MOVIES & LONG WALKS IN THE PARK

"Z, can I borrow a shirt to sleep in?" Addison said quietly as they climbed the stairs to his bedroom.

"Hmm...I don't know. Am I going to get it back or are you going to add it to your ever-growing collection?" he teased.

Addison giggled and leaned into his side. "I'll probably add it to my collection."

"Well, at least your honest," Zed smiled as they walked into his room. He dug through his dresser drawer and pulled out one of his Seabrook High baseball shirts and tossed it to her.

"Oooh! I don't think I have a baseball shirt yet."

Zed laughed and walked over to her, placing a soft kiss on the top of her head. "Well, you do now. Besides, I'm getting new ones this week anyway," he said as he took off his own shirt and climbed into bed.

"This one's actually kind of cute. I could totally wear this with leggings," she said as she quickly changed and joined him in bed.

As they snuggled together in the dark, Zed ran his fingers through her soft hair. "I feel really bad that Pops and Gloria had to cut their date short."

"Me too," Addison whispered, placing a gentle kiss on his chest.

"We should do something for them tomorrow."

"What do you have in mind, Handsome?"

"I don't know. Want to help me make breakfast? It's a start."

Addison giggled softly. "I'll help as much as I can. But if we're making breakfast, we should probably get some sleep. Morning is going to come pretty quick, and it's been a very long day."

"You're right. Let's get some sleep. I love you, Gorgeous," he whispered, leaning down and kissing her lips.

"I love you, too, Z. I know the circumstances aren't ideal, but I'm really happy I get to sleep in your arms tonight."

As the first rays of sunshine began to come through the window, Zed leaned over to the sleeping beauty in his arms and placed a soft kiss on her lips. "Addison. Time to wake up, Gorgeous."

Her eyes fluttered open. "Good morning, Handsome."

"Have I ever mentioned how much better the sunrise looks reflected in your eyes?"

Addison smiled and kissed him. "Are you trying to make me fall even deeper in love with you?"

"Always," he whispered kissing her once more.

Addison whimpered as he began to pull away. "More," she whispered pulling him back down.

Zed smiled against her lips. "From you, I always need one more kiss, one more hug, one more touch; simply always, more of you… but right now, we need to go make breakfast," he said, throwing her a wink and helping her out of bed.

As they made their way down the stairs and into the kitchen, they were surprised to see Zevon and Gloria already sitting at the table.

"Pops! Gloria! What are you guys doing up already?"

"Still working," Gloria said as she pushed her computer away and stretched.

"We could be asking you two the same question. You just went to sleep four hours ago."

"Well we were getting up early to make breakfast for everyone," Zed said, running a hand through his untamed green mess of morning hair.

"You didn't have to do that," Gloria smiled at them. "But thank you...wait a second...since when do you cook Addison?"

Addison laughed as she walked over to pour herself a cup of coffee. "I only agreed to help with what I could. I said nothing about actually cooking...Z, coffee?"

"Yes, please. I didn't realize you were aware of Addie's lack of kitchen abilities, Gloria."

Gloria laughed and stood up to refill her own mug. "Oh, I'm very aware. I had to teach her how to use a can opener during the last election."

"Wasn't that Freshman year?" Zevon asked amused.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's all have a good laugh," Addison said sarcastically as she handed Zed his coffee cup. "It's not my fault my mom is a neat freak who never let me into the kitchen."

Zed kissed the top of her head. "You're right. I'm sorry. You do make a great bowl of cereal."

"Darn right I do," she said with a smile.

"All right you two. Sit," Zevon said pointing to the empty chairs in front of them.

"Oh no," Zed whined as he plopped down at the table. "Addie, I'm sorry for whatever extraordinarily embarrassing lecture is about to occur."

Addison smacked his arm. "We deserve whatever is coming our way."

"Yeah, I know."

"So..." Zevon started. "I obviously don't remember what it was like being eighteen and full of teenage hormones."

Zed groaned and dropped his head down onto the table.

"But I do remember what it felt like when I met my other half. So to some extent, I can understand what you two are experiencing. The constant pull to be with each other. The overwhelming animalistic..."

"Pops! Please!" Zed rushed out, cutting his father off. "We get it."

Zevon laughed and ran his hand through his hair nervously. "Look, all I'm trying to say is that being with your other half is all consuming. I can only imagine what teenage hormones added to Zombie instincts feels like. You're both good kids. Just, try to avoid getting too carried away in public. We don't need you getting suspended or arrested."

"Thanks, Pops. As always...so not awkward."

"I try."

"You're doing great, Pops," Addison said as she stood up and gave him a hug.

"Thank you, Addie."

"You're welcome."

"So, Addie and I were talking last night before bed. We both feel really bad about you guys cutting your date short because of us. How about we take Zoey to the movies and you two can have some time to yourselves."

Gloria smiled and sat back down at the table with a fresh cup of coffee. "I told you, you didn't ruin our date."

"But, still...you two shouldn't have had to cancel because of us," Addison said.

