Chapter Seven
We got a table together near the back of the restaurant, away from all of the prying eyes of the other customers. We ordered our drinks and our food, and then the conversation picked up again. "So how do you guys know how to play poker?" I asked, looking at the three of them. "Of course!" Zak said. "Aaron and I live in Vegas, and Nick spends quite a bit of time there with us!" "Touché." I replied with a grin. "Playing poker's actually pretty fun." Aaron said. "We don't play it a lot, but we do play it sometimes." "And actually," Nick added. "I play far less poker than they do, and I'm not in Vegas as much as they'd let you believe. Usually, whenever we're not on the road and shooting the show, I'm at home in New Hampshire or Massachusetts with my wife, Veronique, and our two-year-old daughter, Annabelle." I nodded and smiled. I'd seen pictures of Annabelle before, and she was beyond adorable. "I have friends back home, Nick, that are fans of yours, and they think that Annabelle's the most adorable thing they've ever seen. Just so you know." Nick smiled. "Tell your friends thank you for me. Roni and I think she's pretty adorable too." "And of course you're not at all biased because she's your daughter!" Zak threw out, giving Nick a teasing look. "Of course not." Nick replied, taking a drink of his orange juice. We all laughed at that, and then I said, "It's okay Nick. As a father, you're allowed to be biased when it comes to your children." "Thank you Andrea!" Nick said. "You're welcome." "So are you still planning on coming tonight, or has Zak scared you off?" Aaron grinned at me over the rim of his coffee cup. "What makes you think I would scare her off?" Zak asked. "Because, to a certain extent, you're kind of a scary dude." "How am I scary?" "That is kind of a good question." Nick broke in. "I don't think Zak's scary." "Then what word would you use?" Aaron asked. "Intimidating." Aaron started laughing as Zak looked at Nick and asked, "How am I intimidating?" I decided to break up the banter by looking at Zak and saying, "You hunt Demons for a living. And when you find one, you provoke it until it physically attacks you. Tell me how that's not intimidating." There was a moment of complete silence, and then Nick and Aaron both busted out laughing while Zak just shrugged. "It's the best way to get evidence." he said. He took a drink of water as I sipped my coffee. Aaron and Nick had been trying not to stare at us since we'd come in, but they were both failing miserably. Zak and I were sitting side-by-side, holding hands under the table, and Nick and Aaron were sitting across from us. I think they knew that we were holding hands, and I think they wanted to ask us what exactly had happened the night before and that morning, but they didn't know how to ask us without making things awkward. Zak's fingers were gently brushing over my knuckles, and I was holding our intertwined hands on my right knee. He hadn't tried touching my knee or anything, like I half-hoped he would. He seemed to be perfectly content with just holding my hand. Not that I would complain. Even just holding his hand was a dream come true! Zak's hands were rough but warm, and it was awesome to get to hold onto them. We had been sitting there in silence for several minutes, and then Aaron opened his mouth and asked, "What happened with you two last night? And this morning?" An awkward silence fell over the four of us as Nick and Aaron stared at Zak and I. Zak and I looked at each other, trying to decide how much we should, and were going to, tell them. Zak shrugged and I shrugged back at him. "Zak asked me to go to dinner with him last night." I said, looking back at Nick and Aaron. "We went to Olive Garden and talked for most of the night, and then we went back to the hotel and watched Ghost Adventures together until I fell asleep in Zak's arms at like 9:15. Nothing really extraordinary happened." "And what about this morning?" Nick asked. Zak and I exchanged glances again, and we both blushed and had to look away from each other. Aaron and Nick's mouths fell open and they gaped at us. They were both completely speechless. Neither of them said anything for about two minutes, and Zak and I avoided each other's eyes, both of us thinking about the kisses we'd shared. Finally Nick asked – in a somewhat nervous tone – "You two didn't like…" He didn't finish his sentence. He didn't have to. Zak and I both knew what was going through his head, and we knew the same thing was going through Aaron's mind as well. Zak and I looked firmly at Nick and Aaron, and Zak said, "We did not have sex this morning. So you two can just get that idea out of your heads right now." Nick and Aaron both sheepishly nodded. "So what did happen this morning you two?" Aaron asked. Zak and I looked at each other again, and we silently and mutually decided to tell them everything… "We cuddled in my bed until you called." I said quietly. "And we kissed… Several times…" Zak finished just as quietly, blushing again. Another silence fell over the table as Nick and Aaron processed this information. Finally Nick and Aaron looked at each other, looked back at us, and then Aaron asked, "So are you two like…" He was struggling for the right word, but Nick saved him by saying, "Dating?" Zak and I turned our heads towards each other, neither of us quite sure how to answer that question. Sure we had gone to dinner the night before, had an extremely intimate conversation, fallen asleep in each other's arms watching our favorite TV show, and then woken up and pretty much had a make out session, but did that really mean we were dating? We had admitted that we loved each other, but that didn't mean we were officially together… did it? And there was also the matter of age difference between us. We were almost twenty