Dear Readers, here we go. The third chapter is up. Thank you again for all your kind comments. I hope the way the story is taking is not to confusing. I just fancy little detours, please bear with me.

And special thanks again to my beta reader Tutourgirl23!

III.

It had been almost three weeks since the wedding or the non-wedding, it was Friday late afternoon and Zoe decided to go to the Rammer Jammer to leave the work and everything else behind. Her mind wandered to the past days. She had seen George almost every day. And it had been perfect, three weeks of bliss. Well. It had been perfect, hadn't it? There was a nagging feeling as if something was amiss, nothing tangible though. They talked a lot, shared their favorite books and movies, places in New York they had been to. George was funny and kind as always. Not pressuring her in any way. Well, she wasn't sure whether or not she would have liked to be pressured a bit? Thinking about it she didn't even know whether they were technically dating because aside the almost innocent kisses on her doorstep and the one time they had made out (she made this funny thing with her mouth realizing she sounded just like a teenager) at his place on his couch there was not much physical evidence that anything had changed at all. Her mind went back to the couch (and again she made this funny thing with her mouth and snorted a little bit). George was a great kisser. Everything had been perfect. They had watched the newest Woody Allen film they got to buy in Mobile (which was not the newest in any other sense), bought some sushi in honor of a truly New Yorker life style and went to his place. And somehow it started and ended a little breathlessly but nothing really followed. George seemed a little flushed. Or had his look rather been confused? She stopped suddenly. She didn't know. Sometimes she just had the feeling that he was, well insecure would not quite describe it correctly. Hesitant maybe? She started to walk determinately. She won't start of overanalyzing anything. But would she really have gone ahead? She hadn't told George about Wade. At the beginning, she was simply overwhelmed that finally, finally after all this longing, back and forth George wanted her. And then thinking about Wade was just too confusing. Wade was supposed to be the distraction from George and somehow he became the distraction of George.

And suddenly without realizing it, she was in front of the Rammer Jammer. Standing before the door, threating to enter, she sighed. She missed him. She really did. And she wondered whether he would be there. The Rammer Jammer used to be such a sure place to find him but nowadays he seemed to be nowhere as if he moved away. The few times she had seen him he seemed unnaturally polite as if she would be a distant cousin not liked or disliked, simply accepted and catered for. And it hurt. He would ask her how she was doing and then leave at the next possible moment. When she tried to engage him in any form of conversation he just would be evasive. He never seemed to be at Lavon's place anymore. As if he would avoid Lavon as well. But she knew that this couldn't be true. She suspected though that Wade avoided that Lavon would notice that something was amiss. She sighed. It's all a big ugly mess she had brought herself into. She shrugged as if shrugging off her thoughts and went inside.

When Zoe had entered the Rammer Jammer it had seemed like a quite early night. Only a couple of tables had been occupied and she had found Wade easily refilling the tables. She had been just on her way when she stopped.

XxxxxoxxxxX

Wade had just gone over to a table to refill sugar and salt when he overheard Jody from the Pharmacy saying to Felicia from the Pet store:

"You know if she hadn't had her goggling eyes on George and lured him away from Lemon nothing would have separated the two LIKE FOREVER."

"You are so right. I even heard that Zoe Hart followed him to New Orleans. Just like a stalker. Urrggg."

Wade turned to their table and without thinking said trying to keep is voice as low and sweet as possible:"You know what? If you had anyone goggling you, you wouldn't have to think about Zoe goggling our Golden boy."

Both went pink in their faces but Jody recovered fairly quickly and replied acidly: "I even heard rumors that she just joined the race to impress him. I mean, how sick is that? He was joining the race with LEMON."

Starring at her audacity Wade replied even more sweetly but with an unmistakably snarl, "You know - and I KNOW she entered the race to help someone to win the race money because I was that person. I would suggest just get a life and get over that Golden boy is just not going after you. Have a good one."

And with a swift turnaround he was about to head back to the bar where he almost run into Zoe starring at him in disbelief. .

Wade starred right back at her, his face reflecting pure horror. What the hell was she doing here? Wasn't she supposed to be ….what the heck? He just shook his head and passed her.

Behind the bar he started to refill the cupboard, then cleaning the few glasses while taking care that his head was set firmly set at the task at hand.

"Hey."

No reply.

"Wade. Thank you."

Still no muscles moved.

"You know, I know that you know that I am here. You almost ran into me?" Her voice grew impatiently.

He directed his eyes somewhere in the vicinity of her head and asked warily: "So, What can I do for you Zoe Hart.?"

"Thank you".

"Coffee?"

"Wade. Could you we just please talk to each other like grown ups."

His eyes swiftly looked right into hers. "Really? You're asking me to act like a grown-up? Like how exactly? Pining after an engaged man, then spending time with the then not engaged man in New Orleans, then pining after the then again engaged man, then sleeping with the neighbor, then within matters of hours switching again and running off in the sunset with said engaged now not anymore engaged man? This kind of grown-up behavior?" His voice was low and sharp.

She swallowed hard.

"Right. I thought so. So what exactly do you want from me?"

She didn't find words.

"OK. I help you. You want to have my blessing telling you that everything is fine no hard feelings. Here you go. Everything is fine. And here is your coffee." Setting a cup right in front of her and pouring coffee in it.

Without anyone noticing George had just entered the bar and stood next to Zoe out of the blue.

"Hey Wade. Keep it inside, will you."

Wade's eyes grew big in disbelief and then very small. His voice remained low.

"Tucker. Nice to see you. But keep out of it, will you?"

"You are not going to talk to Zoe like this. She doesn't deserve this kind behavior from you."

"Wow…." But before Wade could reply Zoe cut in saying "It's ok George. Really, it is."

"No, it is not. It is not his place to judge."

"Listen George just leave it, ok?" and with that she tore him away and guided him to a table.

XxxxxoxxxxX

Damn it. He had been so good. He had learned her working schedule by heart. He had avoided Lavon's place in the morning and in the early evening hours. Only when he knew that she had been out he had gone over. He ate at the Rammer Jammer or not at all. And he had made sure that he had met her once in a while so that she could not claim that he was avoiding her. But he always had made sure that he was prepared. For what exactly he had never cared to think about. And now she just turns up out of nothing and caught him.

He had fled the Rammer Jammer as soon as Shelly had been in and now was driving. And without thinking about it he drove to a bar in Mobile parked his car right in front of it and entered.

When his eyes had grown accustomed to the relative darkness he made his way to the bar and halted abruptly. At the bar sat a blonde who looked at lot like Lemon except Lemon would never be in this kind of bar. So he took a couple of steps near the bar. Being just some feet away he realized that it was actually Lemon. Trying to move without alerting her he slowly turned around to go straight out of the bar.

"Wade. No need to pretend you haven't seen me."

Her voice sounded a little bit slurred. He haltered in his step.

"And no need to be embarrassed either."

She talked to the drink in front of her.

"I am not a secret drunk. It's just. Gave the brides maid dresses to the local shelter for their back yard sale. Guess I am not going to marry anyone anytime soon."

He closed his eyes still facing the door. He could just pretend to not have heard her. But then again. He might not be the Sunday-going-to-church-bake-your-neighbor-a-cake-kind-of-type but leaving her here alone on the verge of drunkenness. He sighed. He couldn't even get drunk these days.

He took the bar chair next to hers.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"How many of these did you already have?"

"Don't know. But they are good. Want to join in?"

XxxxxoxxxxX