Hey all! Welcome to day 5.
Yin is Hebrew for wine. One way in Hebrew to write it, that is.
Enjoy! I will see you all tomorrow with another chapter.
"Yesterday morning you were sick, and now you're sick as we're getting ready for bed," Wade commented, running the washcloth under the water for Zoe to wipe her mouth clean. "Are you sure that everything is okay?" He asked, giving her a helping hand to get up from the bathroom floor.
"I'm fine really," she told him. "If it happens tomorrow I will go see my dad or Brick about it, but I'm telling you, it's nothing serious," she promised, wiping her mouth off. "Thanks," she told him, taking the toothbrush that he got ready for her.
"Okay," he nodded, sighing to himself. It's a moot point to keep pushing her on what's going on or making her rush to a hospital to figure out what's going on. As he told her the previous night, it's her body and she's going to know better than anyone what's going on.
"Okay," she repeated, rinsing the toothpaste from her mouth. "Austin wants us at his place tomorrow around noon to help get things set up for dinner," she informed her boyfriend.
"I didn't even know that we were going over there for dinner tomorrow night," he commented, flicking the bathroom light off, as they exited the room.
"He wants to try his hand at hosting," she told her boyfriend, slipping under the covers of their bed. "He's worried that he's going to muck it up, so I told him he should do a few to get more comfortable with it," she explained, squirting some lotion into her hands.
"That explains everything except why we're going over to help him, and the main question is that we're having dinner there tomorrow night?" He asked his girlfriend, flipping the light switch to turn the main light off, leaving the two lamps on either side of the bed on.
"Were you not listening?" She asked, rubbing the lotion into her arms and hands. "Tomorrow is going to be the first one. He's never had to host before, and we know how stressful it can be, and I want to help ease him into it all," she explained further to him.
"Then why not invite him and everyone over here?" He asked, making himself comfortable against his pillows as he sat in bed.
"Do you really want to be cleaning everything up once everyone goes home?" She asked, getting settled in bed.
"Good call on that one," Wade nodded, pulling the bigger gift out from under the bed. "With you having dinner with your dad and Austin tonight, and with work that I couldn't get away from, I didn't have time to give this to you any sooner," he offered as his excuse.
"You do know that you don't have to give me a gift every day of Hanukkah, right?" She asked, taking the gift, feeling the weight of it. She frowned not sure what the gift is. Where the first half of the holiday the gifts remain to be the same, the last half of the holiday the gifts change every year. This year it is no different.
"Yes, I know that, but it's not going to stop me," he informed her.
"I've got you and our love, the rest isn't things that I need to have in my life," she told him. "But since you went through the effort of going to get each gift, I will gladly accept them," she smiled, ripping into the blue and white striped wrapping paper.
"Good to know," Wade laughed. "You say that now, but wait until you open the gifts before saying you will accept them. There might be one that you don't want or even hate, then what?" He asked her.
"Then nothing," she told him, shaking her head. "You put a lot of thought and effort in finding the right gifts, so there's not a reason for me to hate them, because they come from you, makes them perfect gifts Wade," she assured him.
"You can say that all you want, but I know better," he shrugged.
"Okay, agree to disagree," she shrugged, opening the gift the rest of the way to see what's laying inside of the box. "Wade," she gasped. "You can't tell me that I am going to hate something you buy me to give to me over a holiday just for me and get me something so stunning," she told him, tears in her eyes.
"I'm going to take that as you like them," he chuckled lightly, gently pecking her lips, not scared to get whatever bug it is that she has. They can be sick in bed together.
"That's an understatement," she whispered against his lips. "I love them," she corrected her boyfriend. "These gifts are getting to be too much, Wade," she told him, being careful as she placed the box on the floor out of the way, so they won't break.
"That's nonsense," he told her. "Nothing is ever going to be too much for you, Zoe," he assured her. "Do you get that?" He questioned her.
"No, I don't get it, Wade," she answered him. "You don't need to impress me, you have me," she shared with him like it was a well-hidden secret. "Don't even make a joke about needing to keep me, because I am not going anywhere, ever, got that?" She asked him.
"I get that because I'm not going anywhere either," he answered her, cupping her cheek in his hand. "It's not about me impressing you, as getting you things that I think you will appreciate and like. I like spoiling you this time of year, is that wrong of me?" He asked her, rubbing his thumb along the apple of her cheek.
"No, that's not wrong at all," she answered. "I like spoiling you as well," she shared, placing her hand on top of his hand. "You spoil me on a daily basis, by being here and loving me, and that's plenty for me, promise," she told him.
"I feel the same, but I like buying you things, okay?" He asked. Zoe nodded, closing the space between them, their mouths connecting in a passion-filled kiss.
