Who Said Three is a Crowd?

Chapter Ten

Zoe groaned, she felt like someone had punched her numerous times on the head. She tried to remember what happened, but she was struggling to put the fragments of her memory back together. Her main goal was finding a washroom, as she felt as if her bladder was about to burst. She slowly opened her eyes and glanced at her environment, she gasped as she realized that she was at Liz's place. She carefully got up and tip-toed to the bathroom to relieve herself. She decided that it would be better if she left. She found her phone and keys on the bedside table. She checked her phone, seeing that it was 3:06 a.m. Zoe opened the text message from Liz as she unfolded her clothes that laid at the end of the bed.

Liz: I hope you feel better and that you're up before the kids are up. Antonio did not want you to be there when they woke up, too much to explain right now.

Zoe got the hint, she did not want to be an inconvenience to anyone. With a determined grunt, she removed the pajamas and slipped back into her dinner dress and shoes. She grabbed her clutch and quietly made her way out the house, grateful when she saw that her car was parked out front. She sent a quick text to Liz to let her know that she left and locked the front door after her. She played her sad songs playlist as she drove home while reprimanding herself on getting drunk in front of Antonio.

"Great, just great. What a perfect first and second impression you got going on for yourself Zoe." She spoke aloud in a mocking tone.

The drive to her apartment was quick, she was tired and craved a bowl of cereal. With a sigh, she parked and turned off the car. She searched for her house keys in her clutch, grabbed her phone, got out of the vehicle, and locked it. She walked to her door, opened it, and dropped her keys in the key bowl. She grunted as she put on the lights and head to the kitchen, a trail of clothes in her wake. She sat at the kitchen island while her water was being heated. Zoe decided that she needed to be more assertive, this was a big deal, and sitting around like this was unacceptable. Satisfied with the temperature of her water, she mixed in her milk and added her cereal in her favorite bowl. She ate her cereal with gusto, washed her bowl, and picked her clothes up from the floor as she walked to her bedroom. She slipped on her pair of comfy pajamas and stretched out on her bed. She began scrolling through Pinterest and pinning a few pictures and articles to her boards. It did not take long before she gradually fell asleep.

***

The weekend went by without a hitch at the Garcia household. The kids had a two-week holiday coming up, and they were pretty excited about it. They pleaded with their parents so that they could visit their grandparents. Kailey pointed out that with them away, Liz and Antonio could get to spend some quality time together, and plan their birthday party. Antonio agreed to the arrangements and called his parents to let them know that the twins were coming over in two days. Their Nonna was excited that her grand-babies were coming for two weeks. Liz heard her excitement through the phone as she requested to speak to the kids so they could plan their itinerary.

Liz watched the kids run off to pack their travel bags, and she smirked at Antonio, "So, what are your plans for two weeks of no kids?"

Antonio placed his index finger to his chin and pretended to give the question a thought before he answered.

"I'm thinking that I will go to spend some time with the boys when you go over to Zoe's place. Maybe we can go out to the beach, a little skinny deeping, or something along those lines. Add a bit of spice to our relationship." He winked as he mentioned spice, causing Liz to burst into laughter.

"So, you're okay with the fact that I'll be spending some of my time with Zoe?" Liz asked cautiously. She tried to figure out what Antonio was thinking as he had an unreadable smile on his face.