Something to Cling To: Chapter 1
Zoe awoke to the sun flooding brightly through her bedroom window. She rubbed her puffy eyes, leaving black streaks on the back of her hand from the previous night's leftover mascara. When she discovered her state of undress, she pulled the covers tighter around herself in panic, wondering if she had done something she couldn't remember but would surely regret.
"Oh my god, what happened last night?" she asked herself, scanning the room for any evidence to inform her anxieties. Her clothing cluttered the floor like a breadcrumb trail from the entry all the way to the bed. An empty wine bottle teetered precariously on her nightstand. Something happened, she was sure of it, but she could not recall what or with whom. She half expected someone to come out of her bathroom and confirm her growing suspicions, but nobody was there.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" she pounded on her own forehead, immediately regretting the effect it was having on her hangover. "Please let it just be me passing out in my bed… alone. And naked, apparently."
A rhythmic knock on her door interrupted her self-reprimand.
"Shoot!" she stumbled on the tangled blanket as she tried to secure it around herself. "Just a minute!"
The front door opened and the surprise visitor poked his head in. "Oh!" he gasped. "I'm so sorry! I thought I heard you say 'Come in'!"
"George!" Zoe shouted as she quickly gained her footing. "What are you doing here?"
He maintained his station behind the door, "I… umm… do you want me to come back later?"
"Just give me five minutes."
…...…
After throwing on the first sweater and jeans she could find, giving her face a quick scrub, and tying her hair up in a haphazard ponytail, Zoe went to her front door to find George pacing on her front porch, his hands shoved into his pockets.
"Hey, Zoe, sorry if I woke you or, y'know, interrupted something," George offered sheepishly.
"No, I was awake," Zoe reassured him. "Wait, were you here last night?"
George cocked his head to the side, confused. "No, why? I wasn't sleepwalking again, was I?"
"No!" Zoe snorted. "Nevermind. I must've dreamt it. Come in."
She held the door open wide for George to step back inside. Her silent gesture welcomed him into her sitting area where he cautiously sat down.
"What are you doing here?" Zoe inquired.
George's eyes met hers briefly before returning to look at his hands, wringing nervously. "If I'm being honest, I don't really know."
It had been a rollercoaster of emotions between them lately and Zoe didn't know what to expect from him this time – reconciliation or more chastisement?
"Look, George, if you're here to yell at me for all the drama that went down with Tansy last night… I was totally out of line. I don't know how –"
"Tansy and I broke up," he said abruptly cutting her off. His hazel eyes looked up once again.
"What?" Part of Zoe was excited to hear the news, to hear that George Tucker was once again a free man. But the other part of her felt an overwhelming wave of guilt for her part in it. She steeled herself for his reproach, but it didn't come.
"Yeah, she broke up with me," George repeated almost as if he were still trying to process the information. "And decided to leave Bluebell."
"Wow… " Zoe did her best to keep her relief and expectations in check. "Look, if it's my fault, I'm so sorry. I haven't really been in my right mind since Wade and I broke up. I know that's not an excuse, but I didn't mean for you to get hurt in all this."
"Well, I did." George's response was curt and defensive, and Zoe was momentarily taken aback by the acidity she detected in his tone. She watched as his hard gaze melted into defeat. "But if I'm being honest, it wasn't entirely your fault."
"It's not?"
"I just think, in retrospect, that Tansy's always been a little insecure about you," George admitted. "I always felt like I couldn't even mention the name 'Zoe' without her getting upset or telling me how much she disliked you."
"Yeah, I got that vibe."
"I realized I was spending way more time than I should've reassuring her that I didn't have feelings for you. I guess that was the first sign it might not have been the healthiest relationship."
"Oy," Zoe grimaced, unsure how much of her opinion on the matter was welcomed at the moment.
"…and maybe she wasn't entirely wrong to feel that way."
Zoe's fervent heartbeat betrayed the poker face she was trying her best to keep on display. "George, what are you saying?"
One side of his mouth lifted into that shy, Golden Boy smile of his. "I guess I may have still been holding out for you too. Don't get me wrong, I really liked Tansy and she made me come alive when I felt like I was just going through the motions of life, but I'd be lying if I said there wasn't a part of me that wasn't still waiting – and maybe even hoping – you'd still want to give us a try."
"I guess we just never really thought about when or how that conversation was going to go."
"Yeah, I guess not," George chuckled. "But maybe we owe it to ourselves to figure it out."
Despite his forwardness, Zoe was still wary of jumping to conclusions. "So… are you telling me you want to give this – us – a shot?"
"I mean, it's clear that we still have something unresolved between us, but do you think now is the right time? You just broke up Wade and I just broke up with Tansy."
"Very true. And that," she concurred for George's sake, "sounds like a recipe for disaster."
"But then again…"
"Then again…"
The possibility dangled in the air for a brief moment as both Zoe and George mulled over its implications.
"We might end up waiting around forever for the time to be right," George point out after much pause.