"You really want to make it up to us?"

"Yes." They both said in unison.

"How about we all go see a movie together. Then maybe a picnic in the park after?" Gloria suggested, looking around at each of them.

"You'd rather spend the day with all of us?" Zed asked skeptically.

Gloria laughed. "I'd love the chance to spend more time with all of you."

"Okay, crazy lady," he laughed.

"But we'll definitely take you up on the breakfast offer," Zevon added.

Zed smiled and shook his head. "I think I can deal with that." He looked over to Addison "Ready to help, Gorgeous? There are a few cans that need some opening."

As Addison placed a stack of plates on the table, Zoey walked into the kitchen.

"Well this is an unexpected surprise," she mumbled as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

"Morning Peanut!" Addison said cheerily, giving her a hug. "Z made apple cinnamon pancakes."

Zoey hugged her back. "I thought I smelled bacon," she said slightly disappointed. "It's the only reason I'm out of bed this early."

Zed laughed as he walked over to the oven and pulled a pan of bacon out. "I made eggs and bacon, too."

Zoey smiled and walked to the refrigerator to grab the orange juice. "So is anyone going to tell me why we have a full house on a Sunday morning when Daddy and Gloria are supposed to still be in Shoreline?"

"Nope," Zed said with a slight laugh.

Zoey shrugged. "I figured as much."

"But we are all going to the movies today, and having a picnic in the park for lunch," Zevon said as he got a hug from his daughter.

"Breakfast is served," Zed announced, placing the rest of the food on the table.

The conversation flowed easily between the five of them as they discussed their plans for the day. When Gloria grabbed the hot sauce and began to douse her eggs, the three Zombies stopped and stared.

"What?"

"Are you sure you're not a Zombie?" Zed asked around a mouth full of food.

Gloria laughed. "Not a Zombie. Just southern! I like my food the same way I like my weather...hot."

Addison sighed, "Looks like I'm still the odd one out."

"It's okay, Addie. I'll still make bland food for you," Zed said smiling and throwing her a wink.

Addison rolled her eyes, "You're lucky I love you."

"Trust me. I know," he whispered, leaning over and kissing her cheek.

"Barf! You guys! I'm trying to eat! You're both lucky I love you."

The car was barely in park when Zed undid his seatbelt and opened his door, unfolding himself from the backseat. As he leaned backward cracking his spine, the rest of the group got out of the car.

"All right," Zevon started, "Gloria and I are going to grab tickets. You three are on concession duty. Grab me a pretzel?"

"And I'll take a small popcorn and small soda, please," Gloria said as they began to walk towards the ticket booth.

Zed, Addison, and Zoey were standing in line for concessions when Zed's phone buzzed. As Zed read the text, he laughed.

"I'll be right back. Pops can't figure out how to use the rewards card," he said as he leaned down and kissed Addison's cheek and reached out to ruffle his sister's hair.

"We're almost up. You want the usual?" Addison asked

"You know it," he said throwing her a wink. Addison giggled as she watched him walk off.

"There's no way we're going to be able to carry all this by ourselves," Zoey said as they moved up in line.

"Your brother will be back by then," Addison reassured her as they stepped up to the counter. "Hi, can I get a pretzel, a small popcorn, a small soda, a large popcorn, an order of nachos, a pack of Twizzlers, a box of Reese's pieces, a box of red hots, a box of snowcaps, a large soda, and….What do you want, Peanut?"

"A medium popcorn, Reese's pieces, and a medium soda, please."

The teen working the register let out a laugh. "Your orders are always impressive, Addison."

"Oh, hi….I am so sorry, I'm terrible with names."

He quickly covered up his name tag. "Chuck."

"But your name tag says 'Charlie'," Zoey pointed out.

He sighed and moved his hand. "My name is Charles, everyone calls me Charlie

though."

"Then why did you say your name was Chuck?" Zoey asked.

"Zoey," Addison whispered.

"What?"

"It's okay. I've been trying to get 'Chuck' to stick since the beginning of the school year. It's not working. I just thought it sounded...I don't know...cooler?"

"Well, I for one think Charlie is a great name. It suits you. Besides, you should be yourself. That's the coolest thing."

"You think so?"

"I do!" Addison smiled. "This little Peanut here is Zoey. She's Zed's little sister."

"Nice to meet you, Zoey."

"Nice to meet you too, Charlie."

Charlie busied himself gathering their expansive order. When he finally had it all together on the counter he looked up and noticed Addison's Seabrook High Baseball shirt.

"I like your shirt. I was actually thinking of trying out for the team this year."

Addison looked down to see what he was talking about. "Oh, baseball! You totally should!"

"Yeah, my brother is the captain!" Zoey added.

Charlie swallowed loudly. "Zed's the captain this year?"

"Yep. He and Murphy are Co-Captains. They'll be running try-outs next weekend."

Right on cue, Zed walked up. "Did I hear my name?"

"Hey! Charlie here was just saying that he's thinking about trying out for the baseball team," Addison said as she stood on her tip-toes and kissed her boyfriends cheek.

