Here it is!

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Disclaimer: I do not own Hart of Dixie, but I do like it.


Chapter 7:

Zoe was leaning against the bar drinking a beer. She wiped her brow and waved to George as Wade walked him out. She took another drink of her beer and thought how good it tasted.

George had stuck around, since by the time Lemon and AnnaBeth released Zoe from the bathroom, the two men had already done both the 40 and 60 grit of sanding. At that point George wasn't going to Mobile, or anywhere else, covered in wood dust. So Annabeth offered to take the ride to Mobile with Lemon instead. After the girls left Zoe took a turn with the 80 grit while the guys enjoyed a break. They were both duly impressed watching Zoe move the sander around. As Zoe finished the third round of sanding, George started to use the edger and Wade began to apply the wood filler. By the end of the day they had finished buffing and applying the sealer to the wood. Tomorrow Wade and Zoe would come in and stain since, as Wade said, George was a good church-going gentleman and Zoe and Wade were registered heathens.

Wade came in and looked at her leaning against the bar drinking her beer. Zoe's hair had wood dust and dirt everywhere except where she covered it with the bandana. Her old college t-shirt and jeans were filthy. He walked carefully over the dried areas of the wood to her and she went behind the bar to hand him a beer. Wade shook his head admiringly at her. "Zoe Hart, you do not disappoint."

Zoe shrugged her shoulder with her hands palm out in front of her. "What did I tell you?" she said

Wade laughed, "Mad skills."

She widened her eyes and nodded, "Exactly – mad skills. Wait till tomorrow! You think I'm good with a sander, wait till you see me with a staining brush."

He leaned against the bar and laughed. Then he looked at her seriously. "Thanks."

Zoe shrugged again, but more modestly. "AnnaBeth and Lemon are calling you my boyfriend now, so I guess that makes me your girlfriend and isn't this what girlfriends are supposed to do?"

He leaned towards her then. "So what did you tell them?"

She leaned from the other side of the bar to him and said. "I had to give them a lot of details, but I didn't tell them everything."

He chuckled. "And what did you leave out?"

She was inches from his face. "Well, they demanded to know if you were as good of a kisser as they heard… so I confirmed that. But I didn't tell them I stayed over last night or much of what we talked about at your grandparents' place," Zoe looked down for a moment, "though Lemon guessed you told me about your Mom."

Wade nodded. How his Mom died was not a secret in Bluebell, so he wasn't surprised. He lifted her chin with his hand. "How Momma died ain't a secret. Don't worry 'bout that, Zoe." She nodded slightly.

He didn't want to dwell on it and decided to focus on her comments on his kissing. "So they heard I was a good kisser, huh?"

Zoe rolled her eyes. "Yes, I am sure you had no idea of your reputation."

He hung his head a bit, chuckling under his breath, and then lifted his eyes to her, "Maybe. But I don't know what my new girlfriend had to say."

Zoe looked at him smiling coyly. "I told them it was even better than your reputation suggests."

She leaned over the bar and kissed him.

Wade pulled back slowly with his eyes still closed smoothing his lips together. "Mmmm… girl you ain't so bad yourself."

Zoe leaned back a little and took in where she was standing. "You know, I kinda like being on this side of the bar."

"Do ya now?" He smiled. "You want a part-time job?"

Zoe scrunched her nose and laughed.

He walked down to the end of the bar and held out his hand. "You about ready to get out of here then?"

Zoe nodded and tossed her beer bottle in the recycling bin under the bar. "Oh, I also let Lemon and Annabeth off the hook and told they could fill the inquiring minds of Bluebell in on us. They said they'd keep things with us quiet, but I thought it would make it easier if they got the word out quickly. Hope you don't mind."

Wade let out a relieved sigh and ran his hand through his hair. "Fine by me. George mentioned somethin' about a girl code, but I was kinda hopin' they'd go and blab, save us from some of it."

She took his hand and they closed up for the night. They walked back to her place. The streets of Bluebell were quiet by that time, the inquiring minds missing a prime new couple sighting. Wade and Zoe, however, did not seem to care.

"What now?" she asked as they walked into her apartment.

"Well, I could kiss you good night and meet you at the Jammer tomorrow…" Wade was the one being coy now.

Zoe tilted her head "Or?"

"Or you could bring some things back to my place and we could have another sleepover. Lavon won't be back and I could make you breakfast again before we get to work."