The mental ping-pong that was playing out as the conversation carried on was beginning to tire Zoe. She couldn't keep up with whether or not he wanted to be with her. At the risk of humiliating herself for the third time in as many days, she was at a loss for how to respond to him.
"Maybe," she offered cautiously, "what we need is to just take things slow, you know? Just leave the door open… for possibilities."
"Yeah, slow is probably good," George agreed to Zoe's relief. "I like that idea."
"Well, I should really get ready for work."
"Me too." George stood up to let himself out. "So, I'll give you a call later… some time."
…...…
"And a cruller for you, sweetheart."
Lavon carried Annabeth's favorite pastry around the kitchen island to hand over to his girlfriend. A.B. returned his gesture with a kiss then went back to sipping her tea and checking her phone's history app.
"Did you know that, on this day in 1840, the world's first postage stamp was used in Great Britain?" A.B. recited from her app.
Just then, the French door swung open. Wade unceremoniously swaggered into the house. The couple watched with silent curiosity while he helped himself to fruit and the remaining selection of breakfast pastries, whistling cheerfully to himself.
"Well, good morning to you both," Wade greeted taking note of their stares. "Beautiful day, don't ya think?"
"What's with the whistling?" Lavon questioned.
Wade tried his best to hide his smirk and avoided further eye contact with his interrogator.
"What do you mean? Can't I just be happy that my bar is back in shape and business will be open soon? Brand new possibilities!"
"Uh huh," Lavon replied skeptically, but decided to drop the matter. "By the way, the water pressure in my bathroom sink was a bit low this morning. Think you have a minute to tinker with it before you head to work?"
Wade paused before rubbing the back of his neck. "Uh, sorry, Lavon. I must've left my tool belt at the Rammer Jammer last night, but I'll give it a look when I get home later, alright?"
The mayor nodded as Wade took his food and a cup of coffee to go. After he had exited the kitchen, Lavon and A.B. shared suspicious glances. It was only a few minutes before their quiet breakfast was once again interrupted by another one of Lavon's tenants.
"Coffee! I need coffee – stat!" Zoe demanded, still wearing her sunglasses indoors. She pulled a bar stool up to the island and plopped a heavy tool belt on the counter.
"What happened to you?"
"Ugh," Zoe moaned, rubbing her temples. "I may have drank a little too much last night. Can't really remember all that well."
She nursed the cup of coffee A.B. handed to her. With a mouthful of buttermilk muffin, Zoe added with mild annoyance, "If you see Wade, can you please tell him to stop leaving his crap at my house? He left his tools on my front porch this morning."
"But he said –" Lavon began before the pieces of the puzzle clicked.
A.B. cocked her head and gave Zoe an incredulous look. "Really, Wade?"
Zoe nearly spit out her coffee.
"What? No! What are you talking about?" she paused to scan her mental database once more, less sure of what conspired the night before. "Why, did Wade say something?"
"You really have no clue?" A.B. asked.
Panic started to overtake Zoe's face.
"Well, I woke up this morning naked," Zoe whispered the last word, embarrassed. "And my clothes from last night were all over the floor. I-I thought maybe I had sex with somebody, but no one was there! Then George Tucker showed up –"
"George Tucker?!" Lavon and A.B. shouted in unison.
"I mean, he just came by to talk because Tansy broke up with him, so I guess I just figured I passed out drunk – and naked – by myself last night!" Zoe stared desperately at her two friends hoping that they would reassure her that nothing happened to complicate her already complicated situation.
"So you might have had rebound sex with Wade last night," A.B. clarified. "While George Tucker was breaking up with his girlfriend? Am I the only one feeling like this is déjà vu?""
"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh," Zoe repeated now in a full-blown panic as memories of her night with Wade started to trickle in. "This cannot be happening!"
Lavon strode over to his best friend's side and laid a sympathetic hand on her shoulder to calm her.
"Girl, you need to get out of Bluebell," he cautioned her. "And I don't mean a shopping trip to Mobile."
Zoe turned to face him, confused. "Wait, are you kicking me out of town? Can Mayors do that?"
"No, but –" Lavon paused to consider his request. "You know what? Yes. Yes, I can! So I'm ordering you to go to that wedding in New York and give yourself some space from Wade."
"Great, nothing will make me feel less pathetic about sleeping with the guy who cheated on me than going to a wedding by myself," Zoe lamented, dropping her head down to the cold kitchen counter.
A.B. nudged Lavon and gave him a knowing look.
"Maybe Lavon can go with you," she offered. "I'm sure walking in with a handsome former-NFL linebacker will make all your girlfriends drip with jealousy!"
Lavon leaned down to kiss A.B. in gratitude for her affirmation.
"Yeah," he concurred. "I'll go with you to the wedding, if you want."
"Aww, Lavon, you'd really do that?" Lavon smiled and nodded. "Okay, we're going to New York!"
Thanks for reading! Please leave a review if you can! I haven't written in a really long time, so your reviews and follows help motivate me to keep going!
Author's Note: I still don't own Hart of Dixie... but I've seen it so many times, I feel like I should have some stock in it. ;) Still no beta, so pardon any mistakes.