Zoe begun her morning with a cup of coffee, not too bitter, but not too sweet either. Lorelei had work, so she was free to do whatever her heart desired on her day off.
She was about to head back to bed for a few hours when her phone buzzed in her sweater pocket. A text from an unknown number.
(201) 348 2938
Hey, it's Buckley from last night
She smiled at her phone, quickly typing back a response.
Buckley <3
hey, how are you ?
I'm good
Did you get home safe?
would i be talking to you if i hadn't ?
Right, stupid question
Was your roommate mad?
she was, but then i told her i met a guy and
she forgot all about it
You're welcome then
Are you free today?
yeah, it's my day off
what's up ?
I thought maybe we could grab a coffee
or something?
Talk a little more?
Zoe snuck a glance at her discarded coffee cup in the kitchen sink and shrugged.
Buckley <3
sure
what time ?
Is 2 good for you?
yeah, that's fine !
see you soon !
She pulled her phone to her chest with a smile, that was before she realised she needed to shower and get dressed out of her chocolate stained sweats.
***
She stood on the sidewalk outside the firehouse tapping her foot against the concrete. She had gotten impatient, and allowed her legs to carry her to her place of work. Lorelei had gone back inside to serve some customers, giving Zoe the task of running to the shop to get them some drinks on her way in.
She was about to turn into the bookstore, drinks in hand, when she heard her name.
"Zoe!" A voice called out from behind her. She spun on her heel, being met with the blonde firefighter from yesterday. Zoe sneaks a glance at Lorelei through the window, deciding to ditch her for the man waving her over.
"Buck? I thought you were off today?" She replies once she's across the road and standing ahead of him.
"I am, i had to grab something from my locker, i was just about to text." He points his thumb behind him at the large red and white building, "There's a Starbucks a few blocks over if you wanna grab that coffee?"
She shrugs, "Sure, i'm just gonna drop these to my roommate if that's okay?"
"Yeah, no, of course." He nods, scratching he back of his head.
Zoe swiftly walks back over the road and listens as the bell rings above the door.
"What took you so long?" Lorelei held her hand out, grasping the bottle firmly between her fingers, "Why are you all red?" She asks suspiciously once she finally looks Zoe in the face.
"Buckley is outside." Zoe looks out the window, and Buckley waves with a smile. Lorelei trails her gaze, gawking at the man standing on the other side of the road.
"He is hot." Zoe scoffs at her friend's reaction to the sight, but doesn't blame her.
"We're going on a date?" Zoe sounds unsure of her words. The blonde smiles at the news, quickly pushing her towards the door.
"Well don't keep him waiting, go!" Lorelei was genuinely happy for the girl who'd been single for a little over a year.
"Okay, okay, i'm going." She chuckled, opening the door of the bookshop to find that Buck had crossed the street and was waiting beside the shop.
"You ready?"
"As i'll ever be." Zoe smiled, looking up at the man. She never really understood how tall he was until now, her neck craned up just to meet his eyes.
***
"Hi." Zoe smiles as Buck sits back down at their table in the Starbucks.
"Hi." he chuckled nervously, placing her coffee in front of her, gaining a small thank you. He just sat there for a moment, admiring the look on her face as she brought her coffee to her lips to take a sip.
She was beautiful, Buckley couldn't deny that, it was a fact. The way she pushed her hair behind her ear on only one side, the way her dimples were revealed each time she pursed her lips.
Somehow, he knew she wasn't going to be like all of the other girls, she was gonna be around for a lot longer than they were.
"You're really beautiful." Buck surprises himself with his words, reading his thoughts aloud was not something Buckley did a lot. Zoe appreciated his kind words, trying to think of a way to return them.
"Thank you, you're really pretty." She placed her coffee down, watching on as Buckley begun to chuckle.
"Wow."
"What?" His laugh was contagious, Zoe breaking out in a wide smile.
"I just- nobody's ever called me that before." He shook his head, looking down at his hands.
"Pretty?" she asks, confused by his confession.
"I usually get called hot or uh, sexy. Sexy's a big one." he almost gloats, looking back at her.
"Oh really?" She smiles and he nods, his teasing smirk creeping into a chuckle.
"Yeah."
"You're pretty." she buckled down on her previous statement, nodding her head slowly as Buckley took a sip of his coffee to hide the slight nerves he had.
"So how old are you?"
"I'm 25." Zoe nodded, welcoming the introduction section of the date with open arms; she was eager to learn more about the mystery man, "You?"
"28."
"Birth mark?" She pointed to her eyebrow, where he had a sort of red splotchy mark above and below the end of his brow.
"Yes!" He exclaimed in a sort of excitement, quickly calming down after noticing the stares they were getting, "Sorry, everyone always assumes i've been punched or something."
"It doesn't even look like a bruise!" she scoffed out a small smile, and he claps before excitedly pointing at her.
"That's what i'm saying!"
***
The pair sat in the coffee shop for hours, talking about everything from Lorelei, Eddie and the firefighters from the 118, to acceptable pizza toppings.
Buck was funny, Zoe could add that to her list of things she liked about him. He could make her laugh with ease.
Buck thought Zoe was different. But not in a bad way, in a way that intrigued him. In the way that she wore more rings than he'd ever owned. In the way she twisted them around her fingers every time he complimented her, or brushed his fingers over her shoulder when returning their plastic cups to the bin. In the way that she eats all the way around the edge of her cookie before tucking into the soft middle.
