. Hang on, okay? Don’t go off with anyone, you hear me?”
“Yeah, I hear you.”
There’s a beat of silence.
“I’ll be there soon.”
Zone hung up proud of herself for thinking on her feet even with the alcohol in her system.
“He’ll be here soon.”
“Excellent.” Gigi’s fingers drum on the table in excitement.
Wade gets to the bar in half the time it’s supposed to take him. He illegally parks outside of the bar and figures that if he didn’t get pulled over on the drive there luck was on his side and he didn’t have to worry about getting a ticket.
Zoe and Gigi are sitting at a table near the bar so he finds them easily. Zoe looks bored and sleepy as she rests her chin in her hand. Gigi is bright eyed and sloppy as she finishes another drink and adds the empty glass to the four others that are on the table waiting to be picked up by a waitress.
Zoe lifts her head when she sees him walking towards them. He’s in boots and jeans and a grey t-shirt. She has to smile because all he’s missing is the plaid shirt over it and he’d be everything that she and Gigi were trying to get away from tonight.
“Y’all ready to go?”
Zoe nods and grabs her bag but Gigi smiles and puts an arm around his shoulders.
“Wade.” She says in a sing song-y voice. “It is so good to see you…so heroic of you to come down here and rescue us.”
“He’s not rescuing us.” She says to her and then looks at Wade. “You’re not rescuing us.”
“He can rescue me if he wants.” Gigi says to Zoe before she leans closer to Wade. “You can rescue me if you want to.”
Zoe rolls her eyes and pushes her way through them; breaking them up. “Can we go home now, please?”
“Absolutely.” She hears Gigi say behind her and she can only imagine how close she’s standing to Wade now. Her head hurts from more than the alcohol.
She can hear the sound of Wade’s boots against the floor closer behind her than Gigi’s heels. They’re almost to the door when Mark calls out to her.
“You’re leaving so soon, Zoe.”
She stops suddenly which makes Wade knock into her and Gigi stumble against Wade. Wade shoots her an annoyed look and Zoe walks a few paces to the bar.
“It’s late. We’ve been here for awhile.”
“I get off in ten minutes. I was hoping we could hang out and talk more.”
“Ummm.” She stalls and looks over her shoulder at Wade who is looking at Mark with a strange expression on his face while simultaneously trying to keep Gigi at an arm’s length while she attempts to whisper into his ear. The whole thing is a mess and Zoe is caught squarely in the middle of it all. “I can’t. Not tonight.”
“Alright. I understand.” He reaches for a napkin and a pen and scribbles something down. “Here’s my number.” He holds it out to her. “Call me and we’ll get together sometime.”
Zoe looks back to Wade again. He’s not looking at Mark anymore but has the bar door open, looking out onto the street. Gigi is still trying to get his attention.
Zoe takes the steps over to the bar and grabs the napkin. “Thanks.”
“Hope to hear from you soon.”
She smiles tightly then heads for the door, slipping out between the frame of it and Wade’s body. He follows after with Gigi only an inch behind him.
Zoe has to pull Gigi away from him so he can unlock the car door and he holds it open. Neither of the women moves to climb into the backseat and Wade sighs heavily.
“Gigi.” Zoe waves her hand and tips her head toward the car. “You going to get in?”
“Oh, no, I can’t sit in the back. I get car sick.”
“No you don’t.” She has ridden in the backs of cabs with her enough times to know that Gigi is just fine in the backseat.
“Zoe, you have spent too much time away from me or the heat down here must have wiped your memory or something because I just cannot stand it back there.” She gives Zoe a severe look that’s basically telling Zoe to shut up, drop it, and get in the back.
But Zoe doesn’t plan on backing down.
“Ladies, I am illegally parked here and unless you want to split the cost of the ticket I’m going to get I suggest one of you get in the car right now and then the other follows after.”
Zoe rolls her eyes at Gigi as she climbs into the back and then Gigi sits down in the passenger seat, smiling up at Wade as he closes the door.
“You don’t get car sickness.” Zoe leans forward and whispers even though Wade’s crossing in front of the car to get to the driver’s side.
“Relax, Zoe. Don’t ruin this for me.”
