Charades And Champagne

Chapter 7

Zoe soon found herself getting dressed as quickly as her aching limbs would allow her.

She wouldn't normally have rushed, but seeing as she'd practically been forced to walk nearly two miles to get home, she knew she was already running late for her meetup with Miles at the Jade Dynasty.

She was halfway through running a brush through her wet hair; the damp coppery strings detangling easily, when she realized, with a pang of anxiety, that she would have to forego makeup altogether if she wanted to make it there on time.

Zoe bit her lip, perplexed. Why was her appearance suddenly such a big deal anyway? Makeup didn't matter – it was just Miles after all. He'd seen her looking so much worse for wear before. Besides, this way, she could prove her mom wrong about this being a date or anything even remotely romantic.

People dressed up for dates, and Zoe definitely hadn't. Much.

Shaking her head in the mirror, she made sure her hair was in place, and grabbed her book bag off the bed. Then, taking the stairs two at a time, Zoe rushed downstairs, landing with a soft thump at the bottom.

Her mother was sitting exactly where Zoe had left her – on the couch flicking through the newspaper. She took one look at the delicate white lace sundress Zoe had on and snorted. "Yup. You definitely like him."

Zoe's groan was thankfully much louder than the storm of confused thoughts swirling around in her head just then. She had no clue why her mom was teasing her so mercilessly. Or why it was affecting her so much. No one had teased her about Miles before. No matter how much time they spent together.

"Mom please," she finally settled for saying as she slipped on her white flats. "Miles and I are just friends. I don't have feelings for him, and he doesn't have feelings for me either. He just called me 'beautiful' once, and that doesn't exactly qualify as an indication of a crush."

Natalie's expressive eyes widened at this unintentional piece of information. "Oh honey! He said you were beautiful? He definitely likes you."

Zoe was speechless. This was impossible.

Trying not to scream in frustration, she stomped over to the door and opened it. "Bye mom," she said with finality.

"Have fun, sweetie," Natalie called after, her tone loaded with suppressed laughter.

Zoe did her best not to slam the door on her way out.

*****

Despite the five minute walk, Zoe was breathing hard when she strode into The Jade Dynasty.

It was quite the homely place, with lilting instrumental music playing gently in the background, and streams of afternoon sunlight spilling in through the crystal clear picture windows. Vibrant red lanterns – to be lit when night fell – punctuated the restaurant at regular intervals, and the smell of tempering spices and soy sauce wafted through the air.

But Zoe barely registered any of it. Somehow, the calming ambiance of the place was not exactly working for her.

This wasn't a big surprise considering the fact that she had been muttering angrily under her breath all the way from home.

'Annoyed' didn't quite cover what she was feeling at the moment.

As much as Zoe loved Natalie, she couldn't help but feel irritated at her mother for bringing up the whole unnecessary topic of Miles and her supposed feelings for him.

Because now Zoe couldn't stop thinking about it.

Her mother's teasing had surfaced something Zoe had been denying ever since that first night she and Miles had stayed out late at Al's together.