Zeke

Zeke was taking a long drink from his hot chocolate when Nancy returned, pushing through the crowd. She worked her hips as she walked, her tight black dress hugging every curve. Almost every guy in the room turned to watch her as she passed, though her eyes were fixed only on him. Her perfectly painted lips curled into a seductive smile.

He had to admit that she looked good. It stirred something in him. Memories, mostly. Seeing her walk towards him, focused only on him, like he was the only guy in the room, reminded him of all the good times they had. And they had lots of those—expensive dinners in five-star restaurants, fancy drinks in exclusive bars, long vacations in exotic locales. They were always out, always doing something.

Life with Nancy had been wild, exciting, and fun. It had all been new to him, too. He had never been much of a partier until he'd met her. But when his company made it big, and she came into his life, it was like she opened a whole new world for him...

"Zeke," she said as she reached the table's edge. She leaned forward, hovering over him, her voice velvet soft. "I'm ready to head back to the hotel..."

Zeke's breath hitched, making him take a big gulp of hot chocolate. It scalded his throat and made him cough.

"Already?" his mom chimed in. "But the drinks just arrived."

"Y-Yeah," Zeke sputtered, trying to recover. "Let's have a drink first."

In truth, Zeke suddenly regretted suggesting the hotel for their talk. In such an intimate setting, he suspected that Nancy would do everything in her power to avoid any actual talking... And though he didn't like to admit it, she knew how to push his buttons—good and bad.

"I'm not in the mood for a drink," Nancy said, pouting her lips just so. "I think I need to go lay down..."

Zeke swallowed hard.

"Get away from him!"

Nancy went stiff, then whipped around. Everyone else in the vicinity did, too.

Alicia was back. She stood there, staring at them both, her hands balled into fists at her side. Her eyes no longer shone with emotion—they burned, filled with fury, and her thick hair seemed to bristle around her face.

"Excuse me?" Nancy replied. "Who are you to tell me that? He's my boyfriend—"

"No, he isn't," Alicia snapped, folding her arms across her chest. "I know for a fact that he hasn't taken you back."

Zeke could only sit there, frozen, and watch, eyes wide.

What the hell was Alicia doing?

Nancy's eyes went wide. "How did you..." She stopped and shot a look at Zeke, her eyes narrowing. "Whatever. What's it to you? You don't even know him."

"That's not true," Alicia said, frowning. "We've spent plenty of time together these past few days. And I have his best interests at heart."

"Oh, do you?" Nancy replied, shooting another look in Zeke's direction before her face smoothed over, and she donned a smile. It appeared sweet, but Zeke knew there was venom underneath. "Isn't that nice? But you don't have to worry about him anymore now that I'm here."

His dad leaned over, his thick brows arched and elbowed him. "What is going on with those two?"

"I-I have no idea," Zeke muttered, still frozen in shock.

"Uh-huh," his dad said, though Zeke could detect a hint of skepticism in his voice. "Well, everyone's staring, so maybe you should do something about it."

His dad gave him another elbow, enough to jolt him out of his seat. Zeke got to his feet. His legs felt uncertain, but he had to do something. He stepped between them.

"H-Hey now," Zeke said. "What's with the hostility? Did something happen? Is something wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong, darling," Nancy said, taking hold of his arm as soon as he got close and pressing herself to him. "Just a silly little girl putting her nose where it doesn't belong. Let's go back to the hotel. This hideous place is starting to give me a headache."

Alicia's frown deepened, her lips pursing together as though she might start breathing fire, and she was trying her best to hold it back. He knew she was fierce, but he didn't know if she was the type to throw a punch. He wasn't sure he wanted to risk it either way.

"You know what, maybe we should leave," Zeke agreed, turning—as much as he could with Nancy clinging to him—to gather their coats. "A walk in the cold air will do us some good. It'd be a nice way to cool down..."

Nancy's smile widened as Zeke helped her into her coat. "Excellent idea. Though it's not so easy for me to cool down. You know how I'm hot-blooded." She shot one last sharp look at Alicia to gloat, like she'd won whatever game they were playing.

"You're also a liar," Alicia shot back before turning to him. "You can't trust her, Zeke. None of what she told you is true."

Zeke was about to put on his own coat but froze. "What?"

"What are you talking about?" Nancy said.

