Cyberspace Romance

Zoey sunk down into the hot water she had just ran for a bath. Today, she along with Bam, Seth, Glomb, Dico, and Dunn had finished the remodeling on the salon. She had picked Monday to be the opening day, which was three days from now. She had phoned all the girls, and all of them seemed very excited about the opening. Bam had took the guys out to celebrate, and have a 'guy evening' since they all hadn't been out together in awhile. Zoey was relieved in a way, it gave her some time to pamper herself.

Bam walked into his bar with all of his friends. It was good to have a guys night. He hadn't had one in a couple of years, actually, the last time he had one was before Missy came along. Missy would always complain if he tried to go out with the guys by himself, and without asking she would always tag along. He led the large group of about ten over to the booths in the back and slipped into one. He knew a waitress would be over any minute to take their orders.

"The salon looks great." Seth said.
"Yeah, Zoe's so happy with the turn out." Bam said.

The guys all seemed to like Zoey a lot, which was something Bam wasn't used to. Each of them had hated Missy, some more than others. But he had yet to hear one negative comment about Zoey from his friends, and that made him happy. The red headed waitress named Katie came over and took Bam's order, along with everyone else. She flashed Dico an innocent smile and then went off to get their drinks. Bam chuckled as he watched Dico stare at her as she walked away.

"You two always look at each other every time you're here. . . Why don't you just ask her out?" Bam ask.
"Because-- She's married!" Dico said
"She's engaged, not married." Dunn corrected him.

They all laughed and Dico dropped his head, leave it to him to fall for a woman who wasn't available. Katie soon returned with the drinks and the guys all began to wash down the beverages. Bam was having a good time. . . until he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around slowly and looked at the blond that Zoey had hired.

"Yeah?" He questioned, not knowing why she felt the need to tap him on the shoulder.
"I'm Mandi." She said, flipping her hair back over her shoulder.
"Okay-- I'm Bam." He said, turning back around. Dunn was trying hard not to laugh.

Bam attempted to join in on Seth and Glomb's conversation, but the tap on his shoulder returned. He placed an expression of annoyance on his family and turned around.

"You wanna go somewhere and talk?" She questioned with a grin.
"You do know your boss is my girlfriend, right?" Bam questioned.
"Oh-- I'm sorry." She said, acting as if she had no clue. "I had no clue. . . I feel so embarrassed. I'm going to go now then. . ." She said, turning around slowly and walking away. She looked over her shoulder three times before she made it to the bar, just to check to see if Bam was looking at her.

"Is she retarded?" Dunn ask.
"I'm not sure." Bam said with a chuckle.

He gulped down more of his beer. He had thought Amanda would be a problem from the moment she looked at him. There was just something in her eyes that led him to believe she was trouble. He shoved any thoughts of trouble to the back of his mind. Things were going perfectly right now, he had everything he could ever want.

Zoey blew some air on her nails hoping they would dry a bit faster. She glanced down at her new glossy red nails and smiled. They had been chipped and black for over two weeks now, and finally they looked like a nice set of nails. Once her nails was dry, she walked into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of wine.

Ryder walked into the kitchen smiling. Zoey saw how he was glowing; and wouldn't even allow her mind to wonder why her little brother had a smile that stretched ear to ear plastered on his face.

"Why are you so smiley?" She ask, bringing the cup up to her lips and taking a sip.
"I don't know. . . I'm heading over to Shianne's though." Ryder said.

Zoey sighed. She knew Frantz was suppose to meet up with Bam and the guys at the bar, so she knew Shianne would be there alone.

"Ryder-- you're using protection right?" Zoey blurted out.
"What?--- Of course I am! Do I look that stupid?" Ryder said.
"I was just making sure."
"Are you using protection?" He ask with a smirk.
"Get out!" She yelled playfully, flushing several shades of pink.

He laughed and then grabbed his bike keys and headed out the door. Zoey sighed, as she placed the glass in the sink and then washed it. Walking into the living room she glanced up at the clock and saw that it was eight. She knew Bam probably wouldn't be stopping by again tonight, and Ryder might not possibly be home for awhile. She walked over to her DVDs and picked out a horror movie.

She popped herself some popcorn and then brought a blanket over to her couch. She pressed play on the remote, and tossed a salty piece of popcorn in her mouth. She was enjoying her alone time, it had been along time since she had actually had time to herself.

Bam helped pack a very drunk Novak out of the bar. They had called it a night earlier than expected. Seth was going to take Novak to Bam's house, since he wanted to stop by and see Zoey. It had only been around seven hours since he had last saw her, but those seven hours felt like eternity. He didn't even get drunk at the bar, which was a first. He no longer felt the need to consume large amounts of alcohol.

Bam parked the hummer beside Zoey's car and stepped out of the hummer and walked up on her porch. He noticed all of the lights were off; but the television was on. He pushed the door open slowly and walked in. He smiled seeing her sleeping on the couch. Slowly he walked over and stood over top of he; he was leaning down to press a kiss on her forehead, when her eyes fluttered open and a window shattering scream left her lips.

"WHAT?" Bam said covering his ears.
"Don't do that!" She scolded, tossing the blanket off. "You scared the shit out of me!" She said.
Bam chuckled, "Why was you scared?" He questioned. She pointed to a DVD case on the table, it was some horror movie. Bam shook his head, "Don't you know not to watch scary movies unless i'm here?" He questioned.

She just groaned as she stood up, rubbed the sleep from her eyes, and walked over to the television and turned it off.

"Where's Ry?"
"Having sex with his girlfriend probably." Zoey said, rolling her eyes.
"Hope he's quick-- Frantz is on his way home right now." Bam said.

Zoey shrugged her shoulders. If Ryder and Shianne got caught by Frantz, then that was their problem. Zoey stretched her arms above her head and then looked over at Bam, who was looking at the dvd. He shook his head.

"The Amityville horror wasn't even scary, Zoe." He said.
"Oh, whatever." Zoey said walking into her bedroom.

She reached down and picked up a t-shirt from her floor, she was still in her robe from earlier. She undone the robe and then tossed it on the back of her chair, and slipped into the comfortable black t-shirt. Bam followed her into the room and started removing articles of clothing. He stripped down to his boxers and then walked over to her bed and pulled down the covers, before she could even slip on some shorts he was already in her bed. She turned around and laughed.

"You don't even ask!" She said.
"Ask what? To sleep over?" Bam said laughing.
"Yeah! You should at least ask. . . Maybe I don't wanna sleep with you tonight." She said, clearly playing around with him.
"I could always go home, I guess. . ." Bam said, allowing his bottom lip to pout out.
"Okay, Jackass. You can stay." She said crawling in beside him, he chuckled, and pulled her into his arms.

The two of them fell asleep quickly. Bam had wanted to mention Amanda to her, but once he arrived at Zoey's house, every previous thought he had disappeared.