Zoe can’t say anything discouraging back because Wade opens the door and starts the car. All she can do the entire ride back to Bluebell is sit back with her arms folded over her chest and watch as Gigi flirts tirelessly with Wade, occasionally laughing at something he’s said with her arm placed on his arm or his knee and at one point his thigh and for all the time he spent rebuffing her advances in the bar he doesn’t seem to hate it now.
The ride home seems to take forever and they finally pull into Lavon’s drive way right before Zoe kicks the back of Gigi’s seat in frustration.
“We should’ve just stayed here.” She says and Wade looks at her in the rear view mirror. It’s the first time she’s spoken. “Lavon has all the alcohol we could want.” She makes eye contact with Wade in the mirror. “Could’ve saved you the trouble.”
Gigi turns around with one arm thrown behind the headrest and the other on Wade’s shoulder to steady her. “Does he? Let’s stop.”
“Why would we do that?”
“Because I could use a drink.”
“I think you’ve had enough.” Zoe tries to reason.
“No, the drive was really long, it’s worn off.” She drops back down onto the seat and move hers hands so one is on the crook of his elbow and the other is on his knee. “Stop here Wade, come on.” She bats her eyelashes and Zoe rolls her eyes and Wade looks like he doesn’t know what to do and Zoe’s not willing to help him just yet.
“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.”
“Why not?” She whines and moves that hand that’s on his elbow up so it’s on his shoulder and quickly moving towards his neck.
“Wade, just stop the car.” Zoe speaks up just in time to stop Gigi’s fingers from touching his collarbone.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure.” She snaps. She desperately needs to get Gigi out of the car.
Lavon’s kitchen door is unlocked so Zoe breezes in with Gigi right behind her-momentarily forgetting Wade on her quest for another drink.
Wade lingers by the door; one foot in the house and one foot out and his eyes are wide when Zoe looks up at him.
“Thanks for the ride, Wade.” She’s clearly dismissing him and even drunk Gigi can catch onto it.
“Don’t go yet.” She stumbles over to him with an empty glass in her hand. “Come have a drink with me; you look like you need one.”
She’s not wrong. He looks worn out and annoyed and he gratefully takes the beer that Gigi presses into his hand.
He nurses the beer knowing that he’s still partially responsible for getting the two of them back to the carriage house. He didn’t know that picking them up from a bar would lead to an all night assignment but he’s here now and he has to see it through.
Zoe has a few sips of bourbon. Just enough to make her feel light headed again and keep her on her feet at the same time.
Gigi dives right in and overdoes it and three shots of tequila and one more valiant effort to seduce Wade later she’s passed out on Lavon’s couch.
Zoe feels like she can breathe for the first time now that Gigi isn’t throwing herself at Wade.
The house is silent except for Wade capping up the alcohol and placing the dirty glasses in the sink.
She leans against the center island and looks him over as he moves on and leans up to grabs two glasses from the cabinet by the sink, taking a warm pleasure in seeing the way his shoulders and the muscles of his back move beneath his t-shirt. Her gaze drops to the floor when he drops his shoulders and moves over to the sink to start to fill them.
“I used my body for evil tonight.” She mumbles and he turns to her sharply; his lips pulled down into a deep frown and worry written all over his face. “I flirted with the bartender tonight. He gave me free drinks.”
“Is that all you did?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh.” He sighs and it breaks off into a laugh at the end. “You worried me there for a second.” He turns back to the sink and starts to fill the first glass with water.
“You don’t understand. “He gave me free drinks and I flirted with him and he gave me his number and I took it but I wasn’t really interested in him. I led him on.”
“Zoe, he’s a bartender. He’s used to. I’m sure his feelings aren’t hurt.”
“So it happens to him all the time?”
“Probably.”
“So I’m nothing special.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Does it happen to you?”
He glances at her over his shoulder before he sets down the full glass on the counter next to him and starts to fill the next one. She’s assuming it’s for Gigi and she looks towards the living room where Gigi is passed out on the couch, one shoe on, one shoe off, snoring softly. Zoe snorts a laugh and her hand automatically reaches for her bag on the counter behind her for her phone because there needs to be photo evidence of this.