years apart, and I was only sixteen. Wasn't it illegal for someone over eighteen to date a minor? Or was that just if they were having sex? Those questions were running around simultaneously in my head as I looked at Zak, and I could tell that he was struggling with the same questions. Finally Zak said, "I don't know. We haven't really discussed it." I nodded and said, "Zak's right." Nick and Aaron both nodded. They seemed content with that answer, but Zak and I weren't. We knew that we had only just met, but did that really matter when you were talking about love? But could a relationship like that really work between us, even if the age difference didn't matter? He was constantly traveling and working, and I was still going to High School in the middle of Kansas. He and I would probably never see each other again after tomorrow morning. I was going home tomorrow morning after breakfast, and Zak would be headed off on his next adventure. Could any relationship like that between us survive the distance? And what about my parents? What about the fans? I knew that my parents would not be okay with me dating a thirty-six year old man, and I was also sure that the rest of the Ghost Adventures fans – maybe even my friends too – would look down on Zak, and probably look at me as some sort of slut or something. Neither of those things would be good to have happen. I looked at Zak one last time, but he didn't look at me. Instead, he very gently disentangled his hand from mine… I reached out for his hand as he pulled away, but I didn't force him to keep holding my hand, even though his rejection hurt… Nick, Aaron, and Zak struck up a conversation about some of their scariest encounters not long after that, but I just sat there for the rest of the time, fighting back tears and wishing that things could be different between Zak and I… I was silent for the rest of the meal, which the guys eventually noticed. But they didn't know what to say. After we'd paid the bill and gotten back in my car, I said, "So what do you guys want to do?" I looked first at Zak, and then at Nick and Aaron. "We should probably go back to the hotel," Nick said. "and see if Billy or Jay want to do anything." "Yeah." Zak said. Aaron nodded. "Okay." I said. We drove back to the hotel in silence. Nick, Aaron, and I got out of my car and were about to go back into the hotel when Zak said, "Andrea can we go for a walk? I want to talk to you." I slowly nodded, and Aaron said, "We're gonna go see what Billy and Jay are up to. Just text us when we're ready to make more plans for today." Zak nodded. "Alright." Aaron and Nick went back into the hotel, and Zak motioned for me to follow him. We walked back down the street side-by-side. Neither of us said a word to each other for the first couple of minutes. Zak wouldn't even look at me. He just stared straight ahead, his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans. I couldn't stop staring at his face. I felt so sad. I fought back tears as I stared at him. He didn't look angry, or even really sad. I understood his rejection, but it still hurt. I should have known that Zak wouldn't really want to be with me like that. I should have known better. I was probably nothing more than a kid to him. I should have known better. But it still hurt… Especially after that morning… And now I was wondering what on Earth he wanted to talk to me about? Why couldn't he just let my heart break in peace? Why make me feel worse than I already did? We walked to the corner beyond the hotel, and Zak finally turned and looked at me. His blue eyes were so forlorn and sad that it broke my heart. The tears that I had been fighting back broke free and began to slowly roll down my face. Zak wrapped his arms around me and hugged me tightly. "I'm so sorry Andrea!" he whispered. "I'm so, so sorry!" I couldn't speak. My emotions were too complex to put into words at that point. I just clung to Zak and cried into his chest. It took me a minute to calm down, and then I looked up and into Zak's eyes and asked, "Did you mean it when you said that you loved me?" Zak nodded and gently cupped my left cheek. "Yes, Andrea, I meant it." he said quietly. "I do love you, and I want to be with you!" "But what about the show? Your fans? My friends? My family? The guys? Your family? There's so many things standing in our way!" I started to cry all over again, and Zak tenderly wiped away my tears as he said, "I know there's a lot of obstacles, and I know they're important obstacles. But it doesn't matter. Gender, age, and race mean nothing when it comes to love! I've been in long distance relationships before – I'm no stranger to them – and I think we could make it work." "Would you wait for me?" I asked softly. "Would you wait another year and-a-half for me to turn eighteen, and then another four months for me to graduate from High School?" Zak nodded. "I would. I would wait for you as long as I have to." I smiled at Zak through my tears and hugged him tightly. He hugged me back very tightly, lacing his fingers through my hair and gently kissing the top of my head. We were silent for a few seconds, and then Zak asked quietly, "Would you wait for me? I'll try to communicate with you as much as I can, but I'm on the road a lot, and I won't be able to talk to you while I'm investigating. But I'll talk to you as much as I can! I promise!" I held on to Zak tightly. "I'll wait for you Zak. I will. And who knows? Maybe I'll come join you after I graduate." I grinned up at Zak and he chuckled softly. "That'd be cool!" he said. I kissed his lips gently and said, "I love you Zak." Zak kissed me back and whispered, "I love you too Andrea." When we pulled away, I gently took hold of Zak's hand and said, "Come on. Let's head back to the hotel. We need to grab the guys and make some plans!"