Tonight, Not Again

Zoey
I spent the day perfecting my skills of avoidance. My cell rang incessantly, every call from Rob. I figured he was probably wondering why I had skipped out on him in the early hours of the morning. My head was a mess. Whether to blame Rob or myself, I wasn’t sure. Had he taken advantage of our simple relationship, or had I given him the right to be with other girls?
Either way, I was mad.
I wanted him to myself. To admit that or not to admit was the ultimate question.
But I had little time to contemplate. It was once again time for the monthly girls’ night that my mom and sisters, which meant heavy alcohol and judgmental relatives. None of them knew about Rob and if I played my cards right, they would never know. I knew what they would say and frankly, I didn’t want to hear it.

Rob
When I woke up, Zoey was gone. After rolling over and finding the space beside me completely barren, I made a beeline for the kitchen. She wasn’t standing by her usual cabinet sipping from a coffee mug, nor was she the one to shout at me when I knocked on the bathroom door. I didn’t find her stretched out across the sofa in one of my t-shirts. I even checked behind several doors and items of furniture, thinking she could possibly be playing a game.
Needless to say, she wasn’t.
And that bothered the hell out of me.
I tried her mobile but got no answer, which I found odd seeing as she always carried her phone with her. Maybe she couldn’t get to it, perhaps she was driving.

After several hours of contemplating whether or not I should stop by her place, I found myself in my car driving down Ocean Avenue. I wasn’t the only one who decided to pay her a visit—other cars were parked beside Zoey’s house, causing me to wonder if I should have called first. If she was having some sort of party, I sure as hell didn’t want to crash it—especially when I clearly wasn’t on the guest list.
I watched through the window as Zoey glided across the living room to answer the doorbell. Hair wild around her face and cheeks flushed, her eyes suddenly went wide with surprise. Or was it horror? The wine in her glass swished forcefully when she halted to a stop. I was the obviously the last person she was expecting to see, but for the life of me I couldn’t figure out why
“Rob?” She scrunched her brow, almost out of pain. “What are you doing here?”
“Well you pretty much dropped off the bloody face of the earth.” I spoke quickly, cringing when I heard someone shouting for Zoey. “I was…worried?”
“Oh.” Zoey’s gaze briefly hit the floor, but within seconds she was staring into my eyes again. “Sorry, I uh…” Zoey seemed to struggle with her next move, but she finally cast a glance over her should and sighed. “It’s Girls’ Night.”
“What?” Peering behind her I noticed several other women, one of whom was Adrienne. She waved and I waved back.
“Girls’ Night.” Zoey’s frown barely shifted. “My mom and sisters come down and we just hang out.” Her tone was cold and she braced the doorway. I wasn’t particularly keen on this attitude of hers.
“Sounds lovely.” When I spoke she nodded curtly, eyes following my every move.
When nobody spoke, I shoved my hands in my pockets and looked at the sky. I wasn’t about to leave, ending it on such a sour note.
“What a night,” I stated as I counted the few visible stars. Zoey sighed again.
“Do you want to come in?” Her voice was quiet and she looked distressed.
“Er. Am I allowed?” I pretended that I wasn’t jumping for joy on the inside.
Zoey quickly glanced back at an older woman carrying a drink pitcher. She spotted me and stopped in her tracks.
“If you can handle it.”
“Sounds like a dare.” I wiggled my eyebrows and finally drew a smile out of Zoey.
“It’s a Double-Dog Dare.”

Zoey
After introducing him to my wild-eyed mother and sisters, Gabby and Molly, I got him a drink because I knew he would need it. My mom was always suspicious of guys I introduced her to and after Brett, she was turned off to the idea of me seeing someone else so quickly. I had no idea what to expect from her. On the other hand, my sisters were awestruck and were already plaguing Rob with questions.

“Are you sure that’s your family?” Rob leaned against the counter as I fished around for another beverage.
“You know, come to think of it they did mention something about a doorstep,” I smirked as my heart fluttered. Apparently it had forgotten how upset I was with him. “Yes. Why?”
“They look nothing like you, not even your mum.” He was right. My mom and sisters were redheads.
“Yeah, I look like my Dad and Sam.”
Rob nodded. He knew all about my seven-year-old brother, Sam. Sam was an accident, as if our age difference didn’t already suggest that.
Rob’s fingers grazed mine as he reached out to take the beer. I wished they hadn’t because, even though I let him in my house it hurt. He watched me carefully before leaning closer.
“Listen,” I cleared my throat, reminding myself of a certain text message. “About this morning—”
“Monopoly is going to start without either of you. We’re done waiting,” My mom said flatly as she poked her head around the corner.
“Right,” I picked up my glass of wine. “I call the dog!”
…
Two hours later Molly was completely smashed and asking Rob what hair products he used to get “such volume”, Gabby kept asking him if he would bite her. Adrienne was still rubbing in her huge win in Monopoly. Meanwhile, my mom had hardly touched her drink and had managed to mentally back down Rob into a corner with her glare. Rob’s fingers were so tightly wrapped around his beer bottle that I thought he was going to crush it. This was probably a cruel and unusual punishment, but I was enjoying it.
Though he had several opportunities to leave, Rob stayed put. He was thoroughly enjoying the festivities, and the privilege of being the only male ever to attend. Once we began a game of Mad Gab, he even managed to charm my mom. I knew she thought the way he pronounced everything was hilarious.
When the Sangria needed refilling, my mom followed me into the kitchen.
“I didn’t realize you were seeing somebody, Zoey.” Her eyes narrowed slightly as she cocked her head to the side.
“Oh,” I looked up from the bottle of wine. “We aren’t together.”
Lying to my mother was quite a task. She was shrewd, not to mention a therapist. She knew all of the cues, all of the ticks. If I managed to pull the wool over eyes, it would be the first for any of the Tyler kids.
“Well you could’ve fooled me.”
“Rob and I are just friends.” My spirits lifted, a smile forming on my lips. I raised the glass of wine to my lips, relishing in my victory—however brief it was.
“But you’re sleeping with him.” It was more of a statement rather than a question.
“…No,” I muttered.
“Oh yeah?” My mother’s eyes burned with curiosity and spite.
“We’re not together,” I stated again. “I think he’s seeing somebody else.”
“Well then,” she turned her back to me and started out of the kitchen. “Maybe you’ll realize that you’re making a huge mistake going after him.”
Dropping my head and biting my lip, I kicked the cupboard door lightly. When I raised my eyes, I watched my mom disappear through the hall. Maybe she was right after all.
“Rob,” she said loudly. “I didn’t see you there.”