“Sometimes.”
Her attention snaps back to him. He’s turned around against the sink with both glasses in his hand and he follows the path that her eyes took towards Gigi and puts the second glass down.
“Sometimes women flirt with you? Just sometimes?”
“While I’m working it’s sometimes. That’s what we’re talking about, right?”
She drops her eyes from him for the second time.
“Yeah.”
She hears him take a step towards her and his boots appear in the small section of tiled floor that she’s been staring at.
“Do you give them free drinks?” She raises her chin suddenly feeling brave and looks him in the eyes.
He shrugs. “Not all of them. I mean, when you give out free drinks you have to pay for them out of your own pocket. I’m not made of money, Doc.”
“So you have to really like them?”
He nods and holds out the glass. She touches it but doesn’t take it and they’re both standing there holding the glass together and staring at each other.
“Take it.” He pushes the glass a little further into her hand but still doesn’t let go. “I think Lavon has some aspirin around here somewhere.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever paid for a drink that I’ve gotten from you.”
His eyes widen and he takes a sharp intake of breath because he’s gotten caught and he needs to talk his way out of it. That’s something he’s usually great at but with her and especially with her standing right in front of him looking at him like she’s figured him all out, it’s a struggle.
“Yeah…well.” He shrugs.
“Wade.” Her voice is harsh, like she’s scolding him, like she caught him with his hand in the cookie jar.
“That aspirin, I’m gonna go look for it.”
“Wade.” She’s got a softer tone the second time around with her voice just barely reaching a whisper. If he was a half an inch further from her he wouldn’t have heard it. She takes the glass out of his hand and puts it down on the counter off to the side and then wraps her fingers around his wrist before he can pull away. She tugs on his wrist and guides his hand to her hip forcing him to take a step closer to do so.
“You’ll thank me in the morning if you let me go find some aspirin.”
“Shhh.” With her heels on her mouth is level with his collarbone. She can feel him shiver when her breath hits his skin and it’s enough to make her smile as she presses a kiss to the skin at the base of his neck.
“Zoe.” It’s weak and breathy and she giggles softly as she drags her lips further up his neck standing up straighter and then on her toes to do so.
“Hmmm.” She hums against his skin; lips’ still moving along his jaw line now and it delights her to hear him mumble ‘god’ under his breath right before he moves against her.
He presses his hips to hers, hard enough that the edge of the counter is digging into her lower back but it’s not for long because his other hand grips at her waist and she steadies herself against his shoulders so he can lift her up onto the counter and changes their positions so he’s the one pressing his lips to her neck. She shudders and feels sympathy for what she was putting him through.
Her arm loops around his neck to bring him even closer and his hand moves to her waist to her hip, his fingertips pressing into her flesh making her dress bunch around them until they move down her thigh and hook around her knee so she’s pulled closer to him.
He’s focused on the spot where her shoulder meets her neck and between the feel of his lips there and his stubble scratching lightly against her skin and his rough hand gripping behind her knee she forgets that they’re in Lavon’s kitchen and Gigi is, albeit drunk and passed out, just a few yards away.
But what the hell, right? She’s drunk on free alcohol and more than a little pissed off at Gigi and if Gigi’s interactions with him on the car ride home were any indication she knows that Gigi would trade places with her right now in a heartbeat ( a drunken heartbeat) so there’s a little bit of revenge to this. An eye for an eye. A Judson for a Wade.
Wade moves his lips from that spot, she vaguely wonders if he’s left a mark, and up to just below her earlobe and when he says her name it vibrates against her skin and it’s suddenly so much more than revenge. She’s positive Judson could never be capable of this so there wasn’t much to lose there. Her eyes squeeze shut and her fingers grasp as the short hair on the back of his head and she knows that deep down she’s allowing this to happen because he’s Wade and he’s infuriating and argumentative and drives her crazy and all those things she has saved up in her mind to say if anyone ever questions her liking him but truth is, she does like him. It’s like she can’t stay away from him no matter how hard she pretends to try. There’s no denying that she’s attracted to him. It’s hard not to be-lean body, sandy hair, dazzling smile-if he had the personality for it he’d fit in as a model in New York. Maybe that’s why Gigi likes him so much.
