Author's Note: Hello. Sorry for the wait. I hope you are not mad at me. Thank you all for your amazing reviews. And the guest who said that thing about how much things stink for George, I'm glad you pointed that out. George is not a bad guy, and he is getting a bit screwed over here. I feel bad for him in this story, but it has to make sense to the characters. He his developing quite a pattern though. I hope you like this chapter. I was slightly blocked for a while. There will be more author's note at the end. For now, please try to enjoy and review. Have a nice day.
Chapter Ten
Zoe and George were sitting on the couch in silence. She could tell he had been surprised to see her, but he had ushered her in welcomingly. He had offered her coffee, and she had accepted it, even though she had just had some with Lemon.
"I like your place." She said awkwardly.
"Oh, right, you uh, you don't remember ever being here." She nodded. It was lucky she had been able to force the address out of Lemon, because otherwise, she would have no clue where he lived, "Sorry, I just, um, its weird, thinking you're seeing this place for the first time."
"It's nice." She repeated lamely.
They sat there for another couple minutes, silently staring down at their coffees.
"So, you and me," George looked up, "We're, um, a thing?"
George looked at her, unsure, "Why? I mean, what makes you think so?"
Zoe swallowed nervously, "Well, there've just been some clues. The way people act, you, Lemon and Wade…" she trailed off, "and a few memories came back. They're vague, but…" George nodded, his face serious and contemplative, "please say something."
"What do you want me to say?"
"Tell me I'm right. Tell me I'm not crazy. Tell me I'm reading the signs right for once. Tell me that I cracked the code that colors so many things. Tell me people will stop tiptoeing around me now that I know." She sighed, "Just, just tell me if we are or not. I just want the truth."
George nodded, "Okay. Yes. We are a thing." He said, using her words.
Zoe nodded, "Okay." Then she stood up and started looking around.
"What are you looking for?"
"Radio, CD player, iPod player, record player. I'm not picky."
"There's one over there." He pointed at one of the dressers. A radio was perched one top.
"Perfect." She flipped it on and started playing with the stations.
"Zoe, what are you doing?"
"What, you've never seen somebody search stations on a radio before?"
He chuckled, "I meant, why?"
She finally settled on a station playing a nice slow song. Then, she turned to face him.
"Because, George Tucker, you and I are going to dance."
George looked at her confused, "Um, that sort of raises more questions than it answers. I mean, I'm happy to comply, but-"
"You and I get along well. I like talking to you. You're funny and we appear to have things in common. You clearly care about me, and you are not afraid to show it. You are a good guy. You are polite, and gentlemanly. I like being around you. All of that could add up to friend, except now I know it didn't. It added up to something else, and I know there must be a reason for that. One of the vague memories I got was of us dancing, so I know we used to, and I know we can. Dancing is romantic. It gets the adrenaline moving and puts you in somebody's personal space where you can smell their aftershave and feel their heartbeat. Up until now, I have not looked at you that way, and I cannot just start because I know I'm supposed to. But Pandora's box has been opened, and I need to know what I feel. I need to leave the logic and second-guessing behind and just … just … dance. And see what happens."
She took a deep breath when she finished her rant, and George smiled at her, "You did always have a unique way of approaching things."
"Less talk, more dance. Now come on, before the song's over."
George chuckled and walked over to her. He bowed politely, making her chuckle, and she curtsied. He took her left hand in his right, and she noted that it felt nice, having her hand in his. His left hand went around the small of her back, and she placed her right hand on his left shoulder. The song she picked was halfway through, but that was okay. It was slow and sweet, which was just what she had been looking for.
George skillfully guided her through across his living room floor. He twirled her, and dipped her, and held her close at just the right moments. She took in his scent; it was nice, sort of like cinnamon. She wondered if that was something he had put on, or just how he smelled naturally. A lot of it seemed familiar, being held like this by him, standing close to him, smelling him. It was all so … déjà vu.
Still, it was nice. She liked the way her head fit into the crook in his neck. She liked when he smiled down at her. She let herself melt into his chest and just dance. When the song ended, she smiled.
"That was nice." She said, her voice soft, but content.
George smiled, "Yeah, yeah it was." She returned his smile. "Zoe, I'm sorry we couldn't, that is, that I didn't tell you. I wanted to. You have no clue how much. It's just, the doctor thought it might freak you out. Said I should let you get to know me, remember how you felt on your own."
