Once I arrived at Zak's house, he was already cooking dinner for us. So I sat on the dinner table while he cooked. As I have done so before when he's cooking, I watch him from afar. He doesn't always cook by himself, I sometimes cook with him when he lets me. He always uses the excuse that I'm the guest and I shouldn't be cooking, but I retract the statement by stating how I've come by so much that it's almost like I live here now. So, at this point, I should be helping out.

Depending on Zak's mood and energy on whether he wants to continue arguing or not, sometimes my argument works. But his stubbornness always beats me. Though, you have to give him credit for being so persistent. This time, I didn't bother asking if I could help him cook since it never works when I arrive to him in the middle of cooking a meal since he says it would 'interrupt his flow'.

As always, I observe Zak as he cooks. I am able to catch the small things that I notice when Zak cooks by himself. His face seems to show a hint of annoyance or uncertainty, and then quickly turns back to normal as if nothing was wrong. Over time, I have noticed how overly concentrated Zak seems when he is taking measurements or has to add an ingredient to the recipe. It's as if he wants to make sure everything's perfect. I always tell myself that he does these things because he's passionate about his cooking or something like that. But there's a gut feeling in me that tells me that it's something else.

The gut feeling somehow gets stronger every time I see Zak give himself a way smaller proportion of his food. As I carefully look over from a distance... yup. He's giving himself a smaller proportion to eat again. He doesn't always do this. Sometimes, he gives himself a normal proportion of food, and sometimes, he doesn't. I tell myself that some days he isn't as hungry as others. But for some reason, whenever he gives himself a normal amount of food, he seems more... anxious, or isn't in the best mood. I can tell by how he drifts off easily and doesn't pay much mind to what I say. And when he gives himself a smaller amount of food, he's calmer and more collected. As if he doesn't have any worries.

These things are small and barely noticeable if you don't pay attention. It's so small that one would normally turn a blind eye to such things and say that it's probably nothing. That it's just simple mannerisms. But something that I've learned through the years is that the small things count. Also, from how I've seen things play out, I have a feeling that Zak tries to hide these small things. It's like he's purposely making these things as small as possible so that they go unnoticeable. It's like he doesn't want anyone to notice. Meanwhile, I'm trying to figure out why that is. But it's only just a strange feeling of mine, so nothing is confirmed. So, I'm not going to be pestering Zak with questions over something like this.

Alright, it's time to think of something else. As my eyes follow Zak, he starts bringing the two plates of food to the dining table. From where I'm sitting, I can't see his full body when he's in the kitchen, only the top half due to the kitchen island wall separating the kitchen from the dining table. But as soon as he stepped out of the kitchen, I could see the bottom half of his body. I don't know why, but by impulse, my eyes immediately fell on the bottom half of his body. I trace his body with my eyes. I look over his legs, thighs, hip, and waist. Goodness, he has such a perfect body.

As I look over those body parts, my mind goes back to the memory of Zak dancing around me with the most beautiful and enchanting steps and moves I've ever seen. He looked mesmerizing. He was able to perfectly display his body when dancing. I wonder if he knows any other dance moves... I can already imagine him doing sexy dance moves as if he were a stripper. Goodness, I want that so badly right now. Fudge... I really do sound like a pervert. Even though I've done hookups, I'm not actually usually like this. Zak just has the ability to drive me wild.

Once I snap out of my thoughts, I find Zak placing my plate of food in front of me. He then quickly goes to sit down in his chair, along with his plate of food set on the table. I say, "Thank you."

By instinct, Zak responds with, "No problem."

We start eating in silence for a few moments as I think of a way to start a conversation, feeling the need to do so. Sometimes, we eat in comfortable silence, but other times, we're chatting away while eating. Today, I feel the need to start a conversation as soon as possible since I want to completely move on and forget about my frustrating situation at work today. I want to forget my problems at work and live in bliss for the time that I'm with Zak. Then, a thought pops into my head. I cheerily grin to myself at the thought and say nonchalantly, "You know, you should dance in front of me more often."

Zak freezes with a fork full of food hanging in the air, which was previously aiming for his mouth. I grin to myself mischievously. I know I just hit a nerve. Zak blinks a few times and then calmly sets down his fork. It amazes me how he is able to act so calm even when he actually wants to burst with emotion. But then again, I would expect no less from someone who basically does acting as their career. Zak then asks in an oblivious tone, "...Why are you saying that?"

Oh, so we're playing this game, are we? I say, "I danced with you on our last mission. Or have you forgotten already?"

Zak raises his eyebrows at me and says, "Okay. One, we shouldn't really be talking about our missions or agent work so freely despite knowing each other's identities. And two, you're telling me that you danced with someone and thought it was me?"

So he really is trying to convince me that he isn't Zoe. I chuckle. Is he trying to somehow punish me because he's mad that I made a big risk during that mission? How cute. I ask, "Are you jealous that I could've possibly danced with someone who isn't you?"

"What? No. It isn't really any of my concern what you do on your missions. If you must dance with someone, then do it. I don't care. That doesn't mean you cheated on me. But if you do cheat, then I might just kill you."