"That's great! I hope you do."

"Really?" Charlie asked in surprise.

"Yeah. Listen, try-outs start at noon, but I'm helping out a few guys from the JV team last year with some swings and pitches beforehand. Give them a little edge on the competition," he said with a smirk. "You should come. We're meeting at ten."

"Thanks, Zed. I appreciate it. I'll be there."

"Awesome!" Zed smiled and high fived him. "I'll see you Saturday."

As they walked off with their arms loaded down with movie theatre concessions, Addison smiled up at him. "That was awfully nice of you."

"Eh, what can I say. I'm just a nice guy like that."

"No, you're not," Zoey laughed.

"Yes, I am."

Zoey and Addison both stopped and looked at him.

"Fine. I may be doing it to keep an eye on him. He seems to have quite the crush on my girl."

Addison rolled her eyes. "Don't be jelly. You know you're my world."

"Barf," Zoey rolled her eyes as she stormed ahead of them to join her father and Gloria.

When the movie was over, they all walked across the street to the park for an afternoon walk and picnic. As Zoey walked ahead with Zed and Addison hand in hand, Zevon and Gloria walked a few feet back.

"This is nice," Gloria said quietly as she leaned into Zevon's side.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and kissed the top of her head. "Yes, it is. I think I could get used to this."

Gloria smiled and looked up at him. "Me too," she whispered as his lips brushed against hers.

"AWWWWWWW!"

They both looked ahead and were surprised to discover the loud "Awww," was not directed at them, but at a box of puppies instead. Zevon shook his head and laughed as he took Gloria's hand to catch up with the kids.

"Daddy! Look how cute!" Zoey cooed holding up a small brown dog.

"Very cute," Zevon smiled. "But you already have a dog. Or have you forgotten about, Puppy?"

Zoey feigned insult. "Never. Puppy knows I would never forget him. But that doesn't mean I can't pet all these little fuzzy guys!"

"Come on, my little Zombie-Angel."

Zoey sighed. "Fine. Goodbye, little puppies! I hope you find a good home!... Are you coming, Addie?"

Addison was sitting on the ground petting a small brown and tan fluffy puppy curled up in her lap. "I'll be right there," she said, never taking her eyes off the small dog.

Zoey shrugged and started to walk ahead with Zevon and Gloria.

"Isn't he the sweetest thing you've ever seen?" Addison asked Zed, still not taking her eyes off the dog in her lap.

Zed smiled and crouched down next to her, petting the dog behind the ears. "He is pretty cute."

"I've always wanted a dog. But you know my Mom. Pets go against every neat freak tendency she has."

Suddenly, Zed had an idea. "I'll be right back, Gorgeous," he said kissing her cheek. He walked a few feet away and pulled out his phone to send a text. As he waited for a response, he watched his girlfriend sit on the ground and softly talk to the small puppy in her lap. He couldn't help but smile when she leaned down and kissed it on its fuzzy head. When his phone buzzed with a response, his smile grew larger. He quickly walked back over to Addison.

"How's the little guy doing?" he asked sitting down next to her.

"He's just about asleep," she said quietly.

"You know, I was just thinking that this little one would look great wearing an SLU collar."

Addison looked away from the puppy for the first time. "What?"

"Well, we'll be moving up to Shoreline this summer," he pulled out his phone and showed Addison the text message. "And according to Stanley, pets are allowed in the apartments...I'm sure Puppy wouldn't mind a playmate for the next few months..."

"Are you serious?" Addison whispered.

Zed shook his head in confirmation.

Before he could brace himself, Addison launched herself and the puppy into his arms, knocking him over.

"You. Are. The. Sweetest. Best. Boyfriend. In. The. Entire. World. I. Love. You. So. Much!" she exclaimed between kisses.

Zed laughed as he sat the three of them up. "So I take it that's a yes?"

"Yes!" She hugged him tight and looked into his eyes. "I am so in love with you Zed Milo Necrodopolus…Wait...That's it!"

"I love you too...what's it?"

"Milo!"

"What?"

"His name! Milo!"

Zed looked at her. "Seriously?"

"Yep! Doesn't he just look like a Milo?" she gushed, cuddling the small puppy to her cheek.

"Um...I don't know? The only experience I have with that name is it being my middle name..."

Addison laughed and kissed his cheek. "Well I love you, and I love this little floof. It makes sense to name him after you."

Zed smiled and shook his head. "Whatever you say, Gorgeous." He stood up and held his hand out to help her up. "Let's go introduce Milo to the rest of the family."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I know this chapter was kind of all over the place, but I had to set a few things up. I apologize!

So anyone who has seen Meg's Instagram stories with the American Housewife makeup trailer dog, Milo, will know where the inspiration for their new puppy came from. Speaking of American Housewife….Milo (the person, not the puppy) is going to be on tomorrow night's episode! Anyone else excited?

DWTS: I know I say this after every dance, but….OMG! He was AMAZING! I truly do feel like he has the ability to win this thing!