Zoe lightly pushed him onto the couch before turning towards her room. "Have a seat. I want to clean up a little and then it'll only take me a minute to get my things."

He heard Zoe turn on the shower and made himself comfortable. He thought about Zoe taking a shower and how much he'd like to join her, but restrained himself. Wade was trying to do things differently with Zoe, although every time he thought about one of the make out sessions they'd had over the past twenty four hours his resolve would weaken. He needed a distraction and looked around her apartment. He took notice of her floors and had to admit they looked pretty good. Then his mind started to wander to how sexy she looked earlier - all sweaty and using the sander – and he began looking elsewhere for his distraction.

He looked on her coffee table and saw a stack of postcards. He picked them up and started to leaf through them. They were all to Zoe from Harley. He started to notice the postmarks and noticed the ones sent after Harley had died.

Zoe popped out after her quick shower wearing clean jeans and a sweater. Her hair was still wet and she was combing it. Wade looked at her like a man looked a glass of water after a week in the desert. Zoe noticed his look and wondered if he was going to make a move, but he refocused back on the postcards.

"He sent you all of these?" he asked.

She nodded. "Four years' worth."

"I'm sure glad he was persistent." He said eyeing the postcards as if they contained state secrets.

Zoe sighed and walked back to grab her things. "Me too."

Wade carried her bag back on their walk to the gatehouse. He thanked her again for all her help and she uncomfortably told him he was welcome. He laughed at her unease with compliments and put his arm around her. When they reached his place he opened the door for her and put her bag down by his bedroom door before getting her a drink. "Beer or wine."

Zoe sunk onto the couch. "I think I'll stick with beer." She answered.

He returned with two beers, she took hers and knocked it back.

"Aww, big girl." He said the way he had the time she stopped in for a shot of bourbon. She laughed a little.

"Long day…And this," She said pointing to the bottle, "hits the spot."

He laughed again and put his beer on the table.

"Give me a minute to clean up and get all this grit and sawdust off me." He said as he stripped off his shirt and headed towards the bathroom. She heard the shower start and imagined Wade in it. Her imagination began to enjoy the image a bit too much, to the point where she had to will herself to stay on the couch. After a few deep breaths, she finished the rest of her beer and leaned back on the couch, closing her eyes.

Wade walked out of the bathroom in his gym shorts to find Zoe fast asleep on the couch. He sat next to her and picked up his beer. He watched her sleep as he enjoyed his beer. When he finished he ran his hand down her and arm and softly said her name. Her eyes blinked open and she rubbed her eyes with her hands. "I fell asleep." She said groggily.

"I picked up on that too." He said.

She yawned deeply and he stood up putting his hand hands out to her. "Come on. It's been a long day. Let's get you to bed."

She smiled and took his hands which pulled her up. She grabbed her bag and made her way to the bathroom. She changed and went about her nightly ritual of getting ready for bed. She wasn't gone long and came out in the black nightgown he'd seen her in at the fuse box more than once. His mouth dropped a bit and she smiled at him appreciating his reaction although she knew it was million years old and not so stunning. She walked over to him taking in his bare chest and gym shorts, and then she kissed him before getting under the covers. He got in after her and they lay on their sides facing each other. He reached out and brushed back her hair.

"I liked hearin' you call yourself my girlfriend." He said.

"Yeah?"

"Mmmhmmm," He said pulling her closer. "And you look pretty sexy usin' that sander."

"Yeah?"

He nodded - their faces inches apart. He stared at her until she reached for his face and started to kiss him. They each pulled closer and soon his mouth moved down her neck and her fingers laced in his hair as she gasped. Her hands moved down his chest. He started to move the strap to her nightgown down her shoulder. Then he stopped.

Zoe rolled onto her back partly frustrated. He leaned over her. "Zoe, I want you. You know I do, but…"

She didn't let him finish, but grabbed his face and kissed him again. He didn't pull back but rolled on top of her like he did that morning. They kissed each other until her lips felt bruised, but kept it PG, or at least PG-13. She knew what he was trying to say and agreed tonight was not the night, but she wanted him even if it was the PG-13 version.

Finally they slowed until he was running his fingers through her hair and kissing her lightly. She slowly rolled off him and snuggled her head into his shoulder, her leg tangled between his. He put his arms around her.

"Soon." He said with a light growl to his voice.

She nodded and repeated it.

"Sweet dreams, Wade."

"Well, you guaranteed that." He said.


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