"Hm, I half believe you on that. But I'll take your word for it. But I'm kind of offended that the possibility of me cheating has slipped your mind."

"As an agent, I've learned to prepare for all possibilities. Even those that seem highly impossible. I'm sure you can understand that."

"Hm, I do, and I respect you for that. But I've noticed that that concept is mostly used in the spy world, not real life. Also, you haven't confirmed or denied my request yet."

"...What request?"

"Stop acting dumb, Zak. I'm clearly talking about my comment on how you should dance in front of me more often. Also, stop pretending that you aren't Zoe. You won't fool me."

Zak makes an annoyed grumble for being caught in the act. I grin at him and ask, "Did you want to teach me a lesson or something by somehow making me feel guilty into thinking I danced with the wrong person?"

Zak scoffs and exclaims, "Of course, you idiot! Do you have any idea of how careless you were being!?"

"Yes, I do know. But even so, I don't regret it. ...Do you?"

Even though my actions did cause a ruckus at the agency, I still genuinely don't regret it. I raise an eyebrow questioningly at Zak, who stares and blinks at me for a moment. A small tint of blush starts creeping onto his cheeks as his gaze falls down onto his plate. He gets a fork full of food to put in his mouth to eat. But before he does so, he mumbles out, "Not really..."

Once Zak starts chewing on his food, he looks back up to me with an annoyed look. The message is clear. He is silently saying, 'But don't you dare do it again.' I chuckle from that. I say, "Good to know... almost as good as finding out that the famous Skeppy is such a good dancer that he almost made a whole room of party guests to fall for him."

Zak almost chokes on his food from my words. He quickly swallows the food and spits out, "What the- don't be ridiculous! Stop teasing me!"

There is a visible blush on Zak's face, making me smirk. I say, "What? It's true. Even though I was in my own trance because of you, I could clearly see from the expressions on the guests around the dance floor that they were enchanted with your dancing."

Zak grumbles again and starts angrily munching on his food, acting annoyed. There's a moment of silence before I say, "You know... you're actually the first person I danced with on a mission."

Zak pauses at that and then looks at me in the eye. In a hushed tone, he says, "Really?"

"Yes, really. I genuinely thought that that's how it was going to stay forever. Before that last mission, that is. You're just too irresistible for me, Zak. You make me act in ways that I never thought was possible before."

Something that I both love and hate.Zak blinks at me a few times before going back to eating, seemingly speechless. But I am able to see a faint pink tint on his cheeks. Another moment of silence overcomes us. But then I suddenly say, "You know, before seeing you on that mission, I didn't actually know you were Zoe Dyson."

Zak freezes once again and looks up at me, some shock present in his eyes. I quickly continued by saying, "All my suspicion on you being Zoe Dyson completely died off when I saw you acting genuinely scared and confused as Zoe while I was hiding in the vent. Yes, I was there that day that you were basically harassed by a TDO agent as Zoe because the agency thought that Zoe was a fake identity of yours." (Check the chapter called 'Fake it till they believe it' if you don't remember)

"So that was actually you hiding in the vent that day? I knew I saw someone's body in there."

I raise an eyebrow at this. I say a bit perplexed, "You noticed me? I not once caught you looking my way at the vent."

"I saw you from the corner of my eye. A quite useful skill that I've gained over time."

"Huh, I see..."

"Since you were clearly sent there to kidnap or hurt me or something- why didn't you attack the TDA agent that was there with me?"

"Well- I had quite convinced myself that you were just a civilian back then, so I thought that I shouldn't bother myself in a fight that wouldn't benefit me."

Zak gives a thoughtful hum before going back to his food. Another silent moment passes before I say, "But back to the original topic- I'm serious when I say that I'm interested in seeing you give me a private show with your dancing."

Zak's head snaps up to look at me. But before he gets to say something, I ramble on by saying, "I have a feeling that you're capable of doing other types of dances, judging from how skillful your dancing looked back then. But there is a specific kind of dance that I would especially like to see from you... With that body of yours, I bet you can perform some sexy dance moves."

I smirk deviously at him. Zak blinks for a moment and then asks, "So... you're telling me that you basically want me to dance in a way that a striper does?"

I nod at him with a grin. He scoffs and says, "As if! I won't be doing that."

Zak starts finishing to eat the last pieces of his food. I've just realized that he's almost done with his food while I've barely touched mine. But then again, he did give himself a smaller proportion of food. I start eating my food as well, and then after a few seconds, I notice that Zak has a small mischievous smirk plastered on his face. I look up at him to get a clearer view of his smile. But what catches me off guard are Zak's next words. He audibly mumbles out, "...Not yet."

After saying that, he almost immediately stands up to take away his empty plate back to the kitchen. Hurriedly, I say, "Wait- what did you say?"

I want to make sure my ears aren't deceiving me. Zak just smiles cheerily at me and says, "Oh, nothing~. Don't mind me. I'm just going to wash my plate and utensils. Continue eating."

He then walks into the kitchen, leaving me stunned at the dining table with flushed cheeks.