Zoe nodded, "Well, I'm not sure exactly what I remember, or what I feel. I know I like you. You've been a really good friend. And that dance was nice. I could see myself being attracted to you, having feelings, falling for you." George's smiled broadened, "but I can't do anything. At least, not until it feels right. I don't know how … intimate our relationship was, but I need to wait until I'm ready before I do something with you. We're starting from the beginning; from my perspective, this is all new. You are a guy I sort of know, and what I know I like. But there is still a lot I don't know. I find you attractive, and can feel the butterflies and all that, but I don't know what it means, or where it will lead."
"Okay." George said with a nod, "So, um, where does that leave us exactly?"
"I, um, I guess it means we're dating. Casually. It could be the beginning of something."
George nodded again, "Well, if we are going to be dating, I should probably ask you on a date."
Zoe smiled, "Yes. You probably should."
"Zoe Hart, I would be honored if you would agree to go out with me this Friday night."
Zoe giggled, "Well, it's a little histrionic, but in a good way."
George waited a beat, "So?"
"Oh, right, yes. Yes George, I would love to go out with you this Friday."
George smiled.
When Zoe got back to the carriage house, Wade was on her front step. He seemed sober this time, and serious.
"Hey." He said quietly.
"Hey." She could not really think of anything else to say, so just stuck with that.
"Can I, um, that is, is it okay if I come in?"
Zoe shrugged. Then walked around him, unlocked the door, and held it open.
"Thanks." She nodded, "Listen, doc … I, um, I wanted to apologize. The stuff I said earlier … I was out of line, I-"
"Wade, it's okay. You can't help how you feel." She seemed a little sad, but sincere.
"It ain't that. Or, well, what I mean is, it ain't about how I feel, it's how you feel, or felt."
"You mean George?"
He looked up at her, surprised, "You remember?"
"Yeah. I mean, not all of it, or most of it, just a snapshot, here and there. Mostly it was deductive reasoning, like how you kept pushing me to hang out with him, or how Lemon assumed when I told her I had feelings for somebody that it was George."
Wade chuckled awkwardly, "She, uh, she said that, huh?"
"Yeah, it was a slip-up on her part, but I'm glad she did."
"Because now you know?" Zoe nodded, "So, um, when you told Lemon you about you havin' feelings, and she thought you meant George, did you um, tell her that-"
"I didn't tell her it was you." Wade nodded, gratefully, "I … I know I haven't made this easy on you, and I'm sorry. You were just trying to be a good friend, to George, to me, we're both really lucky to have you in our lives."
Wade nodded, grimacing. "Thanks doc." He choked out.
"I'm so sorry I threw myself at you like that. God, I'm so embarrassed." She went to sit down, "I must have been coming off like some pathetic, sex-crazed-"
"Doc, relax." Wade said, with a chuckle, "It wasn't as bad as you're makin' it out to be."
"I assumed that 'cause I felt something, you did too. How stupid is that? Who thinks like that?"
"You're goin' through a lot." Wade said with a shrug.
"I was like some, I don't even know the word," she said, and then she started to laugh, "I just wouldn't take no for an answer."
Wade started to laugh to, "Well, it wasn't like I wanted to say no, doc."
" 'Cause I have breasts and I'm under 140 pounds, right?"
"So you were listening."
Zoe nodded, still laughing, "You're a really good guy you know, pushing me away like that."
"Yeah, well, Tucker's a friend, and you've been in love with him since, well, forever."
Zoe smiled, "Nice to know."
"Yeah, I guess it would be." They were silent for a moment. The laughter had died down. "So, what you plannin' on doin' now? That you know, I mean?"
"I'm going to try and spend time with George, see if I can remember. He's a great guy. I can see why I would fall for him."
Wade's face saddened, but he tried to hide it, "Yep, he certainly got that whole perfect thing down."
"Well, he's not perfect. Nobody's perfect."
You are, to me, Wade thought, "I don't know about that."
"What, you think you're perfect?"
Wade laughed out loud, "There's a lot of amazing things about me doc, but I'm far from perfect. Pretty much as far as you can get."
"Well, that seems a bit extreme."
"I'm no George Tucker."
Zoe shrugged, "So what if you're not? You're Wade Kinsella. It doesn't get much better than that."
Wade laughed, "You really don't remember anything about me, do you?"
Normally, a comment like that would have made her feel sad and lost, but something about the way Wade said it just made her laugh, "Well, you've been a really great friend."
Wade smiled, "Thanks doc."
She nodded, "So, if you didn't mean you, what did you mean?"
Wade thought back, trying to remember his earlier comment. Perfect people. Right. "I guess I was just thinking, well, if you're in love with somebody, everything about them is perfect."
"You mean like, you build them up-"
"No, I ain't talkin' about that. You see their flaws, but those flaws, those imperfections; they just make 'em more perfect. 'Cause it made them the person you love."
Zoe nodded, "That's really beautiful."
