Zeke

The Snowball's Chance was already getting busy when Zeke and the others arrived. Olly waved at them as they entered, but didn't stop to chat as he was already inundated with orders.

"Guess that's my cue," Sterling said. "You guys find a spot and I'll send over some drinks." He leaned down to give Celeste a quick kiss before he went to join Olly behind the bar.

Nancy leaned in close to Zeke, squeezing the arm that she still held so tightly. Distaste was apparent in her voice as she whispered to him, watching Sterling pick up a glass and start filling it under the tap. "Celeste's new guy is a bartender? You'd think a bright girl like Celeste could do better than that..."

"He's not just a bartender," Zeke responded. "He's a great bartender. One of the best."

It took him a second to realize he'd just echoed Alicia's own words in defense of Sterling, back when his own opinion had matched Nancy's.

"Maybe for this nowhere town," Nancy said with a scoff. "Which I can't imagine that amounts to much."

Zeke felt a flare of anger. He attempted to shrug off her grip, but she held fast. She shot him a strange look as if she couldn't understand why he would disagree with her assessment.

Zeke just gritted his teeth, biting back all the things he wished he could say. He had wanted to refuse his parents' invitation so he could talk with Nancy somewhere more private, but he suspected that was precisely why Nancy had agreed for them both. She was a lot of things, but she wasn't stupid.

"There's a table!" his mother cheered, pointing to a large booth in the corner with enough space for all of them. They all hurried over to take their spot before it could be taken. His parents slid in first, followed by Celeste and Alicia. They all slid down to make room for Zeke and Nancy... But Nancy pulled Zeke away before he could sit down by Alicia. She pushed him over, forcing him to sit together on the other side of the table.

Alicia noticed this and frowned. She shot him a questioning look as though wondering why he followed along with whatever Nancy wanted.

Zeke wished he could explain, but he also didn't want to make a scene. He needed to play it cool. He told himself he'd have one drink, and then he could excuse himself and Nancy so they could finally go and have their talk...

For now, though, that meant attaching himself to Nancy.

He slid into the booth next to his father, Nancy, on the end. His dad gave him a funny look, his eyebrows raising as if to say, what is she doing here?

Zeke could only give a single shake of his head. He couldn't get into it now. He expected that his parents would have lots of questions, but they'd have to wait for an explanation.

On the other side of him, Nancy cuddled up close.

"Brr, this dive is cold," she said with an exaggerated shiver. "Can they not afford to heat the place or something?"

"If you're cold, you should order something warm," Zeke muttered. "Or keep your coat on."

Nancy's pretty features pushed into a frown. He knew she expected him to comfort her like he used to. But her sour expression lasted only for a moment before smoothing over again.

"I'm glad we've finally got a chance to be together," she whispered. She batted her long false lashes at him. "I haven't seen you all day. You were gone before I even woke up. Where did you go?"

"I... I had some errands," Zeke muttered.

"Errands, huh?" Nancy echoed.

Her eyes flicked across the table to where Alicia was sitting.

Alicia was busy chatting with Celeste, but she felt Nancy's stare and looked over. Alicia didn't flinch away like she had before. Now, her stare was determined, another challenge, as if to dare Nancy to say something.

Nancy scoffed and looked away. "Hopefully nothing too troublesome."

"Not at all," Zeke muttered.

"By the way," Nancy said, shifting topics. Her voice had gone sweet again. She leaned against him. "Since you left the room so early, I didn't get a chance to thank you for letting me stay last night."

"It was nothing," Zeke said. "There was nowhere else for you to go."

"Even so," Nancy said. "It was kind of you."

"I guess."

"You know, it gave me hope," Nancy continued, her voice going even softer, like velvet, "that you might believe me. You do believe me, don't you?"

Zeke clenched his jaw. He replayed the explanation she'd given him last night in his head. Evan's confession, her attempts to rebuff him...

Did he believe her?

Then Alicia's words echoed in his head. Did it matter?

If her story was a lie or the truth, did it change how he felt about her? Misunderstanding or not, it felt like the shock to his system had opened his eyes to the fact that the life he was living wasn't the life he wanted. Even if he had the option, maybe he didn't want his old life back—

Nancy's hand slid over his thigh. She leaned in, her whisper so close to his ear that he could feel her warm breath down his neck.

"I knew you'd believe me."

Across from them, Alicia shot out of her seat. Her face was hard, though her dark eyes shimmered.

"Excuse me," she said, her voice icy. "I... I have to use the washroom."

She whipped around and disappeared into the growing crowd.

Zeke watched her go. If he didn't know better, he would think Alicia looked almost on the verge of tears.

Why?

A sudden urge swelled up. He wanted to go after her...

But he couldn't.

"Nancy," Zeke said, his voice low as he turned back to her. "I think we should go back to the hotel."

Nancy's eyes lit up, and she smiled. "Oh, can we please? This place is a dump. Besides, I'd love to spend some alone time with you." She batted her lashes again and squeezed his thigh—

Zeke shook his head. "No, I need to talk to you—"

A sharp ring filled the air. Nancy flinched back and dug into the pocket of her coat to pull out her phone. The number on the screen was unknown, but she made a face as she stared at it. But as she looked back at him, her smile returned. "I need to take this, but I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere, okay?"

Nancy slid out of her seat and disappeared into the crowd, too.

As soon as she was gone, his dad leaned in. "What's Nancy doing here? I thought you broke up. What's going on with you two?"

Zeke could only shake his head. "I wish I knew."

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