"What's this?" Zoe asked, picking up a piece of paper that Wade had laying on his bed.
Being cleared from staying in no longer being sick, she made her escape rushing over to Wade's house. His dad and brother were nowhere to be seen, this time of the year isn't easy for any of the Kinsella boys. Zoe tries her hardest to keep a smile on Wade's face, but she can tell that it's not enough most times. She hates that she can't take the pain away from him.
"That is nothing," Wade quickly told her, snatching the paper from her hands. "Finally out of house arrest?" He asked with a smirk.
"It's not house arrest when you're sick," she retorted, rolling her eyes at him. "I actually would have been good to make it to our last hour class but there wasn't much sense to show up for one whole class," she informed him.
"You mean to tell me that you skipped the one class we share together?" He asked with a pout. "How dare you!" He gasped.
"You'll live," she retorted, gently shoving him. "What did I miss?" She asked.
"Same old drama," he shrugged. "I'm sure Lemon, AB, and Cricket will fill you in tomorrow before school starts," he pointed out. Zoe nodded because it's the truth. "And knowing you, you've already finished the work from yesterday and today," he commented.
"Huh? What do you know, my best friend and hook-up buddy knows me oh so well," she teased, falling back on his bed.
"Hook-up buddy?" He asked, pulling a frown at her choice of words, jumping on his bed, landing next to her. Laying on his side, he placed his hand on her stomach. "Is that how you see us?" He asked her.
"What else am I supposed to use?" She asked, catching his green eyes, reaching up to run a hand through his hair. "We're more than friends, and we haven't defined ourselves as being a couple. Feeling things out is what you said yesterday, so what I am supposed to call us?" She asked, gently scratching the back of his neck, letting her hand fall to rest on the hand of his laying on her stomach.
"Pair, duo, twosome," he winked, making her giggle. "Or we can call it what it is, feeling things out," he suggested.
"Which is just another way of saying we're hooking up, without the commitment of being a couple," she sighed, wanting him to prove her wrong with what she said.
"I don't deny that we're hooking up, but it's more than that, we agreed that we wanted to test the waters before jumping in because of how important our friendship is. Do you want to change that?" He asked, generally curious about what she has to say. He doesn't want to fight over this. He wants to call her his girlfriend, but there's a plan in motion they need to stick to.
"I know we agreed to that, but how long do we need to test the waters out? How long is it going to take to see how compatible we are? How long before we know that our friendship is unbreakable? How long, Wade?" She asked him.
"I don't have a time frame, Zoe.," he sighed, shaking his head. "Give it a few more days, and we can revisit this topic. I know things won't change if we change the label of what we are. Can you trust me?" He asked, pleading with her.
"I can try," she sighed, sitting up.
"What's that mean?" He asked with a frown, holding his anger and disappointment hidden.
"It means that I feel like you're using me as a placeholder, that once you get bored, I'm gone, or when something better comes along, I'll be crying my eyes out because you've broken my heart," she confessed, watching the weight of her words sink in.
"You know that's not going to happen. I can't fathom being with anyone better than you, Zoe. Life with you is always an adventure, we heal hearts not break them," he assured her. "And with my past, I can understand the hesitancy of trusting me, but you're not a random person, your important to me, and I can't see that changing," he told her.
"I want to trust you, but I know how I feel and I don't need extra days to figure out my feelings, or to know that our friendship will make it," she shared with him.
"If you can't trust me, there is no us," he snapped. "How can we be friends if you can't trust me?" He asked, getting no response from Zoe. "That's what I thought," he sighed. "How many girls do you think I buy gifts for?" He asked, a very silent Zoe. "Other than you, none. That should tell you everything you need to know," he pointed out, escaping through his window, leaving Zoe alone with her thoughts.
He left for himself. He doesn't want to say the wrong thing and slice the fragile thread that holds them together. What he wants is to create special memories for her, so she can look back and say how perfect of a relationship they had if things don't work out. Seeing her so upset by the thought of using her as a placeholder, hurt him and he wants to throw his plan right out the window.
"I do trust you, Wade," Zoe said, joining him on a flat surface of the roof outside his bedroom window.
"That's not what it sounded like moments ago," he pointed out, resting his arms on his legs.
"I trust you with my life," she reminded him, wrapping her arms around her bent knees.
"Except your heart, you mean," he said. He wasn't trying to come off as a jerk, just stating the facts she told him.
"You already have my heart, Wade," she confessed. "And if waiting a few days is what I need to do, I will do it, because I can't lose our friendship over not waiting, but you have to know I'm not going to be waiting a lifetime for you to figure out what I already know," she warned him.