Wade shrugged, "I have my moments"
"I miss this," Zoe said. She curled her feet in under Wade's legs on the couch. They were watching a movie, his pick. Something about war or explosions. Zoe was only interested some of the story, and she was a little tired.
"Well, you know, you've been busy. Since you've been seein' Golden boy and all."
"Why don't you just call him George?"
"Guess I like nicknames, doc."
She giggled at the way he had said his nickname for her, "Fair enough."
"So do you?"
"Do I what?"
"Miss this. Us hanging out, watching movies with our shoes off or having a nightcap."
Wade let's out a snort, "Who says nightcap?"
After a minute of not speaking, he says, "Yeah, I do. Sometimes anyway."
"You do what?" Zoe asked with a yawn.
"Forgot your question already? You asked me, like, two, three minutes ago."
Zoe laughed, "Sorry, I remember. The missing this thing."
"Yep."
"Well, if we both miss it, why don't we do it more often?"
Wade shrugged, "You've been busy, doin' the girlfriend thing. I've been here. I'm always here, always ready, if you want, but the balls in your court doc. You're the one who's got to want it. Me, I've always been here."
Something about the way Wade said it made Zoe think he wasn't just talking about a late-night hangout session. Before she could respond, there was a huge explosion on the screen. Both of them turned to the TV at the sound,
"Well, that looks unpleasant, "Zoe said.
Wade laughed, "Yeah, to say the least." Zoe yawned again, "Okay do, bedtime."
"But the movies not over."
"You're exhausted."
"But-"
"No buts." He said, and he lifted her up, superman style.
"Wade, I can walk."
"Long as you walk straight into bed."
"Well, I'm going to have to go back to the carriage house first." He put her down, reluctantly, "What about us spending more time together?" she asked, not wanting to leave.
"Like I said doc, I'm always here. I'll always be here."
Zoe smiled at him. Their eyes locked for a minute and her heard quickened. Then they both looked away, and Wade shifted uncomfortably.
"Come on, get the cute little ass of yours outta here. You need you're rest, and I gotta get to class."
"You have class tonight? Why didn't you tell me? I could have made you late." She slapped him on the arm.
"Sorry, I just … I guess I didn't want you to leave until you had to." Zoe smiled, touched. "Now get." He said, slapping her but playfully with a rolled up piece of paper. His homework, it looked like.
"Okay, okay. Geez! I'm going. Yeesh." She heard him chuckle as she made her way out of the main house.
Zoe's alarm clock was blaring annoyingly. As tempted as she was to press snooze, it was to late, she was up, and the dream was over. She thought about her dream, or rather, her memory. That's what it had to be, right; a memory resurfacing?
Well, she could always ask Wade. If it really had happened, he might remember it. It seemed like such a random memory. She could not help but wonder what had caused it to pop into her head.
Zoe headed to the main house and started making pancakes. After all, she was putting everybody through the wringer with all this, the least she could do is make breakfast. Lavon said she was not a great cook, but how can you screw up pancakes?
The smell had woken Wade. He looked out his window to see where it was coming from, and saw smoke coming from the main house. Shit.
Author's Note: Okay, so I know it is kind of a cliffhanger, and I am sorry, but it just seemed to make the most sense.
As for the song Zoe and George danced to, as I know some of you might be curious, I did have one in mind. At first, I was thinking "The Trouble With Girls" by Scotty McCreery or "(Kissed You) Good Night" by Gloriana, as those are sort of Zoe/George songs. For those of you who don't know, Scotty McCreery was on stage singing "The Trouble With Girls" when Zoe and George were dancing and when they kissed in Destiny and Denial, and "(Kissed You) Good Night" was playing in the background in The Crush and The Crossbow when they were having a moment. I found that out on this cool website called tunefind. Anyway, I thought using those songs would just be too ironic and unlikely considering Zoe was just randomly flipping through the radio. I know everybody just uses iPods now, but call me old fashion, I like the radio. I started looking on youtube for videos to see if I could find a song that I felt fit the scene. I did not want anything that too closely described them, because again, too ironic, but I did want it to fit, and the tune needed to be right so they could dance to it. Eventually, I did find something. I considered saying what it was, but then I thought it read better when I don't say what it is. It allows the reader to use their imagination and pick a song they think is right. If you really want to know what the song is, private message me, and I'll let you know.
As for the flashback, I considered using something from the show, but if you read what Rose said in the earlier chapter about amnesia, you get your memories back backwards, so the more recent, the more likely.
Things to look forward to in the next few chapters:
More on Lemon/Zoe's friendship history
Rose and Fredrick Dean
The return of a character
I hope you enjoyed. Please review. Have a nice day.
