Home > Here (Here in Lillyvale #1)(7)

Here (Here in Lillyvale #1)(7)
Author: Jenny Bunting

A huge grin broke out on his face. Damn, he had missed her.

“Thank you for the offer?” Zoey asked, her voice cracking at the upspeak.

“Totally.” Jonathan rubbed his hair, and Zoey turned completely around so she was facing the door.

“What are you doing?” Jonathan asked.

“Absolutely nothing,” Zoey shouted. Then, another crunch.

“What is she doing?” another voice asked.

Jonathan turned back and saw every head in the backyard watching them. They didn’t even look away when caught. Jonathan watched Dan place a chip in his mouth slowly, his eyes fixated on them like he was watching a movie.

“I have no idea,” Addison said, pouring more wine into her glass.

“What are we doing?” Derek asked as he approached the group.

“Be quiet, Derek,” Caroline said.

Jonathan turned back around and walked closer. He noticed Zoey’s shoulders hunch up, sensing his presence.

“I really want to talk to you alone,” Jonathan said. “Away from everyone.”

She did not turn around.

“Zoey Elizabeth, you stop it right now,” Zoey whispered, but loud enough he could hear. Jonathan was not sure what she needed to stop. Jonathan heard her shove more carrots into her mouth and crunch down.

Jonathan heard Dan say, “It’s only a matter of time before they’re making sweet, sweet love.”

“I’ll bet you twenty dollars it doesn’t happen,” Brady said in a hushed voice.

“Make it forty,” Dan wagered. Jonathan watched as Brady and Dan shook hands.

Jonathan looked back at Zoey who refused to turn around.

“Okay, well, I guess I’ll leave you, then,” Jonathan said. He paused, but she didn’t move.

Jonathan went to the bathroom to splash some water on his face.

He looked up at himself in the mirror with water dripping down his chin. He paced in the bathroom, shaking his hands. He contemplated taking a cold shower. The electricity coursed through his veins.

He leaned on the sink.

He didn’t expect the feelings to come back so suddenly, so strong that he had to excuse himself to the bathroom.

She was still so adorable, so full of life.

He was afraid this would happen.

He wanted her, but he couldn’t have her.

 

 

Zoey sat by herself on the outdoor couch, staring off into the space between the deck and the ground. She had cleared a full bag of baby carrots, and her stomach hated her. She still sipped the wine even though she felt a headache coming on. She replayed her interaction with Jonathan earlier and hated herself even more than after the coffee shop.

Who turns their back on someone just so she doesn’t have to look at him? The sexy grin and messy hair made her brain short-circuit. She temporarily forgot the mission.

Avoid him at all costs.

She felt the dull ache in her heart creeping back in, a sensation she thought she had said goodbye to. If she could give seventeen-year-old her a hug, she would. Tell her she might feel better one day and not think about him all the time. Well, until she would be forced to be in the same wedding with him.

Seeing him was stirring up a lot of shit she had been avoiding. It didn’t help that their interaction at the coffee shop felt like no time had passed and he looked like a walking orgasm. Even with a stomach full of churning carrots, heat built within her and she had to turn away before she said yes to the walk.

She knew what could happen next. More heartache. More pain. The highest high and the lowest low. Losing her dignity by forgiving a man she still had low-key anger toward.

Brady walked down the steps and over to Zoey. He sat down next to her and folded his hands in front of him.

“I haven’t seen you that awkward in a long time,” Brady said.

Zoey slouched farther into the cushions. “Sometimes I wondered how you and I stayed friends, while I can’t even be in the same room as him.”

“It’s simple,” Brady said. “You weren’t in love with me. I thought I was with you, but I don’t think I was either.”

Zoey looked off. “Eleven years didn’t even put a dent in it.”

“A dent in what?”

“The pain, the hurt. I feel like I’m seventeen and broken and mad all over again.”

“It might be a good idea for you two to clear the air. Away from us. He’s changed, you know,” Brady said. “I love you, and I love Jonathan. Even if you don’t love each other anymore, it would mean a lot to me for you two to be okay. And to Caroline, too.”

Zoey laid her head on Brady’s shoulder. “You are a good ex-boyfriend.”

“I try,” Brady said. “Just let him take you to lunch or something. I’ll make sure he pays.”

“I’ll think about it,” Zoey said. She let out a long exhale and then shook her head. “Oh, ugh, I feel things. What is this?” She rubbed her chest and heaved breaths in and out.

“I gave up trying to figure out your feelings a long time ago.” Brady and Zoey laughed as he wrapped his arm around her.

“Come and get it!” Caroline yelled over the deck and motioned for Zoey and Brady to come.

Brady stood up and offered his hand. Zoey took it and stood up, rearranging her dress. Zoey took him in a hug. They climbed back up the porch’s steps to the patio table and the buffet.

Brady leaned in. “Keep an eye on Addison. She is hammered.”

The extra table was crammed with food, including the just finished tri-tip, cut in perfect, one-inch slices, next to Addison’s black bean burger, sitting sadly on a paper plate. Derek gunned toward the line and thrust a heaping scoop of potato salad on his plate with so much force, the plate almost ended up on the ground. “Man, I love potato salad.”

“So does everyone else, buddy,” Zoey said. Derek made eye contact like a spiteful toddler as he dumped another spoonful on his plate. Addison took her black bean burger and sat down quietly. Zoey still had no idea what Addison saw in this guy. What kind of douche makes eye contact over potato salad?

The rest of the gathering sat at the patio table. There was one seat between Caroline and Addison left, while there were two between Dan and Brady.

Zoey made a beeline to the spot in between Caroline and Addison.

“So, this is the first time you’re seeing Jonathan again?” Addison slurred, mixing in chunks of the black bean burger with her quinoa salad mixture. She mixed it slowly, focusing on it like she was in a trance, flipping quinoa out of the bowl. Zoey took a bite of the beef and had to drink some of her wine. Brady had never learned how to cook a tri-tip properly, and it tasted like shoe.

Jonathan picked the spot next to Brady and pulled out the chair. His eyes cast downward as he pulled the chair in. Zoey watched as he delicately cut his meat with the plastic utensils. The knife just dented the meat with no cut. Jonathan then started sawing it vigorously like he was a violinist.

Something about the image made her cackle.

She laughed and let her head drop down. She heard Jonathan’s sawing stop, and Addison rubbed her back. “Are you okay, Zo?”

“I’m fine,” she said, taking a swig of wine. Jonathan took his knife and tried to stick it in the meat, and it fell over. Zoey started laughing harder.

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