Now, it was Alicia's turn to smile. "I'm talking about Evan."

Zeke looked down at Nancy, but she didn't seem phased.

"What about him?" Nancy said with a scoff, pulling her coat tighter. "He's out of our lives and, anyway, it has nothing to do with you. Now come on, Zeke. Let's go."

Nancy tugged on his arm, but Zeke didn't budge.

"It may not have anything to do with me," Alicia said. "But it has everything to do with Zeke, and that's what matters." She turned to him again. "She's full of shit, Zeke. She's been cheating on you. Not just one time, but for a while."

"You're the one who's full of shit!" Nancy cried and then rounded on Zeke, her eyes shimmering with tears. "I don't know what this girl's issue is, but she's lying. She's clearly jealous—"

"I-I'm not jealous!" Alicia sputtered, but her face flared. "I'm telling the truth! I heard you on the phone! 'We had our fun,' was it?"

Now tears slid down Nancy's cheeks, and her voice had gone shrill. "Why are you doing this? Did you think that just because Zeke was momentarily confused that you could swoop in and take him for your own? Well, too bad. He's chosen me."

She flung herself into Zeke's arms.

"Get me out of this awful place!"

Zeke didn't know what to do. Nancy was sobbing into his chest, and Alicia looked just about ready to strangle her, while every single person in The Snowball's Chance was staring.

Celeste piped up, getting out of the booth herself. She put a gentle hand on Nancy's shoulder. "M-Maybe we should all go somewhere more private to talk about this—"

"What's there to talk about?" Alicia said. "There's an easy way to settle this. Zeke should give Evan a call."

Nancy went still in his arms.

Alicia noticed. "What do you think about that, Nancy? I'm sure he'll have plenty to say now that you've left him high and dry."

Nancy leaped back from him and threw herself at Alicia, giving a hard shove. Alicia staggered back, knocking into another group of people who managed to catch her.

"What is your problem?" she screamed. "This is my relationship—it does not involve you!"

Alicia straightened up, fixing her dress. Over at the bar, Sterling leaped over the counter, ready to put his bouncing skills to use... but Alicia raised her hand to stop him.

Nancy just stood there, sizing her up, ready for another round.

"You like him, don't you?" Nancy said, her simpering smile a challenge. "Is that what happened? You threw yourself at him when he was down, and now you're upset that you didn't mean anything to him?"

Zeke grabbed Nancy's arm. "That's enough!"

Nancy turned to him, her gaze softening. "It's okay, Zeke. I don't mind if you had a fling—we were 'technically' broken up and you were confused. Don't worry, I can forgive you."

"I-It's not that," Zeke babbled, his face burning. Celeste caught his eye with a shocked stare, and his parents' mouths had dropped open. "Nothing happened between us and there are no feelings between me and Alicia. So, leave her—"

From the corner of his eye, he saw Alicia flinch. She pressed her lips together, and her eyes fluttered closed for a second before she looked at him again. She gave him a small, stiff smile.

"He's right. There's absolutely nothing there," she said, grabbing her coat from the seat where she left it. "I just thought he ought to know the truth. What he does with it is up to him, but I think he deserves better."

She paused then, and her dark eyes met his one last time. They shone at him, and he was reminded of that moment in the cellar, of dark night skies and a thousand sparkling snowflakes...

She smiled at him.

"The best, in fact."

Then she shrugged on her coat and headed for the door.

Zeke opened and closed his mouth over and over. A thousand things were fighting inside his head, but he couldn't get any of them out of his goddamn mouth—

But she was already gone.

"Well, thank god the trash took itself out," Nancy sneered, returning to him. "Now, can we please get out of here? I think I've suffered enough embarrassment for tonight."

"No," Zeke said.

"Huh? You really want to stay, after all that?"

"I'm not staying," Zeke said, finally pulling on his coat. "And you can do what you like."

"What?" Nancy said. "What about the hotel? What about us?"

"There is no us, Nancy," Zeke said.

"You don't believe her stupid story, do you?" Nancy said, her voice going shrill again. "I told you, Evan made a move on me—"

"No, it's you I don't believe. And even if I did, it doesn't matter," Zeke said. "It's not you that I want."

Nancy's face fell. "But you just said—"

Zeke had to laugh at the lost expression on her face. "I know what I said, but I had it all wrong. Now, I've got to go and make it right."

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