Tropical Heist

Zillionaire Zoe

Zoe seemed a bit taken aback by the declaration, but at that point I didn't really care, because the team all had their bottles up. We were all waiting for Zoe to raise hers, but she hadn't even motioned towards it at all. "Problem?" Ramon asked. She looked at him and shook her head with a smile, raised her bottle and said, "No plus ones!"

I couldn't quite tell if it was that she really had any objections, but she seemed to quickly move on from it after the toast. The mini lyme quickly fizzled out after that. The twins were the first to leave, and Jimmy followed maybe five minutes later. I was left alone with Zoe, definitely not awkward at all. She put on The Italian Job and we both watched it in silence for a while, it was almost as if we were purposely trying not to acknowledge each other.

"So Steve, you really think we can pull this off?" Zoe asked sheepishly

"I think it should be pretty simple really. Plan and execute according to plan"

"You make it sound so simple, you know that anything can go wrong on the day right? Like how are you so sure--"

Zoe stopped mid-sentence as the door creaked open and Mark entered. He dropped himself into the chair beside Zoe and threw an arm around her. It was almost as if he was trying to make a statement. He made no eye contact with me and whispered a few words to Zoe. It was suddenly awkward, and I had become the third wheel in my own flat. I exchanged pleasantries with Mark and wished them both a good night, got my laptop and headed to my room. 

As I stared at the ceiling that night I thought of the months ahead, all the planning that was needed and the possibility of failing. I was never one to really worry about failure in general, but with something like this, hmm, the idea of being locked up was just too much to handle. My mind then drifted to contemplating whether Zoe could really be trusted. That lengthy pause before the toast still played in my head. It was on repeat like my new favourite song

 I was alone with my thoughts for maybe five minutes, but with these paper thin walls, I could hear Zoe and Mark having a spat outside. I guess he wasn't too pleased when he came in at almost midnight to see his girlfriend watching a film with his flatmate. Also, let's not forget her attire. Nothing happened so he really had no need to worry, but I guess I could understand why he would have been upset. The bickering got louder by the second and I needed to eventually pull for my headphones to drown out the noise. I barely had the headphones over my ears, the bickering got louder and there was a loud bang on my door. It jolted the daylight out of me. 

"Steve, open up!" Mark shouted.

"Coming," I responded with much haste.

I got out of bed and answered the door. I was greeted by an angry short man, with flared nostrils. Mark was livid, but I maintained my composure and maintained a sub-zero chill. I looked at him rather blankly, a stark contrast to his huffing. 

"What's the deal with you and Zoe?" He asked sternly, almost reminding me of my father. I could see Zoe behind him shaking her head. This was absolutely ridiculous.

"Bredda, just calm yuhself please. Absolutely nothing is going on. I'm going back to bed." I responded with zero emotion and proceeded to close the door.Just as I attempted to close the door I could feel his weight against it. 

"So you mean to tell me--"

"Mark, I said nothing was going on. I am going back to bed now"  I said as I closed the door.

"Damn, what a long ass night," I thought and It truly was an eventful night, especially if I am still writing about it three chapters later. I could still hear Mark and Zoe going at it outside, but it was none of my business. I put my on my headphones, turned on some music and fell asleep almost immediately.