She tightens her legs around his hips and he makes this low, humming sound in the back of his throat to show his approval as she hooks one leg around the back of his causing her shoe to fall off and hit the floor with a thud. She makes a noise somewhere between a sigh and a whimper when he detaches his mouth from her neck and she yanks on the short hairs she’s been preoccupying herself with so she can look at his face. His eyes are half hooded and heavy and he’s not smiling like she expected him to be. Where’s that cocky-I knew you’d give into me eventually, Doc-smile?
She doesn’t have time to over think it because his brings his hand up to her face and cups her jaw gently. She leans into the touch because somewhere in her foggy, drunk, mind there’s a moment of clarity that makes her realize that he likes her back. They meet in the middle (something they never do) and he’s kissing her and she’s kissing him.
It gets messy and out of control quickly because all she wants is more as she holds him tighter and opens her mouth under his a little wider and that grip he’s got on the back of her knee shifts so his hand is working its way back up under the dress this time instead of over it.
She makes that noise again-the one between a sigh and a whimper-but it’s tinged with frustration this time because she’s gotten tired of feeling fabric instead of his skin. One of her hands snakes beneath his shirt, moving from his stomach, fingers lingering over the definition of muscles and to his back, pressing into the curve of his spine and then back again. He’s trying so hard to shove the hem of her dress up or to do anything with it that she laughs at him, the sound muffled against his lips. She answers back by dropping both hands to the top of his jeans, clumsily trying to undo the button and the zipper.
His hand falls away from her face to the counter moving too fast and uncoordinated and hits the glass of water causing it to tip over and roll to the floor where it shatters on impact. She pulls her lips from his so she can look; her hands still at his waist and his other hand moves away from under her dress.
“Whoops.” She giggles then looks back to him and her fingers start to move against his jeans again but he quickly encircles both her wrists with his fingers and pulls her hands away. “What?”
“Zoe.” His voice is shaky, like he’s trying too hard to be calm.
“What?”
He laughs and slowly let’s go of her hands. “We can’t do this.” He watches her face fall in disappointment and he adds. “Now.”
“Why not?”
“First of all you’re drunk.” He ticks off on one finger.
“I’m not that drunk.” She leans forward. “Plus, that didn’t stop you before.”
“That was different.”
“How?”
“I had….more control last time.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing, it doesn’t matter, it’s not important.”
“Then what’s the problem?” She reaches for him and grabs a hold of his arm to try and pull him closer but he resists.
“We are in Lavon’s kitchen. You’re best friend is passed out right over there.” He glances over to the couch. Gigi’s still asleep and completely unaware.
“Then let’s fix that.” She starts to slide off the counter but he puts his hand on her hip to stop her. She doesn’t pay attention to it. “Do you want to go to my place or yours?”
“No. You don’t understand?”
“What is there to understand?” She tries to move again but he’s still holding her and this time she surveys him with a hard stare until she breaks and pushes his hand off of her. “I get it.”
“You do?” He sounds hopeful and looks at her shyly. “That’s good because I have been trying to figure out how to tell you--.”
“You know if you didn’t want me you should’ve just said something.” She interrupts hotly as she hops down from the counter, pushing his arm away again when he tries to guide her safely away from the glass.
“Whoa, Zoe, that is not at all--.”
“You should’ve told me.” There’s a momentary struggle as she tries to get her shoe back on but once she does she’s walking swiftly, and swaying just a little from the alcohol, around the island to the door with Wade following right behind her. “You should’ve just said something instead of letting me kiss you and leading me on so you could just…what, what were you going to do?” She opens the door and tires to slam it closed on him but he’s too fast and too strong and he makes it out after her. “Were you going to let me do all of that and then hold it over me and make fun of me later?”
“Hold on, don’t get so upset, Doc.” He maneuvers in front of her and she feels like she could scream in frustration because no matter what she does he’s faster and more coordinated than she is. “I’m not rejecting you.”
“That’s what it feels like.”
“Well, it’s not.”
She makes one last, desperate move to get around him but he holds tight to her arms to keep her still.
“Can you stop moving?”
“Can you let me go?” She snaps.
