Zoe woke up with a headache on her wedding day. A bad headache. She lay in bed trying to piece together what had happened the night before, but the last thing she could remember was talking to Max's mother in the bathroom.
Oh god.
Oh no.
That wasn't the last thing she remembered. She remembered being pressed up against a wall, her skirt around her waist and her head tilted back as a moan escaped her mouth. When she tried to picture who the man in front of her was, she couldn't form an image in her mind. Until suddenly one appeared and she rushed to the bathroom to be sick.
…
"I slept with someone last night." Zoe finally burst out to Dylan as he was part way through telling her something.
"…You what?"
"I slept with someone. I don't know who…it might have been Matt…or Mark…I don't remember, but it happened twice."
"With the same person?"
"Of course it was with the same person!"
"Well, I don't know, do I! I wouldn't imagine that the sort of woman who would sleep with a man on her hen's night would worry very much about sleeping with two men on the same night."
"Oh, thank you. Thanks. Just what I needed to hear."
As Zoe grabbed her dress and walked towards the door, Dylan held up an arm. "You're still going to marry him?"
"Yes. No? I don't know. I don't know!"
"Well, you need to tell him. He's downstairs, I can send him-"
"Why is he downstairs? What happened?!"
"Something with his ear, it's nothing. But-"
"No. I can't tell him. I can't. I need some air." Zoe dropped her dress and rushed from the room.
…
Several hours later, Zoe found herself stood outside smoking her first cigarette as a married woman. She'd spent the last few hours going back and forth in her head, unsure if she should tell Max, or what she should tell him. She knew as soon as she saw him that she did want to marry him. He'd been stood looking nervous, but when his eyes fell on her his face lit up, and she knew when saw the pure love in his eyes that she would go through with it. She knew she would have to tell him, and soon, but she had to have one last hug, one last smile, one last laugh.
"Zoe, you do know it's your wedding reception in there. You are sort of supposed to make an appearance."
Zoe gave a slight smile as she turned to Max. "I'm trying to hide from your mother."
"Me too, as it happens. Give us a puff."
Zoe held out the cigarette to him and watched as he drew on it with a smile still on his face. She hadn't seen that smile fade all afternoon.
"Max, there's something I need to tell you."
"What?" Max breathed the smoke out and handed the cigarette back to Zoe.
"I…it was a complete mistake, and I am so, so sorry. You need to understand that."
Max's smile finally faded at Zoe's words.
"Tell me."
"I slept with someone last night." Zoe stared at Max.
"…What?"
"I slept with someone. But it didn't mean anything. I was scared, I was feeling overwhelmed, and I…I suppose I just reverted back to what I used to do. I am so sorry, Max."
"Where exactly did this happen?"
Zoe wasn't sure what she'd been expecting, but it wasn't this.
"I…it was outside the club, I think. And at the apartment." She had lost him now, so she might as well tell him the whole truth before he found out from someone else.
"Right. So, you had sex with this person not once, but twice, and one of those times in our bed?"
Zoe nodded, tears in her eyes as she was unable to look at him any longer.
Suddenly one of his hands reached out and he put a finger to her chin to lift her head. "It was me."
"…What?"
"Nice to know I'm so good that you've forgotten all about it." Max smiled, his thumb stroking her cheek.
"…Are you sure?"
"Ok, I'm going to ignore the fact you think that you'd take someone else to our bed the night before you marry me. I am positive it was me. Robyn didn't tell Lofty where she was taking you, and we ended up at the same place. I told you I had a sore ear and you decided to sterilize it by pouring vodka in it."
At this, Zoe cringed. "And then?"
"It's not exactly clear after that, but I am 100% sure we had sex in some alleyway because you got your high heel caught in a pizza box and you ripped my t-shirt, then we got a taxi home and you kept telling me that it was the last time I'd ever have sex with Zoe Hanna so I'd better come inside with you."
Zoe shut her eyes, relief flooding through her as well as forgotten images of Max attempting to dance. Suddenly the man she'd pictured that morning popped into her head again. "Did I do something to the taxi driver?"
"You flashed him."
Zoe nodded, resting her head on Max's chest as embarrassment began to heat her face.
"…So should I be worried that you thought you'd slept with someone else and then didn't tell me until after we were married?"
When Zoe lifted her head, she found the grin was back on Max's face.
"If you forget this conversation ever happened, I will forget you singing 'What a Wonderful World' to my backside."
"You remember that, then?"
"I did think it was some horrible nightmare."
"Alright, deal."
"Don't-"
Zoe began, smiling when Max's hand slapped her bum."Come on, Mrs Walker. We can't avoid her forever."
Taking his hand, Zoe frowned. "Did the peanut butter thing happen as well?"
"Oh boy did it. I'll never be the same."