Innocence

It’s been a few months since that day at the beach, and things hadn’t changed much. Matt and I could flirt non-stop… But that was all it stayed as. No matter how much I showed him I’ve moved on from the past, and how much I was in to him, he seemed to have a blind pulled over his eyes. Maybe it was too late for us… Whatever it was, I was tired of waiting for him. And again, maybe that’s what he thought with me.

“Well looky who we have here. Fancy meeting you here.” I looked up to see Zacky giving me a cheeky grin.

“Very smooth, wise ass,” I snickered. “Now, what are you doing other than harassing me at work?”

“Eh, I know the boss; I was thinking maybe I could get in for a haircut?”

“Oh, has my son actually come in for a haircut willingly, instead of me chasing after him? What is this great honor?” Maria faked astonishment.

“Does no one love me anymore?” He pouted, holding his hand over his heard.

Maria rolled her eyes. “I have one more appointment and then I can take you.”

Zacky turned to me. “Looks like I have some more time to harass you.”

“Oh, this is going to be a long afternoon,” I groaned.

“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed today,” he said, looking me over.

I sighed, setting my pen down. “I’m sorry; I just have a lot on my mind right now that’s giving me a massive headache.”

“Wanna talk about it over some coffee? Maybe some caffeine will help your head.”

I nodded, smiling. “That sounds like a good idea to me.

After we got our coffee, we slowly walked back to his mom’s salon. “So, what’s on your mind?”

I looked ahead of us, trying to figure out how to go about it. “Matt.”

“What about Matt? I thought you guys were getting along now,” he said, confused.

“I’m getting tired of waiting for him! He can flirt with me all day, but then after that, he doesn’t make a move. It’s getting so aggravating.”

“Have you thought he may be scared to make a move?”

I gave him a confused look. “What do you mean?”

He shrugged. “He’s a complicated guy. Maybe he thinks he’s going to keep getting shot down by you, and thinks it’s best to just not make a move?”

“I don’t need complicated right now,” I said, shaking my head.

“Well maybe there’s someone else right in front of you waiting for you to move on from Matt.”

We were back at the salon, so we ended the conversation. My mind kept reeling as Maria cut his hair. What had he meant by what he said? Was there really someone else interested in me? If so, then who? I’ve only been back for a little while and hadn’t met any new people outside of the circle. So who could it be?

I looked over at Zacky and he sent me a smirk. That familiar twinkle in his eye made an idea snap into my head. Wait… Did Zacky mean him?!

My mind kept running and it started to run wild. I did use to have a small crush on him back in high school, but that was before Matt and I got together. That was when I thought the guys would only look at me as one of the guys.

Before Zacky could leave, my mouth opened without my brain processing. “Hey, Zacky, what’re you doing tonight?”

He cocked his head to the side. “Nothing. Why?”

“We should have a movie night.”

“Come by my place at eight.” He flashed me a smile, before walking out. I suddenly felt my stomach tighten in knots. Alright, something really was up…

When I got home for work, I was surprised to see Matt there. “Hey, what are you doing here?” I asked, confused.

“I just thought you might want to hang out since we haven’t hung out by ourselves lately.”

I shrugged. “Yeah, sure, sounds fun.”

Spending time with Matt was fun. But, again, he made no move which was giving me the signal that he never was going to. I’m not the kind of girl to sit around and wait anymore. When I was younger, I would wait forever; just how I waited eight years for Matt. But I’m tired of waiting, so he can come find me when he’s ready… If I’m still around, that is.

At seven, I told Matt that I had to get ready and that we could hang out later. “You have plans?” He asked curiously.

“Yeah. Zacky and I area having a movie night.”

I saw a flash of something in his eyes. “Oh, sounds fun.”

“We just haven’t hung out for a while, and I miss having movie nights with him.” Why was I suddenly explaining myself?

He nodded. “Yeah, sounds good.”

“Well, I’ll txt you tomorrow,” I said, walking him to the door.

“Alright, have fun tonight. “

Right at eight, I was knocking on Zacky’s door. He opened it and smiled at me. “Hey, cutie, come one in.” He opened the door and let me in.

Suddenly, there was a black ball of fluff yipping at my feet. “Icky, down,” Zack said, shooing the little dog. “Sorry about him.”

“It’s okay, he’s really cute. What’s his name?” I asked, bending down to pet him.
“Icky, he’s a furry ball of hell; especially when Johnny comes over. He loves terrorizing him. “

I laughed, only imagining what went on. “I can totally see that.”

“Alright, what movie do you want to start with?” He asked as we walked towards the living room.

“How about you show me your collection and we can decide.”

We ended up settling on Nightmare on Elm Street. Yes, the movie did freak me out a little, but at the same time made me laugh. Zacky and I were sitting on the couch casually until something made me jump. Zacky chuckled softly. “You can come closer if you want,” he said, holding his arm up. I took the invitation and snuggled up to him.

A little bit later, I felt like he was watching me, so I looked up to see. And sure enough, he was. “Can I help you with something, Mr. Baker?” I asked, smirking slightly.

I gasped when his lips suddenly touched mine.