“No. You’re going to listen to me.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Too damn bad.” He squeezes her arms lightly to get her attention but she refuses to raises her eyes to meet his and he sighs. “Do you really think I’m not interested in you?”
She shrugs.
“You’re even crazier than I thought if you think that’s true.”
She shakes her head; still staring down at her feet and the patterns the soles of her heels make in the dirt when he cups her face again and guides her face up. She dodges eye contact and he exhales heavily through his nose clearly losing patience with her drunken immaturity.
“Zoe. Hey.” He applies a slight pressure to the side of her face. “Look at me.”
Her eyes shift up. He’s almost as close now as he was in the kitchen.
“Obviously I’m interested in you.”
“So?”
“So? Isn’t what this whole thing is about?”
“You could just be saying this. Just to shut me up-make yourself look good.”
He takes his hand away and covers his face in exasperation. “Are you kidding me? Does anything I say matter to you right now or are you so stubborn and drunk--.”
“I am not drunk.”
“You can’t even walk in a straight line.”
“I can to.”
He steps out of the way and holds his hands out in front of him. “Please. Go ahead.”
She narrows her eyes and frowns at him before squaring her shoulders, taking a deep breath and moving one foot in front of the other. It’s wobbly and wrong and she stops herself before taking another and sticks her hands on her hips and stares at him.
“I don’t need to prove anything to you.”
“Ha, I knew it.”
“You don’t know anything.”
“I know that you’re freaking out right now for no reason. You’re not thinking clearly and you don’t have any idea what I really mean when I say we can’t do this right now.”
“Oh yeah.” It’s all she can come up with and her cheeks tinge pink because she knows it’s stupid.
“Yeah.” He laughs a little and invades her space again. “I wanna do that.” He nods back to the house referring to what happened between them in there. “I want to do all of that but not like this.” He gestures between them. “You have to be sober and I have to take you out a few times first because that’s the kind of thing that you deserve. You can’t be like all the other girls and all the other times because you’re just not. You’re so different and I gotta be different with you. I gotta be better. I’m learning this. That first time with you-in my car-I didn’t know it then. I didn’t care then. I care now.”
Her eyes scan across his face. “Do you?”
He smiles and nods. “Why do you think I came and got you?”
“You only agreed after I said we were going to get a ride from a bunch of strangers.”
He shakes his head and holds onto her hand. She curls her fingers around his.
“I was already in the car when you said that, Doc.”
She’s flattered and giddy and nervous all at the same time and she’s not sure what to say but thankfully he does. He always has something to say and she’s just starting to learn that his words actually mean something.
“Let’s go back inside. I’ll make you some coffee we can talk.” Take things slow. Do things right.
Lavon comes home an hour later looking tired and confused when he sees the two of them sitting at his kitchen table; drinking coffee, knees touching, laughing, getting along.
“Hey.” He looks between them and then over to the couch where Gigi’s still snoring softly. “Hey.”
“Hey.” Wade greets him. Zoe covers her mouth with her hand to hide the smile. “Long night?”
“Mmmm.” He hums and nods as he regards them with a skeptical eye. He can feel that something has shifted. “I could ask you the same thing.”
Zoe bites her lip and looks at Wade. Shameless guilt all over her face.
“Someone had a little too much fun in Mobile. I had to swoop in and save the day.”
She hits his arm and scolds him but there’s something different about it. Her hand lingers on his arm affectionately.
“You did not save the day.”
“I think I did.”
“I know you think you did but you didn’t.”
“Well who came and saved you?”
“You didn’t save me. That makes it sound like I needed to be rescued.”
“You did.”
Lavon rolls his eyes at their bickering and turns away seeing the broken glass that Wade has picked up and set on the counter before he made them some coffee.
Lavon points to it. “How did this happen?”
Zoe blushes and raises the coffee cup to her lips to hide the smile forming on her lips and Wade bites his lip as his fingertips drum against his own cup.
“Zoe’s fault.” He says suddenly and her face drops in good natured shock before she fights back.
“Not true.”
Lavon sighs as he carefully sets the glass into the garbage listening to the sound of their back and forth banter from the table behind him.
Some things never change.