Charades And Champagne

12

Zoe was on Cloud Nine.

        Well technically she was in bed. But that didn't stop the small, irrational waves of joy that kept washing over her like every five seconds. And it wasn't even because of the leaning in thing Miles had done outside the park either.

        Okay, so maybe it was partly because of that. But there were other things too. 

        Like maybe a totally unexpected, totally sweet peck on my cheek? Zoe thought as she smiled happily at the glowing stars on her ceiling. She still couldn't wrap her head around it. After walking her up to her front door, Miles had leaned down and kissed her lightly on the cheek.

        Seriously, it had taken literally every ounce of self-control she possessed to not swoon as he pulled back murmuring, "Goodnight Zoe. I will see you tomorrow. Just remember that I'm always here for you. Don't forget that."

        Zoe touched her cheek in the darkness. She could still feel the gentle pressure of Miles's lips there. He would probably be horrified if he knew just how much his simple, friendly gesture had affected her.       
 
        Because that's all he had meant it to be. Simple and friendly. An unexpected display of affection because he'd seen her crying for the first time ever and felt the need to cheer her up as her best friend.   
     
        But still, a kiss was very unusual for Miles. And also very unhealthy for her wellbeing considering the fact that she was completely in love with him.

        Lucky for her, Natalie had been hundred percent sober when she'd gotten home. Which was great because it meant that Zoe had someone to listen to her as she gushed about her perfect evening.

        After all, it wasn't like she could tell her other friends about it.

        Mark already hated her and Aliza wasn't exactly an option either. How could Zoe talk to her about ... well, anything that related to Miles as more than a friend?

        The answer was – she couldn't. She felt guilty enough even liking Miles without thinking about all that had conspired between them tonight. The only thing keeping her from calling Aliza and begging for forgiveness was the fact that Miles had meant nothing by any of it. He didn't feel the same way she did. So as long as she kept her feelings a secret from her friends, she wouldn't be hurting anyone.

        Only this was kind of hard to do when she wanted nothing more than to confide in somebody about how happy she currently was.

        But Zoe shouldn't have worried.  Her mom had proved to be an excellent listener. Albeit an extremely smug one. She'd had that 'I told you so' look that nearly drove Zoe mad, as she described every little detail of the afternoon.

        Yes, even the rolling thing. Natalie hadn't been able to stop laughing about that one for some reason. Zoe supposed it had been pretty funny in a way. But it was mostly nice to see her mom laughing again. There'd been a moment of concern on Natalie's part when Zoe accidentally admitted she'd been crying again, but Zoe'd brushed it off, pegging it on Mark's tantrum. It was better than her mom finding out the truth. That the thing with her dad leaving and its aftermath still haunted her.

        It was hours later, before Zoe – completely tired out – had gone up to bed, where she now lay, still wide awake.

        It wasn't that she didn't WANT to sleep. She really did. But it was seriously impossible to do so when, every time she closed her eyes, some totally random memory of her and Miles started to play out in her mind, making it hard to actually fall asleep.