Zoey waved to the guys as she walked to her room. She glanced at Jonathan as she walked by. You can do this. It’s just lunch. It doesn’t matter that your life is in shambles and you could be setting yourself up for something stupid, she thought.
She sensed movement behind her and turned around to find Jonathan. He leaned against the doorframe, and her breath caught. His brown hair was messy but perfect. Like he just got out of bed after having sex all night. His polo shirt was almost too small for how muscular his chest and shoulders were. His eyes shone, and there were those dimples again. If he were less attractive, it would make this whole weekend easier. But no.
“Hi, how are you?” Jonathan asked with a genuine smile.
“I’m good, how are you?”
“Saw your mom at brunch.”
“I heard. She called me.”
“What did she say?” Jonathan asked, crossing his arms.
“Oh, that she saw you all, and did I know all of my ex-boyfriends were in the wedding? I then said I was aware and that we were all staying the same house.”
“Yeah, not weird at all,” Jonathan deadpanned.
“Right?” Zoey pulled out a new garment from her suitcase.
“Did you go swimming?”
“We jumped in the lake.”
“Why?” Jonathan asked with a one-note laugh.
“I just felt like it,” Zoey said, pursing her lips. “I take risks.”
“Cool,” Jonathan said, looking down and nodding a beat too long. “I still want to take you to lunch.”
“Okay,” Zoey said.
“What?” Jonathan said, his face lighting up. Zoey couldn’t help but grin. “That’s great! Oh man. I was not expecting it to be this easy.” He pumped his fist.
Zoey felt the pit of dread in her stomach, but her face betrayed her with a silly grin. Or maybe she was just hungry. She no longer felt like she wanted to curl up into a ball and die around him. Catching up without everyone watching seemed innocent enough. Especially with someone who was so important in her high school years.
There was also a very real possibility that she was lying to herself, but at this point, she didn’t care.
“I have to take a shower, so…” she said. Jonathan backed away with that grin, and he pointed to the living room, where he would be waiting. Zoey nodded once and even pinned her tongue between her teeth and scrunched her nose.
Zoey took extra care in the shower even though her stomach rumbled. The shower soon dissolved into an elaborate procrastination practice. She made sure to shave her legs precisely, even getting her ankles and her knees carefully. She rinsed the lake water out of her hair and made sure to coat her body with body wash.
After she finished, Zoey applied about five products in her hair so it would behave. She used the last of her bronzer and pumped the mascara to get that last little bit of black goop out of it. Her bronzer crumbles accidentally blew out of the compact, and she whined to herself. She hated buying new things since they ate into her strict debt-repayment budget that allowed for no extras.
She chose a pair of white denim cut-offs, a breezy pink tank, and her trusty black flip-flops that had seen better days. When she emerged, she heard laughing from outside. Jonathan sat alone in the comfy couch, scrolling on his phone. When he noticed her, he looked up and smiled. She couldn’t help but reciprocate.
“You look great!” Jonathan said. “Are you ready?”
“Yes,” Zoey said, finding her purse and throwing it over her shoulder.
“Awesome,” Jonathan said, clapping his hands together. “I was really in the mood for a burger, and I got a good recommendation from a local. They have other stuff too. Is that okay?”
“A burger sounds fine.” Zoey said, following Jonathan out to his rental car.
Jonathan made plans?
When they dated, Jonathan constantly asked her what she wanted to eat, what she wanted to do. Sometimes, she just wanted to be along for the ride, not making the decisions, not constantly planning.
He sent flowers as a congratulations, and now he made plans?
He opened the car door for her and shut it for her as well. Nope, he hadn’t done that in high school either. The silence in the short ride over was so loud, it made Zoey squirm in her seat. She would look over at him a few times, and then he would turn. She turned her head forward with enough force to give herself whiplash.
Two miles away, Greg’s Burger Shack stood a little farther up from the beach, shaded by large trees and surrounded by a dirt shoulder. The buzz of patrons’ voices floated out of the outdoor area as they walked toward it, several feet apart, without a word.
They waited ten minutes outside the front of the restaurant for their name to be called. They didn’t really talk but looked at each other, smiling nervously when their eyes met.
There was something sad that they had come to this, basically strangers, sitting quietly side by side. Zoey remembered full days in high school where they bounced from topic to topic without stopping for a breath. People used to hate hanging out with them since there were so many inside jokes and banter. A third wheel didn’t have a chance. Now, she didn’t know where to start, what to talk about.
After Jonathan’s name was called, they were led to a picnic bench in the outdoor area that looked beat to hell in the middle of loud families and groups of men with pitchers of beer. Zoey felt comforted this was neither intimate nor romantic; it was crowded and there were shitty benches.
Perfect.
The server came and took their orders and dropped off water and homemade potato chips for the table. Zoey dove in. If she wasn’t talking, her stomach was. She stuffed at least ten chips in her mouth before she looked up. Jonathan was staring at her. She dropped the chip in her hand and sat straight up.
“Only a place in a popular location with good food can get away with shitty picnic benches like this,” Zoey said, looking down with a laugh. Now, she was being negative. Ugh, she was the worst.
“Right?” Jonathan laughed. “I’m pretty sure I have three splinters in my thigh as we speak.”
“They’re all in my ass,” Zoey said. “I’m wearing white shorts. I’m systematically ruining all my clothes this weekend, one piece at a time.”
“I can check your butt to see if your shorts are ruined when we leave,” Jonathan said.
Wow. They charged from zero to sixty on sexy banter without taking a breath. Still, it felt nice and familiar. And fun. Much better than awkward silence.
“I’m sure it will be a hardship,” Zoey said. “Whatever will you do?”
“It will be the worst thing to happen to me this year, but I’ll manage.” Jonathan smiled.
“Didn’t you just go to brunch?” Zoey asked.
Jonathan nodded. “The restaurant’s Bloody Mary was amazing, but the food left a lot to be desired. I didn’t even finish my meal since the hollandaise sauce tasted weird.”
“Weird hollandaise sauce. Could be a good band name,” Zoey joked. What a bad joke.
Jonathan looked down with a smirk. “Wow, bad joke. Are you getting warmed up?”
“Hey,” Zoey said, “I’m usually hilarious.”
“You used to be,” he said as he popped a chip in his mouth with the same smirk.