Tonight, Not Again

Zoey
I rolled onto my back, opening my eyes to a direct ray of sunlight. The blinds on Rob’s windows were way too transparent. Feeling around the other side of the bed, I realized he wasn’t there; but then again, he usually wasn’t. Somehow I’d ended up in one of his t-shirts so I didn’t bother searching for my own clothes.
Despite the horrible start to the day, last night ended well. I’d fallen asleep beside Rob, completely content in the moment. Somewhere in the middle of everything, I decided that I was going to take this for what it was. I made my bed and I had to sleep in it. .
I would simply put aside the fact that he made me laugh until tears came, or that the way my name rolled off his tongue made me weak in the knees. What I felt when I was with him was unlike anything I’d ever experienced; I felt alive, whole, passionate. But none of that mattered. There was no way that I was going to screw this up; I was seeing a really great guy and was not about to flush it down the toilet by telling him that I actually liked him. Plus, not seeing was even worse. My mind was once again clear and focused—Rob and I were, and would always be, nothing more than whatever we were.

Still not having opened my eyes to their full capacity, I attempted to dig out the coffee tin. I scooped the grounds into the filter, helping myself—after all, I did clean that damn coffee pot the night before. I figured Rob was either out smoking (he never smoked in his apartment when I was over) or showering. Leaning up against the counter, I waited for the coffee. I didn’t hear any water running. Any minute, Rob would burst through the door in a huff.
I held the mug under my nose, inhaling deeply. There was nothing like the smell of coffee in the morning. The hot liquid was bitter, but that was how I liked it. As I was about to swallow, the door burst open—just as I expected. Only, instead of Rob, it was a blonde female. Rob’s shaggy head appeared behind her, though I was sure neither had seen me yet.

“Fucking…” I muttered, spitting out my coffee and searching for a place to hide. I was drinking coffee in my underwear. Once I’d successfully hidden beside the cupboards, I exhaled deeply.
“Zoey?” Rob looked a little confused, but he smiled as he poked his head around the cupboards. “What…what are you doing?” His eyes widened when he saw my attire.
I stood still for an eternity, thinking that maybe if I didn’t respond he would go away. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lizzy peering at me with great interest.
“I uh, I dropped something?” I scrunched my nose at my own stupidity.
“Right.” Rob reached for my hands, but hesitated. “Well, come on out of there.” Lizzy was smiling wildly at me, like she was in on something I wasn’t.
“Hi.” I smiled uncomfortably, stepping out from the corner. Trying to pull the shirt down, I crossed my legs and tried to maneuver myself behind the kitchen counter.
“Liz, this is Zoey.” Rob gently pushed me out in front of him. “Zoey, this is my sister Lizzy.”
“It’s great to finally meet you!” Lizzy happily threw her arms around me.
“You too.” I shot Rob a questioning look over her shoulder. He only shrugged. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

After the painful introductions were over, I crept back into Rob’s room to find my pants. And bra. What Lizzy thought of me, I didn’t want to know. But she did look extremely excited to meet me. I wondered if Rob had told her anything about me.

Rob
Liz collapsed on the couch while Zoey pulled some pants on. She wouldn’t stop smiling at me—I hated it. Tabloid pictures meant nothing to Liz; she knew how I felt about Zoey without them.
“Rob?” Liz felt around beneath her bum, pulling a black and purple polka-dotted bra out of the cushion. She tossed it to me and I shrugged sheepishly. Last night had been pretty great.
“That would be Zoey’s—” I started to speak but my bedroom door flew open and Zoey casually walked out, her face the color of a tomato. Without a word, she grabbed her bra out of my hands and glided back behind closed doors.
“You guys must have had fun.” Another devilish smile from Liz and I would jump off the roof. Zoey appeared in the doorway once again this time fully clothed, undergarments and all. I could help but notice the black t-shirt she wore looked oddly familiar, like maybe it was mine. Zoey smiled shyly, which seemed almost unnatural for her now that we’d known each other for nearly a month.
“Hey!” I escaped my sister’s stares and walked over to Zoey. “You’re not leaving are you?”
“Uh,” She stammered. “I don’t have to.”
“Great!” I smiled. “Do you want to grab lunch with us?” Zoey thought about it for a second—I knew she had to be hungry.

…

We ended up at an outdoor café—Liz’s pick. She hadn’t stopped talking to Zoey since we walked out of the flat. Zoey kept shooting me bewildered looks, as if she couldn’t believe the lung capacity my sister had to talk nonstop. I just smiled, glad that Zoey decided to tag along.
“We’ve all been dying to meet this ‘Unidentified Gal Pal’ Rob’s been seeing.” Lizzy, stabbed at her salad as she spoke happily. I was wondering when she was going to bring the magazines up.
“I’m sorry?” Zoey swirled water in her mouth as she thought about what Liz had said. “Who’s…?”
“You haven’t seen them?” Lizzy looked astonished.
“No,” Zoey leaned back. “I’ve never been into reading those.”
“Well.” Lizzy brandished several different tabloids. “You’re famous.”

Zoey watched, nearly frightened, as Lizzy skimmed the pages until she found the pictures. There were at least two pictures in each of the four magazines. Even I was a little shocked. Whenever Zoey and I went out, I did my best to steer clear of the paparazzi—which was not the easiest task. We’d been mobbed once or twice, which scared the hell out of Zoey.
I watched Zoey carefully as she looked over the pictures. Her eyebrows rose slightly and she was smirking.
“And my parents never thought I would amount to anything. These are going on the fridge.”