In the way that she wasn't very loud, which is what he was used to in women. He wasn't sure he knew women like Zoe existed before he met her.
He wouldn't lie, he wanted to sleep with her, but he was afraid to ruin what little connection they had formed with a night of meaningless sex. He had decided a few hours in that he would try something different in light of overcoming his addiction.
Zoe thought Buck to be sweet, he had made her blush more times in the hours they had spent together than she had in the past year. He had made quite the impression on her, as had she on him.
"No, i can't accept that." Zoe shook her head, trying to conceal the smile trying to escape.
"It's an acquired taste." He tried to defend his love for mushrooms, holding his hands up as if he were surrendering to the girl.
"It's disgusting!" She giggled, covering her mouth with her hand. Buck almost frowned, her hand concealing his new favourite thing about her. She seemed to do that a lot, cover her mouth when she smiled, "Stop making me laugh, my cheeks hurt!"
"What can i say, i'm just funny." He smiled at her, watching her eyes crinkle with her laughter in a sort of peace.
"We should probably head out." She spoke through a wide smile, looking around the now empty shop, and out the windows at the darkening sky.
"We probably should," Buck nodded, quickly swiping her trash from in front of her before she could stop him.
"I told you to stop doing that." she shook her head, but he could hear her smile from across the room, it was everything.
"Come on, let's go." He shook his head with a chuckle, holding his hand out for her. Her smile became impossibly wider as she laced her fingers with his, rising to her feet and allowing him to lead her out of the door.
"Which way home, Zo?" he asked her, and she begun to think he had imagined himself to be her pilot or something with the way he was speaking.
"The apartment building on 6th." she replied, butterflies erupting in her gut as his thumb rubbed back and forth onto the back of her hand.
"How long have you lived with Lorelei?" He asked after a moment of comfortable silence.
"Three years, we met in college and flat-shared for a while." She nodded, swinging their arms slightly. He smiled at the action she seemed to do unconsciously, as if this was something she always did when holding hands with someone.
They walked in a comfortable silence up the stairs of her apartment building, stopping outside her door.
"This is me." She loosens her grip on his hand until they slide apart, connected only by his four fingers and thumb clamped around hers, "This has been fun."
"Maybe we can do this again soon? Maybe over dinner this time?" He suggested, stepping closer to the brunette, catching her other hand in his.
"I'd like that." She nods, watching in anticipation as his eyes flick between her eyes and her lips.
Buck hates to admit that he's nervous, but in that moment he was. This time was different, he had to get it right. He didn't want Zoe to leave, not like all the other girls had.
He dipped his head down slowly, allowing her to meet him in the middle, standing on her tippy-toes to reach. He closed his eyes and brushed his lips against her soft ones. This time the butterflies bruised the inside of his stomach with the way they were fluttering.
Their lips moulded together with ease, as if they had done this a thousand times before. Zoe lifted her hand to his jawline, his to the small of her back, pulling her closer to him.
Zoe was the one to pull back first, afraid Lorelei would catch them and never let her live it down. She smiled as she looked up at him through half-lidded eyes.
"You're really tall." She told him, and he chuckled, "Goodnight, Buck."
"Goodnight, Zo." he smiled, turning and walking back down the hall as her keys jingle in the door. He didn't miss the way her eyes slightly widened at the nickname.
He couldn't stop smiling, why couldn't he stop smiling? He never smiled this much after his past 'dates', and he hadn't even slept with Zoe. He was hopeful that maybe this time, just this once, the universe could be on his side. Maybe it would make her stay.
Zoe closed the door behind her, sliding down the back of it with a gleaming smile on her face.
"Woah, why are you smiley." Lorelei spoke as if her words weren't supposed to amount to a question, and instead spoke them monotonously.
"He's a real life ken doll." she sighed, lost in a daydream starring none other than the blonde firefighter.
"Okay, bed time for you." Lorelei hauls the girl off of the floor, leading her to her bedroom.
***
"Hey." Zoe smiled into the FaceTime, her brother's face smiling back at her on her phone.
"How was work?" James asked her, propping the phone up on the counter so he could tend to other things.
"Boring, how is she?"
"Straight to the point huh?" he laughed, nodding, "She's sleeping."
"Okay, good." Zoe lets out a breath of relief.
"She misses you."
"I miss her too, i'm gonna visit on Tuesday, and i'll stay over for a few days if that's okay with you?" she asks hopefully. James shakes his head with a sigh.
"My offer still stands you know? You can still live here." James begins to walk with his phone, entering the pastel coloured room Zoe longed to spend all her days in.
"I'm already burdening you with this, i don't want to add any more to your plate."
"We've talked about this Zoe. She is not a burden, she is a blessing."
"I can't leave Lori with all that rent, she couldn't afford it." James doesn't argue with that, Lorelei had snuck her way into his heart, becoming like another little sister to him. Though he didn't have enough room for all of them in his two bedroom apartment.
"I'll see you on Tuesday." Zoe pulls the conversation to a close, the image on her phone enough to turn her night from great to perfect.
"Goodnight Zoe."
"Goodnight James."
_____
i kinda hate this chapter but it is what it is