Acting on Instinct

Rhythm of Love

Sorry this chapter was a bit late going up - but hopefully it is worth the wait ;) 

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Joe fumbled with the store key, locking the door as quickly as he could before glancing at his phone to check the time. He'd been gone for a few hours...plenty of time for Dianne to be done with her class...if that excuse for leaving had even been real. Joe inwardly cursed himself for never getting Amy's number...or for paying attention to the name of the studio so he could call and see if she was still there. He could remember the general area of the studio though... 

Joe shuffled on his feet for a few seconds before pulling up the Uber app on his phone. He was practically vibrating with nervous energy, but before he could call a car, his phone rang. 

Cursing, out loud this time, he swiped to answer it with so much force he was surprised he didn't shatter his phone screen.

"What now, Zo?" he answered flatly. 

"What is up your butt?" Zoe's accusatory voice punctured through his throbbing head.

"We just talked this morning, what do you want?" Joe tried again, now scanning the busy streets for a yellow cab. 

Zoe sighed dramatically, "Where are you?"

"What?" Joe asked distractedly.

"Where are you? Like right now, at this moment, where are you?"

Joe paused his search to scrunch up his face in confusion, "I'm on a sidewalk."

"Ugh, Joe!"

"Zoe, why did you call me? Is there something I can help you with?" Joe tried a different tactic, taking a deep breath and controlling his tone of voice to hopefully sound a bit nicer.

"Can you help me with something?" Zoe replied, her voice sounding a bit strained.

"Not really, I'm a bit busy at the moment," Joe murmured back, his eyes back to scanning the traffic. He wasn't going to let Zoe derail him this time. He'd given in to her way too many times in the past two years.

"Joooe," Zoe whimpered, her voice sounding shaky like she was about to cry.

Joe let out a deep sigh, feeling his resolve crumble already. 

"No, Zo. You told me to figure out my shit, so that's what I'm doing. I will help you when I'm done, okay?"

"I know I said that," Zoe pleaded, now sniffling into the phone. "But I'm...um...I'm actually at your place. And it's kind of an...an emergency."

Joe groaned resisting the urge to throw his phone into oncoming traffic. Pulling up Uber again, he changed his destination to his flat address. 

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Dianne nervously tapped her toes on the floor of her Uber, gazing out the window as it turned onto the familiar street along the river. She felt her heart rate pick up as the big modern condo building appeared in front of her. As the car stopped at a red light, she felt her phone buzz in her lap. 

Zoe Sugg: "Where are you now?"

Dianne smiled in spite of her nerves at Zoe's blunt demeanor, even through text. Before she was able to even type back a response, her phone started to ring, Zoe's name popping up on the screen.

As the car pulled up to the curb, Dianne bid a hasty goodbye to the driver before exiting the car and answering the call.

"Hey Zo--"

"Are you there? Are you still in the Uber? Have you gone inside?"

"I just got out of the car," Dianne replied, hurrying toward the front door. "About to go in...but Zo, are you sure this is a good idea?"