Because of that Night (Book 2)

Chapter 32: Zooey

Zooey hadn't stayed up much longer after that first night with her father. Their conversation had left her feeling defeated and regretful. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting to get out of the conversation once it had started. Perhaps she really did want to know how her parents' relationship had truly come to its demise, or maybe she really was just hoping that when all was said and done, her mother wouldn't be right. She wouldn't have been right in saying that the apple didn't fall far from the tree when it came to Zooey and her father. But when she looked up into the eyes of her guilt-ridden father as he explained how he came to the decision of placing the final nail in the coffin of an already failing marriage, it was all she needed to see to know her mother had been right.

Zooey had started out innocent when it came to her relationship with Isaac. That first night she went home with him, they were any other man and woman who had formed a connection and decided to take that connection further. In the morning, he didn't kick her out, but woke up next to her with a smile on his face and asked if she wanted to grab some breakfast. It had all been a breath of fresh air for Zooey. She rarely if ever experienced a man wanting anything more to do with her in the morning after something such as what she and Isaac had with each other thus far. She didn't want her time with him to end, and from the actions of Isaac that morning, it seemed clear to Zooey he didn't want their time to be over just yet either.

They went and got breakfast. He even offered her a sweatshirt of his that muted the ridiculous outfit she would have been walking out in public in that would have screamed "walk of shame" from the moment anyone saw her. The sweatshirt brought her a new sense of confidence, and when they did finally part ways that day, she dreaded having to part with it. Luckily, she didn't have to.

As she moved to get out of his car as he dropped her at the front of her apartment, she let out an "oh" and began to remove the sweatshirt from her body. But he only shook his head, waving his hand at her to stop.

"Keep it, I'll be seeing you again." He said it so matter of factually that it made Zooey tingle with excitement.

"Oh yeah?" she cooed and decided to be sly. "Who says I want to see you again?"

He had raised his eyebrows at this question but returned Zooey's sly smirk. He motioned her back towards him, his index finger lackadaisical and smooth. She removed her hand from the door handle as it slammed shut once again. She didn't even hesitate to come closer to him, the center console the only thing separating the two of them.

He slid his hand around the curve of her jaw, placing it behind the back of her neck as he pulled her forward. She didn't resist it, and his lips fell onto hers again, soft and smooth. His tongue glided into her mouth like it had always belonged there as his other hand found a home on her thigh. As he urged them closer, his hand on her thigh began to graze slowly upwards, teasing her. She felt her throat release a whine begging for more against her own will, and he smiled beneath her lips. He latched on to her bottom lip, sucking for a moment before finally pulling away. Her body naturally pushed forward, feeling cheated out of what it really wanted.

"Do you want to see me again?" he asked.

Their faces remained only a few inches apart, and she could feel his warm breath near her lips still. Though his tone posed the question with true inquisition, from his cocky grin, it was clear he already knew the answer. She nodded, never taking her gaze away from his dancing, light brown eyes. They exchanged phone numbers, and as the moment came when she would finally have to leave his car, she could feel her heart begging her not to go.

"Are you sure you don't want this back?" Zooey asked, though she didn't want him to change his mind, all she was really doing was trying to waste more time to be near him.