Only You

girl i know you know i'm the only one who really knows you

It happened after they sat down in a private corner of Red Lobster and were waiting for their drinks. Admittedly, Dean had been doing everything right. Perfectly gentlemanly behavior. Except for the part where he chose to sit right beside Zoe in the booth and just smiled at her when she narrowed her eyes at his closeness. He'd always had a thing about being close to her.

She reached for one of the rolls on the table and as she bit into it, he asked her the question that really did her in.

"So, what've you been writing?" She froze mid bite and just stared at him for an awkward amount of time.

"I've been working, so really nothing," she responded quickly once she recovered. She never talked about her writing with anyone but him, and even then their conversations about it were minimal. Writing had always been her secret passion.

"I'm not some nigga off the street, Zo. I know you're always writing," he replied, staring at her even though she was studiously avoiding his gaze.

"I read your piece in that social justice magazine last month, it was dope," he continued nonchalantly.

That caught Zoe's attention. She turned to him, and her eyes were misting embarrassingly so she covered her face with her hands.

Dean was a little alarmed even though she was prone to weird emotional reactions.

He gently tried to tug her hands off of her face and she didn't resist.

"I hate you Dee," she said, but scooted closer and situated herself under his arm.

He welcomed her into his side with a smile. "Why, because I know you?"

She bit back a smile of her own and met his eyes even though she was feeling beyond bashful.

"I've been in a poetry mood lately, so that's all I've really been writing. It's more of a release for me than anything because I can't see myself trying to publish any of it in the future."

"Why not?" Dean questioned.

"Because... it's more personal, they're like poems that I needed when i was younger," she responded honestly.

"Maybe someone else needs them too," he said in such as simple way, at the same time reaching for one of the rolls on the table.

Zoe couldn't help herself. She turned to him and planted a kiss on his cheek, too shy to initiate one on his mouth. As she turned back around, he grabbed her chin and tilted it upwards so that he could connect his lips with hers.

"You're so sweet," he said. I could say the same thing about you, she thought.

"You guys are so cute," Zoe heard the voice of the waitress from beside Dean.

Dean definitely could care less about their PDA. In the past he'd always held Zoe's hand in public no matter where they were.

"Thanks." He responded because she was too embarrassed to. They ordered their food and in the silent moments that followed, she felt Dean's phone buzz in his pocket. Once, twice, and on the third time when he hadn't made a move to pick it up she glared at him.

" Answer your damn phone."

"Okay, dang," he complied, fishing it out of his pocket.

He hid the screen from her a little bit and she noticed. "Is it one of your little girlfriends?" she questioned jokingly.

He sucked his teeth. "Chill."

Zoe wasn't going to pursue it anymore. Dean placed his phone face down on the table and it buzzed again.

She looked at him again and he sighed, letting her reach for his phone.

His instagram DMs were blowing up with quite provocative messages.

Everything from pictures to "meet me @ club play tonight, i'll be waiting." She clicked on one of the messaged sent by a rather innocent looking young woman.

hey daddy i see you're back in town

"That's quite an intimate greeting," Zoe commented a little uncomfortably, cutting her eyes over at him.

"Yes I had sex with her, if that's what you're asking," he sighed.

"Well obviously."

Dean took back his phone before she saw anything else that might mildly horrify her.

Zoe wondered over the fact that he seemed to have been working on satiating his sexual appetite since they were 15. After he discovered sex, she'd silently vowed celibacy as she watched him plow through women. Yet another reason she'd always believed they wouldn't work. Of course he never pressured her to do anything because if there was one thing she knew, it's that he respected her. But he needed to say something to halt the negative direction of her thoughts.

"But I haven't slept with anyone since I realized this is what I want," he said.

This of course didn't give him much credibility because his desire for a serious relationship with her was a relatively new epiphany.

But looking at him, she was honestly prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt. "You know I'm not going to have sex with you," she said.

Dean placed his hands on her waist and turned her towards him. "Zo, that's one thing I know, and I respect you so much for it. I'm not gonna go hoeing around," he said, holding her gaze. He left it at that, even though there was more he wanted to say.

There was another reason he was confident that he could be faithful to her. An idea had been brewing in his mind since he'd arrived and although he knew it was far-fetched he also realized if he followed through with it it would be the sanest chance he'd ever taken. But it was definitely a conversation for later. Much later, because he was sure she would slap him if he broached the topic now.

She nodded her head. "I'm trusting you, but if I even feel like you're trying something, while you're not even my man yet, I'm out." Her eyes glinted a little mischievously on the "not my man yet" part.

He rolled his eyes, but before he could refute her statement the waitress arrived with their food.

-------

a/n: tbh this is a little dialogue heavy?