"Fair enough," he smiled, pulling her into his side. "I promise, I'm going to protect your heart and treat it with the utmost respect," he whispered, kissing her temple. "Wait here," he advised, climbing through the window to grab his guitar.
"You do know they're meant to be used with wine, right?" Wade chuckled, watching his girlfriend, dash to the bathroom with one of the wine glasses he gifted her.
"I want some water, not wine," she retorted, returning to bed with a glass of water. "And I really just wanted to use them now," she shrugged. "And I haven't seen a rule book that states you can only use wine glasses for wine," she pointed out. "Have you?" She asked with a sarcastic bite to her tone.
"I get it," he chuckled, flicking his lamp off. "No need to bite my head off for what I'm realizing is a stupid comment," he said, moving to lay down in bed, his arms bent with his hands under his head.
"It wasn't stupid," Zoe sighed, turning her light off and curling up into her boyfriend's side, resting her head on his chest, a hand laying on his stomach.
"We can debate it about later," Wade told her, ending whatever disagreement they were having, that really came out of nowhere. He moved his hand to rest it on her back. "Give me the checklist of things that we need to take with us tomorrow when we go help Austin," he told her.
"There isn't a checklist, he's gotten everything," Zoe informed him.
"And you didn't agree to bring anything?" He asked.
"Nope," Zoe answered. "If anything is missing, someone will have to go to Mobile or Fairhope to get it," she suggested.
"I'll volunteer for that job now," Wade told her. Either way, it would fall on him to do so. Austin and Zoe will be wrapped up in making sure the dinner goes smoothly, making the food themselves not wanting help from anyone else. He's been around a few times for dinners hosted by Zoe and Austin to know what it is he will be doing tomorrow.
"Thank you," Zoe told him, repeatedly kissing his chest.
"Zoe, don't you dare be starting something you can't finish," he growled out playfully at her.
"Who says I can't finish it? Or finish you?" She asked him cheekily.
"Remember you asked for it," he warned pulling her on top of him.
Zoe sat with a smile on her face waiting to hear what her boyfriend is going to play for her. The tune he plays on his guitar isn't one she knows. She can't recall ever hearing the melody that he is strumming out. His fingers moved swiftly and smoothly from fret to fret creating a lovely melody to her ears. She doesn't even need to hear the words to the song.
In the valley of the whispering sky
Where the mysteries take place
In the city of lights
We build our Hanukkah story
You walk through my mind like a spinning dreidel
Menorah full of light, as our love
Golden Gelt coins, melt in the warmth
Wreaths made from friendship
"It's all I have," Wade said, placing his guitar off to the side, where it wouldn't be in harm's way. "As you can see it's a work in progress," he sighed. "I really did want to finish it for you, but I have been finding it hard to write it, I'm sorry that it wasn't done," he apologized to her.
"Don't be," Zoe told him, moving closer to him. "Just like our story, it's not finished, it's only getting started, so there's plenty of time to finish one song and tweak it over the years," she softly explained to him. "I really like what you have so far," she gushed over the few lyrics he sang for her.
"Leave it to you, Zoe, to make me feel better over a gift for you," he chuckled pulling her close, tipping her head up, to share a kiss with her. One of the perks of them being at his house, his dad too drunk to notice anything going on under his roof. There are times where he would like to have a sober father, misses having his dad there for him every day of the week, but this is the reality he lives in and when things with Zoe get hot and heavy, it's nice to be given the chance to do so.
"I only speak the truth," she giggled, as he kissed down her neck. "Wade, we aren't going to fool around out here on the roof," she told him, stopping his hand from going any further north.
"What? Why?" He asked, pulling away from her neck, to look around them. "It's not like at your home, no one can see us out here," he shared, nipping at her ear lobe. "However, they will be able to hear you scream," he husked teasingly, his nose brushing along her the shell of her ear.
"Not going to happen," she stated, not backing down from what she told him, clenching her legs together at the effect his words had on her.
"Okay, no means no," he nodded, getting up, holding a hand out to help Zoe up. He helped Zoe back into his room, grabbing his guitar, not wanting anything bad to happen to it.
"Now where were we?" Wade asked, joining Zoe on his bed.
"Right here," she whispered, pulling him down to lock her lips with his. "What was that?" She asked, panting, fighting to catch her breath.
"Earl's home," Wade sighed, resting his forehead against hers. "Come on, I'll take you home," he told her, getting off the bed, holding a hand out to help her up.
"My dad works the late shift tonight," she shared. "Wanna stay over?" She asked purring in his ear.
"Damn straight I do," he quickly answered, rushing Zoe through the house, hoping to avoid Earl at all costs. Relieved when they made it outside without running into his dad.